Dia de Los Muertos Calavera Essential Oil Diffuser

I’m in love with this Dia de Los Muertos Calavera Essential Oil Diffuser! If you’ve read my blog over the past few years, you know just how much I love the traditional Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos (“Day of the Dead”). Contrary to popular belief, it’s not just “Mexican Halloween” and is, instead, a day to remember loved ones that have passed away. A couple years after my oldest son was born, we had close family members pass away. Participating in Dia de los Muertos has given us the opportunity to share their memories and discuss death with our kids in a healthy, natural way.

So, now that you know the background of Dia de los Muertos, you may be wondering what it has to do with this project? One of the objects used to celebrate the day is a calavera or sugar skull. Like so much in the Mexican culture, the imagery of these brightly decorated skulls is just gorgeous. That’s why when I needed an new essential oil car diffuser, it made perfect sense to try and recreate one of my favorite objects. Of course, there are tons of different crafts you can use this tutorial with. I’m thinking a necklace or earring would be awesome. Whatever you choose to make with this calavera, hope you enjoy the process!

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Dia de Los Muertos Calavera Essential Oil Diffuser

Materials:

Step 1. Making a Dia de Los Muertos Calavera Essential Oil Diffuser is super easy but I’m going to break it down is super basic step-by-step pictures just in case you’re new to felting. Since we’re starting with a wool ball, you’re going to first need to make the skull shape. Just grab a section of the white wool roving and roll in your hand until it’s compressed enough to add to the bottom of the ball. Use the felting needle to repeatedly puncture the shape until the two pieces are combined in the shape of a skull.

Step 2. Grab a small amount of black wool and roll in the palm of your hand until a small ball is created. Place black circle on the front of the white skull shape and use felting tool to connect. Repeat with the second eye. Notice how you can manipulate the size and shape of the wool roving by changing the position of the needle and by increasing/decreasing the number of punches.

Step 3. Take an even small piece of black wool roving and roll into a small line. Attach to the center of the skull in the shape of an upside down heart.

Step 4. Take another black wool line and attach toward the bottom for the mouth.

Step 5. Now that the face is in place, we can start decorating our calavera with some fun accents. You can either follow my design or make something new! I began by adding a bright red heart to the forehead of my calavera diffuser. I found it easier to work with attach one half of the heart at a time .

Step 6. Continue adding colorful accents to the wool calavera.

Step 7. Once you’re happy with the look, just thread the calavera bead and any additional beads you want onto an eye pin. Depending on the weight of your pin, you may need to use a large needle to create a passageway for the pin to slide through.