Polka Dot Porcelain Skull

NooN, from France, created this polka dot porcelain skull through K.olin Tribu. I love the anatomical detail of the sculpture itself. The polka dots are an unexpected playful addition. Since skulls are related to death, the polka dots remind me of the red and black fabric dots and beauty marks people used to put over small pox scars and blemishes on their faces. This was popular from the 1600s through the 1800s. Other than covering facial flaws, they were placed to signify many things. Here is a little guide to the history and meaning behind the popular beauty practice. I wonder what it would mean if they were all over someone's face...perhaps that they needed to visit a doctor.

Skull Tea Cup

Put a kettle on and brew up some tea, it's time to share a sip with Liz Hoge from Las Vegas, NV. This doll's head tea cup is über cool now with a face lift off.

Liz hand paints a lot of different corpse cups, but of course this one is our favorite.  This would be a perfect vessel for delivering a black magic potion, but maybe a little obvious.  Thanks for sharing a cup with us, Liz!

[CONTEST] Win A Skeletube from Noah Scalin

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating.

Noah Scalin is of course the creator of Skull-A-Day. He's made hundreds of different skulls with various mediums over the years (366 in the 1st year of the project). Last year, Noah combined his love for skeletons and vacuum tubes, to create Skeletubes. He's painted so many of these little guys that he's made a Skeletube army. Since so many people love these fun creations, Noah is giving away one Skeletube to one lucky Skull-A-Day fan!

Occasionally these little guys like to get together and go on adventures. So far they've escaped to a mountain and had a snow day.

PRIZE INFO: One Model B bagged and tagged Skeletube. It is a hand painted skeleton vacuum tube that is packaged as shown.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us what adventures your skeletube would have if you had one? For example, I might take mine to the beach to dig for lost treasure or to a cemetery to find old friends.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!! Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern USA Time Friday, February 1, 2012.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: Don't fret. These hand painted little guys are available in various models in Noah's Skeletube Shop.

Ceramic Skulls

Ian Childers is a ceramics professor at Mississippi University for Women who has been making and painting these ceramic skulls for about 5 years. He's been following our site for a few years now and "professed" his love for our site and our skulls.

Different designs painted upon it make each skull unique, but the addition of making each ceramic skull goes further into solidifying their unique status. My personal favorite is the grey skull with the "blood"(?) running down it's face. I hope you find more and more students each year wanting to learn more from your skull art, Ian. Thanks for submitting your great collection!

Lovely Bones

Malcolm Fisher from Sheffield, England, created this illustration "Lovely Bones" with the words "I Will Follow You Into the Dark".

If you are familiar with the band Death Cab for Cutie, then you will recognize the phrase as the name of a song of theirs. It's actually one of my favorites about love and death. There are stories of couples that die short of each other. It's said the last one to die had a broken heart. While some my die of a broken heart, there are many that live on even if their heart is broken. If you believe in the afterlife, your mate, family, and friends will be there to great you when ever your time is up.

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Set of Skull Ornaments

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Wednesday, December 26th to enter our latest giveaway contest for a set of 2 Skull Ornaments from Laura Bartholomew. You can find the original contest posts here or by clicking the side bar ad.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Of course, Laura's beautiful Dia de los Muertos wood and porcelain glass ornaments are available for purchase in her Etsy shop ARTholomew. Also, she's offering a 10% discount on all purchases if you enter SKULL10 at check out!

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Set of Skull Ornaments

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Don't forget that you have until 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Wednesday, December 26th to enter our latest giveaway contest for a set of 2 Skull Ornaments from Laura Bartholomew. You can find the original contest posts here or by clicking the side bar ad.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

Of course, Laura's beautiful Dia de los Muertos wood and porcelain glass ornaments are available for purchase in her Etsy shop ARTholomew. Also, she's offering a 10% discount on all purchases if you enter SKULL10 at check out!

[CONTEST] Win a Set of Skull Ornaments

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Laura Bartholomew is an artist and designer specializing in Day of the Dead inspired artwork. She works primarily in pyrography (wood burning) and acrylic paint. Laura's work can be seen on her website, Facebook page, and in her Etsy shop ARTholomew. Since it is the Winter holidays season, Laura is giving away a set of two ornaments, one wood burned star and one porcelain glass painted ball, to one lucky Skull-A-Day fan!

PRIZE INFO: One set of two ornaments...one painted porcelain glass ball, and one wood burned and stained star.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us how you decorate for any Winter holiday. For example, I decorate my front porch with many decorative Winter things, but the inside of my home just gets stockings and small ornaments on the mantle.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please include your email, or make sure your Blogger profile has a working email link for you on it. Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time Wednesday, December 26th.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: Head on over to Laura's Etsy Shop, ARTholomew. She has many ornaments and other pieces of artwork in there. Also, she's offering a 10% discount on all purchases if you enter SKULL10 at check out!

Nesting Doll Skull

Today's skull is the keeper of a diverse set of hand painted Russian dolls from Mel Rudgley in Australia.

The virgin Mary skull is great all by it's self, but this whole set is a wonderful collection. The group is suggestive of how we should all invite variety into our lives. Plus the snowman made me laugh. Thanks again, Mel!

Super Pyrography & Painted Skull Saturday

Wood burning is a craft that Laura Bartholomew of Denver, CO has her artful hands around. From "skellebrities" to friends to ornaments Laura is back again bringing these skulls back to life on a dead piece of wood.

Laura has been around Skull-A-Day since 2.0 (here, here, and here) and her skills are only getting better. Be sure to check out her site for loads more burned and painted skulls. My favorites are the portraits. Thanks again for the great submission, Laura!