Papier Macheniacs: Plague Doctor Mask Made Easy

Very, very late post! The past few weeks have been insane! But we, Papier Macheniacs, still managed to squeeze in one very crucial project.
Ok, 'crucial' is such a big word. But Miro needed a mask to spook a friend on his birthday so here it is...

I AM THE PLAGUE DOCTOR!

This was so much fun making. It's even more fun that we made it using the most common household items. Paper plates, an empty tissue roll, and cellophane-wrapped polvoron! The polvoron we ate during break time. :)

How did we make such a spazztastic transformation? Pretty easy, really.

First, we did the measuring. Eye holes and breathing holes are always important in mask-making... for obvious reasons. Miro just wrapped a paper plate around his face and put pencil mark guides on where we should cut out the appropriate holes.

Second, the beak. There's a variety of plague doctor beaks out there, but we decided to go with something that resembled that of a hawk's or a falcon's. All it took were 2 plates rolled and taped into cones. And then we taped them together to keep the whole beak sturdy. The A-line cut should be the bottom part of your beak because that's where you breathe.

TA-DAH!

Next, the straps. Now we wanted straps with a little give so it won't rip with repeated use. We used folded news paper strips for these. Then, we papier mached everything together.

Looking pretty plaguey already, eh?

A little focus on the eyes here. Remember the polvoron we ate earlier? We used the red cellophanes for the goggles, for that extra creepy touch we all aspire for in spooking dear friends. We also painted the
insides of the goggles red so that the whole creepiness reflects beautifully. Oh, and just in case you didn't notice --the goggles are made out of cut tissue roll.

Just a little bit of original painted design touches and --there you have it! Who needs Halloween when you have everyday to creep your friends out? 

Needless to say, my boy Miro's evil birthday plot was a spooky success! :)

See how easy that went? I dare you to make your own Plague Doctor mask today.