Celebrating Day of the Dead

Halloween is starting to permeate many countries around the world. For instance, last week when I was in Paris, the chocolate shops were embracing the holiday full on! But for my money, the Day of the Dead (or Dia de los Muertos) Mexican tradition on November 1 is much more amazing and picturesque. In this video, you'll find a great last-minute tutorial on how to make up your face like a traditional "sugar skull," a great way to celebrate both Halloween and Dia de los Muertos.

One of the Di de los Muertos customs is to decorate your home with an altar dedicated to departed loved ones. It's not a morbid custom; the skulls do represent death of course, but the colors and sugary substance of the confectionary skulls represent the sweetness of life, so it's a celebratory mix. This video shows you some of the ways you can decorate craft skulls to celebrate.

And from the same crafter, here's her step-by-step demonstration video on making Dia de los Muertos charm bracelets.

Finally, don't be surprised to see the Day of the Dead theme creeping into weddings, too! Here is a themed wedding cake, complete with skeleton cake toppers. Click here to visit the Etsy store where you can purchase the cake toppers.

If you're interested in learning more about event and wedding planning, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Halloween Jewelry: Balancing Repulsion and Attraction

Klimt02 is a website that provides an international forum for contemporary jewelry in a creative space that offers knowledge, information, debates, and exchanges - all within the artistic realm of jewelry. Based in Barcelona, Spain, Kilmt02 inspires everyone interested in the selection, quality, art, technology, and creation of art jewelry. Sheffield School has kindly been given permission to share works of global designers here on our website. In honor of Halloween, we wanted to show the beautiful and macabre jewelry creations of a talented Stockholm designer.

Märta Mattsson 

Märta Mattsson
Brooch 2012
Copper electroformed spider, cubic zirconias, lacquer, resin, silver

Märta Mattsson
Earrings: White beetle 2011
Copper electroformed beetle, cubic zirconias, silver, lacquer

Märta Mattsson
Necklace: The Nest 2010
Goat skin, butterflies, gold

Märta Mattsson
Brooch: Russian dancers 2008
Copper electro-formed crickets, lacquer, silver

Click to read more ...

Throw a Very Special Kids Halloween Party This Year

Pottery Barn Kids: Halloween Tablecloth

If your household has young children, it's important to make each holiday count towards making wonderful lifetime memories. Special decorating and tabletop touches will elevate a Halloween meal or party from the everyday to the memorable, and that's just what you're looking for. Here are a few of my favorite Pottery Barn Kids and Pottery Barn tabletop and decor items to help you throw a festive Halloween party this year. Click on each photo for more information. 

Pottery Barn Kids: Halloween Luminaries

Pottery Barn: Curiosity Appetizer Plates, Set of 4

Pottery Barn Kids: Personalized Owl Chairbacker

Pottery Barn Kids: Halloween Treat Basket and Liner

Pottery Barn: Owl Tree Punch Bowl Stand with Ladle

If you're interested in learning more about interior design and decorating, we encourage you to explore the Sheffield School, New York, NY. Sheffield began as an Interior Design school in 1985, and then expanded our course offerings to train people in other design-related fields, including Feng Shui, Wedding and Event Planning, and Jewelry Design. With thousands of active students and more than 50,000 graduates, Sheffield has trained more design professionals than any school in the world.

Request a free Sheffield School catalog describing our distance education courses.

Subscribe to the Sheffield Designer newsletter.

Holiday Home Decorating: 7 Halloween Favorites

West Elm: Terracotta Skull Bowl

Now that Halloween has pulled up just behind Christmas as the #2 holiday for home decorating - think of all those Halloween parties you have to decorate for, and the trick-or-treaters themselves! - I thought it would be fun to pick 7 different decor pieces that you don't have to feel guilty about displaying in your home.

Wisteria: Silhouette Witch and Cat Entourage

I've tried to avoid the too-tacky and trite and focus on those items which follow some of our key interior design rules of mood, function, style, period, and scale. Oh, and good taste, too! Click on each photograph for more information on the item, and happy decorating!

Crate & Barrel: Pumpkin Platter

Pottery Barn: Black House Lantern

Click to read more ...

Happy Halloween Favorites from Sheffield

Sheffield School is all about design, so what better way to celebrate our four great courses than to offer you a Halloween-design related post, where the fun-and-spooky holiday has infused an area of design.

1. Interior Design

Boo! There's nothing that gets us more in the Halloween mood than some ghoulish furnishings. Check out this Coffin Couch. Believe it or not, there are versions that are customized to celebrate your favorite sports teams. Now that's ghoulish ... and kitschy!

And how about this Skull Chair?

 Finally, who could resist Michael Wilson's sinister-but-so-cool Spider Table?

 

Click to read more ...