Hello in the Meadow for Freshly Made Sketches

I just got back from a week's trip to Palm Springs and I had a wonderful time in the sunshine. Unfortunately, I was greeted by a big snowstorm as I touched down again at home. Not the welcoming committee I was hoping for! #sunnotsnow, #lizardsnotblizzards !

I had three big deliveries waiting for me to package for my customers and I really wanted to enter Freshly Made Sketches Challenge #221:

It is so simple yet gives you lots of creative leeway! So I decided to put a new stamp set, called In the Meadow to use. It's one of the first stamp sets that Stampin' Up! has put out with which you can actually build a scene. It's also perfect for watercolouring! I wanted to add an embossed large sentiment in the middle and used Sale-A-Bration's Hello stamp set for that purpose.

• On the Lost Lagoon base, I backed my watercoloured panel with some paper that totally escaped my notice in the excitement of my preorder, but really needs a close look. It's the Shine On Specialty Designer Series Paper. It's a heavy kraft base with one side that's got silver foil designs and the other side that has colourful patterns. It's a perfect weight for the Gift Box Punch Board and I'm planning on using it to make some treat boxes for a retreat I'm planning.
• Watercolouring these images was easy and a lot of fun using our Aqua Painters. Now that I'm trying out many different water colour techniques, I am appreciating the Aqua Painters more and more! They make painting so easy and without a lot of fuss! The tips are really good, allowing you to go from thick to thin strokes and you don't have to do a lot of cleaning in between colours. Simply wipe the tip across your scrap paper several times and your ready to go. 
• I stamped the images in our Archival Basic Black ink which is waterproof and perfect for watercolouring. I used Shimmery White cardstock, which holds up to water much better than our Whisper White.
• The sentiment was stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder.

I wanted to share some photos of my trip south so you could see what I've been up to:

 Our welcome at the airport!

The hubby & I at Joshua Tree National Park:

 In the park, a view of the San Andreas fault and some of the rock formations with a Joshua tree.

 Our resort! Loved it there!

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today.

Product List

In The Meadow Wood-Mount Stamp Set [140751]	In The Meadow Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140754]	Hello Wood-Mount Stamp Set [141240]	Hello Clear-Mount Stamp Set [141243]	Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101910]
Shine On Specialty Designer Series Paper [140579]	Lost Lagoon 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock [133679]	Versamark Pad [102283]	Bermuda Bay Classic Stampin' Pad [131171]	Elegant Eggplant Classic Stampin' Pad [126969]
Lost Lagoon Classic Stampin' Pad [133644]	Mossy Meadow Classic Stampin' Pad [133645]	Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad [131180]	Pool Party Classic Stampin' Pad [126982]	Pumpkin Pie Classic Stampin' Pad [126945]
Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad [131181]	Silver Stampin' Emboss Powder [109131]	Embossing Buddy [103083]	Heat Tool [129053]	1-1/4" Burlap Ribbon [132140]
Aqua Painters [103954]	Liquid Multipurpose Glue [110755]	Glue Dots [103683]