Bee-utiful Flower Topiary

At this time of year, the bees are buzzin' here at the Coleman household.  We have a lovely ornamental fruit tree in our front yard that just swarms with bees in the springtime.  I love to watch them buzz around and collect pollen.  (The biology teacher in me wanted to write an entire post on pollen collection.  It is so fascinating!)  My project today was inspired by the bees buzzing in my yard and the tiny bees on the Andrea Paper from the Oh Happy Day collection. 

I die cut an oval, hearts and parentheses and assembled my bee to look like the one on the Andrea paper.   Cute little bugger, huh? 

I die cut approximately 80 flowers from the Mira's Pearls paper, rolled them up, and stuck them in a 3" foam ball with quilters pins. The subtle variation in the pink print adds a bit of extra dimension to each of the rolled roses. 

I covered a small wooden pot with a coordinating print from the Country Charm collection.  I love how the print on the Handycraft paper looks like a basket weave. 

NERD ALERT!  I couldn't resist.  Here is a little tidbit on pollen collection: When bees collect pollen, they store it on their back legs.  These little clusters of pollen are called pollen suitcases.  What a fun name!  So when bees collect pollen, it literally goes to their thighs!   (In my case,my thighs would be called Krispy Kreme suitcases.)  ;)  The picture below is of a honeybee in my front tree that was collecting pollen the other day.

 So take a look next time you are out and about and see if you can spot some pollen suitcases! 

Supplies: Mira's Pearls Paper (1764) - Oh Happy Day, Andrea Paper (1773) - Oh Happy Day, Handycraft Paper (1508) - Country Charm, Flora Craft floral wire and floral foam, Dritz quilting pins, Nicole Crafts wooden pot, Offray pink satin ribbon, reindeer moss (floral supply), 3" foam ball, black, yellow and vellum scraps.