Backyard Bloomers by Jean Okimoto

Backyard Floral Stems, paired with a set of floral buds from Birch Press Design, create a bright garden greeting. Hello, Jean here with a versatile design for spring, Easter or friendship cards.

The stems are perfect for any season - use them as background greenery, a filler for bouquets or as buds and blossoms. They're topped with the Birch Press Design Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers here. A jeweled felt Gentle Bunny adds a plush texture and sparkly bling.

Cut Backyard Floral Stems from Lush Green Collection 6x6 sheet. Trim the top from the tall center stem. Cut Delicate Floral Buds Contour Layers from 3 shades of Berry Red 6x6 sheets. Cut a pale yellow 6x6 from the Sunny Orange Collection. You'll have a great supply of colorful layering buds for other projects too.

Cut the 4-¼" high Curved Cap Pinpoint Layer from a bright yellow-green sheet from the Lush Green Collection. Attach the stems to the background. Assemble and attach the buds. The Birch Press Design set includes color-coded assembly directions of the detailed pieces. The base layer of each bud is also lightly marked with assembly guidelines for you. Or, rearrange the layers and create your own designs!

Attach adhesive label paper or a sticker sheet to white wool-blend felt and diecut Gentle Bunny. The paper backing stabilizes the fabric and prevents adhesives from saturating it. Cut another bunny from watercolor paper or heavy white cardstock and layer it for dimension. Add pink gems from the Pastel Jewels set - press them firmly onto the felt.

Stamp the greeting - from the Big and Little Spring Clear Stamp Set - on the pale yellow sheet with Green Oasis VersaFine Clair. Dry the ink, then trim the greeting with the smallest Rectangle Basics die.

Attach everything to a top-folded 5-½" square card. Cut a 5-½" square layer of cardstock to protect the card front for mailing. Square cards require extra postage.

Pair these stem and bud sets for greetings throughout the year. Transition from buds to blooms in spring and summer to seed pods in fall colors. Cut the stems from black cardstock for a spooky Halloween garden scene in October. Cut them in white or silver glitter for a frosty winter scene.

Imagine different ways to combine your Memory Box, Poppystamps and Birch Press Design products and take advantage of the great design elements in your stash!

Thanks for visiting - see you again next week...