Our free printable Sugar Skull Template Printable Outlines come in small, medium, and large, different styles, and colors and as sugar skull coloring pages.
They are perfect for any type of Mexican art and crafts and decorations to celebrate Dia de Los Muertos.
Let’s dive right in and get inspired by our free sugar skull printables and craft ideas!
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Before we get started with our templates of sugar skulls, let’s learn a little bit about this Mexican decoration!
What is a Sugar Skull?
Sugar skulls represented a departed soul. It has the name written on the forehead and was placed on the home ofrenda (altar) or gravestone to honor the return of a particular spirit during the Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration.
Sugar skull art reflects the folk art style of big happy smiles, colorful icing sparkly tin, and glittery adornments. Clay-molded sugar skulls are labor-intensive and made in very small batches in the homes of sugar skull makers.
Sugar Skull History
In the 17th century, sugar art was brought to the New World by Italian missionaries.
The first Church mention of sugar art was from Palermo at Easter time when little sugar angels and lambs were made to adorn the side altars in the Catholic Church.
Mexico, abundant in sugar production and too poor to buy these fancy imported European decorations, learned quickly from the friars how to make sugar art for their religious festivals.
Clay-molded sugar figures of sheep, angels, and sugar skulls go back to the Colonial Period 18th century.
These and more facts about sugar skulls can be found here.
What Is Dia de Los Muertos, and Why Is It Celebrated?
So sugar skulls are used as decoration to honor lost family members during the Dia de Los Muertos celebration.
But what is Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead)? Let’s find out!
Día de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their deceased relatives for a brief reunion. The Day of the Dead is celebrated each year from October 31st till November 2nd and includes food, drink, and celebration.
According to tradition, the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31 (Halloween) and the spirits of children can rejoin their families for 24 hours. The spirits of adults can do the same on November 2 (All Souls Day).
These and more inspiring facts about Dia de Los Muertos can be found in the following link.
Dia de Lost Muertos Books for Kids
After we learned some cool facts about sugar skulls and Dia de Los Muerto you might like to read a matching book to your children.
Here are some great recommendations on children’s Dia de Los Muerto books for you:
Thong once again proves her mastery at creating a multicultural picture-book text that engages all readers…The rhyme is rhythmic and effortless, making it a delightful read-aloud.
Our sugar skull outlines come in different styles, different sizes (small, medium, and large), and colors, and include sugar skull coloring pages.
They are especially popular during Dia de Los Muertos celebrations but can be used all year round for Mexican art and craft projects.
Below you can find several sugar skull craft ideas for our templates. Do not forget to check them out!
You will see our free sugar skull template printables can be used in many different ways.
They are great for crafting at home, in a classroom, or in any other group setting.
But before we get started with all these fun sugar skull craft template ideas, let’s have a look at what we will need for these projects. Here is a list of supplies you will need for our templates of sugar skulls.
Sugar Skull Cut Out Materials
Free Printable Sugar Skull Cut Out Templates (found below)
It is always nice to get an idea of how to use our sugar skull outlines or see other related activities. I hope the following sugar skull template craft ideas will inspire you.
Therefore here are 8 Simple Sugar Skull Crafts Activities to keep you and your children entertained during your celebration:
Learn About the Day of the Dead
S is for Sugar Skull
Sugar Skull Coloring Pages
Sugar Skull Stencils
DIY Sugar Skull Card
Homemade Sugar Skull Decoration
Sugar Skull Activities
Simple Sugar Skull Template Outline
1. Learn About the Day of the Dead
After learning some fun sugar skull facts above, why not add them to your preschool lesson plan before the Day of the Dead celebration?
While learning about this Mexican holiday make sure to include a simple sugar skull craft project.
You can also add some educational or fictional books, which will help you memorize the learned facts better.
Go check out our recommendation on Dia de Los Muertos books above.
2. S Is for Sugar Skull
You can also add our easy sugar skull templates to your preschool alphabet lesson plan. Use them while learning the letter S.
First, print out some upper and lowercase letter S worksheets.
After your student are done with their work, make sure to include an easy sugar skull craft for the S sound.
Tip: Make sure to study each letter individually so your students can form memories for each letter to recollect them more easily.
3. Sugar Skull Coloring Pages
The easiest way of using our templates is as simple sugar skull coloring pages. Take either our large sugar skull outline printable or the sugar skull coloring sheets I made.
The larger the picture of a sugar skull, the easier younger children can stay in the lines. In case you have older children just use the smaller sugar skull printables to make it more challenging.
I even added some sugar skull pictures in color to the coloring pages so the children have some inspiration.
But if you are tired of just coloring the sugar skulls, you could also try one of these 25 Fun Painting Ideas for kids. Take a look at the full list and get inspired!
Using our sugar skull printouts as stencils is also an easy way to make an adorable sugar skull Dia de Los Muertos craft. I recommend using the smaller or medium-sized skull outlines to repurpose them into sugar skull stencils.
Our most loved painting technique for stencils is using an old toothbrush. With the help of watercolors, you can create beautiful sugar skull artwork.
Once you are finished with your Day of the Dead card, let’s decorate your house.
Use our small sugar skull printables as table cards or table decorations. Turn our medium sugar skull outlines into a colorful garland or simply house our colored sugar skull pictures if you do not have time to decorate yourself.
You loved crafting with our easy sugar skull templates but like to learn now how to draw a sugar skull yourself? Then go check out this fun sugar skull art tutorial with your kids next.
How to Download Your Free Printable Sugar Skull Templates PDF
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Already a subscriber? Don’t worry, no need to subscribe twice. I just updated our free printable library. You can find our easy sugar skull printables there or check our latest newsletter for more information.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I’m happy to help!
Pin These Free Sugar Skull Template Printables
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Now it is your turn. How did your kids enjoy their sugar skull printable outlines? Which was your favorite snow globe activity? Either way, let me know by leaving a comment below right now. I would love to hear from you!
vidya
Friday 28th of October 2022
thanks for so many options for coloring! I keep learning more about this festival each time and it is so very interesting
Lil Tigers
Friday 28th of October 2022
I m very happy you like it! Thank you for your support!
Luna S
Wednesday 26th of October 2022
I like that you have different sizes available for print! These look great.