Victorian Beehive Valentines - Free project tutorial!

Who can resist pink, red and white papers, sparkly stickers and ribbons? Ever since I was little I was completely enamored with making Valentines. This year I've been entertained by watching Celia get carried away making hearts and running upstairs to secretly hide them in her room.

The magic of a beehive Valentine happens when you pull up on the center ribbon. The paper expands into a beehive shape to reveal the hidden message underneath. When I taught at the Des Moines Art Center, the education director Peggy Leonardo shared the instructions with me. She had discovered them printed in an old time Valentine craft book. I featured a gilded birdcage variation of this project in my book Simply Beautiful Greeting Cards, North Light Books.  When I recieved a gorgeous selection of papers and stickers from EK Success last month, I knew I wanted to recreate this 'vintage' paper craft. Fancy stickers and papers are inspiring but you can use any paper or rubber stamps you have on hand.

Finished dimensions: 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Materials :
Pink and red scrapbooking paper - K and Company Lovely Designer Paper Pad
Retro Valentine Stickers - EK Success
Glue
5" length of 1/4 inch satin ribbon

Tools:
Scissors
Paper trimmer - Optional

1. Trim the paper for the of the card into a 4 1/2" square. If you plan on sending the card in an envelope adjust the size to fit. Cut a smaller 3 1/2" square to fit in the center of the first. Next cut a small white piece of paper to place behind the sticker, mine was 1 3/4"x 2 3/8". Glue the three pieces together and then apply the sticker to the white rectangle.

2. Cut a second 3 1/2" square for the beehive. Select a lighter weight paper that will be flexible and won't retain the crease lines. Fold the paper in half and then in quarters. Cut rounded slits 1/4" apart alternating between the folded edges. Akin to cutting a snowflake its important not to cut all the way through to the other side. Unfold the paper and apply glue to underside of all four edges. Position the beehive over the center of the card, firmly press down the glued edges.

3. Thread the ribbon length through the top two slits in the beehive. Gently pull up on the ribbon to test your beehive. If necessary use your scissor tips to carefully extend any slits that don't open sufficiently. Decorate the border of the beehive with paper strips and sentiments trimmed from the coordinating scrapbook papers.