How to make a masquerade mask

 

For my May CC Design Team project, I was inspired to make a masquerade mask. Some of you will remember that back in February, my girls went to a masquerade ball with DaddyDude. I had such fun building their masks then, but thought it would be even more fun to create some of the embellishments myself.  

I love how masquerade masks are almost like... couture! They're so much fun to individualize and why not go for more drama? Personally, I prefer masks with sideways flair, but you can make them however your heart desires. For more inspiration, visit Pinterest! The first two steps of this tutorial will show how to make paper feathers and flowers, before advancing to the construction of the mask itself.

First, this is how to make the feathers. Anyone can buy feathers from the local crafts store, but did you know that it is actually incredibly easy to make your own from paper? Not only that, you can customize the size, color, and shape! Since this mask uses two feathers, I cut two rectangles from silver glitter paper (Fancy Pants), cut into a feather shape, and then scored (with a bone folder) them in half and folded. To give the feather more stability, I traced a backing piece for the feather, out of regular white cardstock and scored that in half as well. Place a piece of cloth stem wire (Panacea) in the fold and put the two halves of the feather together. I squeezed the white backing around the wire, to provide more structural support. Then, you simply make small cuts (carefully) at an angle, on bot sides. You can "fluff" the feathers and also, curve it gently, since the wire is rather flexible.

 

My flower template is based off this one (http://www.skiptomylou.org/2012/03/07/how-to-make-duck-tape-flowers-200-michaels-giveaway/), but with a twist. Since this flower is made out of paper (instead of duct tape), I could curl the petals to make a unique blossom. To create it, first cut 1" strips of paper, plus one circle (large enough to be the flower base, but small enough that it will not show beyond the petals). Make small, even cuts along each strip (like a fringe). Then, I gently turned and folded the paper at each fringe cut, making the strip more flexible, allowing it to be shaped easily into a coiled circle. Glue the strips from the outside towards the inside, gradually adding as many layers as you wish - continue until the inner (uncovered) circle is small enough to be covered by a brad (Making Memories). I then used a small piece of skewer to gently curl each piece of fringe. Yes, this is time-consuming, but adds an elegant touch to the flower. Continue the process until the entire flower has been curled.

At last we're ready to assemble the mask! I found an inexpensive mask (Darice) at the local crafts store and simply hot-glued everything to it. Glue the two feathers to the inner part of the mask, taking care to cover the ends of the wire with a piece of soft felt. On the outside of the mask, glue tulle flowers (Making Memories) and your paper flower centerpiece. To add drama, I added some diecut butterflies (Making Memories) and dressed them up with bling (Stickles and Basic Grey). I also added florist wire (Panacea) to the butterflies to give them more body and antennae. For more flair, I added sparkly leaves (Making Memories Autumn Splendor).

And here is Marika, graciously modeling the mask. I love how it *pops* with drama!

You can also visit my tutorial at Instructagram.com here.