s Day of the Dead Dollar Store Skull - The Kim Six Fix

Day of the Dead Dollar Store Skull

Dollar store skull to day of the dead sugar skull
In the United States, All Hallows Eve (or Halloween) is what we call the holiday that falls on October 31 and is historically associated with the celebration of All Saints and all Souls days. In Mexico this celebration is called the “Dia de los Muertos” or Day of the Dead and in some parts of Latin America is actually called “Dia de los natitas” or Day of the Skulls.

Pumpkins (or Jack O’ Lanterns) are probably the most notable symbol of the US holiday, while in Mexico Dia de Muertos is tightly associated with brightly decorated skulls and orange marigold flowers. I decided to create my own version of a Day of the Dead skull on behalf of Plaid crafts, Apple Barrel Paints, and Stiffy fabric stiffener** as a fun Halloween alternative.
Hand Painted Day of the Dead Skull
This project is actually super easy and fun, since you get to express yourself completely and it takes nothing more than a little paint (I used Apple Barrel Multi-Surface), some fabric and fabric stiffener (I used Stiffy).  You could also use plastic or silk flowers, but it is pretty cool to make my own!

It started with this $1 plastic skull I found at the dollar store.
Dollar store plastic skull


Since it was slightly glossy, I knew I could use Apple Barrel’s multi-surface paint since it adheres to almost any surface, plus it is suitable for indoor or outdoor use (and I wasn’t sure where I was going to display my little fellow!)  I started by covering the entire thing in two coats of white, and it covered pretty well considering how dark some areas of the skull originally were.
Painting dollar store skull
Then using a fine brush, I decorated the skull with flowers and dots and swirls.  (For inspiration just google “Day of the Dead Skull” and you can can copy one of the thousands of patterns online.) Painting sugar skull
To make the pattern really sand I out (and for areas that were too tight to paint) I used a fine tip maker to outline everything.  You want to use a soft flexible tipped marker so you don’t scratch the freshly painted surface! Tracing paint on day of the dead skull
You could stop here.. since traditional sugar skulls are completely covered in painted motifs, but I wanted to also incorporate the traditional Dia de los Muertos’ flower, the orange marigold, into my design:
Day of the dead sugar skull made from a Dollar store plastic skull, craft paint and stiffened fabric flowersI could have used fake marigolds, but I couldn’t find any, and I had a gorgeous collection of hand dyed cottons that I knew would make beautiful flower petals.

The first thing I did was trace a bunch of 2 inch circles out of the fabric (I use a bottle lid as my template)
Tracing circles onto fabric
Then I cut them out with pinking shears to give the ‘ruffled’ look of a marigold petal.Pinking shears carnation petals
 Next I painted on Stiffy fabric stiffener (I wanted my fabric flowers to hold their shape permanantly) Fabric stiffener on flowers
I folded the circle into quarters and used a small alligator clip to hold it closed. Making flowers from fabric
Next I ‘fluffed’ up the folded circle to create an “S” shape with the fabric inside the fold.Flower petals from fabric
I hung the fluffed up wet ‘petals’ on a skewer to let them dryDrying fabric stiffener flowers
Here you can get a better idea of the “S” shape the fold creates:Fabric flower petals
When they were dry I removed them from the clip and you can see how well they hold their shape: Stiff fabric flower petals
I used a hot glue gun to attach them to the crown of my skull, forming a flower ‘crown'Gluing flowers onto skull
I was so pleased with out how it came out. It totally looks like flower petals: Fabric flowers on sugar skull
And the orange contrasts so beautifully against the rest of the skull:Day of the dead sugar skull made from a Dollar store plastic skull, craft paint and stiffened fabric flowers
Get more ideas for Halloween on Plaid’s blog the The Plaid Palette. For more inspiration, special offers and projects, follow The Plaid Palette blog, onPinterest, Facebook andInstagramDay of the dead sugar skull made from a Dollar store plastic skull, craft paint and stiffened fabric flowers
 **This post was written on behalf of Plaid crafts.  I received the products I used plus additional compensation but the ideas, tutorials and images are my own.  For my full policy on sponsored content, please see this post. 

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