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| HOW
TO MAKE A PINATA! You'll need to make this pinata in advance, so it has time to dry properly. Plan to work outdoors, as it can be a little messy. WHAT YOU NEED Large balloons Newspapers 2 cups white flour 2 1/2 cups water Large bowl WHAT TO DO 1. Blow up balloon and tie it. 2. Tear the newspapers (perpendicular to the writing) in long strips. 3. Mix the flour and water in the bowl with your hands, squishing out all the lumps until the mixture has the consistency of cake batter. 4. Wet the balloon with this gooey mixture and then spread newspaper strips on the balloon. Crisscross the strips for added strength.Add more of the mixture to the balloon as needed. Be sure to leave a 2" wide hole at the top for putting the filling in. 5 Firmly attach a strong but bendable wire to the top of the pinata, which can be used to hold the rope when the pinata is finished. 6. Continue pasting newspaper strips to balloon until there are about 6 layers over every part of it. The thicker you make the pinata, the more hits everyone will get when they are whacking it. 7. Let the pinata dry for about a week. After a couple of days, pop the balloon so the inside dries more quickly. 8. When it's dry, fill the pinata with unbreakable toys (bouncy balls, kazoos, plastic animals, etc.) and/or with wrapped candies. |
 TIPS FOR SHAPING THE PINATA. Form your pinata using traditional shapes like stars, owls, parrots and burros. To form legs, necks or other straight, attached decorations, cut 1" slits around the bottom of a bath tissue or paper towel tube, bend the slits outward, and tape or glue firmly to the pinata. STARPOINT CONES. Cut 2 quarter circles out of thin cardboard or thick paper. Tape (masking tape) the straight edges together to form a cone. Cut 1" slits in the bottom, bend outward, and tape or glue to the pinata. WINGS. Use oblong pieces of thin cardboard. DECORATING THE PINATA. Paint the pinata as creatively as you've shaped it. Acrylic or fabric paints work best. TRADITIONAL FRINGE DESIGN WHAT YOU NEED: several colors of tissue paper Glue stick (not white craft glue which is too wet and makes the dye in the tissue paper run) 1. Cut tissue paper in 3"x30" pieces. (To make it easier, keep the paper folded as it comes in the package, and cut it every 3". Then unfold it and keep each group of paper together for the next step.) 2. Fold each group of 3"x30" pieces lenghtwise and make a 1" cut every 1/2 " along the strip. 3. Separate the fringe pieces from each other. Spread glue onto the lower third of your pinata and stick fringe pieces on one at a time, starting with the first piece at the bottom with the fringe down. Then, add another layer so the fringe overlaps enough to cover the fold of the layer before. 4. When you run out of gluey area, spread glue on the middle third of your pinata and continue the rows. Finish with the top third of your pinata. 5. Continue until you reach the top. 6. Glue fringe on legs, cones, and so on, starting at the bottom of the cone or leg. BREAKING THE PINATA OPEN. Attach a rope to the pinata so it can be lowered and raised as blindfolded guests attempt to break it with a large stick or baseball bat. Spin the blindfolded person around until he or she is disoriented; then let him or her try to hit the pinata. HAVE FUN! These instructions were adapted from the book MAKING COOL CRAFTS AND AWESOME ART: A Kids' Treasure Trove of Fabulous Fun, by Roberta Gould, published by Williamson Publishing. Used with author's permission. |
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All images and text copyright Elisa Kleven. Site last updated May 2001 |