I had something completely different planned for this post. My original plan was to write about how to throw a fun Cinco De Mayo party, but with everyone practicing social distancing or being asked to stay in their homes (like me right now), I thought it would be best to change up my plan. So hopefully this inspires you to add a new hobby to your repertoire.
I have said this before, but while I was born in Chicago, I grew up in Tampa Florida, specifically Tampa which has a pretty awesome Latino culture. I learned a lot about what made me happy by watching my wild Cuban neighbors whose names I can’t remember, but I can see their faces in my mind’s eye.
They knew how to party!!! I have a really funny memory of New Years where my sisters and I went outside to blow horns and celebrate the ball dropping and my drunk Cuban neighbors started firing guns into the air. Like, actual live ammunition and they were drunk. I remember my mother with only slightly hidden annoyance in her voice saying “Come on girls, let’s go inside, they’ve brought the guns out”. While I obeyed my mother (who had a polite yet strained relationship with our neighbors), I always remembered that as them having some really fun times. It made a memory so strong, that while I’m not Latino, I really enjoy learning about their culture, which brings me to Cinco De Mayo and Day of the Dead.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
For me when I think of Cinco De Mayo I actually get it mixed up with Mexico’s Dia de Los Muertos otherwise known as the day of the dead. Many cultures around the world have a day in which the dead are honored. Even here in America, we have Halloween which is a time when some believe the veil between our world and the next thins.
In Mexico, they will often decorate sugar skulls putting the name of deceased loved ones on the forehead of a skull and decorating it. It’s believed to be a way to honor and welcome back spirits returning during this time.
During this Covid 19 Pandemic, I’ve had some time to pick up a new hobby. Wood burning has always fascinated me, plus I love the smell of burnt wood (reminds me of camping). So I started making these beautiful Day of the Dead spoons! I’ll be selling them in my shop, but I want to show you how to go about doing them yourself in case you wanted to try your hand at making these.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
*A blank wooden spoon
*A pencil
*Eraser
*Wood Burning Kit
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
1.) I’m going to show you, step by step how I go about drawing a skull. First, you start off with a basic circle.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
2.) About a quarter of the way down on the circle draw a line and on either side of the line, start to draw your cheekbones.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
3.) Draw a line connecting the cheekbones and that will complete your upper skull.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
4.) Next, you’re going to draw a dot where the chin is, and then two lines coming down from the cheekbones.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
5.) The line nearest to the upper jaw teeth are going to connect and make the lower teeth.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
6.) The line farthest away is going to be drawn down and connected to that dot to make your chin.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
7.) Now you have a basic skull shape. Draw two circles for where you want the eyes to be and two teardrop shapes where you want the nose holes to be.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
8.) Decorate the skull however you wish! If you Google “Sugar Skulls” you’ll get some really great ideas!
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
9.) Plugin your wood-burning kit.
10.) Being careful not to burn yourself, move the heated tip along your sketch lines to burn your sketch into the wood.
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
This was so much fun for me to make.
I hope this gives you something delicious to look forward to and motivates you to start your day well! -Heather Astaneh
Cinco De Mayo Sugar Skull Wood Burned Spoons! by autumnbecomes.me
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