Papier Macheniacs: Benguet Strawberry Festival Masks

Buwan ng Wika.
A celebration of our language and culture.
And an ideal time to get cosplay crafting!
PAPIER MACHENIACS --ACTIVATE!

This year, the school assigned the Benguet Strawberry Festival as the theme for my boys' class. And because I was so sure every kid will be coming in Benguet native attire (read: red and black weaved cloth), I knew I had to push my boys gear up a notch. Naturally, that meant making strawberry masks! Creepily fruity, huh! :P

We found these eerie Jason canvas cloth masks at National Book Store and I just went nuts with glee!

Post haste, I went down to making paper mache leaves --which, by the way, was a very therapeutic exercise.

Can I be a dingus and tell you now that I totally forgot to take a picture of the freshly paper mache'd masks? Ugh. It was past midnight. I was working against the clock. Still, that's no excuse, you pathetic blogger! *whimpers*

Slathered the masks with red and green paint, complete with white teardrop details --and BOOM! We got strawberry masks!

I am extra proud of the leaf details!

Made tiny strawberries for necklace embellishments to complete the look, too.

And there you have it!
I was informed that my boys spent most of the school celebration sneaking up on people and scaring them with killer strawberry delight. So I guess that means this project's a success! :)

HAPPY BUWAN NG WIKA, GUYS! See you with more of these insane crafts next year!

Paper Macheniacs: PINTADOS!

Buwan ng Wika.
An entire month dedicated to celebrating the beauty and depth of the Fiipino language. It's myriad of dialects. And the culture that ties its more than 2,000 islands together in solidarity and love.

It's also that month when we get down to costume-making. Hey-yeah!

This year, the boys came to their school's Linggo ng Wika event as the Pintados of Leyte. A little backgrounder: the Pintados were warriors of this region, distinct for their body art that covered them from head to toe. Each tattoo showcases the accomplishment of the warrior. The more tattoos, the more the warrior is revered. And, boy, did I got to town inking!

I got two tight-fitting long-sleeved shirts and a bunch of markers and let loose with the nature and tribal art. No rhyme or reason. If I'd really put my boys' accomplishments on there, the shirts would have a drum set and archery gear which don't really look that good as tattoos. I mean, duh.

But wait --this is a Paper Macheniacs post, isn't it? Where's the darn arts and crafts?!!

Right here. the husband did the accessories and he can be quite as rabid as I am when inspired. So these paper mache'd head pieces and jewelry happened --complete with aquarium pebbles, shoe laces, and bristles from my trusty broom.

My dish rags were thrown into the ensemble, too.

And there you have it --PINTADOS!

Oh, did I tell you that I inked the pants, too?

Like I always say, 'Do it crazy or don't do it at all'. :)