1950’s Tiki Masks

Posted on September 9, 2011 by Hepcats Haven

I just love their colors and expressions!

Mel and I were cruising Etsy and came upon these really unique tiki masks. I love the personality of each one. We received them about a day or two ago and just love them. Here are some pictures of each one separate:

I love this one the most

The red just pops!

These may have even been used in a theater setting because they have small areas cut out to look through.

Recently Mel and I went to a flew market and Mel found some really cool tribal masks. Then once we got them home and started to look them over we realized they were a little too tribal for our Tiki lounge. We decided to stow them away and possibly use them later…..well that later is now! What I decided to do is make them look more like the really cool ones Mel and I just got. This would mean I would have to cut the masks, sand them down, and add facial expressions like the 50’s one we just acquired and then of course paint them! Anyways here is what one of them turned out like!

Here is what they looked like when I started. These were just a little to tribal for our wants

First thing I had to do is remove the top portion of the mask. Then I had to sand away any features or lines that I did not want.

Here it is all sanded

Here the mask is after a few coats of paint.

Here is his all done.

Here it is with it's brothers ready to all be hung on the wall.

6 Comments

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6 responses »

Vickie | September 9, 2011 at 4:37 pm

Omigosh, these are hilarious! They just make you want to grin. And aren’t you just THE most clever dude ever turning that other one into yet another piece of your own artwork! Whew, you’re just sumthin else Hepcat! (Going to Second Sunday?)

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- hepcatrestorations | September 9, 2011 at 5:39 pm
  
  Thanks Vic! You know we wouldn’t miss it. Did you want to meet at one of the food stands?
  
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Anonymous | October 23, 2011 at 7:28 pm

Hi, I have two Tiki Mask that i wanted to paint like yours. Did you just use glossy spray paint? And what kind of paint for the lips, eyes, etc.? Love your blog BTW

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- hepcatrestorations | October 24, 2011 at 1:18 am
  
  Thanks for liking my blog :). For the body of the face I used Valspar primer first. Then I used Valspar gloss spray paint. I used spray paint applied with a tiny brush for the eyes, lips etc. But, you can use any acrylic paint for eye’s etc. Valspar is sold at Lowe’s.
  
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Christina | February 4, 2012 at 10:05 am

Love love love your site, and the tiki masks….how did you put in the eyes? Weren’t they just open slits? I think the ones you purchased were done the same way as you did, I’m going to try it with some of mine. Doing the bedroom in 50’s tiki, but since also a huge Disney fan, those are kind of Disney meets tiki. You have great ideas! Christina

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- Hepcat Restorations | February 4, 2012 at 1:22 pm
  
  Thanks Christina,
  
  I am soo pleased that you love the site. You are right the eyes were just slits. I had no real way to fill them so I printed out yellow photo paper cut them to fit and used a sharpie to make the pupils. I then hot glued them in place. Sometimes you have to improvise. Thanks for your kind words.
  
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