Skull Tree

Here is what became of the paper mache skulls my husband and I made...

You can click to see the photo a bit bigger.  We simply coloured the dried tissue paper mache with felt tip pens in creative sugar skull styles.  They are arranged on dry branches in a big Mexican jug we picked up on clearance at an importer.  I could see this becoming a permanent display!

The large skeleton man is called Gomez and he was purchased as is, we just gave him some flowers and a shrine to hold.

First Crafts of the Year

Mine is one of the first birthdays of the year in our family.  So, what does one make for themselves as a birthday present?  I've been working on Vicki Howell's Helena crochet sweater in a natural/pink/gold variegated yarn.  I'm about 1/8 of the way through.  This is my first piece of crocheted clothing for myself and I'm excited.  Here is a photo of the completed project from the book:

I'm not sure whether or not I'll add an embellishment like you see on the blue one, but I'm thinking not.  The yarn is pretty fancy on it's own...

I'm also having a birthday party this weekend.  Yes, I am over 30 and still like to have a birthday party - they are fun for the kids.  And for me.  This year I'm going for a Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertes vibe.  Last night my husband and I spent about an hour and a half doing paper mache.  I saw a cute idea on the Martha Stewart website (don't judge me, you know she has great ideas) and decided to try it out.  The Glowing Skull Halloween Decorations are pretty cool, I really like how tape is used to create the skull shape from a regular balloon.  We're not going to do the cut outs and LED lights, but draw sugar skull faces on them and perhaps hang them from the roof :)