DIY
D•I•Y HALLOWEEN MASKS
Dinosaurs and fairies
and scaries, oh my!
BY HEATHER M. ROSS
HALLOWEEN IS COMING
and costumes line the shelves of every
supermarket and Halloween store, but
sometimes the best costumes need a
personal touch. Here are our instructions
for how you can make a spectacular
and captivating Halloween mask with
your child.

YOU’LL NEED:
• A child-sized plain
masquerade mask
• Paint (tempera)
• Solid tempera paint markers (the
washable kind!) or a permanent marker
• A foam brush or sponge
• Optional: Stick-on gems or glitter.

STEP 1:
Choose a design. For ours, we chose dino-
saur and fairy themes, but these steps will
work for any simple design.

Tip: Be sure to involve your child in this
process! Children tend to enjoy things much
more when they feel they have a part in it.

STEP 2:
Remove the thread from the mask before
you begin decorating. This will make the
mask easier to handle and keep the elastic in
good shape.

pink around the eyes for the fairy mask and
speckled in the upper right and left corners.

For the dinosaur mask, we created blocky,
natural shapes to look like dinosaur skin.

Wait for these marks to dry.

STEP 3:
Apply the paint and create texture. Simply
painting it on with the foam brush like a tra-
ditional paintbrush will leave streaks that
might look unnatural. Instead, gently dab
the paint on. For the dinosaur mask, we used
a plastic grocery bag dipped in paint to cre-
ate a rough texture for the base of the mask.

We used swooping brush strokes with the
foam brush for the fairy mask, making lay-
ered curves. Wait for this layer to dry.

Note: The textured look will take longer to dry,
but it will be worth it!
STEP 5: (FAIRY MASK ONLY)
Make little dots of glue around the speckles
of paint in the upper right and left corners.

Then, apply glitter of your choice gener-
ously. After a minute or two, shake the excess
glitter off and allow the glue to dry fully.

STEP 6: (FAIRY MASK ONLY)
Apply the stick-on gems to the center of
the forehead area. We used three but feel
free to do as many or as few as you’d like.

Then, add a few around the eyes.

STEP 7:
Tip: Don’t check for dryness with your fingers.

Re-thread the masks.

Wait until the paint no longer looks shiny or wet.

Tip: You can allow your child to apply the
glitter, but supervise them closely to ensure
STEP 4:
glitter doesn’t end up on everything else.

Next, we’ll create highlights on the masks
using the tempera paint markers. We used
Enjoy your masks! T
PHOTOS BY HEATHER M. ROSS
Tip: Buy
one child-sized
mask and one
adult-sized mask to
do this craft along
with your child!
11 Washington FAMILY OCTOBER 2022