![\"Calaveras\"](\"http:\/\/www.shadowmanor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/calaveras-150x112.jpg\" "\\"Calaveras\\"")
Calavera<\/I> is the Spanish word for “skull,” and is frequently used to describe various traditions associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration.<\/p>\nCalavera<\/I> is the Spanish word for “skull,” and is frequently used to describe various traditions associated with the Mexican Day of the Dead celebration.<\/p>\n
I like calaveras because you can come over all skull-having and just claim an interest in a perfectly mainstream cultural phenomenon.<\/p>\n
There are the traditional figures<\/a>, which make wonderful little desk accessories, wedding cake toppers, and decorative accents (a bunch of different ones massed on a shelf or side table make an interesting conversation piece). You can find them engaged in virtually every profession and activity imaginable, so they make a cute personalized gift for a hairdresser<\/a>, new mother<\/a>, cat lover<\/a>, or anybody else you can dream up.<\/p>\n There are also sugar skulls<\/a>, which are fun to decorate and make an unusual party favor (or place card, if you frost each person’s name on the skull). They’re a fun group craft, too: A supply of blank sugar skulls, tubes of icing, and decorative stuff like colorful candies and edible glitter will keep kids or<\/em> adults entertained. You can use the same molds to cast plaster skulls, then paint or glue on jewels for permanent decorations.<\/p>\n Crafters can make soft-sculpture calaveras like the ones above<\/a>, and can also find fabric<\/a>, embroidery patterns<\/a>, and lots more.<\/p>\n There are also higher-quality (and higher-priced) calaveras like these statuettes<\/a>, which would be a lovely and elegant addition to a room’s decor. These calavera-themed voodoo dolls<\/a> are kind of interesting too.<\/p>\n