Bees are wonderful creatures. Thanks to their industrious pollination activities we have fruit and flowers to enjoy, and there’s nothing sweeter than the honey they produce.
In honor of bees – honey, bumble, mason and others – we thought it would be fun to make a decorative beehive to be used as a picnic table centerpiece or an eye-catching addition to a patio garden.
This idea just came to us, so we weren’t exactly sure how to begin, but it seemed that the first task would be to find a beehive-shaped form to use as a base.
We had pretty much decided on using a combination of round and egg-shaped Styrofoam pieces – cut as needed and glue together to form the proper shape. This wasn’t the perfect solution, but we weren’t having any luck finding a bowl or other form that would work for the project.
As luck would have it, though, while literally on our way to the checkout counter with the Styrofoam, we came upon a small planter that was just what we needed.
To give our hive the right texture and appearance, we thought that wrapping the planter with rope would do the trick.
Actually, the planter we found would have worked well without the rope – it had rounded rings around the entire planter – but we still believed that the rope would add a little more definition.
We selected a medium-weight rope for the project. Even though a heavier rope might have given our hive a more realistic look, it would have been harder to work with and secure in place with glue.
To apply the rope, begin at the top of the hive – which is the bottom of the planter turned up-side-down – and wrap the rope around and around the planter, applying hot glue as you go, until it’s completely covered.
Attaching the rope is fairly slow going, so take your time and be patient. If you try to do a rush job, you may regret it in the long run, as the rope will not be secure and may pop off the planter in spots or leave unsightly gaps.
When you’ve finished applying the rope, cover the entire planter rope and all with a layer of clear sealer or decoupage medium. This will make the surface easier to paint, as well as adding a little more reinforcement for keeping the rope in place.
When the sealer or decoupage medium is thoroughly dry, you’re ready to apply the paint. We selected a honey-yellow color rather than a bright or primary yellow.
Use as many coats of paint as needed to fill and cover all of the nooks and crannies caused by the rope, let the paint dry completely, then apply another layer of sealer or decoupage medium.
When the sealer or decoupage medium is completely dry, apply a layer of wood stain (we used a maple color) over the entire surface.
Using a soft, flexible, cloth, wipe the stain off before it dries, leaving heavier concentrations of stain in the nooks and crannies, but wiping it completely off of most of the surface. This will give your hive a more finished look than it would have with paint alone.
Let the remaining stain dry completely (it’s important that you let it dry thoroughly, or it may run or smear) and apply another layer – more than one layer if you choose – of sealer or decoupage medium and allow it to dry thoroughly.
To finish the project, use hot glue to apply silk flowers and leaves of choice randomly on the hive and, for the final touch, add your bees.
We chose a variety of yellow, orange and white flowers, a few leaves and little wooden bees, all of which can be found in craft stores.
In our photo illustration, you may notice some spots of dried hot glue under the bees. We decided not to paint over the glue spots, as we felt the paint might actually draw more attention to the glue.
Perhaps a way to disguise the glue spots would be to paint them with a yellow glass paint, which would dry to a clear, glass-like, finish, and resemble – well – honey.
We’ll give it a try and let you know how it turns out in a future column.
E-mail Jonetta Coffin at jrocoffin@aol.com
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