By CraftingStepByStepPublished Updated
Based on a video by BeforeAndAfterTV.
A pinata is a hollow paper shell you fill with sweets and then destroy. Building one from scratch sounds like a weekend job, and the reason this version is not is the party hats: five cone hats taped to a foil balloon give you a five-point star before you have touched any paper mache.
This build comes from BeforeAndAfterTV, and the supply list came to about eight dollars at a dollar store. Flour and water make the paste. Newspaper makes the shell. Crepe paper does all the visual work at the end.
| Base | Time | Cost | How it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cardboard box | An afternoon | Free | Hard. Corners and tape fight back |
| Paper mache over a balloon | 2-3 days with drying | A few dollars | Even, controllable |
| Balloon plus party hats (this page) | 2-3 days | About $8 | Shell cracks first, then the points |
Cardboard is fastest but hard to get right for small kids. Paper mache lets you choose the strength layer by layer.
Three to four layers of paper mache is the sweet spot. Two layers and it splits on the first hit, which is anticlimactic. Five or more and you have built something a child cannot break. For a room of under-sixes, stop at three. Teens with a broom handle can take four. Let the layers dry between coats, because thickness from wet layers piled on wet is not the same as real strength.
Standing it in a weighted jar rather than laying it on a table matters more than it sounds. Flat on a surface, one side stays damp and the shape flattens where it rests, and you find out at the fringing stage when nothing sits right.
Folding the strip over before you cut gives you double thickness, and doubled fringe is what looks full on the finished pinata. Single-layer fringe goes limp and shows the shell through the gaps.
Keep the load under two pounds. Wrapped candy, stickers, bouncy balls, hair clips and mini erasers all work, and a mix of non-candy treats keeps the parents happy. Avoid anything sharp or glass.
Do not hang it by a loop taped to the surface. Run the string through two holes near the top and tie it around a cardboard strip inside the shell, so the weight spreads before the paper tears.
Cut the trap door on the bottom and tape ten ribbons along it, with only one tied to the door. Each child pulls a ribbon until the right one drops the treats. No swinging stick needed.
More on the basics: paper mache paste, paper mache and paper mache pumpkins.
10 steps · about 9 minutes.Check off each step as you go and your progress saves automatically.
The clever part of this build is that the star points are just cone party hats. Five of them, in whatever colours you want the tips to be.
You also need a foil balloon for the body, newspaper, flour, masking tape, crepe paper and glue. The whole lot came to about eight dollars at a dollar store.
Tip
Foil balloons hold their shape better than latex under wet paper mache, and a star-shaped one gives the points something to sit on.
Inflate the balloon, then slide a party hat over each of the five points and tape it down with masking tape.
You only need enough tape to hold it steady. The paper mache is what actually locks the cones on.
Tip
Masking tape rather than clear tape here. Paste soaks into masking tape and grips it; it slides straight off the shiny stuff.
Whisk one cup of plain flour into one and a half cups of water until there are no lumps left.
You want it about the consistency of thin pancake batter. Too thick and it dries lumpy under the fringe, too thin and the paper will not hold.
Tip
Mix it in a wide bowl rather than a deep one. You need room to drag full-length strips through it.
Tear newspaper into strips about two inches wide. Dip a strip, swirl it through the paste, then draw it out between two fingers to squeeze off the excess.
Do not pinch too hard. You want a coating left on the paper, just not a dripping one.
Tip
Tear the newspaper rather than cutting it. Torn edges feather into each other and disappear; cut edges leave visible ridges.
Start in the middle of the balloon and work outward, overlapping each strip over the last.
Use shorter pieces around the cones where the curve is tight, and take the paper over the join so the balloon and the hat become one shape. Three to four full layers is what holds up to a bat.
Tip
Let each layer dry before you add the next. Piling wet layers on wet gives you a shell that stays soft in the middle.
Sit the piñata point-down in a tall jar so it dries evenly on both sides.
Weight the jar with something heavy, screws or bolts, or the whole thing tips over. Laid flat on a table one side stays wet and the shape flattens where it rests.
Tip
Give it overnight at least. Paper mache that feels dry on the surface is often still damp underneath.
Once it is properly dry, cut a hatch with a craft knife, somewhere it will be hidden by fringe later.
Cut three sides and leave the fourth as a hinge if you want a flap you can close again.
Tip
The balloon usually pops or shrivels once you cut in. That is fine, the paper shell is the structure now.
Fold a length of crepe paper over on itself about three inches deep, then cut a fringe along the folded edge, stopping short of the fold.
Folding first gives you double thickness, which is what makes the finished fringe look dense instead of thin and stringy.
Tip
Cut the fringe strips before you start gluing. Doing them one at a time between glue coats is how this project turns into an all-day job.
Thin white craft glue with a splash of water so it brushes on easily, then paint a band onto the shell and press a fringe strip down.
Work in rings, overlapping each new strip so it hides the glued edge of the one before. Take the colour right over onto the party hats.
Tip
Concentric rings of alternating colour are what give a piñata its look. Random placement reads as a mess from any distance.
Thread a length of string through the top for hanging, then fill it with wrapped sweets.
Tape a piece of card over the hatch, fringe over the top of it, and nobody will find the seam. Keep the sweets wrapped since they end up on the grass.
Tip
Tie the hanging string around one of the internal cone bases if you can reach. String taped only to the shell tears out on the first swing.
Keep going
How to Draw a Dreidel
How to Make a Pinata
E6000
E6000 Craft Adhesive, Clear (3.7 oz)
The industrial-strength craft glue that bonds glass, wood, ceramic, metal, fabric, and concrete. The one adhesive most craft projects reach for.
Gorilla
Gorilla Dual-Temp Full-Size Hot Glue Gun
Dual-temp so it handles delicate florals and heavy materials alike. A precise nozzle and built-in stand make it the everyday craft-table gun.
OLFA
OLFA 18" x 24" Self-Healing Cutting Mat
The pro-standard cutting surface. Gridlines for square cuts, self-healing so blades never leave grooves, and big enough for paper, fabric, and leather.
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Question 1 of 5
What gives this pinata its five star points?
Quick reference
5 questions, answers, and one-line explanations. Tap to expand.
1.What gives this pinata its five star points?
Answer: Cone party hats taped to a foil balloon
The hats do the shaping before any paper mache goes on.
2.How many layers of paper mache should you build up?
Answer: Three to four layers
Two splits on the first hit, five or more is genuinely hard to break.
3.What consistency should the flour paste be?
Answer: Thin like a pancake batter
One cup of flour to about one and a half cups of water gets you there.
4.Why dry the pinata standing point-down in a weighted jar?
Answer: Laid flat, one side stays damp and flattens
You find out at the fringing stage, when nothing sits right.
5.Why fold the crepe paper over before you cut the fringe?
Answer: Doubled fringe looks full instead of limp
Single-layer fringe goes limp and shows the shell through the gaps.
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