Papel Picado – Día de los Muertos Decoration

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I’m originally from San Francisco, California, but I’ve been living in Tokyo, Japan for many years. It’s always been hard to find the right materials here to honor and commemorate my Mexican-American heritage, especially for Día de los Muertos. Every year, I build an ofrenda for my father and brother, who both passed away — and this year, I decided to go all in: I designed and 3D-printed almost my entire altar setup, including these papel picado decorations.

 

Each flag design was modeled to capture the beauty of traditional Mexican papel picado: Catrinas, skulls, marigolds, and folkloric dancers — all supported by thin lattice structures so they print perfectly without floating parts.

 

I printed most of them on my Bambu Lab X1C, and for the larger centerpiece banners, I used the H2S large-bed printer to get a super-wide print that sits perfectly in the middle of the altar. The smaller flags go beautifully along the edges.

 

For best results, I recommend keeping the thickness at around 0.75 mm — it makes them lightweight and easy to hang just like real papel picado.

 

Use the traditional Mexican colors for authenticity:
💛 Yellow 💗 Pink 💙 Blue 💚 Green 🤍 White

Print Profile Information

• Printer: Bambu Lab X1C / P1S / A1 / H2S (recommended for large panels)
• Filament Type: PLA / Silk PLA
• Layer Height: 0.16 mm
• Infill: 10 – 15 % or none (solid surface)
• Wall Loops: 2
• Supports: None needed
• Brim: Optional
• Approx. Print Time (per flag): 55 – 75 min
• Filament Usage (per flag): ~12 – 15 g
• Recommended Thickness: 0.75 mm
• Includes: Multiple .STL / .3MF files (Catrina, Skull, Text, Dancer, Cross, etc.)
  
  
  Future Project
• I’m currently working on a full Día de los Muertos Ofrenda Kit, which will include:
  🕯️ Papel picado banner designs
  💀 Calaverita de Azúcar (white, so you can paint it yourself — it’s easier this way)
  🖼️ Picture frame designs for your altar

• My Note

• Every design is part of my personal mission to bring Mexican tradition into the digital era — especially for those of us living far from home.
  If you print these, please post pictures of your creations — I’d love to see how you decorate your ofrendas! 🌼
  And don’t forget to boost the project to support more cultural creations like this one. 🙏