Family piñatas

My parents started making piñatas back in the 1950s. My dad would build the form and my mom would decorate. I'm tracking down pictures of the piñatas to save them for the family. The picture that I will probably never find is the Viking ship. I've been trying to talk my dad into constructing another one, but he looks at me like I'm crazy. Of course I am.

I started making piñatas in junior high, even though we (me, my brother, and my sister) were slave labor many years before that.

Here is a picture of a sun piñata I made for a company picnic. It's a mixed media construction with painted styrofoam and floral spray to give the sun more dimension. The body was built using the papier maché method around the biggest bowl (or was it a ball?) I could find.

The other is a princess piñata for my granddaughter's birthday. With this one I experimented with colored foil, netting gathered to look like tutus, and princess foamie cutouts. I also attached curled ribbon instead of the traditional streamers to the points. This piñata is made using a dry construction with cardboard and tape to form the body.

The treasure chest is also mixed media. It was both dry construction and papier maché. In addition, I used faux leather to make the straps and a fish net that I found at the dollar store. The girls didn't want to break this one because of all the jewels and gold coins inside.

Although I have made popular characters, you have to keep in mind how old the children are. It will take many years of therapy for a child to recover from everyone bashing in Elmo's head.

Next Boy's Hat

I made an aviator hat last month as part of my quest to make boy hats, but my best friend needed it for a baby gift. I didn't think about taking a picture of it before it left the house. So I finally made the second version. The hat looks good, but it's not very photogenic laying flat against the background. Luckily, I found this beautiful baby doll to model the hat. I'm hoping this one will fit my grandson who loves all things to do with planes. But if it doesn't, I can always make another.

Hats, Part 2

I finally finished my Baby Owl hat which came out the way I wanted. I used the Knifty Knitter to make the body of the hat and the rest was crocheted. Vanna's yarn in Grey Marble made a good "owl" color. The second hat started out as a sample hat to learn how to create swirls for my cupcake hat. I ended up loving the pattern and making more of them. I originally made a small pompom for the cherry. It was huge. I replaced it with a crocheted cherry with better proportions. I have one more hat to finish for a little boy. I made one already, but my comadre needed it for a baby gift. I'll post that one in my next blog.