The cake topper, finished

This was actually a really easy project, I just managed to spread it out over an entire month. D and I have a collection of dia de los muertos figurines that we love, so it seemed like a natural choice for the cake topper, if we were going to have such a thing. I purchased the bride and groom at Olvera Street in downtown Los Angeles for $13 each. You can order similar ones online, but no two are exactly alike because they are hand painted, so I always like to pick mine out in person.

{cake topper, finished}

I purchased the round wooden circle from a craft store for less than a dollar and then gave it a quick paint job. The bride originally came with a mantilla veil that was kind of cheap looking, so I yanked it off and gave her a small one I made out of gold netting instead. I made teeny-tiny flowers out of bits of fabric and stuck them together for a bouquet (yes, by this point I knew I was being obsessive, but I was enjoying it).

The biggest stumbling block for me was that they came firmly glued to these little squares of wood and it drove me nuts because it was making them hard to position. I whined about it for two weeks and then started googling. Turns out that heat was the solution! I just aimed a blow dryer directly at the base and after 30 - 60 seconds I could easily pull the figurine off. Then I set them up on the painted circle and glued them down. Perfect.

We've been trying to strike a balance with the wedding - honoring some of D's heritage without making it seem like we tried to throw a cinco de mayo party. This just felt right.

(Note - this is one of those craft projects with hidden costs. I spent $27 to make this, but I already had paint and brushes and hot glue and netting and fabric on hand. If I'd had to buy all of those supplies it would have been closer to $50 and I would have had a ton of stuff leftover)