Mexican Sugar Skulls

"In Mexico, during the Day of the Dead celebrations, sugar skulls and sugar art has been a tradition since the 17th century. They're created from homemade sugar paste, put into molds, then decorated and placed on real gravestones to honor the return of a spirit. Day of The Dead is a beautiful and colorful celebration that starts at midnight on October 31st and ends November 2nd in Mexico. It's also a tradition that families will give sugar skulls as gifts too. In the US we've been inspired by the colorful design of sugar skulls and the decor of Day of the Dead for Halloween. This year, I've noticed more sugar skull-inspired decor than ever before (World Market has a great selection!) and since I'm not much of a spooky Halloween person, I like that these are colorful and have more of a happy meaning. Just like carving pumpkins or making gingerbread houses for Christmas, making sugar skulls is also a form of traditional art. It's a fun activity for the holidays that lets your mind rest and be creative and its a great DIY project for kids too. I personally had a blast making these from start to finish. It took me two days, since the sugar skulls have to dry for 12 hours before decorating, but the time and effort that goes into them is well worth it. They make me smile when I walk past them, haha!"

Estimated Cost$21-$30

Time to CompleteWeekend project

Primary TechniqueFood Crafting

HolidayHalloween

Materials List

• Oaxaca Medium Sugar Skull Mold
• 8 oz jar of meringue powder
• colored foil
• Food coloring paste
  
• Disposable icing bags
• Decorating tips for frosting
• Small pieces of cardboard to dry skulls on
• bag granulated sugar
• 2 lb powdered sugar