Liz makes a mini sugar skull plush

Since today was a rainy day again, I decided to stay inside and

 do a little pre-Halloween craft as well as blog about it so you all can do the same. Sugar skulls are pretty popular, and I feel they're even more popular in this part of the country. Every year, Albuquerque even hosts a Dia de los Muertos parade. Dia de los Muertos ("Day of the Dead" in Spanish) is a Mexican holiday celebrating and remembering family members and friends who have died. I'm not sure how popular Dia de los Muertos is in other areas of the country, but I do remember seeing it portrayed on an episode of Lizzie Mcguire years and years ago... Anyway, here's how to make a mini sugar skull plush:

So you'll need this pattern. You can either find one on the internet or use mine. You'll need to cut out two skulls and two eyes. 

Now you'll need to pin the pattern to some colored felt and cut it out. I chose white for the skull and black for the eyes.

I sewed around the eyes on with a dark pink thread and then...

...I went in between those stitches with some light pink thread. Pretty cool, yeah?

I used some black thread to make a "nose" and a "mouth."

But then I ended up filling the mouth in a little more. 

Now sugar skulls are all about personal creativity. You can make design your sugar skulls however you want. I made little five pointed stars and some random lines. I tried to keep it as symmetrical as possible, but I'm not perfect.

After I was done adding random stitches to the front of the skull, I grabbed my other white felt piece and started to sew the two together using a blanket stitch. Then I stuffed it with a little poly-fil.

Here's my little sugar skull all stitched up.

You can do whatever you want with this little guy, like put an alligator clip on the back and put him in your hair for Halloween, or glue a magnet on the back and slap him on your fridge. I chose to use a safety pin in order to pin it to my dress form. Wah-lah!

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful week -- I know I am!

-L