Make an Earth Pinata

How to make a Paper-Mache Earth Pinata

Pinata Filler Space Shuttle Zoomster Star Swirl Pops Galaxy Hi-Bounce Ball

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 an Earth 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 hanger. 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. Or, do only half the pinata at a time. It takes longer, but looks nicer.
• 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 Earth 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 Earth Pinata

1. First, trim off any edges of dried newspaper that curled out.
2. Print out these guidelines for the continents.
3. Gather supplies: print outs of continents, scissors, white glue, foam brush, and blue, white and green tissue paper.
4. Cut blue tissue paper in squares. Cut green and white tissue paper in smallish pieces, square or otherwise.
5. Cut out continents and glue to earth pinata.
6. Make a thin paste with one part white glue and one part water. Use the foam brush to put some glue mixture on the pinata then place a blue tissue square over the glue. Put the blue tissue around the continents, overlapping the edges just a little. The tissue pieces should overlap each other, as well. Place a thin coating of glue mixture over the tissue pieces as they’re completed. Let one side of the Earth pinata dry before you turn it over to do the other side to prevent any mess ups.
   
7. After the blue tissue has completely dried, begin work on the land. Scrunch the pieces of green tissue paper. Spread white glue over a continent and top with scrunched pieces of green tissue paper. 
   

   

8. Cover Antarctica with scrunched pieces of white tissue paper. The North Pole is where the hole for the pinata is, so I didn't make any pieces for it. Besides, it's not a continent.

Tips

• Mix up the glue and water paste inside a half empty bottle of white glue.

Pull and Yank Adjustments

1. Before decorating the pianta: About midway between the top and bottom of the Earth, 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. Carefully decorate around the ribbons. 

Now your Earth Pinata is ready for your party.

Click here to learn how to play the pinata game.

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