Here's the base. 2' x 2' MDF. I used galvanized pipes at the base for some additional support.

This is the torso section. The top half disconnects from the bottom half, making it a bit easier for moving, installation, and storage.

Connecting the torso to the “legs.”

Adding arms and a spine...

First test! This is where we got really excited. The mask is from the 2015 Krampus movie. You can find the mask here.

First round of paint...

Adding patches and coat trim.

Blending and distressing with spray paint.

Details... Bells, chains, hands, and a hoof!

Added a lantern with an LED "flame."

Installed on the roof and ready for the Holidays!

First, we need some materials. I purchased a 4x4 fence post, and 1x3 cedar from Home Depot. Carefully go through all of the available pieces at Home Depot, or wherever you’re getting your lumber from, to get the straightest pieces.

I don’t have a proper setup for cutting, so I secured a small piece of wood in my vice to make sure all pieces were cut to the same length.

All cut, now it’s time to sand everything down. I just used 80 grit paper.

Sand all sides.

Preparing for the staining process.

I used Minwax Dark Walnut. Brush it on, let it set for about 10 minutes, then wipe off the excess with a rag. Dark walnut can be over-powering, so I only used one coat.

After the stain is dry, you can begin applying your clear coat. I used Minwax Spar Urethane, which protects your work from the elements. I apply 3 heavy coats, then sand with a fine sandpaper of 320 grit or higher, then finish with a final coat of urethane.

A quick test fit of the pieces and the house numbers.

If you’re happy with how it looks, it’s time to starting putting it all together. 

To support the top pieces, where the mailbox will sit, I added a bracket for some extra support. 

One side completely attached.

Second side finished, and the primary structure is now complete.

Now it’s time to add the house numbers. I used Hillman Group’s Brushed Nickel house numbers, which had the best look for the cost.

Here is the finished mailbox post, ready to be installed.

I had some leftover wood, so I made matching number plaque to go by my door.

Final product again.

I started with a V for Vendetta/Guy Fawkes mask, which I found to be a perfect base to start from, since it already has a lot of the features that I was looking for. The first step was to cut the correct eye holes.

Next, start sculpting the facial features using clay (I used Monster Clay). I focused on the lips and cheeks first...

...then covered up the eyebrows.

After you’re happy with the face, start working on the accent lines. I did this by rolling out the Monster Clay, cutting out the lines with a knife, then placing them on the mask.

One side finished!

I didn’t use a template, so I did my best to get the two sides as symmetrical as I could by eye. This step could be made easier by creating a template for the lines and using it to create both sides.

Next, smooth out the clay using a sculpting tools. Because I used Monster Clay, I also used a heat gun to smooth everything out.

After you’re happy with the sculpt, it’s time to start the mold making process. For this I used Smooth-On’s Rebound 40.

Starting with thinned-out detail layers, make each coat slightly thicker than the one before until you have a decent thickness.

For two coats, I used Smooth-On’s Thickening agent, Thivex, to fill in any larger sections, then finished it off with two normal coats to get a smooth, even surface. I was looking for minimum of about 1/4″ of thickness over the whole surface. Here’s what the finished silicone mold looked like.

Next you’ll need a hard outer casing. This will ensure that the silicone stays in place during the slush-casting process, and will allow you to make 20+ masks. I used Smooth-On’s Plasti-Paste II.

This is what it looks like after being covered in Plasti-Paste II.

After drying, pull the layers apart, revealing the original sculpt, the silicone negative, and the outer shell.

Now we can begin the resin casting process with Smooth-On’s Smooth-Cast 300. Put the silicone piece back into the outer shell. After they are put back together, mix very small batches of the Smooth-Cast resin and slush them around inside the negative, trying to evenly spread out the liquid before it hardens. You only have about 3 minutes of working time, so this part can take a few tries to get used to. This is about 5 coats.

Slowly getting thicker.

Here it is at the desired thickness, about 1/8″.

After drying you can now pull the resin cast out of the mold, which will look like this.

The next step is to cut off any access resin, cut out the eyeholes and mouth, and do some light sanding.

The mask is now ready for painting. I tested many crackle mediums, but found that Valspar’s Crackle Spray Paint gave the best result.

Close-up of the crackle effect.

The final step is to add the red, blue, and gold paint to the eyes and accents, and use a glossy clear coat to give it the porcelain look.

DIY!

I started by purchasing a 1 1/2" x 25" x 12' Maple Butcher Block from Lumber Liquidators. I got it during a big sale at over 50% off. Even at 50% off, this was the most expensive piece of the build.

I started by using a circular saw to cut the two primary pieces of the desk. One is 64" long, the other is 39" long. 39" because with the 25" depth, it makes exactly 64" for both sides of the desk.

Here is a photo of the 64" piece.

and the 39" piece.

Next up, sanding. A lot of sanding. I started at 80 grit sandpaper with a Random Orbital Sander and worked my way up from there, then 120, then 220. This gave me a nice smooth surface. Here's a quick test fit before I start staining.

I decided to go with Minwax products and started with their Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner. Here's a photo comparison of one board with Pre-Stain, and the other without. The wood grain is really starting to pop!

Next, the stain. After completely over-researching the color that I wanted and a bit of testing, I went with Minwax Special Walnut 224. Here's a couple of photos of the bottom of the desk after staining.

After staining both sides, I started laying down coats of Minwax Semi-Gloss Fast-Drying Polyurethane. I put down 3 coats on the bottom of the desk and 5 coats on the top, sanding after every other coat with 320 grit sandpaper.

My final coat was with Minwax Wipe-On Gloss Polyurethane because it produced the least amount of bubbles during application, which resulted in the smoothest surface. The "Gloss" Wipe-On Poly isn't quite as glossy as Minwax's normal gloss poly, it's somewhere between high-gloss and semi-gloss. I really like how it turned out. It looks overly shiny in this next photo because it was still wet when I took the photo.

Time to start piecing together the legs. Here are all of the parts that I got at Lowe's. Lowe's will cut and thread pipe at your desired length. I must say I was a little hesitant to ask one of their employees to make 19 cuts on galvanized steel pipe, all threaded on both ends. When I did ask I got a blank stare at first, his eyes glazed over. I was certain that I was this guy's worst nightmare. However, after a short pause he cheerfully responded with "let's see that cut list! What are you building?" He was extremely helpful and positive about the whole thing. This is the single reason that I go to Lowe's and not Home Depot, I tend to have a better customer experience with the employees at Lowe's, no matter how crazy my requests are. Here's the result:

The photo above is after removing all of the stickers and degreasing the pipe with Lacquer Thinner, which took a few hours of wiping with a cloth. After they were all cleaned, I started piecing it together.

After checking to make sure the two halves of the desk would sit flush, tightening down the pipes where I needed to to make it level, I painted them a dark, flat grey.

At this point, the desk is ready to be put together, but I still needed something to put my computer tower on. So, I cut a 11" piece out of the remaining piece of Butcher Block and took it through the same (sand, pre-stain, stain, poly) process.

It's finally time to start putting it all together! You may have noticed that the shorter side of the desk only has three legs and thought to yourself "that's definitely going to fall over!" You'll remember in the beginning that I didn't want anything in my way under the desk, so below is a photo of my solution for that. The supports are only screwed in to the side with four legs, which is supporting the three-legged half. I've also used two latches to keep the pieces aligned and tightly together. 

Time for the finishing touches. In the next photo is the 9-Outlet Surge Protector that I mounted to the bottom of the desk, as well as the J Cable Channel for the cable management. There is a cable channel on each side of the desk so that I can run cables from one side of the desk to the other.

Here's the final again!