Sugar Skull Ornaments

I'd finished with my 

felt sugar skull ornaments,

or so I thought. 

As with every one of my completed projects,

I need to sit and stare at it (whatever "it" is) for a while.

Sometimes a LONG while. 

In a weird way, the piece will let me know 

whether or not I'm finished with it. 

No, not in a "crazy

lady who hears voices coming from
inanimate objects" kind of way. 

There's just an internal satisfaction that

comes with knowing that I'm really finished

with each particular piece, or else
there's an unrest that means the piece needs more work.

Well, after thoughtfully pondering my ornaments for a while,
I knew they needed more oomph, pizazz, something. . .

My husband usually

says he knows I'm done with a piece when 

he starts getting dizzy. 

(Don't misunderstand, he says it

with a sweet smile in the most loving way.)

He appreciates my work and is

a great encourager to me. 

I thought I'd share

ten of the fifteen I've made. 

I'd like to make some with

white or cream felt too. 

What do you think about different

colors of felt for a base besides the black and white? 

I'm happy with 

the way they turned out. 

I'm really finished this time.

My husband is nice and dizzy. 

I hope his co-workers like their gifts!

Now I need to figure out a clever way to wrap them,
using the materials I have on hand.

Hmmm. . .  .

Sugar Skull Clown

I'm calling this ornament my sugar skull clown.

Although I didn't start out to make a clown, he

ended up looking like one. 

I just had to "go with it", which is part of the fun

of creating things. You never know how it'll end up. 

First I drew the design with 

sharpies and pitt pens like my other

sugar skull eggs. 

Next, I threaded a metal concho with a piece of lace

 and glued those two pieces of the "collar" 

to the base of the ornament. 

I further secured the collar with two bead head straight pins, 

which wasn't easy, but I finally got it with a lot of twisting. 

I used a cylindrical polymer 

bead for his fez hat.

It's glued to the top of his head,

along with the hanging ribbon.

Those two are then secured

with a bead head pin as well. 

(Obviously, these ornaments need to be

kept away from small children and curious pets.)

Here's the holiday greeting

on the back. 

Feliz Navidad!

Back to creating! 

I have to finish my black felt sugar skulls.

Shhh. . .

(They're Christmas gifts for my husbands co-workers.)

Black Felt Sugar Skull Ornaments

I picked up some felt squares

at JoAnn's last week.

The Black Friday shoppers had already

cleaned out several colors and it was

only Tuesday!

I wanted to pick up some white or cream for a

base as well as the black, but they were out of stock

at my store that day. 

I do like black with the bright colors

and am happy with the way they turned out.

I started by drawing a pattern on grid paper

and then cutting out the design on cardboard. 

I had a piece laying around that happened to be red. 

As you can see I need a new blade for my razor knife. 

(The right tools make all the difference!)

 I cut enough cardboard templates 

for each ornament, because they were glued inside.

I cut the felt about 1/4" larger than my template

so I could finish the skull off with a blanket stitch. 

I used DMC floss, buttons, beads,

and rhinestones for embellishments. 

They're a lot of fun to make.

I'm still working on several more. The options for

designs are endless!

Sugar Skull Egg Ornaments

I came across these eggs while digging through

my craft supply box. 

They were a half off "after

the holiday" purchase from Walmart. 

I wish I'd picked up

several dozen. I'm hoping they

carry them again this coming Easter. 

They are so much fun to work with!

I decided to make a sugar skull ornaments with the eggs and 

used my very fine artist markers for the design. 

I finished it off with lace, a flower bead, and beaded straight pin.

Black ribbon was used for the hanging loop and I glued 

all those things together with Tacky Glue. 

The back had to say Feliz Navidad!

After making a "her" I had to make a "him".

I started by making a black hat with a purple rose

and green leaves out of cold porcelain clay and let 

that dry for 24 hours. 

In the meantime, I worked on his face

and back "Feliz Navidad" greeting. 

The hat and ribbon were adhered

with a black beaded straight pin

and Tacky Glue. 

I love the way they turned out and am

anxious to show you some more that I've just finished.

I learned from the first ornament, not to use my artist markers.

While they're great for drawing on paper,

they smeared a bit as I turned the egg in my

hand to work on it. 

With my subsequent ornaments, I used permanent markers
(Bic and Sharpie) as well as Pitt Pens.
They all worked well together and didn't smear. 

Happy Thanksgiving.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Sugar Skull from Sissy

I received a message from my brother

 politely asking me to make him a sugar skull. 

He knows I have an affection

 for Mexican EVERYTHING

(people, art, food, decor. . . ).

I have an appreciation for cultural traditions

 and history even if I don't share in,

 or adhere to the beliefs behind them. 

For this piece, I found a basic skull outline

 online and took it from there. 

Using assorted pens, pencils and markers, it

took me a few days to

finish this piece. 

This was the first of two skulls drawn for him. 

The second one was my favorite, 

but I forgot to get a picture 

before I sent it out.

~So not like me! 

Maybe he'll be so kind as to send me a picture

of the other one and I'll post that as well. 

He was very happy when he got them,

 which makes me very happy.