"Can You Make a Pinata?"

Mike and I were at my family's home in Maryland, sitting around the table after a delicious meal of blackened chicken and pesto pasta with roasted tomatoes and eggplant, chatting and drinking some wine, when I received this message from Amanda. Since I had had a bit of wine and wasn't wearing my glasses, I held my phone away and squinted at it to confirm that she had, in fact, asked me to make a pinata. Now, I'm the first to volunteer to help with a project, and as a bridesmaid, it was my duty, but a pinata? I was a little intimidated. I took a look at the pictures that Amanda had sent from pinatas that she found and fell in love with on Pinterest but were just too expensive to purchase.

Crystal Pinata-Gold, Confetti System

geometric pinata, of paper and things

And as beautiful as these babies are, $150 does seem like a lot to pay for something that will only make a brief appearance before being smashed to pieces. I loved the shape and shine of the gold diamond pinata from Confetti System pictured above, so I wanted to use that as my inspiration. Mer and I had made a dodecahedron in our freshman geometry class -- we spent the whole weekend stamping paper for the 20 faces we thought it had (only to find out that we only needed 12 of them) before heading to the HFStival with Papi (Mer's dad, we were totally cool)-- so I actually felt pretty good about being able to assemble a geometric shape. 

So I headed to Michael's and started looking for supplies. Since Amanda's wedding colors were cherry red and turquoise blue, I had my heart set on using a combination of reds and metallics, and Amanda had requested that the pinata be filled with confetti and glitter. I did find silver and gold tissue paper, as well as a wonderful package of ombre tissue paper that included shades of yellow, orange, pink, and red. I also came across some origami paper that contained pops of gold and silver along with some really cool floral patterns, so I picked up two packages of those. Those turned out to be a bit of a splurge; each pack contained only five small square sheets and was about four dollars. I purchased two bags of crinkle colored paper, one in pink and one in white. I also purchased 8 or so small packages of various wedding-themed and colorful confetti. These were also a bit more expensive, so I purchased what I hoped would be enough and began brainstorming how I might be able to fill any remaining space. I had asked one of the employees about metallic paper, and she was very patient and helpful, so I thought it was worth asking if they had any scrap cardboard I could use to create the shell of the pinata. I scored two medium-sized cardboard boxes and checked out with all of my other purchases that totaled around $60. Amanda had offered to cover all of the costs of the pinata but I had still wanted to keep it reasonably priced. $60 seemed like a lot for what I had purchased, but by the time it had all come together, I was impressed that I had cut the cost by over half and still managed to create a totally gorgeous pinata.  

paper materials (purchased at Michael's)

Simple pinatas can be constructed by paper macheing around a large blown-up balloon; when the paper mache is dry, you simply pop the balloon and the structure remains intact. But since I wanted a geometric pinata, I had to start by creating the structure. I had originally thought that I would construct two pyramids and then attach them, but the triangle faces I cut were actually large enough that I only needed three for each half. I left about a 1-in edge on each side as a means to connect the faces. I used packaging tape to connect the faces, but I think I could have used fewer, smaller pieces. Once all but one of the faces had been connected, I began layering the shredded paper and confetti in the pinata. This was important to ensure that all of the confetti wouldn't simply just drop to the bottom. It looked like I would need a bit more filler, so I took some colored scrapbooking paper and ran in through my shredder. I only had a few sheets on hand, so I supplemented that with shredded documents I had in my waste basket. The bits of black type on the paper actually looked really cool, and it was mixed with enough color that it managed to add a nice visual element without looking cheap. I sealed up my last face and then recruited Andrea for help with paper macheing!

Paper mache paste is just flour mixed with water to create a think, soup-like liquid that hardens when it dries. We discovered that it was best to have the liquid a bit runnier than we originally thought; this helps eliminate clumps of flour and ensures that the layers dry quickly. Newspaper is traditionally used as the vehicle for the paste, but it can get messy as the print begins to run. I didn't have access to large stack of newspapers anyway, so Andrea and I called around and discovered that The Herald Times sells the leftover reams of unprinted newspaper for super cheap! I purchased a large roll for four dollars, and Mike was able to use what was leftover to pack up his dishes and things for the move! I cut 1-2 inch thick strips of the paper and we got to work dipping them in the paste, running them between two fingers to get off any excess paste, and gradually layering them on the structure, overlapping them where we could. It's really important that you place the pinata in a well-ventilated area where it will be able to dry quickly. Wet, warm flour paste = mold! 

It took a few days for the paper mache to fully dry, and then we began decorating. I cut the tissue paper into 1.5 inch strips and added fringe to the ends, making sure there was enough of an edge to stick to the surface. We applied a small amount of Mod Podge using sponge brushes and then laid the edge of the tissue paper on top. We chose the colors as we went and integrated a few of the origami strips after every few rows. We discovered that it was key to apply the Mod Podge to the area just above the last strip of tissue paper to ensure that the fringes would not stick. We cut the strips long enough so that we could overlap the edges and tidy up the seams of the pinata. 

The end result was this:

  

   

I was pretty happy with how it all turned out. In order to hang it, we simply drilled a whole through two of the top sides and then looped a fairly heavy wire,which we then attached to the tree, through it. Kyle did have a heck of a time busting it open (guess I went a little heavy on the packaging tape!). It actually looked really pretty when it finally did come open, and if nothing else, it made for some great photo opportunities! Amanda and Kyle's wedding was such a wonderful representation of who they are as a couple and I can't wait to share more of their wedding with you all. For now, their wonderful photographer Nick Goodin  has provided a sneak peek of their wedding photos!