Do you enjoy celebrating Dia de Los Muertos? Embrace the holiday with these 35+ Day of the Dead crafts perfect for the whole family!
Day of the Dead (also known as Dia de Los Muertos) is a holiday celebrated on November 1st – 2nd each year, right after Halloween.
While it is mostly celebrated in Mexico, it has become popular in other parts of the world in recent years.
This day commemorates the lives of loved ones who have passed and is characterized by lively, colorful celebrations!
Potential ways to participate include building altars (ofrendas) for dead relatives, setting up special decorations in honor of them, and visiting their graves to burn candles or leave offerings.
It’s definitely about celebrating lives lost rather than mourning.
What do I love about the holiday? Well, not only do I love learning about other cultures and their traditions.
I also love the bright colors and the sugar skulls (calaveras) that people use in the crafts surrounding Day of the Dead. Plus there’s delicious food and drink involved. Who else is in?
If you’d like to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos this year, I’ve got some great ideas for you. Here are over 30 Day of the Dead crafts I think you’re going to love!
We’ll be making sugar skulls, papel picado banners, calavera masks, and more! They’re perfect for Day of the Dead parties and more. Let me know which one is your favorite in the comments.
1
Allison Murray
Glowing Sugar Skull Mason Jar Lanterns
The color from these jars comes from glow sticks! You can use colored Mod Podge to get the same effect. Either way, you'll draw the simple faces on the front using permanent marker.
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2
ideas.hallmark.com
Papel Picado Banners for Dia de los Muertos
Those colorful, festive cut paper banners you see on Día de los Muertos altars and at Mexican celebrations are papel picado. All you need to make these is tissue paper, the free template, and a pair of scissors.
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3
Steve Carrell
Dia de Los Muertos Wreath with Faux Roses
Use Duck Tape to create colorful flowers for this unique Dia de Los Muertos wreath! It’s so easy and fun to create. Use a black wreath for a base.
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4
colormadehappy.com
Sugar Skull Rocks Using Puffy Paint
These puffy paint sugar skull rocks are a great project for all ages to help learn and celebrate Day of the Dead! Get Sam's best tips for this project as well as the type of paint you should use.
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5
Steve Carrell
Calavera Pallet Art for Dia de los Muertos
This unique calavera (skull) art was made using a recycled pallet. Perfect for Dia de Los Muertos, but you can keep it up all year!
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6
Day of the Dead Pumpkin Craft
Are you ready for a cool Day of the Dead pumpkin craft you can make in a matter of minutes? You can customize this project with any napkins you like.
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7
www.bakerross.co.uk
Day of the Dead Flower Headband
This pretty floral headband is great for a Day of the Dead fancy dress costume! Combine with a little makeup and you or your children are ready to celebrate.
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8
craftychica.com
Day of the Dead Barbie DIY
This is one of the most unique Day of the Dead crafts I've ever seen! Learn how to transform an old Barbie into a sugar skull girl with a little makeup and outfit change.
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9
www.findingzest.com
Sugar Skull Dollar Store Craft
These easy sugar skulls are an awesome dollar store craft that will really make your Halloween decor pop this year. And even better, you don’t have to be an amazing artist for painting sugar skulls. Simple patterns including swirls, dots, and flowers are all that is needed to create this eye-catching design.
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10
redtedart.com
Easy Calaveras Party Pinata
Are you having a Dia de Los Muertos party this year? If so, you'll definitely want to make this cool sugar skull pinata! You can adapt this idea for just about any holiday.
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11
lovemaegan.com
DIY Sugar Skull Day of the Dead Vans
Want some stylish sneaks for the holiday? Learn how to decorate a pair of white Vans with a drawn design that lasts. You'll illustrate in pencil first.
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12
growingupbilingual.com
Glowing Day Of The Dead Decor
These glowing Day of the Dead sugar skulls are super easy to make and will be a great decoration for your celebration! Don't love the hats? They're my favorite.
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13
Mark Montano
Sugar Skull T-Shirt DIY
Learn how to make a terrific dimensional sugar skull t-shirt for Day of the Dead. This design could be done on almost anything from a tote bag to the back of a jean jacket!
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14
artelexia.blogspot.com
Embroidered Felt Sugar Skulls
With some felt scraps, embroidery thread, stuffing, and embellishments you can make the cutest (colorful!) sugar skulls! Perfect for kids and beginning sewists that want to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.
