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Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter

By Cheryl Trowbridge 1 Comment

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Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter/Pot for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead

When I saw this awesome sugar skull ceramic planter at Trader Joes I knew I had to come up with a way for my students to make them! So here it is, just in time for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) on November 1 & 2!

All you’ll need is clay, a popsicle stick, a fettling knife, and a dull pencil….

Make a sugar skull ceramic planter:

Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
1. Start with a ball of clay about the size of a large orange.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
2. Make a pinch pot.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
3. Use the side of a popsicle stick for the mouth line.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
4. Use the end of your popsicle stick for the teeth.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
5. Use the handle end of a fettling knife for the center of the eyes.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
6. Use the end of your popsicle stick for the “petals” around the eyes.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
7. Make a nose by adding an “upside down heart” with the end of your popsicle stick, pressing twice at a diagonal.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
8. Add more flowers on the back.
Steps for Easy Sugar Skull Ceramic Planter for Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead
9. Use a dull pencil to add some swirly lines between the flowers.
If you want to plant directly into your finished sugar skull ceramic planter, you’ll need to use a straw to poke some drainage holes in the bottom while your clay is still damp. No holes are necessary if you plan to just insert a plastic pot.
Another optional step (for added realism!) is to use your thumb (or the back of a spoon) to add an indent where the temporal bone would be.

For my sample, I will paint colorful glazes into my designs, wipe off any excess glaze that gets on the surface, and cover the whole thing with a clear glaze for a white skull (since we’re using white clay). If you don’t have a kiln, you can use air dry clay, paint, and Mod Podge to create a similar, colorful effect!

Below are a few pics of our finished projects! You can use the same texturing techniques to make the plate. For glazing, we painted black glaze over the whole thing, then wiped it off with a sponge, so it only remained in the “nooks and crannies”. Then we added colored glazes and painted a clear glaze where we just wanted the white of the clay to show but still be shiny.

Ceramic Sugar Skull Plate for Dia de los Muertos
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
Ceramic Sugar Skull Planter
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Filed Under: Clay, Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos, Handbuilding & Sculpting, Lessons, Mexico, Sugar Skulls Tagged With: ceramics, pinch pots, succulents

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    […] loved during their lifetime, like their favorite foods and hobbies. Colorful folk art papel picado, sugar skulls, and small skeletons also adorn these altars. Where Halloween focuses on our fear of death and the […]

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