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.

DIY Preschool Halloween Decorations

Let your preschooler run wild with this paper folding activity that you can use in your home as Halloween decor.

It's as easy as it looks.  Cut different lengths and widths of orange and black paper.  Show your child how to fold a fan, making their first fold across the paper starting about an inch away from the bottom. Flip the paper over and help your child make the next fold about an inch away from the last fold.  Show your child how to repeat the process, flipping the paper over and folding, until your child runs out of room to fold.

You can hang your child's folded masterpieces by threading white embroidery floss through a needle, tying a knot at the end of a piece of thread, and poking a hole with the needle at the top of the folded paper.  Bring your thread up through the hole in the paper until you reach the knot at the end of your thread.

I used adhesive putty to attach the thread on the ceiling.  You can use tape or whatever you have.  Let the paper hang at different lengths for a great Halloween decoration made by your kids.