Make a Disco Ball 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: punch ball balloon, newspaper, scissors, flour, bowl, 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. Mix up your paste. Use 1 part flour to 1 part water and mix with a whisk. Inflate a punch ball balloon and tape the ends flat. 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. The Process for making a Disco Ball 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.

Tips

• Place the balloon in a bowl to keep it from rolling around while you work.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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

1. Lay the disco ball pinata on clean newspaper to dry.
2. Throw away the old newspaper.
3. 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 Disco Ball Pinata

1. First, trim off any edges of dried newspaper that curled out.
2. Paint the pinata black with tempera or acrylic paint.
3. Cut a shiny silver gift bag (I used two large bags) into squares. They can be any size, but I prefer the 1” squares.
4. Use a hot glue gun to glue the silver squares to the pinata and cover the pinata. If there are small spaces between some of the squares it’s okay—that’s why you painted it black.

Tips

• Place a small circle of glue on the back of the square and then put it on the disco ball. The squares may overlap a little or have a little space between them.
• If the edges of some of the silver squares turn up just put a dab of hot glue on the underside of the corner and push it back down.

Pull and Yank Adjustments

1. About midway between the top and bottom of the Disco Ball, 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. 
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Cover the cut part of the pinata with more silver squares to disguise the trap door.

Now your Disco Ball Pinata is ready for your party.

Click here to learn how to play the pinata game.

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