Homemade Pinata

We make pinatas for my daughters' birthday parties. They are very simple and fun to make, but they are time consuming. Tayana made this fish.

Homemade Pinata

2 cups flour
3 cups water
Balloon blown to size and shape needed
Newspaper, torn into 1" thick strips
Construction paper, torn into pieces
White school glue
String to hang the pinata

Combine the flour and water until it creates a smooth paste. Dip the newspaper strips into the flour mixture, coating completely. Slide the strip between your fingers to remove any excess paste. Place the strips on the balloon until it is covered, leaving a hole at the top just big enough to fit the candy. If you are planning on keeping the pinata as a decoration, you do not need to leave the hole. Allow the balloon dry overnight. Repeat the steps to create a 2nd layer, making sure that you leave the hole at the top. If you would like a stronger pinata, you can repeat the steps to create a 3rd layer, but this is competely optional. When the layers are completely dried, pop and remove the balloon. Dip the construction paper pieces in the glue to coat both sides then smooth the construction paper onto the newspaper. Continue until all of the newspaper is covered. Punch 2 small holes in the top near the opening and string a large piece of ribbon, or thick string through the two holes so that you can hang the pinata. Fill your pinata, through the hole at the top, with the candy, toys and/or any other fun surprises. Cover the opening with more glue covered construction paper pieces.Tie your pinata in the air (or use a broom handle to hold it away from you) with the ribbon and have fun!
* If desired, you can paint your pinata instead of covering it with the construction paper pieces.
* If you need a shape other than the round or oval shape that balloons create, you can use cardboard. At the beginning, use masking tape connect the cut cardboard to the balloon. When you start covering the balloon with the newspaper strips, wrap them also around and covering the cardboard. For example, to create the fish, we cut a large triangle out of construction paper then taped it to the balloon. For the butterfly we chose to do something different. We used a long balloon for the body then created the wing shape out of the cardboard. However, we did chose to not use the newspaper and paste for the wings. We just covered the cardboard with the construction paper pieces then glued the body to the wings.