Prehistoric Party-saurus DIY Dino Egg Piñata
When your son turns 6 and requests a prehistoric dinosaur soiree…..you get excited! There are so many amazing things you can do. A MUST have on the birthday boy's list was a piñata. Apparently a piñata never quite made it to his Monster Truck party last year and it seems he hasn't forgotten. So the quest for a DIY Dino Egg Piñata began!
August Pinterest Challenge
I love these monthly Pinterest Challenges hosted by Erlene at Pinterventures because it encourages me to actually MAKE some of the ideas that I pin. In the absence of any cool dinosaur piñata options at the store {of course} I went out in search of a relatively simple, but WAY cool, idea on Pinterest. I came across this Yoshi Egg pin by Lisa's Birthday Ideas. I had to read her post to realize what a Yoshi egg was. {Super lame I know! Especially because I did play a little Super Mario Brothers back in the day.} But we were smitten and our piñata dream started to take shape.
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DIY Dino Egg Piñata Basics
Paste Recipe
Let's see if you can keep up with me on this one….?
- 1 part flour
- 1 part water
- a big squirt of Elmer's Glue
That's it. I was a little skeptical but that stuff works so well, is inexpensive, you probably have it on hand, AND dries hard.
DIY Dino Egg Piñata Supplies
- Paper strips: newspaper is great, but I had this packing paper which worked perfectly as well. It needs to be thinner and softer than copy paper.
- 20″ Balloon: this forms the base. Blow it up to the appropriate size. I bought a 20″ clear balloon.
- Tissue Paper: I used white squares of tissue paper as the final “smoothing layer”.
- Flour Paste from “recipe” above
- White paint: acrylic paint works great
- Green paint: for the spots! There's something about green spots that just screams dinosaur.
- Foam paint brushes: They carry them at the Dollar Store as well
- Twine: for the handle
- Duct Tape: to attach handle, close the hole, and reinforce the center
Step 1: Blow up Balloon
Blow your balloon up to the desired size. The 20″ balloon ended up being quite large and I didn't even blow it up all the way. The bigger it is the more stuff you will feel like you need to buy to fill it up. Use a couple pieces of Duct tape to secure the tied end down because I could NOT get the soggy paper to keep it from popping up! {I got too excited and missed photos of these first few steps. I'm so sorry but you'll have to use your imagination! Good thing they are pretty simple steps.}
Step 2: Add your Strips
Set your balloon up in a bowl, covered in saran wrap, large enough to keep it stable but small enough that it doesn't fit inside. You want it to perch on top so the paper strips aren't damaged inside the bowl while drying. This is a rather cathartic exercise that I quite enjoyed. You will get paste up to your elbows and all over your hands. It feels so good to get messy sometimes. Just dip each strip into the paste and let the excess drip off or use your fingers to squeegee it off and place on the balloon. Continue adding strips until you have the top half of the balloon covered.
Step 3: Let Dry and Repeat
Give it a bit of time to dry and turn it over. Repeat process of adding strips until balloon is completely covered. I liked putting down 2 layers and then giving it a chance to dry before adding another two. I think I ended up with 6 layers of the packing paper. It is a labor of love that you will want to plan ahead for. *Warning: As the paste dries all the liquid goes to the bottom of the balloon in the bowl. This end will be extra soggy and can be easily torn if you aren't careful in turning it over. The saran wrap helps keep it from sticking to the bowl.
Turn over until both ends are completely dry.
Step 4: Add the handle
I used twine to hang this bad boy but if you'd rather not see it a heavy fishing line would work fine. I chose to secure it on either side with duct tape. My son even chose this awesome camouflage pattern! I was worried about the bumps of the twine but after a few more layers of paper strips it wasn't a big deal at all.
Step 5: Paper Mache the Duct Tape
When adding strips to a dry layer make sure your strips are extra gooey. Smooth them down with your fingers and continue applying until the area is covered. Then let dry. Again.
Step 6: Cut Hole & Fill
It's not a piñata without candy and there's no candy without a hole. I used a very sharp knife to create an X in the wall of my egg. It's rather satisfying to hear the balloon pop inside when you do this! Make the hole just large enough for your goodies. I made mine a little bigger than necessary. {Side note: Doesn't this look just like a bird nest!? Made me laugh.}
Fill it up! I don't love giving my kids tons of candy so I also picked up little toys and pencils and whatnots for the kids. The only request I did NOT do was Reece's Peanut Butter cups as they would have melted in under a minute in our July sun. Choose individually wrapped candies that can take the heat if you're planning for a summer party.
Step 7: Just Keep Pasting, Just Keep Pasting….
At this point you've formed a relationship with this piñata and it's hard to imagine letting anyone whack it with a stick. But you'll just have to be brave and keep going. Cover the hole with another piece of duct tape and continue with the paper mache. You are an expert in paper mache right about now. Technically you could probably cover all the duct tape layers at the same time.
Step 8: Be Neurotic and Cover it Again
Okay so I have a confession to make. I was laying in bed at night totally bugged at the bumpy texture of my piñata. Not a big fan of the bumps and wrinkles created when wrapping a tear shaped object with flat paper. So I decided to try tissue paper and it was exactly the perfect thing to smooth it out and finish it off! The tissue is so thin I just apply the paste to the egg and then add the paper, smoothing it down with the foam brush. Watch the Video to see how easy it is.
Step 9: Paint it and then Hang it!
