Masks are considered a mainstay of the Mardi Gras celebration. Masks are worn at fancy dress balls to street parades, and nightly parties. These masks are of all sizes, shapes, colors, and variety to help adorn the celebration. If you are looking to celebrate Mardi Gras it can be lots of fun to make your own masks. Here are some fun and unique Mardi Gras masks-
• Venetian Masks-This exotic looking mask is easy and fun to make. Be sure to stretch your creative muscles to reflect your own personality.
You will need:
- colored cardstock
- pencil
- glittery pipe cleaners
- Crepe paper
- adhesive stars
- wooden skewer or garden stick
- PVA glue & brush
- Glue stick
- scissors
- pair of glasses, preferably eye-shaped ones
- Paper doily
Instructions for the project: Place the pair of glasses on to the card and draw around them with a pencil. You can add on to your outline fancy curves on both sides of the mask. Cut out the outline with scissors. Apply glue to the front of the card with the brush and press a large piece of crêpe paper on top. Gently smooth out the crêpe paper. When the glue is completely dry, trim around the edges with scissors. The next step is to fold the paper doily in half and cut out the semi-circle in the middle. Unfold the doily and cut in half following the fold line. Carefully pleat one half of the doily so that it looks like a fan. Glue the other half of the doily to the front of the mask using the paper glue. Keep in mind that the cut out semi-circle should be at the top of the mask. Draw eye holes on to the front of the mask and then cut them out. You can then stick colored paper or foil stars around the upper and outer edge of the masks. The next step is to have an adult trim any sharp ends from the wooden skewer or garden stick. You can then tightly wind pipe-cleaners around the skewer to cover it completely. Fix the skewer securely to the back of the mask with PVA glue and leave to dry thoroughly. Cut a rectangle of crêpe paper and then wind a pipe-cleaner around the middle to make a bow. Glue the bow on to the mask and allow to dry completely. At this point you can decorate your mask with sequins and glitter, or even paint the doily gold to match the Carnival colors. Be sure to really let your imagination run wild when decorating your Venetian Mask!