Day of the Dead DIY #43-45: Flower Headbands Fit for DOD!

There are so many DIY flower crowns out there that would colorfully complement an outfit for Dia De Los Muertos. Here are a few that we found and one we created ourselves:

1. Felt Flower Crowns by "Now That's Pretty"

2. Crepe Paper Flower Headband by "Domesticspace"

3.Paper Flower Crown from "Alana Jones-Mann"

Day of the Dead DIY #20: Sugar Skull Mask Workshop

We created a 2D sugar skull mask for one of our other DIY's, but we thought we'd DIY a different mask, and one that that we offer as a workshop here at Casa Artelexia. You can come in to the store every Saturday from 12-4 and create your own 3D sugar skull mask!

What you'll need:

 -colorful paints
-paintbrushes
-plain skull mask

What to do:

1. Paint your mask any color you would like for the base color (we used two coats of white)
2. Add flowers, swirls, and other decorative elements to give it a sugar skull feel.
3. Use your mask at a Day of the Dead parade, as a DOD display or altar, or a Halloween mask!

Day of the Dead DIY #17: DOD Office Makeover

For DOD DIY #16, we've turned our drab, messy "office" area behind the Casa Artelexia counter into a lively Day of the Dead worthy workspace. We've DIY'd several items and reorganized, so we'll take you through the transformation!

Office Appliance Makeover:

1. We took a few of our boring office items, including a few clipboards, a tape dispenser, a stapler, and old crummy plastic folders ("before" picture not shown), and gave them a makeover:

Tape Dispenser and Stapler: we took these and spray painted them gold! It really a glam touch to our office.

Clipboards: we first spray painted these in bright colors (teal and florescent orange) and waited for them to dry. Then, we placed a doily over each of them and spray painted them in a different color.

The doilies acted as a resist, so when we took them off, you could see the doily pattern on the clipboard in the color which we originally painted the boards. You can also use old doilies (you can usually thrift these!), paper doilies, papel picado, or anything with a cool pattern!

Plastic Folders: we first used Goo Gone to get off excess stickers and goo, then spray painted them in gold. After they dried, we glued one of our paper "marigold" flowers to one folder and glued a small skull patch in the middle. We attached a few papel picado banners to the other folder, so that both folders would look very DOD.

DIY Chalkboard Calendar:

We took two blank canvases and painted them using chalkboard paint. After they dried, we cured them by rubbing chalk all over the canvases (we used the side of the chalk for this) and erasing the chalk. Afterward, the canvases were ready to be used as chalkboards, and we drew out a calendar for the month of October.

Office Makeover:

Over time, our "office" area had become an unorganized eye sore. So we revamped it, by reorganizing, adding our newly DIY'ed office tools, and making it as festive and fun as possible. We hung a colorful flower garland from a shelf, hung up our chalkboard calendar and DOD folders, and added pops of color and DOD touches here and there (we mixed some of our DIY supplies with our office supplies to mix things up a bit too):

Day of the Dead DIY #16: DOD Decoupaged Mirror

For DOD DIY #17, we took fabric and decoupaged a small mirror using mod podge!

What you'll need:

-undecorated mirror (we found ours at Ikea)
-DOD fabric
-scissors
-mod podge
-paintbrush

What to do:

1. Cut out a square that can easily wrap your entire mirror.
2. Measure the dimensions of your mirror (not its frame).
3. Draw out the same dimensions in the center of your fabric (do this on the back of the fabric).

4. Cut out the rectangle (oval, square, etc...whatever shape and size of your mirror)
5. Paint a thin layer of mod mod podge on the frame and sides of your mirror.
6. Position your fabric on the frame using the square you cut for the mirror as a guide.

7. Once the fabric is positioned on the frame, flip it face down, and wrap the rest of the fabric over the sides of the frame.
8. Let dry and hang your new DOD mirror wherever you choose!