This is a real bee — or it was, once — that has been encased in amber resin.

A wrapping of gold-colored copper wire around the bead, done in an Eni Oken style herringbone pattern, creates an unusually eye-catching pendant for a necklace.

The bead itself measures 20mm x 18mm.

This unique piece of jewellery is available for USD $15.99 from the artist, Wandering Girl Designs of Austin, Texas.

This comical Bee Mine Valentine Candy Dish is an original crochet pattern designed by Carrie’s Clutter.

A whimsy decoration to hold Valentine’s sweets! She measures 9 inches head to tail and 4 inches tall (not including her wings and antennae). All you need is a plastic butter/ sour cream tub, yarn and basic craft supplies to create this sweetheart!

The crochet pattern is available for USD $4.99 via the designer’s shop on Etsy.com.

City of Bees: A Children’s Guide to Bees is a 30-minute DVD that comes “highly recommended” by Video Librarian (”Editor’s Choice”) and by Educational Media Reviews Online.

“The DVD has a photo gallery of stills from the production, allows instructors to display subtitles, and offers lesson plans correlated to National Standards. A great way to supplement the science curriculum,” said the School Library Journal.

Explore the secret, complex world of honeybees from a child’s point of view. Six-year-old Oliver and his young friends join a beekeeper as he cares for his beehives over the course of a year. The children study everything from how a queen bee rules the hive, the various jobs each bee performs, how bees pollinate and how bees can fly at amazing speeds.

With colorful imagery, learning activities, and remarkable up-close video, viewers of all ages will be enchanted and informed about the remarkable world that is the City of Bees.

The City of Bees DVD is now available for $21.99 at Amazon.com, or for $24.95 if ordered directly from the North American distributor, Choices Inc.

Here is a short preview of the video:

The McCall’s Quilting website has free instructions and applique template for the popular Honey Bee Quilt Block.

Suitable for beginner-level quilters, the pattern combines straight-edge piecing with appliqué “wings” at each corner.

Three solid-colour fabrics and one printed fabric are used to create each 12″ x 12″ block (finished size).

Gianna Rose Atelier’s gift-boxed Royal Jelly Soaps are “enriched with Shea butter and Royal Jelly” and embossed with the image of an elegant bee, available in regular or guest soap size. These are high-end luxury gift items, with prices starting a $14 for a 6-ounce bar.

Beekeepers with a sideline in handmade soaps may be inspired by the market offerings of beautifully packaged soaps enriched with royal jelly, honey, and other products of the hive. This particular soap design is exclusive, of course, but many interesting soap molds with bee images are readily available from craft and bee supplies stores, or online. A basic honey soap recipe (and variations) may be found in the Value-Added Products from Beekeeping factsheet from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.