May's Postcard of the Month
The BEES are back!

Originally, I'd thought I might do another blossoms collage - 

I thought maybe something like this detail:

from this large (2'x3'?) collage I did last year:

which had been based on last May's PoMs:

So, I punched out a bunch of pink flower shapes, and threw them down to see what happened:

But I quickly lost any blossom inclinations, thanks to almost no indications from Mother Nature that such might really be forthcoming ...  And I waited until late in the month to get started!!*  

So, by crunch time, I was feeling a little desperate for inspiration.  

But! I kept liking the Easter card I'd made for Mule:

who was very happy that one of his hives made it through the winter:

So... With bees in the air, I was re-inspired:

And this little composition (above) became this prototype:

Close.  I culled the colorful flowers and dots - the dots looked too Easter-y.

Got to use my bee stamp.  :)

And my bee punch:

And I copied and re-sized these Patrón Tequila bees

The Fixin's:

Of which I did not use all, and to which I added a couple, as the final version evolved.

Every spring,  I get a few weeks of wasp visits at the studio.  I trap 'em and  let 'em go outside. 

I let this one hang around the 'grass' for a while.  

No allergies, and after having stung myself ON PURPOSE for several years (apiatherapy), I can't say I have much fear of stings (and I've found Wasp stings to not be quite as intense as some bee stings), so I took this visit - right when I started production! - as a friendly validation of my theme!

The Steps

All 43 of them.  :)  (fewer than some months!)  

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4 - I continue to love this hole-y white paper.  
And I thought it looked appropriately honey comb-y.

Step 5

Step 6

Step 7

Step 8 - Got to use a couple of pieces of some of my first handmade papers.

Step 9

Step 10

Step 11 - when it came time to do the rest of the cards, 

I moved this green shape slightly towards the middle on those.

Step 12 - I thought this gold hole-y paper also looked rather honey comb-y.

Step 13 - I took this little piece out after a few more steps - before the glue dried!

Step 14

Step 15

Step 16

Step 17

Step 18

Step 19

Step 20

Step 21

Step 22

Step 23 - Tequila bees!

Step 24

Step 25

Step 26

Step 27

Step 28

Step 29

Step 30

Step 31

Step 32

Step 33

Step 34 - Punched bee.

Step 35- Stamped bee.

Step 36

Step 37

Step 38

Step 39

Step 40

Step 41

Step 42

Step 43 

Panel of 21 May PoMs

*I spent the first couple of weeks of April doing a thorough de-cluttering of the studio - 

 in preparation for this year's Open Studio Weekend, May 24th & 25th:

  

Which I am officially ON, this year.  :)

Can you make out the detail (above) from my (large) "Chicory" collage (below) from last year?!

I'll be posting more Open Studio Tour details soon.

Addendum

Sad to say, as I've been finishing up this month's cards, and writing up these production notes, 

we have also been tending our now-departed dear old dog, Duck.  

 Duck - here w/ our niece and nephew when they were all three so little!

  - whom we (ostensibly!) rescued 14 years ago, when he was about a year old, 

changed our lives in ways we never could have imagined.  

Including being indirectly responsible for us having BEES! 

He was a certified Therapy Dog  

and proudly walked the halls of Starr Farm Nursing Center 

for many years, making many people much happier.

He loved little animals, and he always smelled really good - sort of nutty.  :)

He left this life at about 2:30 this morning, with me and Mule right there with him.

I'm pretty sure he was really the one who rescued us.

Fin.