Lucia Mask

$30 - $40 (based on 2025 prices) 
Makes one mask

I bought several horned masks during 2024’s after-season clearance sales because I needed the horns for some projects and it was cheaper to purchase the masks than it was to buy the horns by themselves. I didn’t want to waste the masks, so I decided to create a few interesting pieces drawing inspiration from opera. For this version, I made a mask of Lucia from Lucia di Lammermoor. In the opera, Lucia is engaged to be married to Lord Arturo but is in love with Lord Edgardo. On the night of her wedding, she kills her husband and, drenched in his blood, descends the stairs telling Edgardo they can now be together. The mask represents that scene and Lucia’s insanity that ensues after. 

• One 7” x 5” plastic face mask
• One sheet of white copy paper with the lyrics to “Il Dolce Suono” printed on it
• One 4 oz. bottle of decoupage medium
• Sixteen artificial flowers in a variety of colors and sizes
• Fifty artificial leaves
• One cameo brooch
• Two four-inch strings of pearls (or one eight-inch string cut in half)
• One chained pendant
• One 0.3 fluid ounce bottle of red food coloring*
• One 4 oz. bottle of clear, all-purpose tacky glue gel*
• Three decorative stick pins
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*

1. Remove the horns from the mask and save them for another project. Then, trace the outline of the openings onto a sheet of cardboard, cut them out, and glue them into the space once occupied by the horns. Because I was repurposing a mask from another project, this step was necessary to give the mask a solid structure; however, you can skip this stage by purchasing a mask without any holes.

2. Tear apart the copy paper, isolating individual words or lines, and cover the entire surface of the mask with the pieces. This process works best if you move in stages: apply a layer of decoupage medium to one section, press the paper down until it sticks, and repeat the process. If you want to add an additional level of age once the paper has dried, you can water down brown acrylic paint and brush it over the mask.

3. Create a floral crown along the upper edge of the mask, leaving a one-inch section in the middle free for the brooch. For visual interest, refrain from clustering flowers with the same color and size together. Following this, give the crown additional bulk and by gluing clusters of leaves around the blooms, reserving a few leaves for step four.  

4. Glue the brooch in the space between the flowers and flank it with the remaining leaves. What detail you decide to use is entirely up to your chosen aesthetic. You can add a decorative pendant or locket for an alternate look.  

5. Glue a string of pearls above each eye, hiding the ends in the foliage. You want them to dangle down but not obstruct the wearer’s view, so you may need to adjust the length of the stands to fit the size of your mask.  

6. Glue the pendant near the eye and hide the end of the chain in the foliage. Like step four, what you use is based on your theme. You can substitute the pendant for a crystal or diamond attached to a chain or skip this step entirely.  

7. In a plastic container (because the food coloring will stain, use something disposable or that you won’t mind dying), pour in your desired amount of clear glue gel and slowly add red food coloring to the solution until it reaches the sanguine hue you desire. Then, on a newspaper-lined surface, splatter the mask with the blood. I packed a straw with the liquid and used it to blow the blood onto the mask; however, you can dip a spoon or paintbrush into the mixture and fling it on the mask.  

8. Accent the mask with the stick pins, nestling them among the flowers. As with all of the decorative items used for this prop, you can replace them with objects that match your aesthetic. Likewise, you can increase or decrease how much of these embellishments you use.  

9. To give the mask a finished look, paint the inside black and apply at least two coats of decoupage medium to serve as a sealer and prevent the paint from rubbing off while wearing it. This is entirely optional, especially if the mask is meant only for your wear; however, if you plan to sell the mask or give it as a gift, this adds a level of professionalism.  

10. If the mask did not come with a means to fasten it to the wearer’s head, you can create ties with white ribbon to match the white paper covering its surface.

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