How to Make a Face Mask for a Ball
Masquerades offer the ideal combination of socialization, elegance and mystery. These formal balls have been held for centuries in various countries around the world. The most crucial element needed when attending a masquerade is a mask, as the concept of a masquerade involves concealing your identity. Designing a mask that will match not only your outfit, but your own personality can help make attending a masquerade even more memorable.
Things You'll Need
- Plain plastic face mask
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Needle
- Elastic string
- Paint
- Craft glue or glue stick
- Glitter
- Other embellishments (as desired)
- Feathers
- Stapler
- Pipe cleaner or thin wooden rods
Instructions
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Construct Your Mask
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1
Trace the general outline of your desired mask shape on the plain plastic mask. Most masks typically cover the eyes and nose, though some can cover just the eyes, or the entire face.
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2
Cut out the shape of your mask based on the outline you just drew. Keep the excess part of the mask to use as embellishment pieces if desired.
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3
Poke a hole in each corner of your mask with a needle or other sharp object. Each hole should be about 1/2 inch to 1 inch from the outer corner of your eye.
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4
Measure a piece of elastic string that wraps around your head without being stretched. Insert one end of the string through one of the holes through the top of your mask, and knot the end to prevent it from pulling back through.
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5
Feed the other end of the string through the hole on the other side of your mask. Do not knot the end yet. Place the mask up to your face and wrap the string around your head. Pull the excess string tight enough through the second hole so that the mask will stay secure on your head, but not so tight it will be uncomfortable. Once you have adjusted the string, tie the second end in a knot and clip off any excess string.
Decorate Your Mask
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Paint your mask the color of your choice. You may choose to paint the entire thing a solid color or multiple colors, or simply add painted embellishments such as stripes or dots to your plain white mask. Make sure the paint has enough time to dry completely before adding other decorations.
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7
Add glitter, jewels, ribbon, or any other embellishments to your mask. For glitter, a glue stick works best as an adhesive; for other elements, craft glue is recommended.
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8
If desired you may add feathers to your mask. You can use staples to attach them directly to the edges of your mask and then paint the staples to match your mask or conceal them with other elements. Or you may opt to add pipe cleaner or painted wooden rods to the sides of your mask, to extend the feathers further. Secure the pipe cleaner to the inside of your mask with a staple, or secure the rods with craft glue rod. Then secure the feathers to the ends of the extensions with craft glue.
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Tips & Warnings
Once all paint and glue has dried, test out your mask. Practice putting it on and taking it off to make sure it is a good fit. Try walking in front of a fan or outdoors to make sure all elements are secured to your mask. Giving your mask a trial run will help you avoid any mask disasters at your special event.
References
- Photo Credit the mask image by Deborah Durbin from Fotolia.com
