How to Make Masks out of Debris

Masks make great adornments for any room in the house. Put a drooling mask in your kitchen, a sleepy mask in the bedroom and an evil mask in your living room to scare out people who watch too much TV. You don’t have to travel to an exotic land or shell out all kinds of cash at importer to have yourself some wild and jazzy masks. You can make masks out of debris, using your own creativity and a few simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Debris
• Craft glue
• Paint and paint pens
• Hook and wire for hanging
• Adornments (optional)

1. Find rounded chunks of debris of any size or shape that you can imagine making into a mask. This can include everything from pieces of a plastic or glass bowl to broken chunks of fiberglass pipe. You can also find flat pieces of thin metal that can be curved and shaped into a mask.

2. Wipe the debris clean with a damp cloth. If dirt is exceptionally stuck on the debris, you may need to scrub or hose it down. To add a gist of creativity, you can even leave anything stuck on the debris and work around it.

3. Stare at the debris, turning it in different directions until you figure out what side is the top and where to put the eyes and mouth.

4. Paint two white areas where the eyes will be and a white area where the teeth will be. Outline those areas with a black paint pen, shaping them to your liking. Angry masks should have slanted eyes and pointy teeth whereas a kinder mask will want rounder eyes and flat, grinning teeth.

5. Take as many colors of paint as you see fit and begin to draw designs all over the mask, around the mouth and eyes. You can also opt to paint the face a solid color rather than infuse with patterns.

6. Glue on any extras as well as a hook on the back to hang the mask. Extras can include glitter, jewelry and feathers. A simple hook used for picture hanging works well with a strong glue on the back. It can be looped with wire to hang your finished product.

Tips & Warnings

• A good craft glue is extremely tacky and can be found at most craft stores.
• If you really want to go for the gold, you can cut eyeholes in the mask instead of simply painting the eyes. You can also cut a hole for the mouth if you’re feeling up to it.
• Don't wear the mask on your face if you don't know where the debris has been. Yuck.