Today we are making sugar skull planters! This is the perfect craft for the Day of the Dead and you can use these sugar skull planters to decorate your ofrenda this year. Kids of all ages, and adults, will love taking time to make these sugar skull planters. They’re budget-friendly, beautiful, and easy to make and the perfect way to decorate for the Day of the Dead.
DIY Dia de los Muertos planter pots for an ofrenda
Day of the Dead planter pots for an alter can make your celebration more special. I love the thought of customizing the sugar skull planter for the loved one you are honoring.
This is a good Day of the Dead craft for kids of all ages. Younger kids can help with the sugar skull decorations and older kids can help on all the steps.
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Related: Looking for planter ideas to decorate your Day of the Dead altars? Make these simple sugar skull inspired DIY planter pots for the Day of the Dead holiday traditions.
Supplies Needed To Make Sugar Skull Planters
- Hollow plastic skulls – here are three you can get on Amazon: 3 pack of novelties skulls, 10 pack of mini skulls, or a life size human skull model
- Utility knife
- Paint markers
- Acrylic paints
- Precision paintbrush
- Paint palette (Optional)
- Stencils (optional)
- Spray paint (Optional)
- Drill (Optional)
Directions to Make DIY Planter Pots for Dia de Los Muertos
Step 1
Take the hollow plastic skulls and draw the area you need to cut to use as a planter.
Use a utility knife to cut a hole at the top.
Note: I am using a skull-shaped drinking cup from the dollar tree as I couldn’t find the plastic skulls that are usually available during the Halloween season. It was quite difficult to cut through the drinking cup as it was hard plastic, I had to use a drill and sharp utility knife to cut through it. I then sanded down the sharp edges as much as I could.
Step 2
Add holes at the bottom using a drill or an awl if you are going to use it as a flowerpot.
Step 3
Spray paint the skull in the color of your choice. I spray painted the planters in black.
Step 4
Once the paint dries, add designs on the planter using the paint markers or acrylic paints.
Sugar Skull Planter Decoration & Paint Ideas
1. Use Stencils To Create Beautiful Sugar Skull Designs
Use stencils to create the intricate designs on the painted skull. Place the stencil on the forehead of the skull planter. Use a stencil brush or any paintbrush and load it with very little acrylic paint of your choice. Then use dabbing motion to transfer the design.
I chose orange and yellow acrylic paint and blended it as shown below.
2. Add Colorful Sugar Skull Paint Details with Small Paint Brush
I felt like the color was not bright enough so I took a precision paint brush and filled the design with more paint to make the design pop.
3. Add White Dots & Floral Designs Around Painted Skull Design
To add the white dots around the design use a white paint marker. Use some simple designs like a flower or sun with rays to fill the eye area.
4. Creative Sugar Skull Nose, Teeth & Jaw Decoration
Fill the nose holes with an upside down heart and highlight the area of the jaw with some paint.
Use your creativity to add some designs to jaws. I used the white paint pen to highlight the jaw and in the other planter I just used some yellow paint to add lines in between the teeth.
Tip: Check out these Day of the Dead paper plate masks for more design ideas.
Related: Looking for more vases? Check out this astronaut vase! It lights up.
Ideas for Filling Your Day of the Dead Planters
- Fill the planter pots with soil and add live plants and flowers to make these flowerpots.
- Use artificial plants like fake succulents like I did.
- You can also fill these garden pots with these gorgeous DIY marigold flowers to decorate your altars.
I love these planters for the Day of the Dead. The dots make the flowerpots look more artistic even though the designs are very simple.
Create Sugar Skull Planter Pots for Day of the Dead Celebration
Create this beautiful Sugar Skull planter pot to celebrate Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos. Fill the Sugar Skull with your favorite plant or flowers and set at an altar.
Materials
- hollow plastic skull
- paint markers
- acrylic markers
- spray paint
Tools
- utility knife
- paint brush
- palette
- stencils
- drill
Instructions
- Cut a hole in the top of your hollow plastic skull for where the plant will sit in your Sugar Skull planter using the utility knife or drill and utility knife.
- Using the drill, punch through several holes in the bottom for drainage if you are going to be using the planter for live plants.
- Spray paint one color - we used black.
- With a stencil and paint, create some pattern detail on the skull.
- Add details with paint marker or paint and fine paint brush.
- Let dry.
- Fill with plants of your choice.
More Day of the Dead Ideas from Kids Activities Blog
- How to make papel picado for Dia de Los Muertos
- Learn about the Day of the Dead traditions, history & more.
- Mattel released a beautiful Day of the Dead Barbie and I need one.
- Color these festive Mexican flag coloring pages!
- If you loved that Barbie, then you’ll love the newest Day of the Dead Barbie Mattel is releasing. It has the most gorgeous ball gown!
- Kids will enjoy decorating these along with these beautiful sugar skull coloring pages for kids to celebrate the Dia de Los Muertos.
- Check out this Day of the Dead puzzle printable!
How did your Sugar Skull planter pot turn out? How did you use it for someone special on Dia de los Muertos?
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