DIY Rainbow Pinata

Miss L is getting ready to celebrate her birthday and we wanted to make her something very special.  After seeing the famous Volkswagen Pinata commercial Miss L got her eyes set on having a pinata! But instead of a trusty non breakable Volkswagen car, Little A wants a DIY Rainbow Pinata!

After calling up one of our favorite party shops My Little Day and finding out that all the rainbow pinatas were sold out, we decided to make our very own DIY rainbow pinata on a budget!  After rummaging around the neighborhood for a cardboard box, and some free newspapers we spent the sunny afternoon outside making Little A’s birthday pinata. Check out these easy steps to make your very own party creation.

What you will need:
– Cardboard
– Scissors
– Tape
– Newspaper
– Flour
– Water
– Colored Tissue Paper
– String (for suspending the pinata)
– Paint (optional)

With the cardboard, cut out two arc shaped pieces measuring 50cm wide and 38 cm tall.  These pieces are the front and back of the rainbow.  Cut two rectangular panels.  The first rectangle measures 1 meter in length and 18 cm in width.  This will form the top of the pinata.  The second rectangular piece or the bottom of the pinata measures 50 cm long and 38 cm wide.

Tape the four pieces together into the form of a 3-D rainbow arch.  Leave the bottom first rectangle slightly open without tape, to allow for adding candy or toys to the pinata once it’s done.

Once assembled, we cut up strips of newspaper measuring approximately 8cm x 12cm. These strips can pretty much vary in size. It depends on each person’s personal preference. We then mixed 2 parts flour to 2 parts water in a bowl to make paste.  The next step is to dip the strips in the flour water mixture and layer them on top of the cardboard rainbow.  This creates a 3-D shaped paper maché rainbow and makes the pinata hard. After applying the newspaper over the cardboard, let pinata dry over night.

The next step is cutting up the colored tissue paper into strips.  Cut the tissue paper into 9 cm x 9 cm pieces and fringe cut one end. We found these amazing Mastrad scissors that work like a charm!  If not, regular scissors will also do!

As an optional step, we decided to paint the rainbow onto the cardboard as a guide to allow Little G to easily paste the colored tissue paper in the correct spots.

Mix two thirds part liquid glue to one third water and paste colored tissue paper onto the pinata starting at the bottom and working your way up.

We chose to make the top of the rainbow silver and the bottom in gold. This can also be nice in blue or multiple rainbow colors too.

On the bottom, cut long strips and glue them on to create tassles that hang on the bottom.

Before filling up the pinata, punch or pierce two holes approximately 9 cm apart at the top with a scissors and thread the string through on the inside to allow for suspending the pinata.  Tie a secure knot at the top of the string to create a loop for hanging. The final step is to add the candy and small toys to the pinata! Once the pinata is filled, tape up the side flap and add some last minute colored tissue paper to close the pinata.  If the closure is not too secure, this is fine, as this will allow for some candy to slowly fall out when hit! To hit the DIY Rainbow Pinata and break it open, a bamboo or wooden stick will do.  And finally…. Here are the results!

You can check out our upcoming article soon once the Miss A has her birthday celebration! Happy Birthday Miss A!

This post is also available in: French