DIY Halloween and Day of the Dead Bunting Tutorial

When you decorate for Halloween don't limit yourself to just black and orange decorations!

Think "Day of the Dead."  This Mexican holiday seems to have been pulled into Halloween traditions, most likely because of the use of skeletons during Day of the Dead celebrations and the close proximity in Holiy dates.  Did you know that the Day of the Dead is celebrated on November 1st?

Day of the Dead is not so much a morbid holiday as it is a celebration of loved ones who have passed.  So it makes sense that tons of colorful flowers are used in celebration on this day.

This year, I chose neon colors to add to the classic black and orange used at Halloween. Here's how I made a bunting that combined traditional colors of Halloween and bright colors of Day of the Dead.

I started out by cutting strips of black and orange card stock.  I trimmed these and cut decorative edges on the end of each strip of paper.  The papers were cut symmetrically so that they could be folded in half over ribbon or cord and look the same on both sides of the bunting.

There was no order as far as the way I placed my paper flags on the cord.  I just grabbed from my pile of paper flags, placed the flag over the cord, and put a dot of hot glue between the two sides of the flag.

The Day of the Dead skulls were made from felt.  Each one was drawn free hand with neon fabric markers. The skulls were also made to be folded over the cord just like the flags.  After every five or so flags I placed a skull over the cord and secure it by hot gluing the two sides of the skull together.

I repeated this until I reached my desired length of bunting.

So when you decorate your home for Halloween this year take a lesson from this Mexican festivity and include all sorts of colors in your Halloween decor.