Masquerade Masks Made for Kids

Materials and Tools:

cardboard
pencil
scissors
newspapers
white glue
bowl
paint
glitter
feathers
string or dowel rod

Steps:

1. Clear a clean work area where your family won't mind you getting messy.

2. Cut a piece of cardboard to match the shape of your face or the person you are making the mask for.

3. Have an adult place the cardboard form over your face and with a pencil, trace the position of the eyes, lips, nose and chin so you can have an exact placement for the cutouts.

4. Cut holes into the cardboard for the eyes, mouth and nose.

5. Pour three parts white glue into a bowl and one part water to make it a little runny.

6. Tear newspaper into strips.

7. Dip one piece of newspaper at a time into the glue bowl.

8. Hold the newspaper strip over the bowl and run the excess glue off the strip.

9. Stick the newspaper strip over your mask forms and smooth it down with your fingers to remove air bubbles.

10. Completely cover your forms with the layers of newspaper strips and make sure they are overlapping each other. When you get to the face holes in your mask, make sure the newspaper goes over those edges to smooth them out.

11. Add more layers of newspaper to your mask to build up the contours of your face, like your eyebrows, nose and lips.

12. After you have covered your mask with the layers of newspaper strips and you are happy with the shape of your mask, let it dry for one whole day.

13. Now you can decorate your papier-maché masks with paint, glitter and feathers to create your perfect look.

14. If you'd like to hold the mask to your face, glue it to the end of a long, skinny, wooden dowel rod. If you want to wear it, ask an adult to poke holes at the edges and tie some string to through the holes to secure it to the back of your head.