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Posted inDay of the Dead Halloween Make with kids older kids / adults young kids

Rock painting: Day of the Dead skulls

A super-easy craft for Halloween or Day of the Dead: painted stone skulls!

Day of the Dead skulls are a popular symbol for Día de Muertos (a Mexican holiday where people gather to remember friends and family who have passed away).  The  decorative skull symbol (often made of sugar), along with marigolds are used to honour the dead.

Inspired by Red Ted Arts’ (Sharpie) stone skulls, I decided to paint some for the boys.  And add some sparkle (of course)!

Painted stone day of the dead skulls

 

To make painted rock Day of the Dead skulls, you will need:

  • rocks in the (general) shape of skulls
  • acrylic paint
  • brushes
  • old newspaper and overalls (acrylic paint can stain)
  • OPTIONAL: glitter, sequins and ModPodge

stone painted day of the dead skulls

How to make painted rock Day of the Dead skulls:

  • Make sure you have anything precious (table, caarpet, kids) well covered before starting
  • Paint a white skull shape on your stone and leave to dry
  • Add your skull’s features (traditionally an upside down heart for a nose and lots of marigolds, plus spider webs), but you can choose to make them as pretty (or scary!) as you like.
  • OPTIONAL: add a layer of Mod Podge and add glitter and/or sequins for added sparkle!

If you enjoyed this painted rock Day of the Dead skulls craft, you might want to follow my Day of the Dead board on Pinterest for more fun ideas!

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21 Comments

  1. Tarana
    September 11, 2014,

    That’s an interesting tradition, and these painted rocks look great!

  2. Jenny
    September 12, 2014,

    These are so cute, we love painting rocks! We’ve had fun with the Day of the Dead too.

  4. Sylvie Roy
    September 23, 2014,

    I love these! I’ve always been a rock lover since I was a little girl, and my oldest daughter is showing signs of being the same at 2 years old, so I get a little bit excited when I see crafts like this. I need to get clicking around and read your other rock-painting posts. #pintorials

      • Richard
        June 4, 2016,

        I really love this idea I have been doing this myself with slate style rocks broken in to small stones so I can carve the shape then I use a soldering iron for eyes nose cavity and mouth then paint them in. people like you keep the creative minds trying new things keep up the great work

  6. HappyCampers
    October 18, 2014,

    Hey…check out Mom’s Got Ink on FB. She stole your photo from this post and didn’t give any credit or links.

    • Hodge Podge
      October 19, 2014,

      Thank you so much for letting me know – I find it so rude when people steal images and/or content. I am always happy for people to use a photo of mine as long as they link back and credit.

  9. Jennifer Grace
    September 25, 2015,

    These are so fun! We like painting stones, and I know my daughter will want to try these designs. Especially with the added sparkle! I have pinned this! #pintorials

    • Hodge Podge
      September 25, 2015,

      Thanks Jennifer – one can never have too much sparkle! 😉

  12. pattie h
    June 4, 2016,

    I love rock painting. There is a paint stick that you can buy that makes the project easy and clean. I tried to post picts of my rocks but don’t know if it appeared. Anyway these are super and the kiddos will love them.

  13. Susan Stecz
    October 29, 2018,

    I wish I could be there to help—will the kids be having refreshments/treats that I can bring in?

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