With the white tissue paper the white paint isn't really necessary unless you are a crazy perfectionist like I am. But I really loved painting the green circles. I drew them on with a pencil first, then painted them carefully. It took two coats so be patient.
Then we hung it from the basketball hoop but any high branch will do. Just make sure to keep the area clear.
READY to WHACK!
Once your paint is dry this DIY Dino egg piñata is ready to whack. We used a broom handle as our stick. {some of them unscrew} And it worked perfectly. We started youngest to oldest and the birthday boy got two tries. Everyone got to take a whack before it exploded in a shower of toys, erasers, Hi Chews, suckers, and taffy. You can find more Piñata Filler Ideas other than Candy here.
I highly recommend creating a corral of sorts to keep the kiddos out of the whacking zone. They are so excited that it's tough to keep the younger ones at bay. Adult supervision is required for this one! Having someone get hit in the head is a great way to ruin the party.
DIY Dinosaur Egg Piñata Summary
I think the golden dinosaurs approve of the loot! This was such a fun project to try. I haven't used paper mache since I was a child and want to encourage all of you to try it again as an adult, at least once! I think I see some large Easter eggs in our future! What about you? You interested in trying your hand at a DIY Dino Egg Piñata?
Recommended Dinosaur Reading:
- DIY Dinosaur Fossils for Kids
- Prehistoric Dinosaur Birthday Party Ideas
- Prehistoric Dino Dig Party Activity
Until next time my friend,
Pin it for later!
To join next month's #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up ⇒ September Pinterest Challenge.
Now let's see what other things Pinterest inspired! Head over and visit the other hosts to see what they crafted, cooked, built, or tried!
Erlene – My Pinterventures • Jenny – Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Alexandra – EyeLoveKnots • Joanne – Our Unschooling Journey
Chelc – Inside The Fox Den • Erin – The Usual Mayhem
Beverly – Across the Boulevard • Lynne – My Family Thyme
Laurie – My Husband Has Too Many Hobbies • Lydia – Lydia's Flexitarian Kitchen
Leslie – Once Upon a Time & Happily Ever After
Lauren – Mom Home Guide • Emily – Domestic Deadline
Debra – Shoppe No. 5 • Roseann – This Autoimmune Life
Terri – Our Good Life • Lisa – Blogghetti
Kelli – The Olympic Nest • Rebecca – Hello Central Avenue
Bri – Halfpint Design • Cherryl – Farm Girl Reformed
Julie – Sum of their Stories • Habiba – Craftify My Love
Shirley • Intelligent Domestications
How long did it take to break the pinata?
Each child got a turn but it broke fairly quickly with a couple strong direct hits. It was stronger than I expected though. It’s all about how many layers you choose to do. Hope that helps. Thicker is always better in this case.
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I’ve never thought to make my own pinata! The next birthday party I throw will feature one of these!
I’m so glad you shared this ! I need to make a piñata one of these days. This is a diy I’ll refer back to for sure!
This is pretty darn impressive!! I am not sure I am patient enough for this craft! haha!
Now I want to make a piñata for myself!! It turned out super cute and I love the way you also made a video! You are such a great teacher!
This is sooo darling!! You have the best ideas my friend!!
My nephew would love this! I haven’t made a pinata in years
Pinata’s freak me out at parties, I watch kids getting closer and closer, no matter how much they are told they just can’t help themselves! Your cordon idea is a great one. I think I might be able to enjoy the pinata with out worrying so much!!
I actually love the idea of them and they are fun and exciting for the kids. I must get over my ‘see the danger” !
I can tell from you post you had a blast making this pinata. Lots of fun!
Great project! What kid doesn’t like a pinata?!
Yes, kids do no forget when you say something will be provided and it’s not….lol. I bet he was super happy that he has a cool mom to make this awesome pinata for his party 🙂 Pinned.
What a fun project! My son would have loved this when he was young. Pinatas are always so much fun!
Such a fun pinata! Love that it is a dinosaur egg. My mom has been getting back into pinata making lately. Going to share with her!
Alexandra
EyeLoveKnots.com
So cute! Pinatas are always so fun to make! Messy but fun!
You can see by the kids faces that they are having a blast. And you know they are fascinated by all things dinosaur so this is the perfect game.
Wow…what a great idea for a piñata!!!
I laughed out loud when I saw step 8…. I know all too well the stresses of pinata making, having made several! I’m glad the twine worked for you to hang it. Great job!
We always have a piñata at birthday parties. And I love a good party DIY! Thanks for sharing this!
Very cute, could be used for so many dino themed parties
This is such a fun idea for your party theme! I know about kids remembering that one thing they missed out on! Now I want to make a pinata!
Bri, I am so in love with this cute dino egg. I will propose this idea to my goddaughters mother as she asked me to be a helping hand with my little girls birthday party this year. I share your excitement of creating things and am already in creativity mode for the September party.
Oh so fun! A pinata is always such a huge hit at kids parties too. Pinned.
I am having a problem that after each layer, it cracks down the side or top after fully drying. What am I doing wrong?
Oh no! Okay let me think. Maybe not enough layers at once and make sure you’re putting on enough paste. If the paper is too thin you might have trouble with it too. I’m sorry. Maybe send me a photo. I’ll email you.
This looks great & I’m sure it was a lot of fun. My husband is the pinata maker in our house, he makes one for our Halloween party every year. Pinning!
Love this idea!!! How long does this take start to finish?
It takes a few days to make sure you get enough layers with dry time in between. I’d do a layer in the morning and another one at night for a few days.