- People who celebrate Dia de los Muertos have a tradition of making decorative skulls out of sugar and food coloring. The sugar skulls are consumable, but they are usually a little too sweet to make into a snack. A crafter takes sugary dough and either presses it into a mold that has the shape of a skull or sculpts it into the proper shape by hand. After the sculpting process, the crafter can use watercolors to paint intricate designs on the sugar skulls.
- Dia de los Muertos is a time similar to the celebration of Halloween (it occurs one day after Halloween). You can join in on the fun of the celebration by making an interesting spooky mask. Most traditional masks are skulls, but you can make a wide variety of decorative masks. Purchase a plastic mask from your local craft store along with decorations and paint to give your mask a little character. Make it colorful to match the vibrant colors associated with Dia de los Muertos.
- It's tradition to build an altar to honor the dead during Dia de los Muertos. You can dress up your alter by making a wide assortment of beautiful papier-mache flowers to make the altar look attractive. Take different sheets of papier-mache (all one color or several, depending on your preference) and stack them on top of each other. Fold the bottom inch of the paper on top of the others. Fold the papers into a fan shape. Place a rubber band over the center of the folded paper and fluff each paper one piece at a time.
- Making a calaca frame is an easy task that allows you to showcase your creativity and add another decorative element to your festive altar. A "calaca" is the Spanish equivalent of "skeleton," meaning that the purpose of the frame is to display a skeleton, one of the most prominent themes in the Dia de los Muertos celebration. Take an old frame and remove the glass. On the side of the glass that faces in towards the frame, paint a festive skull or entire skeleton. Place the glass back in the frame and set it on your altar.
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