Stamped Celery Roses

I really need something to remind me that spring will come.  Clearly this view on our deck is not helping.

Flowers - that's what would make me hopeful that this winter might actually end.   These Valentine roses from The Captain inspired me to make some.

I've seen some cool roses made by stamping celery.  It's pretty simple; hack off the end of a celery heart,  brush with paint and stamp away.  I pulled off a stalk or two to get the look of a tighter petal grouping.  

I brushed the paint on to the celery,  tamped it off a bit on a paper towel , and started creating bouquets.

I have a rose stamp that I've never used, so I cut off the leaves and stamped some around my roses.  I've just recently been brave enough to chop up some of my stamps that just aren't working for me anymore.  Sometimes I like parts of the stamp and   I don't feel badly about chopping out the parts I want and horrors - throwing out the rest.

The cards seemed a bit bare, so I added some dots made with Smooch Inks.   A tiny applicator brush  comes in the bottle - perfect for making dots or coloring in small areas.

It's still winter outside, but at least spring has come to my studio.