“I’m not sure, I’ve never made anything like that.” I told him.
The boy just grinned at me and walked away.
He asked me again a few days later. Adding more description to explain what he wanted, planting seeds of creative ideas in my head. I didn’t have the time to make a mask, but now I couldn’t let the idea go either and was constantly thinking about what I would need to make such a thing.
I have four children. While my youngest daughter is an eleven year old artist with a unique style all her own, and my other two sons are indifferent to my hobby, at the age 15 Keegan shares my love of interesting textures and tiny embellishments. He’s a budding collector of things like spinning tops and all kinds of old forgotten treasures.
I searched the internet for steampunk mask ideas only to find that ideas were scarce. There were plenty of steampunk goggles to be seen, however. I decided to use the goggles with a mask and spent a few days deciding what to order for the base of this project. Amazon.com was the best, most inexpensive resource. Once I had all my pieces I used a spray primer to make sure the Tattered Angles paints I wanted to use went on uniformly.
Products I used:
- Tattered Angels High Impact Paint Light Gold
- Tattered Angels High Impact Paint Antique Gold
- Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Shindig
- Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Saffron
- Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Pewter
- Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze Coconut Shell
- 7gypsies Industrial Gears
- Canvas Corp 225′ jute ball
- Plastic Welder’s Goggles
- Half Mask
- Double Lenses
- Creative Embellishments Chipboard – Steampunk Gears
- Creative Embellishments Chipboard – Embellishments Steampunk
- Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Metal Sprocket Gears
- Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Mini Metal Gears
- Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Mini Fasteners
- Prima Marketing Mechanicals Metal Embellishments Gears
- Prima Marketing Junkyard Findings Screw Heads
- Leather Scraps
- Eyelets
- Bits and pieces from a friends garage
- Repurposed Purse Strap
Supplies and Tools :
- Spray Paint Primer Suitable for Plastic; E6000; Paintbrushes
I knew from the beginning that I would use different Tattered Angels products to get a “patina” look on the mask, pieces, gears and other elements. Tattered Angels Paints work well on a wide range of surfaces, which helped me get the look I was trying to achieve. For me, the key to a great look is a lot of layers. I covered all of the pieces with a combination of Tattered Angels High Impact Lt. Gold and Antique Gold to give it a cohesive vintage look ready to be embellished.
My first layer of elements is chipboard from Creative Embellishments. Steampunk Chipboard. I selected my pieces and painted them all with touches of the Tattered Angels Glimmer Glazes: Shindig, Pewter and Saffron.
Layer assorted gears, trinkets, screws, arrows, sprockets and more to create this look, if all of the pieces are not metal, paint them to look that way and the variety of metal colors adds to the appeal of the mask.
The gold parts of the mask, the eyepiece, leather, and pretty much everything on the mask also received touches of Coconut Shell Glimmer Glaze. This brown glaze has a hint of green shimmer that I think adds interest and depth. I used so much I’m going to have to order a new bottle.
I added just a bit of harlequin texture with a stencil, most of which was covered by embellishments.
I teased Keegan a bit while putting all the bits together, having him try it on with his eyes closed to get the fit right. One of the leather straps is adjustable, one of them is not, consequently the mask only fits Keegan but there is a bit of room to grow.
When all the elements came together and the pieces were all attached, I saw Keegan’s wish come true. When I finally presented him with the final piece, with the bowler hat to finish it off, he was very pleased. He grinned from ear to ear and declared it,“Amazing!”
The big sign of teenager approval is that Keegan has shown the mask to all his friends, but won’t take it to school because he is afraid something will happen to it.
Have you ever created a gift for a teenager? Or had your teenager challenge you with a project that you couldn’t resist? I have to admit, I loved making this mask for my son and giving it to him. I pretty much love any opportunity to craft more stuff. In fact Keegan’s next challenge is to make a special steampunk box to fit both the hat and mask, and I can’t wait to get started!
