Orange mum card with fat, pollen-laden bumblebee is digitally printed using archival pigment inks on silky, bright white, acid-free paper. Folded card is 5.25" by 5.25" and comes with a beautifully made, bright white envelope. The photograph I used to create the bumblebee mandala is printed on the back of the card with the photo location. Interior of the card is blank and the paper is super smooth, not slick, and takes gel, ballpoint, and other inks well. Makes a nice birthday for anyone who likes to garden for pollinators. The bright orange and yellow of the mandala also carry strong creative and self-actualization energy, making this a powerfully energizing choice as an altar card. The card and envelope are packaged together in a plastic sleeve and mailed in a stiffened mailer.

Framing. This mum card is created using high-quality materials, such as might be used in a museum. The print is sharp, bright, and frameable. To protect the vibrancy of the artwork, I frame using UV glass or acrylic, and I recommend it. If you use plain glass or acrylic, make sure you hang this sweet, little piece and all your beautiful art away from direct sunlight.

Postage. Because irregularly shaped mail, like this square mum card, must be canceled by hand, the U.S. Postal Service requires extra postage to deliver them. Special "butterfly stamps" carry the exact right postage to mail your bee card within the U.S. If you would like me to stamp the envelope with a butterfly stamp so it's ready for you to mail, please choose that option from the menu.

About the Art. This is a layered piece I created using a photo of a large, reflex, disbud chrysanthemum, which was exhibited at Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during a fall flower show. "Reflex" refers to the shape of the petals, which curve down and away from the center of the flower with a messy bit on top. "Disbud" means the flower was carefully groomed to produce a single large bloom on a stiff, upright stem. The process is somewhat akin to training a bonsai but with production of a big blossom, not a tiny tree, as the goal.

I photographed the big, native bumblebee in my yard as it visited a early-blooming bleeding heart flower. I usually have scads of bumblebees in the yard, which makes sense because I let the leaves lay in my yard overwinter, creating bare patches of soil in which bumblebees can easily burrow. In exchange for the buffet I lay out for them in the garden, the bumblebees provide photo ops and pollinate my vegetable garden and berry patches. In this mandala, I meant the bee to look curious. She's just checking out the weird flower, wondering where the entrance might be to the nectary, if such a strange flower even has a nectary (a gland that produces a sweet treat to entice pollinators in to gather up some pollen and distribute it flower-to-flower.)

Quick Tip Related to This Mum Card. Cultivated plants with double blooms often carry no nectar or pollen because their reproductive parts are missing. That's why a native Echinacea (or coneflower) is a better choice for your garden than a fancy Echinacea with pom-pom flowers. The native plant and the bumblebee grew up together and know what's what.

Find It on Etsy. You can also find this card in my Etsy Shop.