From the outside looking in - all the skull and bones imagery associated with this holiday might seem a bit dark, but it's really quite the opposite.
It's a great day, where you honor the dead with little altars of their favorite things, and colorful clothing, sweets and little dolls. The dolls are my favorites - teeny calacas (skeletons) in colorful clothing - even animal calacas.
The premise behind it is that the dead would be offended by sadness or mourning - so the day focuses on bright, happy colors, imagery and celebrations of their lives, while acknowledging that they are no longer with us with some beyond the grave artwork.
I'm always confused when I leave the southwest at the perception that these images are sort of macabre - I can assure you that to us they are not. The entire holiday has a festive, fun air - the costumes and makeup are beautiful, and there is NOTHING that a Texan loves more than a beautiful, colorful sugar skull (calaveras to us). Actually - to a southwesterner, it's a much bright, happier holiday than Halloween, which can have sort of a spooky air. Dia de los Muertos is not spooky at all.
The idea is to encourage the souls of the departed to visit - to wake up for a day and celebrate with their loved ones and all of their favorite things.
It's sweet, and fun, and one of the traditions I enjoy most at this time of year.
I hope after I'm gone that my loved ones will make me a little altar with coffee, and art supplies and calacas and calaveras and that I can come
Thankfully we have the perfect skull in the holiday mini to calaverasize - it's from Howl-o-ween Treat. I used the Flower Patch stamp set, the Perpetual Birthday Calendar set, the Remember This set and some hand drawn elements to turn this into a happy sugar skull. This is my sample for my Hope You Can Cling To challenge from yesterday. Don't forget - you still have one week to make cards for this challenge and have a chance at winning $5,000 in crafty prizes! Check it out here.
And check out my colorful calaveras here!
I stamped the skull initially in Pumpkin Pie, so that the eyes could be orange. Then I white heat embossed the little flower over the eyes. Then I masked the outside of the skull to do the stamping inside. After I removed the stamp - I overstamped the outline with the MISTI again in black.
Super fun and perfect little skull shape for this. The line on the card is hand drawn - that's part of my challenge.
I also colored this GORGEOUS calaveras from Simon's sugar skull set - if you want one with all the designs on it already, you can't go wrong here.
Hope you're having a great weekend and remembering your departed loved ones with joy.
¡Feliz Día de los Muertos!
Loveyameanitbye.
Thanks for sharing this holiday...we celebrate it in California as well, especially the Southern part. Your coloring on both cards made me smile...and remember.
ReplyDeleteThough both are beautiful, the stampin up one is brilliant. I love how you found it in a combination of other non holiday stamp sets. So creative.
ReplyDeleteLydia- What perfect cards for this great holiday! Here in Alabama we do not celebrate it very well. I have always wanted to. There is one old Catholic community near Birmingham that really do this holiday up right. I guess one year I am just going to have to visit so I can properly celebrate. I completely overlooked the wonderfulness of this little skull in the Stampin' Up! catalog. You dressed him up so well. Great cards and happy All Souls Day!
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