Make a Halloween Mask with Kids
Halloween Costume Mask Paper Mache Craft Project
Aug 25, 2009 Joanne E. Brannan
Fire children’s imagination with this creative Halloween mask project. Paper mache is delightfully simple, and messy enough to keep small hands happy!
Plan the Halloween Mask Design
Encourage kids to think about the design they would like to make. Take a look at pictures of Halloween characters together, and encourage them to be realistic about a suitable design. Halloween fun can be educational too!
How to Make a Halloween Mark with Paper Mache
The materials for a Halloween face mask are simple and cheap:
- Plentiful newspaper.
- Wall paper paste or flour and water paste.
- Balloons.
- Paints, ideally acrylic paints suitable for kids.
- Lengths of elastic to fit the completed masks.
How to Make a Basic Halloween Mark with Paper Mache
Once the materials are assembled, allow a few days to complete the project:
- Put aprons on the kids and cover a large table with newspaper or a waterproof tablecloth.
- Inflate a balloon to be slightly larger than the size of each child’s head.
- Tear strips of news paper and dip them in them in the glue. Leave for a moment or two, but do not leave to soak otherwise they become soggy and unworkable.
- Smooth the glue-covered strips of paper over the front, top and sides of the balloon.
- Once two or three layers of paper have been built up, leave the mask to dry. A wide, shallow cylinder made of card makes a useful stand.
- Repeat the process of adding paper and drying until the mask is sufficiently sturdy, at which point leave until fully dry, then pop the balloon.
Adding Facial Features to a Paper Mache Halloween Mask
Add shaped card features to the mask along with the newspaper layers. The nose is the crucial feature of any Halloween Mask. Begin to build up the nose with card shapes such as a folded piece of card or a piece of cardboard egg carton, and fix into place by covering with strips of glue covered newspaper.
Other features that are fun to build include chin, mouth, warts, teeth and horns!
Finishing Touches to a Home Made Halloween mask
Use a sharp craft knife to cut eye holes: this is, of course, a job for an adult!
Paint the mask with acrylic paints, adding details such as eyes and mouth. Using sturdy non toxic glue add hair of wool, straw or paper shreddings, teeth of card, eyes of halved table tennis balls. The final features of a home crafted Halloween Mask are limited only by the imagination!
Fit the Halloween face mask with a length of elastic tied to small holes on either side of the mask.
Related Articles
Readers may also enjoy Halloween Finger Foods and Drinks along with Free Halloween Shapes for Cookies and Decorations.
To make any Halloween party go with a bang, hiss, scream and a howl, why not Create a Scary Halloween Soundtrack?
How to Make a Witch Halloween Mask
|
How to Make a Wolf Halloween Mask
|
What do you think about this article?
Comments
More in Partners & Parents
Latest Articles