To complete your fancy dress outfit, here's an original mask for the Carnival based on Venice's 'trompe l'oeil' style of mask. Here we've tailored it to children. It's more than just a mask, it's a hat that takes up the tradition of Venetian masks bearing two different face designs: we have painted a different design on each side of the face here. Moreover, the faces are placed at the back of a large hat in the style of a ceremonial or dress helmet, thus creating a trompe-l'oeil effect...

The double-faced mask The mask is made of white plastic. Firstly, cover one half of the mask and paint the other half with three layers of gold spray paint. Next, paint on arabesques, eyes and lips with acrylic paint and a fine-tipped paintbrush. This makes for a very hard-wearing finish.

The hat The circumference of the hat is in cardboard, stapled to form the circular hat shape, covered in fabric (also fastened by staples). A 0.4 inch diameter bourrelet (padded circular element filled with cotton) is fixed to the upper brim of the hat. An elastic piece of fabric is also fitted to the inside of the hat so that it is a good, firm fit (rather than just being like a sort of tube). A golden chain necklace with large links is fixed to the front of the hat, illustrating the hat's 'ship's bow' shape. A gold ribbon finishes the decoration of the bottom part of the hat and a flexible red ribbon will act as a chin strap. A veil hangs down from the top of the hat for a more fantastical look!