DIY: New Year’s Eve Masquerade

Christmas has collapsed around you and the Post-Holiday Blues are making it so easy to just … Netflix. But then *gasp* … A party invite!! A New Year’s Eve party invite!! And it requires … A mask?!?

Hold on to your spandex, minions!! We are going to blow your night away with the best DIY masquerade costume ever.

If you’re lucky enough to score an invite to a NYE Masquerade Party this week, you must go so I can live vicariously through you. (Read: can’t find a babysitter willing to take on the Spawnlings).

I have the perfect mask for you.

Well, technically Evil Genius Dad found it, but if you give him all the credit I lose my bargaining chip on future negotiations.

Either way: cool mask. Party. Three days. We can do it.

The Mask

The mask originates from Wintercroft. Actually, Steve and Marianne Wintercroft. There is a whole range of animal masks, all variations of a basic geometric structure you can build out of cardboard.

They have been designing these masks for almost three years. The main goal is to design beautiful mask templates that you can then make yourself, using local environmentally friendly resources. Big wins all around.

EG Dad had his Work Christmas Party and originally planned to go with a Venetian-style mask. Just like everybody else.

And then he found Wintercroft. And chose the hardest of all the masks, of course. He did it and we are sharing it with you. Because we are like that.

You Will Need

• A Wintercroft template (purchase from their website or Etsy store);
• Cardboard of your choosing (we chose shiny silver in A4 sheets because it was faster for glueing the templates on the cardboard but not very environmentally friendly);
• The following extra utensils:

The yellow thing? A kiwi-fruit spoon. Just use anything with a defined but blunt point. You want to score cardboard without cutting.

The instructions provided with the template are very straightforward. It is simply a matter of print it out; glue to cardboard; cut it out; match the numbers; sticky-tape.

Yes, sticky-tape. Use the invisible gift-wrapping tape left over from Christmas. Works a treat.

Bonus Tips

A couple of extra tips to help you along.

Use the rulers to keep your folds clean and straight. This will really help with lining up your joins and sticky-taping them together. One ruler above the cardboard and one below, folding up to the first, makes for crisp straight lines.

Don’t forget the headband for inside the mask. It will hold the mask up on your head, keeping it aligned with your eyes.

Make sure you think about aesthetics with your joins. If you have also chosen the elephant, think about the split pins in your trunk

Team your mask with a Little Black Dress or Dinner Jacket, and you’re a winner!! Doesn’t EG Dad look sexy in this? It’s okay. You can say so.

With the more expensive cardboard and all other costs involved, the whole project totalled about $50AUD (about $35USD). This elephant took four nights, around 6 hours in total. Many of the other masks will take less.

Now remember: I need to live my NYE vicariously through you. So come back and share your photos!