The Robin's Nest Masquerade Contest

Hey there, Robin's Nest fans.  So glad you stopped by today.  Have you heard about the Robin's Nest Masquerade Contest?  Ever since I went to Venice for a vacation last year, I have been dying to make my very own mask, and this gave me the push I needed.  You still have time to enter for chances to win some fabulous gift certificates to The Robin's Nest store.  To help inspire you, I have a piece I would like to share with you, and a few tips and techniques I used to help you make or cover your own mask.  I started with a blank paper maché mask from my local craft store.  And here is my finished piece.

Supplies used:

The Robin's Nest:  Silver Glitter Swirl on Black card stock,  Red Glitter Swirl on Red card stock,  Gold Glitter Swirl on Creme card stock, Ruby Red Diamond dew drops
Sizzix dies:  Snowflake Rosettes, Mini Snowflake Rosettes
Gold german paper scrap (decorative border)
Ruby metallic cream
German Silver gilder's paste
Charcoal acrylic paint
Black pleated ribbon
Black tinsel twine (Tim Holtz)
Miscellaneous ribbons and yarns

Directions:

Trim a piece of Silver Glitter Swirl on Black card stock to 4-1/2" x 12".  Spritz paper heavily on both sides with water to saturate the paper and break down the fibers.  This will make the paper more pliable.

Apply a coat of bookbinding or white glue to half of the mask front and gently adhere the damp paper.  When you reach the middle of the mask, you need to make a pleat or fold in the center to straighten the paper up again so it will fold over the nose and cover the second half.

Apply a coat of bookbinding or white glue to the second half of the mask front and gently adhere the damp paper.  Gently tear the pleat you made and finish glueing it down carefully.  I have found that torn paper will make a less noticeable seam.

Allow paper to dry before trimming off excess.

Because of the curvature of this particular mask, it was a bit tricky cutting around the eyeholes with scissors alone, but a little perseverance, a sharp craft knife, and an emery board to sand off any imperfections made the task manageable.

At this point, I painted the back of the mask with a charcoal acrylic paint to give a finished look.


Glue black pleated ribbon around the mask, and black lace along the top.  Add gold leaf trim to top pleats, and red trim to bottom pleats.  Gather a bunch of ribbons, yarns and trims and attach to the left side of the mask.  I painted a wooden dowel with charcoal acrylic paint, and when dry, rubbed German Silver gilder's paste over it.  Then glued that to the back, beneath the bunch of ribbons.

Die cut two large rosettes from  Red Glitter Swirl on Red card stock, and two small rosettes from Gold Glitter Swirl on Creme card stock.  Follow directions to make each rosette.  Stack small rosette on top of large rosette.  Adhere one rosette to each side of the mask, embellishing with a metal fleur de lys brad and metal bead trims, as shown.

I hope you enjoyed my mask project, and that I have inspired you to give it a go yourself.  All you need to do is post the picture of your project on the Robin's Nest Facebook Page and you will be entered to win.  It's as easy as that.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you will check the Robin's Nest blog for more inspiration and information on the contest.

Happy Halloween!  (It's almost here, you know.)

Barbara