I fell in love with the British\u00a0Crafter’s Companion Moonbeam Meadow stamp set called “Magical Star”<\/a><\/span> the moment I saw it, so\u00a0I was thrilled when I was able to pick it up at the Crafty Purple Frog Shop<\/a><\/span>\u00a0using my gift certificate prize when I was the lucky winner of their challenge blog. I thought the soft sketchy lines of the image would be perfect for watercoloring so I decided to give that a go, and I am so happy with the results (well, this was the 2nd results since the first card was discarded after an inadvertent smear – LOL).<\/p>\n <\/a>I used Strathmore Bristol Paper and started with a Cloud background stamp from Katzelkraft<\/a><\/span> (which is a French company). I wanted to create the look of a warm colorful summer night at dusk just before the stars come out at night so I inked up the stamp with Distress Markers in Pumice Stone and Worn Lipstick and positioned the pink clouds on the top two-thirds of the card. For the sky, I used Distress Marker ink in Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass. To blend out the inks, I used a Pentel water brush, making sure to dab any excess water or ink that may have transferred onto the brush off onto a tissue. After the first layers of colors dried, I added touches of Distress Marker ink in Ripe Persimmon to the clouds to add some extra vibrancy.<\/p>\n To stamp out the adorable little baby bear riding on his papa bear’s back, I used\u00a0My Favorite Things Hybrid Ink in Gravel Gray<\/a><\/span>\u00a0for a softer-than-black but visible waterproof stamping. Then I used a stamp block to scribble inks from Distress Markers in Hickory Smoke and applied the slightly watered down ink onto the bears with my water brush. After the first layer of color dried, I added more shading with a second and third application of Hickory Smoke for the shadows. I also used the fine point end of a Distress Marker in Vintage Photo to redefine the eyes and noses of the bears.<\/p>\n