Dinosaur Piñata Tutorial

My grandson was having a birthday soon, and their cousins wanted to make him a dinosaur pinata, for a surprise, since their favorite show is Dino Dan on Nick Jr. We started 3 weeks before his birthday, to give us enough time for the homemade paste to dry.



Supplies:

1. Newspaper
2. Flour all purpose
3. Green floral wire
4. Papel crepe, or party paper streamers. beige and green colors
5. White paper
6. Black markers
7. Large bowls

One of the first things that needs to be done, is to make the paste. Place 1 cup of water to 1/3 cup of flour into a medium sauce pan. Stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. That should take about 8 minutes. Once it starts to boil take off from the heat source and allow to cool.

While the glue is cooling off. Begin cutting the newspaper into long 2 inch strips. Pick out the bowls your gonna use as your temporary mold. Blow up a large balloon for the body of the dinosaur. (that's the part that is gonna hold the candy surprises.

Before starting cover the bowl and balloon  with Vaseline. Wet the paper strips with homemade paste, and place on the balloon. Covering it totally with 4 layers, one on top of the other.

The girls really enjoyed putting their hands in the sticky paste, and slathering it all over the balloon. Allow balloon to dry over night. It will get hard.

This will be the main body of the dinosaur. Take a sharp  pointed knife, pop the balloon, and begin sawing a square shape into the newspaper ball.
 This will be the lid to place the candies in. This will also be where your gonna stick your hands into, to thread the green wire for the legs, arms, neck,see my Elmo pinata tutorial and the hanging wire to hold up the piñata while it swings in the air to be broken.

Here we are adding the tail.

Here is the beginning of the legs.

Here you can see the tail, the legs, and head coming to life. The wire sticking out the top of the dinosaur is the place where it will hang. After adding all the legs, and head. Apply another 3 layers of wet paste newspaper strips. Allow once again to dry overnight.

The fun begins now take the party rounds, pull off enough to re-roll small sections as shown above. With scissors cut half way up 1/8 of inch apart. Do not cut all the way through.

With your fingers press back to give it a curl like as your finger were a curling wand, and the paper your hair.

Begin  pasting the cut curled colored strips, on the body form. Space the strips 1/4 of an inch apart, until the whole pinata is completed.

Can you tell the girls are mighty pleased with their surprise dinosaur pinata for their cousin?