Wednesday, October 14, 2020

Halloween Elegance


It is time for the new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. Sara Emily, who is hosting this one has named it Purple, Orange, Green! Eek! It's Halloween! and describes it this way:

I love Halloween, and I would love to see your vintage or shabby chic Halloween creations, whether it be a card, tag, canvas, or any other make! If Halloween is not your cup of tea, simply use the colors purple, orange and green on your project to play along.

I haven't really been into Halloween since I was a kid although I did attempt to go for it when my daughter was little for her sake. I even went as far as making her costumes with the pirate being the least successful (it was the badly done face make-up) and a Rainbow Bright costume being the most successful despite the hours and hours of sewing.  In the past few years the only effort I made was to buy treats for the few kids that come to the door and to ensure that the treats were something my husband would eat for months following. This year because of the pandemic I am not even going that far. I don't know if they plan to ban traditional Halloween activities but even if they don't I will not be turning the porch light on and will not be opening the door until this virus takes a hike.

So for Sara Emily's challenge I was going to go the three colour route and make something non-Halloween but then I remembered that I had a mask in a box of kid-friendly craft supplies. It was actually a full face mask made of cardboard that I bought very cheaply at Michaels eons ago. I thought it might be fun to alter it and make an elegant mask much like the Venetian Masks.


I started by cutting down the mask to create the shape I wanted - easy to do with a kraft knife. The next step was to cover it roughly with texture paste. Then I convinced my husband to cut two identical spider webs from a cracker box and I glued them together to make them thicker but still bendable.


The spider web was then glued to the mask along with a bunch of paper flowers.


Everything was then given a generous coat of Heavy Black Gesso.


A row of purple sequins was glued around the edge of the mask and the eyes. Then the sequins and all the flowers were rubbed with Amethyst Antique Brilliance Wax Paste. I found a sparkly spider in my stash and covered it with watered-down PVA glue and then sprinkled a mixture of Orange, Green and Purple fine glitter on it before I adhered it to the mask.

The final touches on my mask were to add some black feathers, green gems and purple sheer ribbon ties.

I have no idea what I am going to do with this mask but perhaps when it is safe to do Halloween again, my Granddaughter might like it assuming it is safe before she is too old to go out trick or treating - that isn't a negative thought just a realistic one since she is already 14.

I hope you will share your Halloween or Non-Halloween project with us. The challenge can be found HERE and runs until 11:55 pm EDT on Tuesday, October 27th. One randomly chosen winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their top four picks with the overall winner receiving an opportunity to be a guest designer at a future date.

Supplies list:

Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Matte INK44444
Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair - Antique Brilliance - Amethyst Magic
Prima Art Basics - Heavy Gesso - Black or use Dina Wakley Media Mediums - Black Gesso - 4 oz. Jar MDM41719
Black Feathers
Green Gems
Sheer Purple Ribbon
Purple Sequin String
Cardboard Face Mask

4 comments:

  1. Brilliant, as someone who really enjoys working on masks I know what a great platform they are for mixed media. Your simple use of texture, and those gorgeous flowers is inspired and looks awesome. I don't just love it, I respect this piece. x

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  2. WOWZERS! I love this... I immediately thought Phantom of the Opera! Gorgeous mask from a kid friendly craft! Beautiful!

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  3. Cec, your elegant, but slightly spooky mask looks as if it's been crafted by a professional mask-maker or even a milliner. I really am gob smacked over this (to borrow a word or two from Kathy), and I'm so impressed with the texture and details you've added. I'm wondering if you had the foresight to wear gloves before coloring this with the wax. Bravo!

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  4. This is such a clever way to tackle the Halloween theme Cec with a masquerade mask that could well come in useful once the pandemic is over. The cluster of flowers looks fabulous with the feathers, web and spider, and the textured effect you've achieved on the mask itself looks cool with the matte black colour xx

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Cec