Venetian masks
These wonderful masks from the Carnevale di Venezia are both beautiful and mysterious at the same time.
Whether elegant-looking in black and gold or conspicuously colourful, you can custom-make your mask to match your costume.
Instructions: Venetian Masks
1 Put 200 g of papier-mâché into a bowl, add approx. 600 ml of cold water, mix to a dough and then knead well. About 3 masks can be made out of this quantity.
2 Roll the papier-mâché out between two layers of clingfilm to an approx. 6-8 mm thick sheet. Then remove the top layer of clingfilm.
3 Position the cut-out template on top and go around the edges using the wide modelling tool. Remove any excess material and made holes for the elastic. Left-over bits of papier-mâché can be wrapped up tightly in clingfi lm. This keeps the material pliable for days so it can be used again at a later date.
4 Wrap clingfilm all the way around the approx. Ø 18 cm saucepan. For the nose, fold a paper tissue as illustrated and stick it onto the saucepan. Add sticky tape on top.
5 Leaving the mask on the clingfilm, place it on the saucepan. Ensure that the nose is in the middle and the holes for the eyes are on the same level as the root of the nose.
6 Smooth over the surface and edges using moist fingertips or the modelling tool. Leave the mask on the saucepan to dry.
7 Once it has dried thoroughly, the surface can be smoothened using sandpaper and the edges can be gone over with a file.
8 Then apply size for leaf metal and leave to dry a little. Add the leaf metal carefully and dab it on using a soft brush.
9 Before decorating, apply a coat of gloss varnish for leaf metal and sprinkle some gold glitter over it. When this has dried, stick the lace, feather boa and sequined ribbon on with glue. To finish off, add a length of elastic corresponding to the size of your head and knot it at each side.
Tips:
Position the chosen decorative elements on the mask first. Shorten, e.g., the feather boa to the right size. Pull some thread through the lace to ruffle it first and then adjust it to the right length. Apply the glue evenly and remember that fabric absorbs glue, so you will need to use more than you normally would on paper. If using feathers, tie them together into a bundle
first using a length of thread. Use a toothpick to make the holes for the elastic.
Photo, text and template for the masks: Staedtler GmbH