DIY Mardi Gras Masks for Everyone

Are you looking for a fun and easy activity to do with your children this year for Mardi Gras? Look no further! As you read on you will find instructions for do-it-yourself Mardi Gras masks for the whole family! With a variety of what kind of mask each child or yourself will wear, this will be on the top of your activity list!

Materials Needed
– Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
– Scissors
– Mask templates (links below)
– Embellishments of your choice (feathers, studs, glitter, sequins)
– Kabob Sticks
– Glue
– Hot Glue Gun
– Hot Glue Gun Sticks
– Cardboard
– Camera
– A Great Attitude!!

Directions
1. The first thing you will need to do on your journey to making your own Mardi Gras masks would be to decide what kind of mask you want. Ask yourself and your children a few brief questions for this step. Do you want to have a mask template where you can do whatever you want on it? Do you want a butterfly shaped mask that you can decorate however you want? Or, do you want an eagle mask that you can decorate however you please? This is important. If you have enough materials, you can always make more than one mask! Once your family has made the decision on what kind of masks they want, open these links and print out however many copies you will be needing.
Basic Mask- http://www.dltk-kids.com/t.asp?b=m&t;=http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/mardigras/bmask1.gif
Butterfly Mask- http://www.dltk-kids.com/t.asp?b=m&t;=http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/mardigras/bmask2.gif
Eagle Mask- http://www.dltk-kids.com/t.asp?b=m&t;=http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/mardigras/bmask3.gif

2. Once you have decided which mask you want and they are all printed out, you will need to grab your cardboard and scissors. You don’t need any special kind of cardboard. You can use any kind of cardboard really such as off of a cereal box, or a package of canned pop. You will also need your glue. If you’re using cardboard with ink on one side of it, make sure you glue your mask on the plain side. Cut around your mask and glue it to a blank piece of cardboard. Once it is glued to the cardboard wait for it to dry. After it has been dried, take the initiative yourself to cut out the mask on the cardboard backing so it will stay firm and not break. It is important that parents of young children do this part themselves as they may end up hurting themselves if their not careful enough.

3. Now starts the fun part. Once your mask is cut out completely, you can use any type of colors you want whether it be paint, markers, crayons, or colored pencils. Use whatever is convenient for you and the safety of your children. During this step of your mask, it is pretty self explanatory. Use whatever colors you have to make your mask whatever colors you want it to be. Encourage your children to use Mardi Gras theme colors so they get more of the cultural experience that way.

4. Once you have finished coloring your mask whatever color you want it to be, it is time for the embellishments if you have chosen to use them. You can use any embellishments from feathers, studs, glitter, jewels, and whatever else your children would enjoy. Take your time helping them glue on any embellishments they want so that there’s not too much of a mess when you are finished.

5. Once you and your children have finished with all the embellishments they want on their mask, do not let them do this next step. To ensure that their masks will stand up straight, you will need to hot glue one kabob stick to each mask to either to far left or the far right. This only takes a minute to dry.

6. After the hot glue has dried on their mask stick, give your children the opportunity to add any color or embellishments to it that they want to. This is the final step of creating your mask. You did it!

7. After the masks are finished being created, it is time to pull those cameras out. You will only be how you are for that moment so take many snap shots to remember as you all grow older. It will be fun for children to look back on photos like that one day as it will be touching for parents to look at the photos as they also watch their children grow to be adults.

Enjoy the do-it-yourself mask making and I hope you enjoy your Mardi Gras 2010! Remember to encourage your kids and make the experience fun for them, as they will go on and do for their kids one day!

Sources
DL TK’s Kids Growing Together
www.dltk-kids.com
Topics Searched: Mardi Gras activities, Mardi Gras crafts, Mardi Gras masks