How to Make a Paintable Face Mask
Face masks are worn in many different cultures during religious ceremonies and traditional dances. Whether you've been assigned a mask-making project for your history class or you just want to make your own mask for fun, there's no reason to purchase expensive materials when you can find acceptable construction materials around your house. If you want to make a durable mask you can paint for a low price, consider making a mask out of papier-mache.
Things You'll Need
- Empty milk-gallon container
- Marker
- Craft knife
- Newspapers
- Measuring cup
- Unbleached flour
- Mixing bowl
- Teaspoon
- Salt
- Fan
- Assorted acrylic paints
- Paintbrush
Instructions
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1
Cut the milk jug along the seam from the top of the jug, down the side, to the bottom of the jug. Flip the container upside down. Trace eye holes with a marker on both sides of the top section of the handle. Cut the eye holes out with a craft knife.
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2
Shred thirty newspaper sheets into strips that measure approximately 2 inches in width. Rip each strip into four equal lengths.
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3
Pour 1 cup of unbleached flour into a mixing bowl. Add 1 tsp. of salt, and mix the ingredients together. Stir in 2 cups of lukewarm water slowly until the mixture is blended evenly without lumps.
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4
Coat one newspaper strip in the paste. Pull the coated strip through your fingers to remove excess paste.
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5
Stick the strip on the upper back side of the gallon jug. Dip another strip into the paste and remove any excess paste. Lay this strip horizontally on the edge of the first strip, so the two strips overlap slightly. Run down the strips with your fingers to smooth them out.
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6
Continue overlapping coated strips in this fashion until you've covered the back side of the jug in an even layer of papier-mache, then cover the front using the same method. Wrap overlapping coated strips around the handle until it's completely covered.
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7
Apply a second coat of vertically overlapping coated strips. Apply another layer of horizontally overlapping coated strips with your remaining newspaper strips.
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8
Set the mask in direct sunlight in a well-ventilated area, or in front of a fan until it dries to the touch.
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9
Apply a base coat of white acrylic paint over the entire surface area of the mask. Give the base coat 30 minutes to dry. Paint the mask as desired with acrylic paints, and give the mask 24 hours to dry.
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