Building a Day of the Dead Altar

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) is celebrated on both November 1^st and 2^nd.  This is time when we celebrate and remember our loved ones that have passed with food, drinks and parties.  It is believed that on November 1^st the souls of children return (because they are quicker) and adults return on the 2^nd.  During this celebration the graves of the deceased are cleaned and altars are built.  Altars can also be made at home if the graves are too far.  Photos are brought out, stories are shared and the memories are kept alive.

Creating an altar is a fun Day of the Dead tradition that anyone can enjoy. There are many elements that go into creating an altar, including various food and objects specific to Day of the Dead, so we've highlighted a few basic items you'll need to create one and their significance:

Marigolds: Marigold flowers (cempasúchil) are used in altars for their scent, which guides the dead back home (supposedly, the scent of marigold flowers is reminiscent of bone, and that is why these particular flowers are used).

Candles: The purpose of creating an altar is both to celebrate the dead and to invite them back home, so lit candles are used to welcome them back.  One candle is put out for every person that you’ve lost and an extra for anyone that may have been forgotten.

Food: Because the dead will be hungry on their long journey home, it's fitting to add a few pieces of food. You'll see fruit, Pan de Muerto and other snacks on many altars. Pan de Muerto, or "bread of the dead", is traditional sweet bread baked especially for Dia De Los Muertos. You can usually find bone shapes and a "teardrop" (for sorrow) on the top of Pan de Muerto, to represent the dead.

Sugar Skulls: Sugar skulls are an iconic memento mori placed on Day of the Dead altars. They represent both life and death, as they are placed on altars, but also given to the living.

Water: Placing water on an altar helps quench the thirst of the dead, after their long journey home.

Papel Picado: Papel picado banners are festively strung across the altars representing wind and the fragility of life.

Photos and Mementos: Photos of the deceased are placed on the altars along with some of their personal and/or favorite items. If honoring your grandfather who loved his tequila, feel free to set out a glass of his favorite tequila for him to enjoy when he returns!  This is where you can get creative in how you remember your loved ones when building your altar. Put out as much or as little as you want.

Although Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday, I feel that all can appreciate its message and take joy in the holiday, tradition and celebration.  

DIY Mini Tissue Paper Flowers

We are over here making millions of tissue paper flowers.  Okay, maybe not millions, but it sure does feel like it.  Volunteers have been stopping by all day long to help us with this fun little project.  All you need is tissue paper (or newspaper), scissors and ribbon.  Watch the video and follow along so you can make these at home!

String them together to make garland, add them to a gift to add some pizzaz, attach them to the back of a chair for some color or wear them in your hair!  The possibilities are endless… :)

Day of the Dead DIY #57-60: More DOD Projects

Even though Dia De Los Muertos has ended, there are still more DOD inspired projects to create for next year or that work to add some festivity to the rest of the year:

1. Doily Papel Picado by "De Su Mama":

2. DOD Wooden Tray from the Lowes website:

3. Chalkboard DOD Vases by "Unknown Mami":

4. Sugar Skull Dish Towels by "Pearmama":

Day of the Dead DIY #51-55: DOD Printables and More!

Feliz Dia De Los Muertos everyone! We'll be wrapping up our DOD DIY's today and tomorrow–here are a few easy printable and non-printable paper crafts you can create with your families to celebrate Day of the Dead:

1. Sugar Skull Printables by "Design is Yay!":

2. Skull Mask Printables by "Happy Thought":

3. Printable Sugar Skull Boxes by "Don't Eat the Paste":

4. DOD Paper Lantern Printables by "Ohoh Blog":

5. DOD scratch foam prints by "Teach Kids Art":

Day of the Dead DIY #46-50: DOD Garland

You'll often find garland, usually marigolds, strung around an altar for Dia De Los Muertos–so we've found a few new takes on DOD garland that would also work for your altar:

1. Beaded Skull Garland from "Persimmon and Peach":

2. DOD Garland from the Paper Source blog:

3.Printable Sugar Skull Garland by "Mayhem Here" on Etsy:

4. Marigold Garland from "Garden Design":

5. Crochet Marigold Garland by "Arty and Crafty Little Things":

Day of the Dead DIY #41-42: DOD Paper Crafts

Ever wonder what to do with those pesky bills you get in the mail? Pay them maybe? Nah, turn them into some DIY papel Picado! Today's DIYs are all about paper crafts, so all you need are some paper plates and bills (old or newly received!):

1. Paper Plate Sugar Skull Masks by "Scrumdilly-Do!":

2.  Junk Mail Papel Picado by "Scrumdilly-Do!":

Day of the Dead DIY #36-#40: DOD Recipe Inspiration

Here is some inspiration for creating Day of the Dead themed baked goodies:

1. Skull Pancakes, courtesy of Williams Sonoma's skull pancake molds (these would be wonderful with some food coloring added to the mix to make sugar skull pancakes):

2. Adorable Churro Sugar Skull Cupcakes by "Man Bakes Cake":

3. Decorating Sugar Skull Stamp Cookies on "Kid Crave":

4. Papel Picado Flags for cupcakes by "Pretty Prudent":

5. Calavera Cookies by "Sweet Dani B":

Day of the Dead DIY #32-35: Papel Picado DIY's

These papel picado projects work for Day of the Dead parties, altars, or just for Day of the Dead inspired decorations:

1. Papel Picado Straw Flags by "Cupcakes and Cutlery":

2. Papel Picado Votives by "WhimseyBox Blog":

3. Papel Picado Coasters by "Style Me Pretty":

4. Fabric Papel Picado by "Maker Mama":

Day of the Dead DIY #30 and #31: More DOD Felting

Here are a few more tutorials on felting for Day of the Dead, including a needle felting tutorial for creating small skulls–a very different felt craft that uses wool roving and needles to create small felt sculptures. We know we've gotten a bit felt happy here on the blog, but we promise you'll love these tutorials:

1. Needle felting Skulls by "Small Good Things":

2. Felt Marigolds by "Miles of Sunshine"

Day of the Dead DIY #25-27: DOD Recipes

Here are a few DOD inspired recipes to DIY before the big celebration:

1. Pan De Muerto Tutorial from "Spanglish Baby"

2. Sugar Skull Cookies recipe from "The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle"

3. Marigold Cookies from "The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle"

Day of the Dead DIY #22-24: 3 DIYS from Other Blogs

Here are 3 DIYS from other blogs we thought would work wonderfully for Day of the Dead:

1. Day of the Dead Party Favor Boxes from "Bead & Cord"

2. Paper Marigold Tutorial from "The Hungry Texan"

3. Permanent Papel Picado from "Just Me and Macy"

Day of the Dead DIY #21: Felt DOD Banner

We did a felt sugar skull tutorial using one of our own workshop kits a few days ago, and we wanted to show you another DOD felt project for this DIY that we also offer: Felt Day of the Dead Banners!

What you'll need:

-needles 

-embroidery thread

-one of our felt dod banner kits

What to do:

1. Begin by cutting a long piece of thread, knotting the end, and attaching the white oval to the purple oval. Make sure to come up through the back of the two ovals.

2. Next, attach your letter in the same way. Do this for each Letter.

3. String your letter together using thread, ribbon, etc...
(more images to come)