A Masquerade

I've always been enamored of masquerades.  The masks, the costumes, the mystery.  Did I say masks already?  Something about masks makes me rub my hands together in anticipation.  They could be covered in feathers, in beads, in fabric, or even painted.  Even the blank ones make me sigh with their endless possibilities.

Of course, it's pretty rare that I actually make a mask.  But my dear friend gathered together a bunch of them for Mardi Gras and modified them a bit.  I got to take mine home and work on it before hand.  Of course, I ended up leaving it at home on Mardi Gras and wasn't able to wear it.  That's my luck. 

My mask started off as plain gold sequins and shiny trim.  I added some ribbon around the trim and hot glued some black sequins over the gold ones in random spots.  I found a black fabric rose at the store when I picked up the sequins.  The rose is detachable in case it got too annoying.  I flirted with adding more ribbon hanging from the corners with feathers trailing, but I like the mask the way it is.

The kiddo's was the same way, except his was red.  My friend made this one for him.  She took the trim off and replaced it with a black pleather trim.  A few pieces of the trim have fallen off and I need to fix it.  She added a few feathers to make it look more 'masculine.'  The kiddo loved it and wore it the entire time up on his head - he couldn't wear it on his face over his glasses.

A friend I went to high school with is an amazing artist, and I think she feels the same way about masks as I do.  She has created a shop called Red Robin Masks and has her great creations for sale.  Go check it out!

Photo from Red Robin Masks