Make Your Own Halloween Masks

Although there are plenty of cool Halloween masks you can buy, sometimes they just don't fit into the budget. Or if you have a spur-of-the-moment Halloween office party and you need a costume quickly, a fast and easy solution is in order. The answer is to make masks from the artwork below! All you need is a good printer, some cardstock and string to tie the mask around your head and you'll have a costume in just a few minutes.

These masks were made with the free online image application, Picnik. I believe they were actually created to layer over photos, so you can doctor them up and have fun with them, but when I saw them I knew they would also make great full-sized masks.

Here are the instructions to make the Halloween masks:

1. Download the mask you like from the choices below (right-click and choose "Save As" if you're on a PC). Choose from a cat, a skull, a devil, a ladybug, a bee, a clown, a pirate, a pumpkin or Frankenstein by clicking on the smaller version of the mask. That will cause it to enlarge so you can download it.
2. Measure the width of your head from temple to temple with a ruler.
3. Paste the mask into a Word document and adjust it to the size you determined your head to be.
4. Print a draft copy of the mask on plain paper in black and white so you can make sure the size will fit before printing the real mask. Make sure the eye holes will be in relatively the right place, so when you cut them out, you'll be able to see. If the eye holes are off, you can either adjust the size of the mask or just cut the holes in different locations when you get to that step.
5. When you're happy with the size, print a color copy on the heaviest cardstock your printer will allow. Check your printer documentation to find out how heavy the card stock can be. Be sure to put the printer on the setting that will produce the highest quality results.
6. Once printed, cut around the mask carefully, using scissors. Be especially careful if you make the cat mask, because you have to cut around the whiskers! If you happen to cut them off (or even if you don't), you can glue pipe cleaners where the whiskers should be.The same is true of the pirate's eye patch, which can be reinforced with a pipe cleaner.
7. It's best to cut the eye holes with a craft knife (although scissors can be used in a pinch). If you don't have a cutting board from the craft store or your kitchen, you can use a heavy piece of cardboard instead. Just make sure that whatever you use is thick enough to protect the surface underneath.
8. When the mask and eye holes are completely cut out, use a hole puncher, craft knife or the point of a scissors to make a hole on either side for string. Cut two 2-foot pieces of string and loop and tie them through each hole. Be careful! If you pull too hard you will tear the mask. For extra strength, you can put plain white glue around the hole and on the string knot. Just be sure to not apply it too thickly and use glue that dries clear.
9. Go have some fun with your new mask!

Choose a small version of any of the masks above the large image. When you click on one of the images, it will appear larger. Right-click and choose "Save As" if you're on a PC.