Dia de los Muertos Catrina

 

Even before we moved to the Southwest, I loved Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a celebration that originated with the Aztecs, and then when the Spanish colonized Mexico, was incorporated into the Catholicism they brought. Having grown up Catholic, we had three days of celebrations, starting with Halloween, then All Saints Day, then All Souls Day, which is when Dia de los Muertos takes place. It's always resonated with me because my own culture honors ancestors and that's what this celebration is all about. 

Year-round, you'll see Catrinas abound, and incorporated into public art, and you can read more about them here. For years, I've incorporated the holiday into my decor. 

Supplies:

• Skull (Dollar Tree)
• Multi-surface Acrylic Paint (Waverly)
• Tissue Paper
• Acrylic Paint Pens
• Acrylic Flowers

The skulls they have at Dollar Tree every year. I used my go to Waverly no-prep acrylic paint in white to cover. 

I punched a couple of flowers from scrap tissue paper to create the eyes. 

Then I grabbed my acrylic paint pens and just winged it with the design. 

Decorate to your heart's content! 

Catrinas are often decorated with a crown of flowers so I made some tissue paper flowers with tissue that coordinated with the colors I used. These were probably a little too big, but go big or go home, right? 

I attached these with hot glue. I could have stopped here but what fun is that?!

I guess my "signature" is rhinestones and I often say "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that bling" so, added them as shown. 

The inspiration for the colors I chose. Last year, when we were at Disneyland, (both parks honor Dia de los Muertos) I found this "Coco" sipper at California Adventure and made a beeline to the kiosk that had them! I knew it would get incorporated into my decor. 

And here's my Catrina on display on my island! 

While I'm not of Mexican ancestry, I love having a day where I can honor those I've lost, including those I never knew, who lived lives much harder than mine, so that I could be here.