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.