Make a Balloon Mask

Things you need:

A big balloon
Adhesive
Bowl of water
Poster colours, sketch pen,
paint brushes
A knife
Thread
A screwdriver
An old newspaper.

Step1

Blow the balloon and tie it with a string. Then draw a line on it with a sketch pen, dividing the balloon into two equal halves.

Step 2

Now tear the newspaper into small bits. Dip the torn bits in water and place them on any one side of the balloon.

Stick three layers of wet paper on the balloon, placing them over each other.

Spread adhesive evenly on the wet paper. Mix some adhesive in the water and put more paper bits into it. Place several more layers of these bits on the balloon. You should put at least six layers in the second round.

After placing the last layer of wet paper bits on the balloon, smoothen it with your hands to make it an even surface.

Step 3

Keep the balloon to dry at room temperature. It may take a day or more for the paper to dry completely.

After drying, the size of the balloon will reduce. Remove the balloon. A stiff bowl-like container will come out. Now it is ready to become a mask.

Step 4

Now you have to draw a face on the bowl to make the mask. Draw eyes, nose and mouth with a sketch pen. Give whatever expressions you want to the mask.

With a heated knife, cut out the paper from the area where you have drawn the eyes. This way you can see through the mask when you wear it.

Make two holes on the mask where the ears should be with a heated screwdriver.

Step 5

Now paint the mask any colour you want. We opted for brown. Let the paint dry. It will take between half-an-hour to forty-five minutes.

To give a strong and bright coat of paint, mix some adhesive with the colour and then apply on the mask.

You can make the mask as dramatic as you want. Use your imagination. Make the face of the devil or make a doll, a fairy or a clown.

Your mask has been made. All you need to do is to put a string through the holes on either side of the mask and wear it.

388 words | 3 minutes
Readability:
Based on Flesch–Kincaid readability scores

Filed under: craft activities
Tags: #strings, #paint

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