Polar Bears at Twilight

I saw this amazing art project at That Artist Woman that involved several techniques for texture. (You really should head over there and a take a look.) Unfortunately, I didn't have the important supplies, like watercolor paper, disc tempera paint and/or an ample supply of watercolors. So I had to change some things and also make it a little easier for my class, and although they don't look as cool, they are cute and were fun to make. So here is how we did it. The kids used a pencil to draw a horizon line on a piece of white construction paper. Then they painted the top part with very watered-down tempera paint.

While it was still wet, they stamped out the full moon the same way Gail did, by putting a tissue over the end of a cup and holding it there for 10 seconds, but we used a bigger cup. And I also held the tissue on with a rubber band so it was easier for the kids.

Then they painted the bottom with regular light blue tempera paint.

I really wish I had enough blue watercolor paint for the whole class, because Gail used plastic wrap to make it look like ice, and it definitely didn't work with liquid tempera paint. So we blotted it with a scrunched up napkin,

which looked fine when wet, but didn't look much different when dry. So if you have watercolors or tempera discs, use those because it is awesome! (Seriously, go look at Gail's pictures!)
When the paper was dry, the kids glued on the polar bears. Instead of using a stencil and painting them on, I cut out several bears (and baby cubs!) for the kids to use. They made eyes and noses with a black Sharpie.

I really wish I went with a darker blue and purple because they ended up drying much lighter. But honestly, next time I'll spring for the watercolors!