Piñata for the Pint-sized

Homemade piñata was a happy byproduct of a fun mess with the kids; getting crafty with recyclables. Win-Win!

Project planning with a draft sketch a la my 5 year old.

Outlining the shape (coloring in the lines).

Cut it out.

Use this as a guide for the second shape of the form.

Toilet paper rolls, unrolled

These end up being the perfect width for the structure. Cut along the seam of the rolls to unravel them.

Masking tape the rolls to the shapes. Then, tape both sides together to make the form.

Structure is ready for paper mâché reinforcement.

Liquid Starch

Boil water, add 1:1 water and flour until congealed into a thick mixture.

Cut/rip paper strips to dip into the starch mixture. Reminder that if it’s too wet, the structure may collapse and/or have a ridiculously long drying time. Once you dip the strips, squeegee the strip with your fingers to remove excess starch, lay around the form like a bandage, wrap it all over.

Almost there… paper mâché dried, and ready for paint.

Painting Assist

More messy fun! We used acrylic for this final step.

Final product. Cut a door at the top for candy install, and string fishing line through the top. (I reinforced the holding point with some hot glue.)

Let it Swing! Batter’s up!

Bird Feeder ID

We get some pretty interesting backyard visitors down here in Florida, especially during the colder migrating months. What better way to attract such traffic than with something bright, colorful, and eye catching?? No need for fussing around with the build on this end though, Michael’s to the rescue! This cute little Bird Feeder did the just the trick leaving my design availability wide open. Breaking down the flight path of a bird in still frame creates a repetition of movement throughout the wild circus color scheme bringing the eye in for closer inspection for a longer feeding stay.

Ladybug Costume Continued

The circles were ~2.25” in black Sportflex since the leotard was a nylon fabric.

Texture

Fabric paint in an off-white. I found this sand color which worked nicely. Blot a generous helping of paint on the mesh fabric which you will use to print texture over the entire leotard.

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No red shoes? No problem!

Prep the red dye and shoes. Take out the shoe inserts and Vaseline the soles of the shoes. After shoes have fully dried, pulling out that ever trusty bottle cap once again, outline your Miraculous Ladybug spots to the areas of your fancy. Use chalk or similar material that can be easily wiped off once the paint dries. Paint the spots in black fabric paint. Once everything dries completely, clean off chalk residue lightly with soapy water.