Last-minute costume idea: Make a mask!

Need a quick costume for a Halloween party or New Year’s Eve masquerade? Want to look like less of a muggle at Comicon?

Few items transform your look as instantly as a mask.

Pick up a some supplies at the craft store (or hunt around your house), and you can be in disguise in an hour!

Basic supply list (this is what came in the Brit Kits we used to do this project at CraftHack):

Blank mask
Stiffened felt
VELCRO® Brand Sticky Back for Fabrics (so you can change up your mask for different costumes!)
Glitter glue

Additional supplies (people also added stuff from their stashes):

Patterned paper
Ultra-fine tipped Sharpies
Feathers
Paint

Tools:

Scissors
Foam brush (to spread glitter glue)

I forgot to bring the scissors to our CraftHack meetup. So everyone had to share this small pair that Eileen happened to have. And I felt the wrath. Even though I brought cake.

Moral of the story: Do NOT come between crafters and their scissors. Cake will not save you.

There are instructions on Brit + Co, but there are so many possibilities with this project!

Here’s what the creative minds at our CraftHack group came up with.

Erika finished her Cleopatra mask at home and snapped a selfie for us!

Check out our mask inspiration post for more ideas!

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Final photo by Erika Hunt.

A big thanks to Brit + Co and Velcro Companies for providing the Brit Kits with supplies for this project!

October 6, 2014November 24, 2018

DIY Mask Inspiration and Microblogging

Microblog Mondays

Melissa of Stirrup Queens had a fabulous idea to help people get back to blogging called Microblog Mondays. Basically, you post something to your own site/blog that you’d normally just post to social media. It can be short and sweet – the key is to get something posted and not overthink it. (Read more and join up on her site.)

Even though I do blog regularly, this made me think about all the content that ends up scattered across my social sites and never ends up here. I’m going to experiment with using Mondays for this type of quick reads, starting today with a roundup of masks that otherwise would’ve just lived on my Pinterest.

Mask decoration inspiration

At CraftHack next Monday (10/13), we’ll be decorating Halloween masks courtesy of Brit + Co and Velcro Companies. That sent me looking for mask decorating ideas. Here are some I found.

Example masks made with the Brit Kit.

Matching swirl masks from Masque Boutique.

Nature masks from a BHG contest.

Venetian masks from Carta Alta.

Downloadable mask template on A Subtle Revelry.

August 22, 2014September 3, 2014

DIY Embroidered Watches and Ribbon Backdrop

First: orange or lime green?

They’re both bright, citrusy colors, so I don’t know what – if anything – each person’s color pick said about their personality. But, by the end of the night, everyone at our Craft Hack gathering had a chance to put their own creative stamp on their project.

You may have seen our craft for this month on our Facebook page. This time, it came in Brit Kits, provided by Timex and Brit + Co (who I am a contributor for). After choosing their color, each person received a kit that included a Timex Weekender Slip-Thru watch with a band that was either orange or lime, coordinating embroidery floss, needles, and instructions with sample patterns.

Everyone could work at their own pace. We shared tips and drew ideas from each other. The kit patterns got the creative juices going, and then I think all 9 of us ended up coming up with our own designs.

Shannon and her fiancé (the lone guy of the group) teamed up, mixing and matching thread colors. He was also the one-man research team. Anne wanted to base her pattern on the traditional Russian Orthodox cross symbol, and he found one to reference. Inspired by nature, Jo Ann created a beautiful leaf pattern, and Vesna embroidered flowers. Crystal has been hand lettering a public art project, so she has ampersands on the brain lately. One found its way onto her watch.

Ribbon backdrop

Since I knew we’d be meeting in the dark-walled conference room, I wanted to add a little color. I threw together a last-minute ribbon backdrop (inspired by these) by looping random colors of gift wrap ribbon over baker’s twine and securing with tape.

What I learned about making backdrops:

You can use Washi tape to secure your twine to the wall without making holes, but you’ll need tape every few inches to keep it up. Pushpins may be a better bet.
Make sure to put your backdrop in an area with enough space for the subjects and photographer to stand in front of it!
Don’t be afraid to tell people to move over to be better centered, etc.

A few people had to leave before the group photo, but most of us managed to cram in, showing off orange watches, green watches, and products of our imagination.

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Group photo by a passerby at Gangplank. Last watch photo by Vesna Taneva-Miller.

June 11, 2014

Nutella brownie bites

To celebrate Travelcraft Journal’s 1st year and to thank a very supportive group of smart, crafty people, I brought Nutella brownie bites to Craft Hack on Monday.

They were super simple to make. The truth is, with all the Phoenix Comicon craziness over the weekend, I had almost forgotten I was even going to make something. Thank goodness I had pinned this little gem at some point last year.

The recipe calls for just 3 ingredients (4 if you add sprinkles or hazelnuts on top): eggs, flour, Nutella. What I had on hand was actually non-Nutella-brand hazelnut spread that we had decided to try awhile back. Its thinner consistency wasn’t great on toast but turned out to be fabulous for mixing into brownie batter.

I had about half a cup of spread left in my jar, so I halved the recipe. I poured the batter into a mini muffin pan, added sprinkles, reduced the temperature a little and checked them after 15 minutes. The result was 18 delicious little brownie bites.

Most of which made it to Craft Hack. ;)