Hello, hello and welcome!  I am so excited to be part of  Altenew\’s February Build-A-Flower  Release and Blog Hop.  This month\’s flower is the  Bellaroma Hybrid Tea Rose and it is a real beauty.   Layering stamps are lovely, easy and fun to use and I especially enjoyed creating with this set.  Altenew has  a new Build A Flower release each month and you can subscribe HERE so you don\’t miss a single set.

Let\’s get started!  I was so inspired that I stamped and die-cut a ton of flowers!  I mass produced the flowers and leaves using two sections of two stamping platforms that I rotated through the four stations.  I have three cards in this post and will be using The Tea Rose in another post next week….please stop by to see that one too.

The Yellow Rose of Texas

I  live in Texas, so my inspiration for this card was \”The Yellow Rose of Texas\”.  I wanted a dramatic background to contrast with the yellow so I used the \”direct to paper\” inking method.  I selected 8 different colors of ink pads in shades from turqouise to dark blue.  I rubbed each color in sections of the cardstock and I kept the middle softer and the edges darker.  At first, the background looked like a terrible mess but as you add layers it turns into a bold and complex panel.

  As far as stamping the rose,  I experimented and found I liked a monochromatic color scheme using similar hues with this set.  The front rose has three shades of yellow.  I wanted more contrast with the background, so for the back rose I didn\’t stamp the base layer but chose to leave some white space.  I wanted a neutral leaf so I selected two shades of grey.

I adore Altenew\’s Burlap Texture Die and knew it would be a striking backdrop for a single rose bud.  I wanted some contrast and variation on the die cut so I hand inked a background panel using all the colors in the Coffee Break Mini Ink Cube Set.  Be sure to let the panel dry before you die cut so you get a crisp cut.  I wanted vivid green leaves so I used The GreenValley Mini Ink Cube Set.  I used the middle two colors, Green Fields and Shadow Creek. 

The sentiment (Simply Hello Die) is so reasonably priced and was die-cut from copper mirror cardstock.  To finish the card I added three yellow dots from New Day Enamel Dots, which I love because the set contains a beautiful variety of colors.  

For this card I wanted to add a pink rose as well.  I wanted a clean look so I skippped the bottom layer stamp on the two roses and leaves and I love the way it looks! 

The Cross Stitch Canvas Die is a beautiful way to add texture and interest to your background without distracting from the beauty of your focal point.  I added a small piece of Painted Grid Washi Tape to the top of my sentiment for a little added interest.