DIY Dia de los Muertos Wreath Rail

With the fall season coming up comes Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, which translates into “day of the dead.” It is an amazing holiday that is a celebration of life and death. This is a simple and fun wreath rail I put together to hang up and celebrate the beauty of life. 

To give a brief history on Dia De Los Muertos, The Day of the Dead is a Mexican holiday celebrated on November 1 and 2. The multi-day holiday involves family and friends gathering to pray for and to remember friends and family members who have died. It is commonly portrayed as a day of celebration rather than mourning.

Traditions connected with the holiday include building home altars called ofrendas, honoring the deceased using sugar skulls, aztec marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed, and visiting graves with these as gifts.

Create Your Own Dia de los Muertos Wreath Rail

If you and your family celebrate this holiday then this is the project for you. It is a simple and easy craft to decorate your house or gift to someone else! All of the bright and vibrant colors throughout the wreath rail is the perfect way to celebrate a loved one’s life. Also, Richard is along for the ride in this DIY! He definitely is a wonderful partner to have in the craft room. 

When you watch the video below, you will see that we are using our spool board to hold the ribbons and make a bow. If you are new to us and aren’t sure what the spool board is or how to use it, check out our post How to use a Ribbon Spool Board. In that post, I show you how to assemble it and explain all the ways that you can use it as an extra hand while crafting!

Supplies You’ll Need for the Dia De Los Muertos Wreath Rail

• 10” Purple Mesh 
• Spool Board (optional) 
• Pipe Cleaners 
• Sugar Skull Attachment 
• Interchangeable Door Hanger Wreath Rail 
• Zip Ties 
• 2 types of Halloween 2.5” ribbon (Polka Dot & Striped) 
• 2 types of Tubing (Pink & Purple) 
• Bow Maker 
• Scissors 
• Ribbon Tail Board 
• Sign Attachment Rail 
• Velcro 
• Rotary Cutter 
• Wire Cutters 
• 2 types of 1.5” Halloween ribbon (purple jelly & chevron) 

DIY Dia De Los Muertos Wreath Rail Instructions

1. First you are going to start by getting your sign attachment rail and zip tie it to your interchangeable door hanger wreath rail, make sure it is tight and snug. Take wire cutters and cut off any extra zip tie wire left. A fun fact about this is once you have put together your project, you can change out your sign and keep your beautiful rail with the ribbons, mesh, and bow you created. 
2. Then you are going to take a piece of velcro and put one part on your sign attachment rail and one on your sugar skull, and then attach them. 
3. Now for the fun part! Decorating! Take 5 pipe cleaners and put them in a zigzag pattern along your wreath rail. 
4. Take your rotary cutter and cut 5 pieces of 10” purple mesh and make one ruffle for every twist tie. Roll up the edges a little bit and then scrunch it up the center. Add the center part of the ruffle to the ties.
5. Cut 5- 14” ribbon tails of the polka dot ribbon. Fold the tails in half and pinch the center together. Attach the center pinch to a twist tie on the wreath frame. Repeat with the remaining ribbon tails and twist ties. Spread out your center tails in Xs and then Ks at both ends. 
6. Next cut 5- 14” ribbon tails of the stripe ribbon. Fold the tails in half and pinch the center together. Attach the center pinch to a twist tie on the wreath frame. Spread out your center tails in Xs and then Ks at both ends. 
7. Then add in your tubing. Take two different color tubing and pinch them together like a bow and twist them in the middle of your pipe cleaners. 
8. With your EZ Bow Maker and your ribbons we are going to make a bow! Start with a 2.5” ribbon, measure a 10” tail, twist the ribbon and then add it to the bowmaker. Then make a 6” loop, twist, add it to the bow maker. Make another loop on the other side then trim after a 10” tail.
9. Use another 2.” ribbon to repeat the same process making four loops this time and your loops a little smaller this time.
10. Then use a 1.5” ribbon to make 4 loops using the same process and then again with another 1.5” ribbon.
11. For the final layer of the bow use another 1.5” ribbon to make two smaller loops.
12. Take two pipe cleaners and twist the ends together to make one long pipe cleaner. Remove your bow from the bow maker and use the long pipe cleaner to secure the center of the bow twisting it off at the back.
13. Use the pipe cleaners on the bow to push through the mesh and attach the bow to the wreath rail.

This Dia De Los Muertos Wreath Rail is such a beautiful reminder of the lives lived. We have all lost someone special, but I love how there is a day that we can take out of the year and celebrate them and the joy they once brought to the world around us. Share this with a friend, a loved one, or keep it for yourself!

If you love this Dia de los Muertos wreath rail tutorial, save the instructions by pinning the image below!