My sister is attending a masked ball soon. I was asked to provide the mask. I'm not sure of the exact date of the ball, but it's fairly soon. Not wanting to leave it too late, I started working on it this week. This is not the first time I've made a mask in this style. Several years ago the husband and I held a small New Years Eve party, and I made masks for us all. More for decoration on the table than anything else. I thought they'd long been thrown out, but I clearly like to hang on to things, and found the gold mask. It must be at least 5 or 6 years old now.
I dismantled it so I could use it as a template.Not knowing what my sister would be wearing, I thought I'd play safe, and chose a white/cream/silver-with-a-hint-of-pink colour scheme.
The base was made from a shoe box lid (a good sturdy one). I covered it in a few layers of cream tissue paper, then added layer upon layer of white glitter. Love how simple that sounds, but in Real Life it took a couple of days to really build up the glittery coverage. Before adding the final white glitter layer, I gave the eyes silver glitter eyeliner. Once dried (and to soften the look a bit), I gave it a final layer of white glitter. Then I left it to dry overnight. Next was trimming the top and edge. I wanted to have a glittery frill along the top but had nothing suitable to use.
This must be an idea that people do all the time, but it's not something I'd thought of before. I had some peachy coloured lace which I flattened out on a piece of plastic, then dabbed with glue to both hold it in place and give a sticky base. Then I sprinkled with glitter. It was totally experimental, and I had no idea if it would work, but it worked really well. I left to dry, the flipped over and did the same on the other side.
The end result is a pretty well covered piece of glittery lace, slightly stiff, but still easy to manipulate. I used it along the top of the mask, then went around the outside with a piece of silver/pink twisted cord. This was then left overnight to dry thoroughly. 
I thought the feathers were a nice touch, and glued those in place at the back before finishing off the back of the mask.The handle is made from a slim piece of garden cane, covered with tightly wound satin ribbon. Super strong glue was used to attach to the back of the mask. Before adding the back covering, I went around the eyes with black glitter, just for a bit of drama. White felt covers the back for neatness and to give the handle a bit of added security.
This is how the back looks ...
To finish off, I lined around the eyes with silver paint (the sort that you can use on glass), then stuck on a few sparkly diamante stones in the corner of the eyes and at various points around the mask.The finished mask ...
These would make a lovely addition to any Halloween costume, or for a party to celebrate the New Year. Easy to make, just a tad time consuming as they need lots of drying out time. In a fit of sisterly telepathy (or lucky coincidence!), I found out yesterday that my sister has bought a silver-grey evening dress to wear! How spooky is that?!