Savannah’s Homemade Pinata

January 17, 2011 By Anne

As promised – Savannah’s pinata!

Instead of cut up newspaper, we used used Christmas paper. I wanted to be able to recycle it.

Mix flour and water – It’s 2 parts water, 1 part flour, but I kinda guessed.

After the first layer.

Before adding the second layer you must wrap a ribbon around it and tie, then add second layer.

Cutting used tissue paper for the final layer.

She’s so proud to help! 🙂

Some of the tissue paper had glitter in it, it added lots of sparkle to the final product.

After adding lots of curling ribbon (my favorite) – the final product! ( It looks like a great Easter pinata)

To see more detailed directions check out my other post Homemade Pinata.

See today’s 365 post – Sunflowers

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

My Green Christmas

January 1, 2011 By Anne

So what did you do to be “green” this Christmas?

I saved brown paper and all kinds of boxes from my work. I then flattened out the paper and and stamped it with lovely Christmas Stamps and added lots of curling ribbon.

The boxes were great! I did not have to buy any boxes and these were then recycled at my home. (otherwise these boxes would have gone into the dumpster and then landfill)

My cards will be saved for next year’s tags, I used card tags this year as well.

We tried to save the wrapping paper and tissue paper. I not sure I can reuse the paper for gifts – a little too wrinkly. ( is that a word?)

I did find a great way to reuse the paper though! We had so much fun making a pinata for Hunter’s birthday, we decided to make a pinata for Savannah’s birthday party and instead of using newspaper, we are using the used wrapping paper. (I’m not sure wrapping paper can be recycled through the county, so I thought this was a great idea!)

The tissue paper and ribbons from Christmas will also be used for decorating the pinata and wrapping the party favors.

Look for a post about making a pinata.

So – What did you do?

Anne

Dreamin’ of a Green Christmas

November 5, 2010 By Anne

I’ve made a vow to be green this Christmas.

How will I do this?

I will not buy any of those cute boxes to put my presents in. I’m saving boxes from home and work. I used some of these last year. They are great, no one can guess that there is a shirt in there. And they are all different shapes.

I’m buying ‘green’ gifts. If you’re on my list – be for warned. You will either get a homemade gift or something green or eco-friendy. Don’t worry though, it will be cool – I promise.

I’m not buying any wrapping paper. I will use what I have. This one will be hard. I LOVE PAPER! I’m saving brown paper from work and will have the kids color or stamp it. I may even use cartoons.

What are you going to do this year to be ‘green’?

Anne

Homemade Pinata

October 10, 2010 By Anne

I found an article in All You for a Halloween pinata. Since Hunter’s birthday was the second of this month, we decided to make our own pinata for his party. I didn’t think to take pictures until almost the end.

The directions are taken from the magazine. You can find it at AllYou.com.

1. To make paper-mache, mix 1 part flour and 2 parts water. It says to add a pinch of salt, but I did not.

2. Blow up a balloon and set aside. We found one in the house. I had debated what kind to get, but just an ordinary balloon works well.

3. Cut or tear newspaper into strips. About 1″ x 8 ” strips. Then dip strips into paper-mache mixture, make sure to run strips through your fingers so excess drips back into the bowl. We did not do this in the beginning and it was too wet.

4. Lay strips on the balloon and smooth down. Cover the balloon, leaving a small hole at the bottom(where the balloon is tied) so you can remove the balloon later and and pinata can be filled. Let dry.

5. Run ribbon vertically around pinata and loop at the top and secure with tape. This is where you will hang it. I ran yarn around it both ways.

6. Add two more layers of paper-mache over balloon and ribbon, but allow to dry thoroughly between layers. Once final layer is dry, cut the balloon and pull it out. I was a little worried about this, but it worked great!

7. Fill the pinata with candy and treats. Then cover with tape and paper-mache and dry.

8. Paint and decorate! We used spray paint and some extra paint we had a round the house. I didn’t have black so we mixed a few colors together.

The pinata held up really good! We went through 2 rounds of all the children. I was afraid it would break easily. The yarn I used did not hold up as well. In the end, my husband had to hold it up by his hand.

We had a great time making it. All the family got involved, even some of the neighborhood kids cam and helped. Definitely worth it!
The end results below. We are going to tape it up and use it for an outside Halloween decoration.

I can’t wait to do it again for Savannah’s birthday! Of course, I’ll add ribbons and sparkly things to it. 🙂