Make a Flower Crown for Dia de los Muertos

Cempasúchil Marigold Crown — Woman with a Marigold (Cempasúchil) Crown

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a heartwarming holiday or fiesta at the end of October to celebrate those who have died. The celebrations are marked by beautiful costumes, ornate face painting, sugar skulls, traditional foods and colorful flower crowns.

Flower crowns are a very easy craft to make your own using real or artificial flowers, wire or a headband and any Day of the Dead themed embellishments.

We hope to inspire you to explore your creativity and make your own floral crown or headpiece from a simple real, natural flower headband, like the Marigold or Cempasúchil one above to more elaborate multi-colored, embellished flower crowns (included in examples below) or hair garland.

Once your one-of-a-kind floral creation is done it can worn for other special occasions, not just for the Day of the Dead.

Marigold Crown Photo by Ray LAC. Used under a Creative Commons License 2.0.

What is Dia de Los Muertos?

Disneyland Day of the Dead Ofrenda — Day of the Dead Ofrenda at Disneyland

Los Dias de los Muertos (the Days of the Dead) is a fiesta to honor and celebrate loved ones who have died. The celebrations last from October 31 – November 2.

Day of the Dead is celebrated by the Latin American countries, Dia de los Muertos is also celebrated in many regions in the United States, Brazil and the Philippines.

This has been one of my favorite holidays because it is a positive way to celebrate the lives of the family and friends who have died. In recent years, most likely because of the colorful costumes, food and traditions it is also becoming a popular holiday to celebrate in the United States.

It would be fun to see more people celebrating the Day of the Dead. Disneyland has been including decorations for Dia de los Muertos for several years as part of their Disneyland Halloween Celebration.

Inspiration for Day of the Dead Crowns

One of the best ways to create your own unique Dia de los Muertos hair accessory or Day of the Dead headpiece is to look at photographs of premade designs and then choose the best elements of different designs to create your own unique and special look.

Several different types of flowers can be used to create a floral crown. Many of the premade hair garlands are done with roses, but for the day of the dead versions, flor de muertos or marigolds (cempasúchil) or chrysanthemums (mums) are commonly used. Choose a color scheme for the overall look of your custom creation. We have examples of cheerful celebration, modern pastels and somber melancholy.

Be inspired to create your own with these ideas from premade flower hair accessories and headbands on Amazon and from selected real life examples below.

We have specially selected examples of different color choices for creative floral headbands here and others on the the DIY Easy Rose Crown for Dia de los Muertos Page. This page has detailed instructions, video tutorials and links to materials to help you craft your own.

Cheerful, Celebration Colors

For a cheerful, traditional celebration look choose bright colors like red, orange, peach, yellow and white.

Chrysanthemum Crown by Tom Hilton. Used under a Creative Commons Licence. Sunflower Headband by Larry Lamsa. Used under a Creative Commons Licence.

Modern, Pastels Colors

For a more modern twist choose the in-between pastel colors like pink, lilac and lavender.

Bright Pink Roses Headband — Bright Pink & White Roses Headband

Roses and Lilacs Crown by ArielleJay Used under a Morgue File Licence. Pink Roses Crown by mbtrauma. Used under a Creative Commons License.

Somber, Melancholy Colors

For a more somber, moody look use dark red, burgundy, black, deep blue or purple flowers. Embellish with skulls or skeletons.

Blue Floral Crown by Mooshuu. Used under a Creative Commons License 2.0. Dark Red Rose Clip by Jaredzimmerman. Used under a Creative Commons License 3.0.

How to Make a Special Flower Crown for Day of the Dead or Any Day

A special flower crown or hair garland that you have crafted yourself is perfect for any Day of the Dead, a party or any other occasion, or for no particular reason at all, when a flower hair accessory would be fun to wear.

These fun and fashionable floral crowns are becoming popular at festivals and weddings in additional to the fall fiesta celebrations.

To help you can make your own special floral headband, we have broken down directions for making a flower garland in the DIY Easy Rose Crown for Dia de los Muertos for instructions on making your own custom-designed flower masterpiece.

We’d love to see your creations. Share your unique flower inspirations with us on our Facebook Page or via Pinterest.

Girl with Rose Crown Photo by Ray LAC. Used under a Creative Commons License 2.0.