Halloween Costume Ideas: Tin Foil and Paper Mache Make All the Difference

Halloween is one of my all-time favourite celebrations because it gives me a chance to let my imagination run wild. A Halloween mask is an integral part of any Halloween costume. Why sell yourself short by picking up a Halloween mask at your local department when you can make one instead? Go onâÂ?¦bond with your kids! Mask-making can be fun for you and your kids and you don’t need to be a super-talented artist nor do you need to be a special FX expert. Nor do you need to spend a lot of money. Most of the materials are probably on hand in your home. Above all though, you need two items in particular: tin foil and paper mache’. The rest of the Halloween costume/mask-making process will fall into place.

So let’s make a simple mask for your Halloween costume. You will need:

1) A small box – find one that will fit over your head and another for child. Two shoeboxes taped together is a good start, but I prefer a box with cardboard that s a little bit thicker. Go to a grocery or department store and see what you can pick up. Let me add, that some folks prefer to appl their paper mache’ on a BALLOON: I personally don’t because it the balloon pops early on your in trouble. A box is a bit easier (for me) to work with. But hey, if you want to you a balloon, then go for it. It’s your mask!

2) You need a few days worth of newspapers. Ideally I suggest a weeks worth. Get together with your kids and tear the newspaper into small pieces. That in itself is gonna be a whole lot of fun. Put all the torn up newspaper in a bag an put it off to one side

3) You’ll need a few cups of flour and some water. You guess it. This will be used for the paste to make your paper mache’.

4) A roll or two of tin foil.

Get a big bowl and mix two cups of flour with one cup of water and mix it really good. It needs to become a paste, so add more flour until you come up with something that is not too watery. Now start adding the torn up bits of newspaper. And mix it together really well. I usually mix up a batch as I go along.

Take your box and draw the basics of a face – delineate where the eyes, nose and mouth will be. And cut those spaces out ahead of time. What you should have now is the basics of a mask with holes for your eyes, nose and mouth.

Now comes the fun part: add the paper mache’! Really go to town. Who cares what the end-result will be. Have you kids slop on the paper-paste mixture. Create a big nose, huge cheeks. Large lips. Don’t hold back. I have learned over time, that kids tend to hold back with the paper Mache’. No need to! That’s why you made so much. And here’s another hint: the smaller you tear up your newspaper, the easier it will be to sculpt it into some kind of shape.

This is why it’s important to have a cardboard box that is thicker than normal. Because of the wet nature of the paper mache’ a wimpy old shoe box will collapse when it becomes damp.

O-k. So you have now created a face. You have piled on the paper mache’ on your box and have come up withâÂ?¦who knows! But it’s gonna kick some Halloween butt when it’s painted! Take you box and leave it in the sun to dry. I usually reserve a full day in the sun. When your box-mask is dry you will then be ready to paint.

A simple set of tempera paints is more than sufficient. You can usually purchase a set of primary colours for about 5 dollars. I have found that brushes – if they are purchased separately – can cost more than the paint itself. At a minimum, you’re going to need a wide brush (2 inches) and a fine tip for painting small details. Cheap ones shouldn’t be more than a dollar each at the most.

There are no rules for Halloween costumes and masks. The point is to have fun. Put on a base colour first. Is your creature from Mars? A Monster? Does it need flesh-coloured skin or skin that is green? Only you and your kids know for sure.

So paint that mask and ad some blood or whatever. Then let it dry again. I’ve had extra fun by buying a cheap wig and adding hair. It’s just a suggestion.

When the mask has dried (again) double check the eye, nose and mouth holes. You or your kids may have innocently covered them up with paper-mache’.

You’re probably wondering what to do with the tin foil. Tin foil is a great item to have if you’re making aliens or if you need to make antennas. If you want to make the tin-man from hell your gonna need some tin foil.

Now the next big decision is the rest of the costume. Do you want an old-reliable sheet draped over your body? Or do you want to slip into some baggy clothes? It all depends on what type of character you have created.

Your kids need to take an active part in this. I have yet to see a Halloween come and go when my daughter and her friends didn’t get deep in to the whole process of making paper Mache’ and having free reign for creating a mess. Your kids will have the same sense of wonder I’m sure.

I need to stress that there are no rules for what your kids create. That’s the great thing about Halloween costumes and masks. The sky is the limit. So go ahead. Get a box and some old newspapers and knock yourself out this Halloween! It doesn’t take much to create a Trick or Treat that will be memorableâÂ?¦.and scary!