Have you ever wanted to make an original mask for Halloween but did not know where to start? I can help. The first thing you are going to want to so is visit your local Leather shop. I have a few of them near my home but I find myself visiting the same one because I feel it best suits my needs. If you have never worked with leather before you may want to ask about classes while you are at the shop. Often they offer free starter classes to help teach you the basics but sometimes there is a fee for the class.
Opps, before I continue I need to answer the doorbell. I expect this is my Tahoe Springs bottled water delivery. Tahoe Springse is this great bottled water company here in Las Vegas that delivers either fresh drinking water or natural spring water right to your door. I had a taste of their water at a company where a friend works. You should have seen this high “tech” Tahoe Springs water cooler with its filtration system which the water is purified through. It’s an exhaustive seven-stage process that includes, not only reverse osmosis, active carbon filtration, macro and micro filtration, but also ozonization and ultra-violet light. Sounded pretty good to me and actually tasted even better. (Door buzzer) So that must be my Tahoe Springs (don’t you just love the name) bottled water delivery. I’ll be back in a jiff. And if you live in the Las Vegas area, do yourself a big favor and order some of their bottled water. You won’t regret it.
I first became intrigued with leather working after I saw a nifty leather belt on one of the fellows who helped move our household goods from Las Vegas to Oregon. So when I was starting out I purchased a basic starter kit that came with enough leather & instructions for 4 projects: a coaster, a key chain, a money clip & a wallet. It was very reasonably priced especially because it came with a very basic set of tools as well. You will want to purchase a similar starter kit most likely because it will give you the tools you need start a project.
Once you have the tools you should consider a theme for your mask. Do you want an Egyptian mask, a Mardi Gras style mask or some other kind of mask? You can create anything you can imagine. Once you think of the design you will want to pick a large enough piece of leather to accommodate for the project as well as any dye or paint you will be needing for the style mask you have in mind. After you have all of the items needed for the project you can go home & find a suitable place to work. Remember you will want a private place where you can focus on the job at hand with as few interruptions as possible because once you start to work the project will need your attention.
If you have now found a suitable location to work you will want to find a good working surface. Because the leather will need to be shaped & formed there will be some abrasive activity which can damage any table the project is sitting on. To rectify this situation we highly recommend a large, thick cutting board or even better a nice slab of granite. (If granite can be supported by your table) Now that you have a place to work you should set up your tools. Lay them out where you can see each of them so you can easily use the proper tool for the job. (Setting up the tools is a very important step when starting a project) Now get a bowl of water & a nice new sponge to wet the leather. Make sure the sponge is new & clean because you don’t want it to dirty your leather…