Good ol’ hot glue. The corner stone of the insta-crafter. After failing at attempts with other materials to make a mask frame, I turned back to this tried and true basic crafting staple. It works. If you didn’t see my previous post, I’m making mask frames to give a pocket of air inside a homemade mask with the idea that it will be easier to breathe without the fabric pressed against the nose and mouth.

First I tested the adherence qualities of my all temperature hot glue by applying it to aluminum foil, masking tape, and wax paper. Once cool, the hot glue would not come off the aluminum foil, tore off strips of wax paper, but removed cleanly from the masking tape.

To make a mold, I fit a chenille stick around my daughter’s nose and mouth, then sculpted aluminum foil around the chenille stick to form a dome. I then covered it with three layers of masking tape. With the hot glue I made small connected circles over the entire mold. I used all temperature hot glue with a low temp glue gun.

I put the finished frame in the refrigerator for a few hours (it probably doesn’t take this long, I just got distracted and forgot about it). While it was still cool, I was able to cleanly pull the frame from the mold!

The frame is flexible, but sturdy enough to hold its shape. When smashed or inverted, it returns to shape. It will be stable at room temperature and should be OK up to 120 degrees F (50 degrees C), although I will still wash it in cold water. It could be used now by sliding it into the pocket of a mask, but I want to investigate sewing it into a neck gaiter type mask. That post to come later!