Rip a few pages of newspaper or magazine pages. You can also use all those coupon papers that come in the mail. If you are having trouble ripping the strips of paper, try rotating the paper 90 degrees. It’s much easier to rip nice long strips of paper when you are ripping along the grain. If you are using glossy coated pages like in a magazine, then you’ll have to soak each strip a few seconds longer in the flour solution. The number of paper strips depends on the size of the face you are making a mask on. It’s better to have more than you think you’ll need. To prevent the dried flour from sticking to the skin and hair, you will need to coat the edges of the hairline, eyebrows, and upper lip with Vaseline or aloe gel. When you’ve slathered your friend with goo, it’s time to start covering the face with strips. First, lay wide strips along the jawline, forehead and the bridge of the nose. These are the foundation for your mask. To create nose holes, you’ll need to lay a thin strip over the bridge of the nose. Fold a small strip of paper in half after it has been soaked. Fold again if needed to fit the width of the septum (the septum is the skin between your nostrils). This strip of paper should reach from the top of the nose to the top lip. Cover the upper lip and the bridge of the nose with horizontal strips to secure. Make an ‘X’ between the eyes with long strips of paper. Let your mask dry overnight. It may seem pretty dry after a few hours, but it really needs to be left alone overnight to create a nice, hard shell. Once it is dry, you can cut the eye, nose and mouth holes to form frowns, smiles or whatever you like. What you do with your mask is now up to you. If you want to paint it, use acrylic paints. Watercolor paint will not be thick enough to cover the words and pictures on the newspaper pages. For masks with horns, teeth, wrinkles or other solid features, you can mold additional paper mache onto the mask when it’s done.
