Halloween transitioned pretty nicely into Day of the Dead over here. I've had a craft project going for a week or two, and I'm excited to have it ready to share! So, here it is - my little Day of the Dead Ofrenda:
And I do mean little, because that box is only 6x6" in size! I am pretty proud of myself for working this tiny, because sometimes working with tiny details can drive me nuts. But I stayed patient and am really happy with the results. So happy, that I took about a million photos of the little guy. :)
But I tried to limit myself with how many I'm sharing here. I cut apart silk flowers and glued them to the top of my little scene.
And that papel picado is made from tiny squares I cut from a heart-shaped doily. I read that there is actual, real-life size papel picado in metallic sheets that you can buy now and that some people do that for special occasions. I've never seen it, personally.
You can see the little altar is set with mini breads, empanatas, and tiny sugar skulls. I made a little plate out of cardstock and the napkins under it are squares of washi tape. The skull in the frame is from a piece of washi tape too. I made the little sugar skulls from some Crayola modeling clay I got at Dollar Tree. A good deal of this project is from Dollar Tree.
I painted the sides of my box with flowers and got a chance to use a tool that's made for nail art on this. That worked great to make the tiny dots. For those interested, this is the tool I used:
Nail Art Dotting Tool
That tool is seriously a good use of a dollar. I don't know how I would have gotten some of these tiny details done without it.
So, as you can see, I set up a whole altar space around my mini altar.
This is the way I feel it is meant to be seen, at night with candles.
I love this photo! That big, peeking skull sign is a Dollar Tree purchase from a few years ago.
These sugar skulls were once plain white skulls I bought at Michaels years ago.
I love how they look by candlelight.
There's something about glitter and candles!
To give you guys a quick background of this craft, it started with one of these boxes from Dollar Tree.
See, when you flip these decorative boxes over, you get a nice little niche to build a scene in.
The piece of furniture is also from Dollar Tree and can be found in the toy aisle. It's meant as dollhouse furniture. You can get little chairs, tables, and beds there too. I thought to take a pic of this after I began painting it, but you get the idea.
I took a few in-process shots, like this one of the side. Those pink pearls are again, from Dollar Tree. They come in sheets that are pre-glued. They stay in lines, but you can cut the material between them if you only want to use just a pearl or two.
I painted a little plant design on the side of the furniture and placed more pearls on it.
This penny will give you an idea of the scale I was working in.
This snappy skeleton was another piece of washi tape. The roll has a pattern of plain skeletons on it. I added the accessories.
You may have noticed the sugar skulls around my altar space. These came as a plain wood garland, I believe from JoAnn's last year. I spray painted them white (because who would want to get into those grooves with a paintbrush?) And then used some puffy paint and glitter on them.
I think they turned out like cute little cookies. I am yet to string them on a rope. In part, because I'm not sure how to do that without them all sliding into one another. Any ideas? Maybe beads between them?
These really would be cute as cookie designs.
You may have also noticed this piece of art I had sitting under the altar. It's from (drumroll please) Dollar Tree. I saw this the other day and thought it was a Polish design, but when I got it home it said on the receipt that it was Mexican. So that's a good fit for this. I just love it.
And I have to share these two books that I got for inspiration from the library. They are really worth checking out, if you can. There are so many craft ideas in these.
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| Book by Paula Pascual ~ Beautiful photos in this one |
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| Authors are at the bottom of that book cover. Amazing craft ideas! |
In related news, my mom and I visited a café I'd been wanting to check out, called
La Finca. Here it is, looking good with those beautiful autumn shrubs outside.
La Finca is in St. Francis, for those of you who are familiar with Wisconsin. I'd been really wanting to get over there recently because I read that they had some Day of the Dead decorations out. And they did! This is above the entryway:
How cute is this sugar skull dog?
We had a seat right next to this community Ofrenda.
This close-up is my computer wallpaper now.
I kept seeing this little chocolate skull peeking over at me.
This guy was hanging across from me.
We both had Mexican hot chocolate and it was amazing. There were some good, hot spices in that and the whipped cream was a nice addition. The people working at La Finca were super nice and it was just a good atmosphere. So I'm sure we'll be back.
P.S. ~ I have another skeleton to share with you guys. Remember "Sidekick" the little lizard from the Meier store? He's good to go in lime green now:
Wow, that is really cool! The detail is amazing for the scale you were working in.
ReplyDeleteDex ~ Thank you! :) I wasn't sure I was going to have the patience for working that small. But I found that once I got going, I got into a flow with it. Plus, it helped having the right tools for tiny details. I was super happy with the result, so now I'm thinking of possibly making some miniature boxes for different holidays.
DeleteMad skills with tiny objects. Sadly, I did not set up the altar this year with the photos and food for the ancestors.
ReplyDeleteOld Fashion Halloween ~ Thank you! :) It was an enjoyable challenge. Oh, I didn't realize that you've set up an altar. That's cool! I'd like to do a personal one at some point. This time around was more learning about the crafting and displaying for me. I'd like to see a photo of your altar if you've taken any in past years. It's interesting to see how everyone does this a little differently.
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DeleteAs a white lady, I worry about being accused of cultural appropriation. It is a fair question to ask. So, I was hesitant to share that set up originally. My spouse is Buddhist so he honors Segaki or feast of the hungry ghosts. https://www.flickr.com/photos/8569973@N05/15050702363/in/photolist-oVYMsk
Loaned the altar cloths for that altar.
Kind of a mish mash of practices in our house. There is always a shrine to the loved ones on a bookshelf with photos. Lost 4 relatives from 2017-2019. So, yeah, I should have really been set up to go this year! :o P Next year I will do better. Most of my altar stuff is still packed from the move.
Oh, and don't feel like you have to publish that last comment. It was not a criticism of how anyone wants to celebrates Dia de los Muertos.
ReplyDeleteOld Fashion Halloween ~ Haha! There's no need not to publish that last comment. I know a lot of people try to be sensitive to other cultures and don't want to offend, and it seems to me that the people who are even thinking about it are not the offensive ones. Meanwhile, there are some clueless offensive folks out there. Your giving thought to how other people might feel shows why no one is going to take what you said in a bad way.
DeleteThe way I see it is that people sharing and trying other cultural ideas can be a beautiful thing. I wouldn't feel remotely offended if someone from a different ethnic group wanted to make a craft in the style of art from my heritage. I saw someone post something about "Cultural Appreciation vs. Cultural Appropriation" online. I believe it was about being inspired by different cultures and countries with fashion. And there's that beautiful way to do it like "I appreciate and feel inspired by your culture and your history" and creating almost a tribute to that inspiration. And then there's that way of stealing it or not showing proper respect. I think people know the difference.
So I really liked what you had going with your Day of the Dead altar, especially that skeleton in the window. It's neat how the light is going through it. And your Catrina with the fold-out skirt is very cool! Where did you get that?
I don't know a thing about Segaki but I can see some googling in my future with that. The Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, that sounds intriguing! And those Ginger Molasses cookies are looking good. So it's a similar tradition, in that you are leaving food and treats out for the ancestors?
Can't remember the company. Amols.com carries a similar paper La Catrina. Segaki is more traditionally known as a Chinese tradition. Simplified explanation: there is a ceremony for easy the suffering of the hungry ghosts and honoring the recently departed. Yes, in that photo the food is for the ghosts and consumed after the ceremony by the participants.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link! This looks like a fun site. I like the paper flowers. Ah, OK. It seems that leaving food and gifts for the deceased is pretty common in traditions across the world.
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