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15
Leslie Manlapig
Make Day of the Dead Sun Catchers
Grab a roll of contact paper at the dollar store and then draw sugar skull faces – add the cellophane to make them colorful! Both kids and adults will love this idea.
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16
Gina Kleinworth
Day of the Dead Face Paint Tutorial
One of my favorite things about Day of the Dead is the costumes! I absolutely love the face paint idea from Gina, and it's perfect for holiday dress up.
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17
thismessisours.com
DIY Floral and Fruit Day of the Dead Altars
During Day of the Dead celebrations, people honor their ancestors with altars. Learn how to make and decorate your own using inexpensive supplies and this tutorial.
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18
artelexia.blogspot.com
Sugar Skull Pumpkins for Day of the Dead
Use a real or faux pumpkin to make a sugar skull design for Halloween! This is really easy to do with paint and a pencil.
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19
blog.creativekismet.com
Day of the Dead Planters
During Dia de los Muertos, sugar skulls and other decorated skull-like things are given to the living and the dead. These calaveras planters are perfect for painting and turning into a useful gift! The plants kinda look like hair.
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20
redtedart.com
Paper Day of the Dead Luminaries
f you are looking for a cool five minute craft for Halloween or Day of the Dead, then you'll love this post. These sugar skull luminaries are ridiculously quick and easy to make . . . you will wonder why you hadn’t thought of them sooner.
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21
Vanessa Brady
Day of the Dead Shrink Plastic Jewelry
Vanessa gives you a free printable so you can trace a calavera directly onto shrink plastic. Then from there, you can create bracelets, a pin, or just about any other jewelry you like.
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22
artelexia.blogspot.com
Day of the Dead Sugar Skull Pinata
I never understood how easy a pinata was to make until I tried one for the first time! This one is made into a skull shape perfect for celebrating.
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23
growingupbilingual.com
Day of the Dead Skull Pumpkin Candle Holders
These Day of the Dead sugar skull pumpkin candle holders are an easy Dia de los Muertos craft project. These pumpkins will make a fun centerpiece and are also ideal for a holiday altar.
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24
www.aestheticnest.com
Day of the Dead Doll
If you have a cutting machine, then this calaveras doll can be made with ease. Anneliese gives you her free patterns, and only basic hand sewing skills are required.
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25
www.bluebearwood.co.uk
Small Sugar Skull Dolls
These little Day of the Dead skull dolls are fun for both kids and adults! They look fantastic as stand-alone ornaments but also look amazing added to table centerpieces.
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26
auntpeaches.com
Collage Clay Crystal Skull
Use craft plaster to cover a skull – then embed rhinestones right into it! This blingy skeleton is a perfect decoration for Dia de Los Muertos.
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27
makelifelovely.com
Day of the Dead Animal Skeleton DIY
Make a colorful and unique Day of the Dead animals skeleton that can double as a Die de Los Muertos and a Halloween decoration this fall.
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28
blog.ooly.com
DIY Sugar Skull Spoons for Dia De Los Muertos
There's a variety of Dead of the Dead crafts within this post! One of my favorites is the wooden spoons decorated with markers. Use brightly colored markers to turn these into plant pokes, puppets, or some other type of decor.
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29
letsdosomethingcrafty.com
Air Dry Clay Sugar Skull Bead Necklace
Air dry clay is one of my favorite mediums to work with, especially when it comes to crafting with kids. You can use it along with some paint and Mod podge to create the coolest necklaces.
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30
colormadehappy.com
Sugar Skull Painted Flower Pots
Not only are these painted sugar skull flower pots easy to make, but they look beautiful on display and would be a wonderful centerpiece, party gift or party craft for Day of the Dead.
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31
www.bespoke-bride.com
Sugar Skull Halloween Wreath
On a painted foam wreath base, Jessica added tons of cardstock paper flowers and a few sugar skulls to make a unique wreath! I love the vibrant colors this wreath adds to Day of the Dead decor.
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32
alphamom.com
Day of the Dead DIY for Kids T-Shirt Tutorial
In some parts of Mexico children roam the streets for Day of the Dead, knocking on doors asking for small candies and money, just like Halloween trick-or-treating. Use fabric spray paint to make shirts that kids can wear for the celebration.
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33
www.spanglishspoon.com
How To Make Sugar Skulls with Real Sugar
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If you enjoyed these Day of the Dead crafts I’d love for you to check out these other ideas. Some of these Halloween crafts might inspire you to create a Dia de Los Muertos version!
Rebecca Payne
Saturday 9th of October 2021
I love this post. I love the jewel skull.