Nowadays, a large part of the toys displayed on the shelves of our stores are made in China. They are made mainly of melamine. This is the kind of material from which it is forbidden to sell disposable tableware in Russia. This same melamine is even more dangerous to the body than formaldehyde. Having bought a mask from such material, you can immediately get an allergic rash, and subsequently various diseases. It is better to make the mask yourself, then the materials will certainly be environmentally friendly, and the mask will be safe and comfortable.
Instructions
Step 1
Making a papier-mâché mask is very simple. You only need to have a few unnecessary newspapers, wallpaper glue or PVA, and plasticine. First, make a shape for the future mask out of plasticine. You can use old glasses, such as sunglasses, by taking them as a base and gluing them with plasticine. You will get a three-dimensional shape.
Step 2
Tear the newspaper into small pieces, then moisten them in water and glue them over the plasticine blank. Sculpt the paper tightly, smooth the pieces on the workpiece with your fingers. Coat the resulting layer with glue, and then apply three more of the same layers, using glue in front of each of the layers. Wait until the paper dries (about an hour). Then apply four or five more coats in the same way and dry again. Finally, glue a couple of layers of heavy white paper.
Step 3
After the mask has dried, separate it from the plasticine and cut it to size. Then paint the mask (preferably with gouache) and, if desired, glue over with decorations such as rain, beads, fringes, and so on.
Step 4
If you spend more time gluing on the layers of paper, you can get a thicker mask and then sand it with sandpaper to a perfectly flat surface. After that, covered with varnish, the mask looks incomparable.
Step 5
Finally, cut two slits around the edges of the mask for elastic or colorful ribbon ties.
Step 6
This technology is old enough, but far from forgotten. You can also make a mask from modern vinyl plastic yourself, but this process is technically more complicated. In addition, a special burner is required to work with vinyl plastic. If you use a home gas stove instead of a burner, then you can inadvertently burn something.
Step 7
Papier-mâché is generally a universal technique that allows you to make not only masks, but also beautiful dolls, paper beads, Christmas decorations and much, much more.
