Sugar Skull Tutorial: DIY Day of the Dead Tray - Darice

One of my favorite holidays to celebrate with my friends and family is Dia de los Muertos. This Day of the Dead painted tray is going to be the perfect addition to my decor! Whether used as a tray or as art, you’re going to love how easy it is to customize and make. Follow along for my Day of the Dead sugar skull tutorial!

In case you’re not familiar with it, Day of the Dead is a Mexican multi-day celebration that remembers friends and family members that have passed away. Special alters are set up either in the house or at the cemetery with items and food that the deceased loved one enjoyed while living. Among these items are sugar skulls (calaveras) that are decorated with brightly colored frosting and foil. They are suppose to be a sugary treat for the dead but are so beautiful that the living enjoy them as well! This Day of the Dead tray has a wood cut-out version of a sugar skull at the center and is perfect to customize with your favorite colors!

Sugar skull tutorial supplies:

To begin, apply a few layers of white paint to the inside and outside of the tray. Allow to dry completely and then use a sharp pencil to trace the wood sugar skull details.

Follow the pencil outlines to color in the sugar skull shapes. The best part about this tutorial is that you don’t have to be overly careful with staying in the lines! You can see that I added the color pretty messily. Won’t be a problem when the wood cut-out is glued in place!

Paint one side of the wood cutout white and apply wood glue to the back. You may need to use a paintbrush to get the glue into the smaller sections. Place on the tray and allow to dry completely. Add a few heavy objects on top of the wood cut-out to ensure all sections are glued down.

Mix the epoxy according to the package directions and pour over the bottom of the tray. You can use the long side of a craft stick to level out the epoxy. Make sure that it gets into all the little crevices. Allow to harden completely.

Once the epoxy is completely dry, you can enjoy your Day of the Dead painted tray! It’s the perfect way to entertain guests today, tomorrow, and always!