After completing the basic compound image for the lesson I went on to play. Keeping the flower center on a separate layer from the flower, I then duplicated the flower layer many times and through selection (Polygonal Lasso>Erase) I placed each petal on its own layer and stacked them in order from front to back. This allowed me to add some dimension by adding a little drop shadow to each one. I kept the opacity low and the size and direction of each shadow varied. After acheiving what I wanted with a layer I merged it down onto a new layer to freeze the shadow effect. If I didn't do this the shadows in each layer would change when a new layer was worked. I cloned out unwanted shadows where necessary.

I enjoy the challenge of working in multiple layers to work an effect I am looking for but I need to learn to start naming each layer to make organization easier. I take a lot of snapshots along the way also.