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Make a
Butterfly Pinata
How
to make a Paper-Mache Butterfly Pinata
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| Set
Up
- Clear your work area. Spread out 3 or 4
layers
of newspapers
to protect your table.
- Gather all your materials: 3
12" balloons,
newspaper,
scissors, flour, masking tape, wire whisk, and water.
- Collect and cut newspaper into strips
about 1
inch wide.
Make them as long as the narrow width of the newspaper.
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4. Mix up your paste. Use 1 part flour to 1
part
water and
mix
with a whisk.
5. Under-inflate the balloons and carefully
tape
together,
end to end.
Tips
- You can use any kind of
paper if you really want, but
newspaper works best. Old phone book pages are too thin and fall apart
easily
in the paste, regular paper and glossy newspaper ads don’t absorb water
as
easily and take a bit more work. I’d stick with newspaper.
- White flour works better
than whole wheat. Whole wheat globs
up and you have to sand it down after it dries. No fun.
- I found the larger balloons,
under-inflated,
worked better than smaller balloons. They're more stable and easier to
apply the paper mache and can hold more goodies for the pinata.
The
Process for making a Butterfly Pinata
1.
Dip strips in paste, run
through fingers to get rid of
excess paste and layer on the pinata form. Make two layers
of newspaper
strips
then allow it to dry. It takes 1-2
days to dry, depending on your local
climate
(humidity level) and how thick the newspaper (and paste) is.
Leave an
opening
at the top for filling with candy.
2. After the pinata is dry,
trim the opening to make it smooth.
If you forgot to leave an opening, cut an opening. Pop balloon and
remove.
Then, wrap string or ribbon around the pinata making a cross over the
opening.
Use one long string to make the cross, not two short strings. Trust me
on this. Just keep wrapping the string around the pinata to make
it work.
3. Put another two layers of
newspaper strips over the pinata
and string and allow it to dry. It’s okay if some spots are not as
thick as
other spots. Weak spots are where the pinata will break open.
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Tips
- Two layers of newspaper
are about right. The newspaper
shrinks a little as it dries and if there are weak spots in the
newspaper the
balloon will break through them. If there are too many layers the
guests
will
never be able to break it open.
- Be sure the string is loose across the top of
the hole and the hole is
a little big because you will need to stick your arm down the body of
the butterfly to attach the wings.
- Use string or ribbon or
even bias tape for the pinata
hangar. Avoid using yarn or elastic. If using a thin string like kite
string
you will want to double each string.
- The second layer of
newspaper strips will dampen the first
layer. Since there is no longer a balloon inside it to help it hold its
shape,
turn the pinata frequently as it dries to keep it from developing a
flat side
or hang it up to dry.
- Be sure to completely dry the pinata. If the
pinata is still
damp when the kids start hitting it,
you’ll be able to beat it senseless but never break it open.
Clean
Up
- Lay the butterfly pinata on clean
newspaper to dry.
- Throw away the old
newspaper.
- Rinse hands, arms and any
other messy appendages with warm
water and soap.
Tips
- If you had a lot of fun
and have an excessive amount of paste
on your clothes, let it dry and rub as much of the paste off as you can
before
washing.
- Cover extra paste and put
in fridge to save for the next
layer. If it dries out, just add a bit of water and mix.
How
to Decorate the Butterfly Pinata
- Collect the materials you will need: yellow
tissue
paper, pink tissue paper, scissors, black marker, white glue, glue
stick,
green and
purple paper, posterboard, scissors, hole punch, green paint, two 1
1/2" stryrofoam
balls, three white pipe cleaners, two purple pipe cleaners and two
chopsticks.
- Then, trim off any edges of dried newspaper
that curled
out.
- Print out the face and wing decorations on the
green and purple papers from
this file.
 - Make the fringe trim for the pinata by folding
and cutting the tissue paper in strips about 1 to 1 1/2 inches wide, when folded. Then
snip fringes about 1/4" to 1/2" wide from the open side, up toward the
folded edge of the strip of tissue paper.
- At the bottom of the pinata, glue a
couple strips, about 2" long, of yellow fringe. Then use white glue to
wind a circle of yellow fringe around and around the butterfly body
until you reach the top. Each strip should be about 1/4" to 1/2" above
the previous layer.
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Decorate the Wings - Now, make the wings. Fold the posterboard in
half and draw a large
"B" on it for your wing pattern. Place the butterfly pinata body next
to this to be certain it will match well. If you're happy with the line
you drew, cut it out.
- Lay the cut out green paper decorations
for the wings on the wings and draw and outline of them. You will not
need to fill in these spots with fringe.
- Glue pink fringe
around the outside of the wings using glue stick. You can use white
glue, but on the posterboard a glue stick is easier. Slowly move in
with each layer of fringe until you get to theoutlines you drew on the
wings. glue fringe to just inside these lines.
- Glue the green paper cut outs over the wings.
- Use white glue to attach the purple
face to the pinata and hold down for a minute while the glue sets.
- Fold the wings in half and lay against the back
of the butterfly
pinata and use the marker to mark on the back of the wings where the
body touches the posterboard. Make corresponding marks on the back of
the butterfly. Then use a hole puncher to make holes in the posterboard
and use the tip of the scissors to make matching holes in the back of
the butterfly.
- Put the white pipe cleaners into the holes in
the back of the wings and then into the body of the butterfly. This
gets to be a little fun! You also get to reach into the butterfly to
tighten and twist the pipe cleaners to attach the wings to
the body.
- Now, paint the styrofoam balls green.
- Twist
the purple pipe cleaners around a marker or pencil to make them curly.
Then poke one end into the butterfly, just above and to the side of
either eye and put the styrofoam balls at the other end of the purple
pipe cleaners.
- Poke a chopstick into the center of each purple
pipe cleaner, and down into the pinata, to help the antennas stand up.
Tips
- The
point where the top and bottom bump of the wing come together can be
tricky. Sometimes you will want to not quite bring the fringe all the
way to the point because it makes too much fringe in at that angle. The
next layer will cover it.
- Try
using masking tape to hold the bottom of the chop sticks to the inside
of the butterfly pinata to make the antennas stand exactly where you
want them.
Pull
and Yank
Adjustments
- Near the bottom of the
Butterfly Pinata, cut a circle that goes nearly all the way around the
pinata.
Securely
attach a ribbon to the trap door that will be able to pull it
open. You may be able to poke a hole in the trap door and tie
the
ribbon to
it or tape the ribbon with duct tape to the inside of the trap
door.
- Fill the pinata and seal the trap door with
masking tape.
Test it
to be sure there’s enough tape to hold all the prizes in the
pinata,
but not so much tape that it won’t open.
- Attach several more ribbons to the inside of
the pinata. Use
small pieces of scotch or masking tape so the ribbons will easily pull
away
from the pinata.
- Cover the cut part of the pinata with more
fringe to disguise the trap door.
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Now your Butterfly
Pinata is ready for your party.
Click
here to learn how to play the pinata game.
Return
to Make a Pinata from Butterfly Pinata
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