Elementary Drop-in Craft: Mummy Masks

I can take no credit for this idea, I found it on Pinterest. Click here for the original post from Betsy at Tippy Toe Crafts. 

My mask that I quickly put together
the night before the program

Since mummies are buried "beneath the surface" and are "dug" out of their pyramids and tombs, I thought this idea fit great with our summer reading topic.

The tough part was making it happen for 100+ kids. I purchased white masks from Oriental Trading, and a 50-pack of white posterboard and 6 cans of gold spray paint (it was cheaper than getting 5 cans) from another supply store. I traced and cut out a headdress piece from a half-sheet of posterboard, then used it to trace onto all the other posterboard halves. If I'd planned ahead a little more (and had a few more volunteers) I would have pre-cut the headpieces. Instead the kids cut their own on the day of the craft.

I spray painted all of the masks myself (ok, with help from my husband). I strung them up in my garage to dry. It was kind of creepy, all of these gold heads staring at me...  (I was sure I'd taken pictures but I can't find them... if I do I'll add them!)

I left the headpieces white, and provided random supplies to decorate -- it was a great way to use up miscellaneous craft items! We had tons of scrap paper, markers, feathers, pipe cleaners. Scotch tape, scissors, and glue were on the tables.

And the kids went at it -- decorating and making the masks uniquely their own!

 

If you decide to include feathers like I did... be prepared for a mess!!! My teen volunteers helped me pick up the big pieces, then we still had all this left to vacuum up:

It sure was fun though. :) And the rest of the library staff upstairs loved how the kids came up and showed off their creations to them!