Ofrenda (Día de los Muertos Altar)
A quick one-hour build for Clarissa – a three-tiered altar for Día de los Muertos that nests together for easy storage.
1 hour
October 2025
Materials
Techniques
Tools Used
Gallery
Build Notes
Clarissa asked me, "Hey, do you think you could make me an altar for Día de los Muertos?"
"Yeah, it shouldn't take that long actually. Let's just take some measurements and I'll put it together."
A Quick Build
This was kind of an hour project. I went into the garage, cut up some 3/4" plywood to the measured lengths, widths, and depths we wanted for the altar tiers, and put it all together with glue and brad nails.
I'd never done anything quite like this before – building something with a specific ceremonial purpose. But the construction itself was simple: just boxes of different sizes that stack to create the tiered altar look.
The Result
It actually ended up turning out really awesome. Clarissa decorated it beautifully with photos, marigolds, candles, and all the traditional elements.
The best part? It's pretty easy to store because the pieces fit inside each other – they nest together. When Día de los Muertos is over, the whole thing packs away compactly until next year.
Sometimes the simplest projects are the most meaningful.