I designed these different bee theme items. I love how they turned out. I made mine with basswood, but you could also make them with a chip board, cardstock, carboard, or other material with a Criut or other cutting machine. You could then just paint the chip board or cardboard pieces. You could also cut and cover the chip board or cardboard pieces with veneer (a very thin piece of wood) to still get the wood grain look if you are unable to cut all the pieces out of wood. If you have a Cricut or other cutting machine you could also cut out the larger shapes and some of the bees and other larger items out of wood, if your machine allows you to cut thin pieces of wood. Then you could cut the words and smaller details out of vinyl, or other materials of your choosing, to stick on top of the wood cut outs. I can also make and sell you the wood cutouts if you live in the USA. Please see my shop or Etsy shop if you are interested in the digital file to make your own pieces or if you are interested in purchasing the physical wood pieces.
This post and pictures are an example on how you could arrange, and paint your pieces, but feel free to style them your own way. You could even choose not to decorate all the pieces or to put some of the words on different pieces than I did. You could get a group of friends together and have a fun night painting and assembling your pieces. It is fun to see how others think and decorate.
To paint my pieces, I just used acrylic paint. You could also stain these pieces if you want as well. I recommend painting each piece before you assemble and glue them. I think it is easier to paint this way, because you do not have to worry about getting paint in the wrong areas as much.
Once you have everything painted to your liking, it is time to assemble. I recommend laying your pieces where you want them first before gluing things down. I used wood glue to glue down my pieces, but Elmer’s glue, super glue, or other glues should also work. I would not recommend hot glue, however, especially for the letters and smaller pieces. Hot glue does not dry flat and smooth, thus it will show in your finished project.
I used my extra bee backings to make a bee garland to drape on a tier tray. To do this I just applied some gorilla glue to the tip of the bee’s wings and attached it to some jute twine. I used some super glue I already had out, but hot glue or E6000 should also work fine for this. I did not measure and space my bees out evenly on my garland, but feel free to do so. I also decided to only paint half the bees, and leave the other half the natural wood color. It might also look nice to add some flowers to your garland. Another idea that would look nice is to cover these bees with a pretty piece of card stock, to give a pattern to the bees.
I found this honey cone shaped wooden box from Michael’s for about $1. I made my one bee happy piece fit perfectly inside it. I left my wood box the natural color, but it would also be pretty stained or painted. It even has a little jute twine on the back if you wish to hang it up.
Now all that is left is to display your beautiful pieces. I put mine in a tier tray. If you are interested in how I made the smaller brown and white tier trays, then click the following links. Click here for the brown tier tray. Click here for the white tier tray. Click here for a three-tier tier tray. I recommend gluing a Janga block to the back of your pieces, which you can purchase from Dollar Tree, or other small piece of wood to the back of your pieces to help them stand up. Multiple pieces of wood may be needed to help the piece stand up. You could also glue wall hangers on the back of your pieces and hang them on a wall. In the pictures I just placed smaller items behind my pieces to make them stand up.
I really love how all these pieces turned out. I filled my bee tier trays with a few extra bee items I made. If you are interested in making any of these yourself, then check the following links: Honey Jar. and Bee Hive. Which were your favorite pieces? I would love to see how you painted and assembled your pieces! You can write a comment below or email me at hello@kandfdesign.com. You can also share your photos on my social medial handles:
