Cardboard Mask

• Feathers add a colorful finishing touch to the mask.Hemera Technologies/PhotoObjects.net/Getty Images
  
  Cardboard is a great material to start with. It's bendable, can easily handle a glue gun, is a breeze to paint and is readily available. Flatten a sturdy box, trace an outline for the head, eyes, nose and mouth holes, and carefully cut with a utility knife. Decide what personality your mask will have. Your local craft store will have a wide assortment of decorative elements to animate your mask. Choose from beads, sequins, glitter and feathers. You will need craft paint and a glue gun with refills. All of these items are extremely affordable, allowing you to create multiple masks.
  
  

Papier-Mache Mask

• Subtle dark coloring can be intriguing.Hemera Technologies/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Papier-mache creates interesting textures and provides an authentic look to your mask. You'll discover that you already have the necessary ingredients. The paste is created by mixing one part flour, to two parts water, and the material is cut from old newspapers in one-inch-by-six-inch strips. Take an empty plastic milk jug, and slice it in half from top to bottom. This will be the base on which to hold the layers of papier-mache. It has a concave shape when cut, perfect for wearing as a mask, and the plastic is strong and durable. Use the handle and bottle neck as interesting shapes for facial features. Cut eyes and a mouth from the plastic with a sharp pair of scissors. Saturate the strips of paper with the paste, and layer them horizontally, slightly overlapping, across the plastic surface. Wait 24 hours to dry, and repeat the process. You may substitute white computer paper for the final layer, since this is more durable and easier to paint when dry.
  
  

Junk Mask

• Tribal artists utilized the roots, grasses and animal parts available in their regions to create their own masks. It's easy to find discarded items in our modern environment and create our own industrialized version. Starting with a strainer or old pot, with handles for ears, add embellishments such as nuts and bolts, nails, coins, old keys, bottle caps and plastic utensils. You will quickly see a character emerging from the junk.
  
  

Coconut Mask

• Tribal masks were often made from hollowed-out edible items such as gourds and coconuts. Still celebrated in Mexico, the coconut mask is usually decorated in a whimsical fashion. With some physical effort, the coconut can be drained, cut in half and scooped out to a smooth finish. Painted with bright colors, and decorated with modeling clay spinning around the edges like sun rays, it will surely put a smile on anybody's face.