The Mask - Act 3

The basic building and structure took about three day's of on and off work - but this is where it got really obsessive, repetitive, brain-melting and precise. The decoration topcoat begins.

Cjelefuret - owner of eBay's Crafty Little Dragon Company supplied me with hundreds of black, bright green and deep green 3mm stickybacked rhinestones. Three days more, after literally hours of work, it's really starting to look THE JAZZ now.

There's something deeply therapeutic about sitting there with tweezers, chronic cramp building up in your forefinger, carefully going "dib dib dib dib... pause... dibdibdib, dib dib" with stickback stones. The glue is a little jelly like, so you have to gently wriggle them into place with each "dib", but it still doesn't stop the little sods falling off though! However, they make make such a satisfying noise coming off the little plastic sheets: "pock pock pock"

Hours and hours slip by, just quietly sat going: "Pock and dib, pock and dib, pock and dib." And occasionally swearing when a bunch slide off before you've had chance to put the PVA coat over the top.

Over THREE THOUSAND hand-placed gems and still many more to go.