Set Up

1. Clear your work area. Spread out 3 or 4 layers of newspapers to protect your table.
2. Gather all your materials: 1-12" balloon, 1 punchball balloon, newspaper, scissors, flour, masking tape, wire whisk, and water.
3. Collect and cut newspaper into strips about 1 inch wide. Make them as long as the narrow width of the newspaper.
4. Mix up your paste. Use 1 part flour to 1 part water and mix with a whisk.

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, work better than smaller balloons. They're more stable and easier to apply the paper mache.

The Process for making a Snowman 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 snowman 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.

How to Decorate the Snowman Pinata

1. Collect the materials you will need: white tissue paper, scissors, white glue, black and orange paper, blue crepe paper streamers, scissors, and tape.
2. Trim off any edges of dried newspaper that curled out.
   
3. 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. 
4. At the bottom of the pinata, glue a couple strips, about 2" long, of fringe. Then use white glue to wind a circle of fringe around and around the snowman body until you reach the top. Each strip should be about 1/4" to 1/2" above the previous layer.

   
   

5. Cut two eyes and three buttons from the black paper and tape in place on the pinata. 
6. Cut a semi-circle from orange paper and shape into a cone. Tape in place on the Snowman's face.
7. Wrap a piece of blue crepe paper around the snowman's neck for a scarf.
8. Make a top hat with a round piece of black paper for the hat brim (center cut out so you can hook up the pinata. Add a wide strip of black paper taped as a cylinder to the top of the brim of the hat.

Pull and Yank Adjustments

1. Near the bottom of the Snowman 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. 
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.