The Bee Hive

Sometimes it's honey; sometimes it's sting...

Monday, September 03, 2007

VIVA PINATA!

I finished my first pinata today. It's for a swap-bot swap. Here are the steps:
First, I made the frame. Luckily, Chuck bought Zach some boots right before school started and the funny wedge-shaped inserts to the 'pipe' (as in stovepipe), when squeezed together and taped made great head and neck shapes. For the body, I rolled a piece of posterboard, then made cuts all around each end and folded them inward. All of it taped together very well.
This looks like a huge mess, but it IS coming together. It's been strengthened and melded together by a number of layers of paper mache'. As it was big enough, and was going to be sort of difficult to box and mail as it was, I made flexible legs that could be bent and folded without damage. I used heavy black duct tape and taped over the body, down and back on itself, to form non-sticky legs. In this photo I have already started covering the nose and the ends of the legs with tissue paper. You can see how I cut the paper strips and then cut them into fringe.
I needed a way for the candy to get in and out without the person getting this actually having to smash the pinata. Most people in the swap wanted to save their pinatas to hang as decorations. So I made a little 'vent' that could be opened and closed discretely. It is in an unfortunate location, but by the nature of the base, it had to be on one end or the other, and I was afraid it would weaken the chest end that had to bear the weight of the neck and head. I hope the recipient doesn't mind. When it was finished, and all the fringed added, it was almost imperceptible.
More progress. Can you guess what it is, yet? Actually, it looks more like the animal I intended it to be at this stage rather than how it turned out to look in the end.
Finished! Garrett came over to bring us some bbq that he cooked, so I had him hold it up for a photo, even though he objected because he had been cooking and his shirt was dirty. Sheesh!
...and from a different angle, hanging on a cabinet nob. This was SO much fun to make. I have one more to make for a one-on-one pinata swap. But it's a swap for a smaller, simpler pinata. I'm going to try to start on that one tomorrow, while I have all the supplies out already.
QUESTION OF THE DAYIf you had to guess, what kind of animal would you say this pinata is? And please be honest. You won't hurt my feelings. And if you know what kind I was trying to make, don't tell. ;)

12 Comments:

At 9/03/2007 11:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great job Wanda...it will be a shame when it gets "busted"!!

 
At 9/03/2007 11:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it a dog, more specifically, Coconut? But why is the head turned backward?

Jan (the sister)

 
At 9/04/2007 8:36 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Waaaitt......it's a llama.

Jan

 
At 9/04/2007 2:09 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Okay.....alpaca?

Jan

This is driving me nuts!

 
At 9/05/2007 4:07 PM, Blogger Amy Guobadia said...

I was going to say LLama .. but Jan took my answer Rebecka said it's a horse.

 
At 9/05/2007 11:02 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

How about a deer...a young deer with no antlers?
Laura

 
At 9/06/2007 2:03 PM, Blogger Wanda said...

Laura got it! A doe. Sheesh! Is this what my art has come to? Some kind of crypto-zoological 'it'. I guess if I had given it long fang-like teeth, I could have claimed it was a 'chupacabre'. LOL! I made it for a person who is particularly fond of deer. ...Only, I realize now, that it is unlikely that she will know that it is a deer. *Le sigh*

Jan, the head is turned back to the side to make it more compact and sturdy.

 
At 9/06/2007 3:45 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yea...!! The tail, hoves and eye gave it away. So...what do I win for guessing correctly? lol

 
At 9/06/2007 7:52 PM, Blogger I used to be Gigi Minor - but now I'm Annie Kight said...

Fantastic Job on the pictures starting at the beginning and working their way through to the end! Too bad it's gonna get smashed up!

 
At 9/06/2007 8:49 PM, Blogger Wanda said...

Thanks Gigi! Actually, it may not get smashed up. At first the hostess had the last requirement of the swap be a photo of the pinatas being smashed by the recipients, but there was such an outcry from people wanting to keep their pinatas intact to use as decoration, that the rule was changed. So it's up to each person what they do with the one they receive.

 
At 9/06/2007 8:51 PM, Blogger Wanda said...

Laura, you will a big pat on the back and a hearty 'Atta girl!' the next time I see you. ;)

 
At 9/15/2007 11:27 AM, Blogger Nan said...

LOL, I think it's great no matter what animal it is! What fun that looks like to create.

Thanks for your kind comments, I like to see the different things others are making and crafting! It's a good sourse of inspiration at times to try new things.

 

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