After three years posting pictures of home made piñatas, I’m often asked how I make them – So I thought I’d take you step-by-step as to how I made the tent for Anders camping themed party:
1. Start with the basic structure – In this case, I used a Hammermill paper box from my office. In the past I’ve used a balloon (pirate piñata), foam disks and poster board (Lego head piñata), or a plastic bowl (ladybug).
This is the most important step – the more established the shape, the easier the rest of the process will be. My other recommendation – keep the shape simple.
The beginning of a pinata
2. I cut the front and back out of the box, then folded the box into a triangle shape (turned inside out to hide the writing). Don’t forget to leave space at the top for inserting the candy and tie a string around it for hanging later. Before starting the paper mache, I cut big holes in the side of the box so that the structure won’t be too strong – we do want it to fall apart, eventually.
3. Be prepared to get messy – it’s time to paper mache! Using a basic no-cook recipe (1 part flour to 2 parts water) and old newspapers, apply a layer of newspaper strips to the structure. I read somewhere that it’s better to rip the paper, instead of cut it, but I’m not sure why.
The cups let me me cover the whole pinata without the bottom sticking.
4. To speed up the process, I put the piñata in front of a fan. I usually put on two – four layers of paper before I’m finished.
5. With the first layer dry, I applied a second layer using white paper from our recycling bin, instead of newspaper. That leaves me with a fairly clear surface for painting (which I do because I haven’t a clue how people make pinatas with tissue paper).
I used extra pieces of paper to create the flaps for the door and windows.
6. Using paint from the craft box (I used red finger paint for the tent) I start painting.
Before painting, I reapplied the door flaps. My first attempt was too small.
7. That’s it! When I painted the Lego head, I finished it off with a glossy finish to give it the look of plastic. But I left this pinata with a matte finish.
Ta-da!
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7 Responses to How to make a tent piñata
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Will you come to Illinois and make a Harry Potter pinata for me? Only kidding, but I am sure I do not have that in me. Thanks for the helpful steps.
This seriously goes in the “and then some” category. I hope someday to get it together enough to just make my son a cake!
so cute! it’s a shame to let kids destroy it after all of the work that went into it
Thank you! The one time I made a pinata (the basic one from a balloon), it would not break and we had to cut it apart. I’ve been afraid to try again every since–but now that I have such good step by step directions, maybe I will!
In response to not knowing how to make it out of tissue paper…I once made a treasure chest pinata for my son’s pirate b-day. I made it from a box with the paper mache just as you did. However, when it came time to decorate it, I used crepe paper (the rolled up kind you use to decorate with). I cut about 3/4 of the way up each piece and then layered them on top of each other until it was covered. Its wasn’t too bad. I hope this makes enough sense to help. I have pics if anyone needs to see what I mean.
[...] my traditional piñata (for those who many not remember – I have made a pinata shaped like a tent, ladybug, lego head, and skull). Not only did I not necessarily have the time, we were also hosting [...]
[...] my traditional piñata (for those who many not remember – I have made a pinata shaped like a tent, ladybug, Lego head, and pirate skull). Not only did I not necessarily have the time, we were also [...]