six more day of the dead diys for you

 

*comedy tragedy sugar skulls

*paper calaca

*altar in a jar

*cardboard and paper maché sugar skulls

*paper plate sugar skull mask

*painted newspaper sugar skull

day of the dead dillydilly: five diy projects of yore

*wooden spoon sugar skulls

*newspaper garland

*how to build an altar

*newspaper sugar skull garland

*dollar store sugar skull

day of the dead mask happy

 Mister made our Halloween masks out of cardboard. He formed two cylinders and then paper machéd the tops. After sketching out a design plan he added eyes by cutting out sockets and layering cups so that they receded into the sockets. The plan was to later add glow sticks for pizazz (which we did). The jaws were added when we were invited to a Halloween party so that we could partake of spirits and such (with the help of a sippy cup straw, no kidding). 

Eyeholes were cut and covered from the inside with a bit of tulle. Mister's eyeholes were in his mustache while mine were in a series of squares that were originally going to be the mouth until the jaw was added. The insides of the masks were filled out with foam and more cardboard for a comfy fit. My mask utilized a ribbon tie to keep it atop my noggin. 

A couple of coats of white paint gave us a clean palette for painting and away we went. To keep the masks from looking too robot-like, mister added a hat to his and I added a pile of flowers made from party streamers and a swath of black tulle. 

 We had a blast making them and enjoyed a couple of evenings wandering about (what a trio we make with the family zombie). Now I need to figure out how to display them a I think they are the bees knees! Happy Halloween! 

day of the dead door decor

I went a wee bit old school for this project using newspaper and party streamers to create all the bits. All you ned is a large piece of foam core or cardboard, painted paper and/or party streamers, white glue, and a pencil.

Mister rescued a bunch of plastic-ish corrugated signs from the dumpster and so I drew my sugar skull on the blank side with a black sharpie, details and all. 

Mister used a blade to carefully cut out the shape while I painted a couple of sheets of newspaper with white acrylic. 

Once the paint dried, I cut the paper up into strips and then cut the strips into small squares about an inch and a half wide. I added a pile of cut crepe paper streamers as well and went to work on the details first.

Pick up a square and wrap it around the eraser end of a pencil. Dip that into a bit of white glue and press down onto your cardboard. Repeat with as many squares as needed in your chosen colors until all the details are all flashy flashy on your cardboard.

My surface was a bit slippery so I could only work in small bits to keep my squares from slipping every-which-way. I did the details first and then filled in with the newspaper. Once everything was dry, I added a wire to the back using a hefty dose of packing tape and stuck it on my door! How delightful!

day of the dead dollar store calavera

day of the dead dollar store calavera

I wish I had picked up more skulls but I only got one. All you need is a coat or two of white paint, I used acrylic, some sealer (mod podge works, seal after decorating) and some paint and sharpie fun. The flowers were added using a glue gun. Happy Halloween! 

day of the dead: newspaper calavera garland

Things are pretty Day of the Dead here in the tiny casa. I've been working on bits and pieces here and there as my plate is a tad bit crowded these days. Here is a simple painted newspaper garland that I made not too long ago.

Paint up a large full-sized sheet of newspaper with white paint and set aside to dry. Once dry, cut out a six inch tall strip from one end to the other and accordion fold into a final piece that is about four inches across. You may need to trim any excess paper off. Draw a skull shape atop your top sheet making sure your cheek parts and part of the skull touch the edges. Carefully cut with scissor and unfold to see your magic.

 Use sharpies, paint pens and/or acrylic paint to decorate using hearts, swirls and flower shapes. Affix to your wall surface of choice with a bit of happy washi tape and you are good to party! Note, the tape may stick to your paper so make sure you want it there before affixin'. Happy almost Day of the Dead!

day of the dead bed

My October bed was/is a tribute to Dia de los Muertos. The papel picado was made from painted newspaper and the comedy/tragedy masks were painted up by me. I picked up the blank masks from our local craft store. After a coat of white paint, I added black painted details. Once that dried I used paint pens and sharpies for the rest. A hot glue gun was used to affix the flowers and a bit of thread stitched through the two helped keep them together.  Here's a little collage to show ya how I did them.

spoons a la dia de los muertos

Goodness, what is it that makes painting up a wooden spoon so satisfying? Or...maybe that's just me? Once again I had grand plans for October. I always think I have more time but then suddenly, the month is almost over. What makes it more confounding is that I pull out all the projects in August. I should not be surprised, I am after all me. WIth any luck, maybe I'l get a jump on my Valentine's Day projects or at least...the 4th of July?

Back before the casa became a vortex of chaos due to the sale that was a bust, I had a tabletop where I could craft up some Fall fun. I am supposed to get that all cleaned up today but I have some work stuff, a staff meeting and a Halloween Extravaganza to attend tonight so mehtinks I will instead read a book. I am nothing if not good at avoiding responsibility and tidiness. Oh but I was waxing poetic on the clean that once was and so I painted up some wooden spoons to make ghostie puppets and such.

 With a little bit of sparkle and glue I also made up a trio of Day of the Dead pretties...all you need is a coat of paint, a date with some sharpies and a dance with some sequins and you're good to go!