Creative Squad

Hello from my Creative Squad! Today we have a post from Judi Kauffman who is kicking off our new monthly theme for us: Masquerade Party – Let’s play with disguises, the technique of masking, or maybe creating a bit of mystery this month. Not everything is what it seems, and it can be an interesting artistic trick to obscure or reveal in your artwork.

I love Halloween! How could anyone NOT embrace a holiday that’s all about costumes, cards and candy? When I heard about the theme for this month’s Creative Squad projects – Masquerade Party – I knew right away what I wanted to do: stenciled masks! I dug into my craft stash, found some cheap wooden masks that I’d purchased ages ago, picked a pair of stencils, got out the paints and I was off and running…

If you can’t find masks like these, hand- or die-cut your own from mat board or chipboard. There are many free mask templates available online.

Let’s get started:

Paint masks with black gesso.

For the crown: Mask a curved area above the eyes.

Brush the masks with a metallic paint in a color of your choice. 

Position stencils as shown or as you prefer and use a stencil brush with metallic and black paints to add patterns.

TIPS: 
*Look for portions of the stencils that please your eye, like the section forming the dog’s nose!
*Layer the paints: Stencil in black on black (like the lower section of the crown mask), stencil in black over previously stenciled bronze (like on the dog’s face).
* Add smudged-on black paint to the crown to tone it down and give it an antique look.

Embellish masks with adhesive-backed gems and glitter dot stickers.

Other options:
Remove the sticks and hang or frame the masks as wall art. 
Stencil lightweight paper masks and adhere into an art journal.
Stencil small scale masks onto card fronts.

Thank you Judi – I love the opulence of these masks and also how carefully you chose the placement of the stencils.

Give it a try: you can find all my Stencils in my Online Shop and here are some of the supplies Judi used:

Like what you see? Follow the Creative Squad on Instagram for weekly posts, artwork, and inspiration.

Nat