Día de los Muertos

I just made a fall/cultural themed card for my Spanish teacher friend. El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a fall holiday in Mexico and when we taught culture, we used to teach the high school students about it and how it is not at all a Mexican version of Halloween. It falls on November 1st and 2nd, near Halloween. It is a celebration of dear ones who have passed on but will not be forgotten. Here is a link to an explanation of this celebration.  I am entering this card in the Simon Says Stamp Fall Mood Board Inspiration (here) challenge. The photo provided for the challenge includes candles, fall leaves and flowers which remind me of some of the symbols of Día de los Muertos.

First I made a faux-iris technique card base. I used Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink to stamp my Stampin' Up! Spooky Bits cute skeleton stamp because it is another symbol of Día de los Muertos. I masked the skeleton and ink blended lightly behind him, then added googly eyes. The colors of this holiday are cheery and bright, and can even reflect the favorite colors of the family member being celebrated. I tried to use some fall colors from the inspiration photo from Simon Says Stamp for this challenge. I used a Reverse Confetti banner die after I ink blended a piece of white cardstock to mimic the papel picado (cut paper- linked here) hung in the homes and streets of Mexico for celebrations. I made my own sentiment and punched it out with a scallop circle punch from Stampin' Up! 

Hope you enjoyed this little culture lesson and my card for a friend.

-Carol