“Baby” Mask

$10 - $15 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one mask

I normally craft my own mask and costume for each haunt to correspond with the theme. Working on a haunted house in 2017 presented me with the opportunity to costume not only myself, but a collection of scare-actors. To achieve this, I made several doll masks for each one to wear and help unify the motif.

• One plastic doll mask
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in cherry cobbler*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in steel gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat white*
• One yard of burlap
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue*
• One to two yards of black yarn
• One yard of orange yarn
• Four buttons

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the mask three coats of black and white paint (use black paint for the areas you plan to cover with burlap). Although I used three coats, you may want more or less depending on your desired coverage.

2. Detail the mask by smudging gray around the eyes, mouth, and nose, stippling steel gray along the edges of the cracks, and accentuating the features with black.

3. Cut a square of fabric from the burlap, cover an area on the mask with glue, and press the cloth down to conform to the mask’s contours. Leave about a one-inch boarder free for the following step. Repeat the process until the areas you desire are covered in patches of burlap.

4. Once the glue has fully dried, sew the patches’ boarders together with the yarn. While I found one inch enough, you may want to leave additional fabric during the previous step to give you more to work with.

5. Trim and fray the seams and along the mask’s edges. I found that a sheet of sandpaper can create an appropriate level of distress.

6. Brush black paint along the fabric to create shadows and age. You may want to experiment with a scrap of burlap before applying the paint to the mask.

7. Apply further details by sewing buttons along the seams, fashioning an eye out of one large button, and crafting hair with yarn. For visual impact, consider using multicolored yarn and a random assortment of buttons.

8. Use cherry cobbler paint to write baby across the mask’s forehead. You want the wording to be haphazard. To achieve this, exaggerate curves, create sharp points, and elongate certain aspects. You could also write letters backwards and deliberately misspell the word. Keep in mind, though, that the word needs to be readable, so try not to overdo your artistic flairs.

9. If the mask did not come with tie strings, you can fabricate some with extra yarn or replace the existing elastic band with a makeshift twine version for additional creepiness.

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.