I did not grow up celebrating Day of the dead or Día de los Muertos, and last year was the first year I ever put together an altar and I loved it. It was a great way to bring up the subject of death to my children without them getting freaked out about it and it was also a great way to introduce them to stories of people they never got a chance to meet. This year we're doing it again and since I am relatively new to the whole putting an altar together thing, I'm still adding new elements and I came up with this fun idea for DIY chalkboard vases that you and your kids can decorate with calacas for Day of the Dead.
Read more ¿Qué más?: 5 Super-easy Dia de los Muertos crafts to make with the kids! (DIY)
These vases are perfect for holding cempasúchitl (marigold) flowers, which are traditionally used in Day of the Dead altars and they are super easy to make.
Here's what you'll need:
- Vase(s) to paint (buy new ones, find them at thrift stores, or use ones you already have)
- chalkboard paint (you can buy it online or at most home goods stores)
- a sponge brush (or a regular paint brush will do)
- Mulit-colored chalk or chalk pens (you can buy chalk pens on Amazon.com)
Once you have the vase or vases you want to use, you will need to cover them with two coats of chalkboard paint. Make sure to follow the instructions on the paint can and wait the proper amount of time between coats. Then let them dry thouroughly.
Once the chalkboard paint is completely dry, you and your kids can decorate the vases with hand-drawn calacas using regular chalk or chalk pens. That's it!
The great part is that you can wipe off the calacas and draw whatever you like on the vases the rest of the year.
Image via Claudya Martinez
