In this post I will show you the next steps to creating an authentic paper-mâché Mario piñata. This portion will focus on taking all the dried paper-mâché balloons made from post 1 of 3 and piecing them together to construct Mario’s face. This is a lengthy process, but I made sure that I included every step so that you can achieve the same result. As I stated before, once the piñata is finished I will list it for auction, if anyone is interested in it I will include more info pertaining to the auction in the final post of this three part post series.
In order to construct your own Mario piñata you will need the following:
- All 6 dried paper-mâché balloons from post one
- 1” Strips plain news print paper
- paper-mâché mixture (1 cup flour mixed to 1 1/2 cups warm water)
- Kitchen knife
- Scissors
- Mason string
- Hot glue gun
We will need to create a way to hang the piñata. To do this, we will need to harness a string around the main part of the piñata, which in this case would be the head of Mario. Use the Mason line to wrap around the large paper-mâché punch balloon. Use the belly button of the ballon as the guide. Make two passes, so that the Mason line is doubled. Then tie a knot at the base. Allow for 3-4 inches of space from the base knot and tie another knot with the remainder of the string. You can reinforce this by making several knots over. Now we have made a loop where the piñata can later be hung from.
Next, use paper-mâché to cover the string. First lay a strip along the string then again placing the strip horizontally. Repeat this, working around the whole balloon. You will then flip the balloon and repeat on the opposite side, so that entire balloon now has a new layer of paper-mâché. Trim the excess string from the Mason string loop.
Next, use scissors to snip a small hole at the top of each of the small paper-mâchéd balloons. This will release the air, so that you can remove the balloon from the paper-mâché shell.
Take the paper-mâché shell made for the nose and slice about ¼ off the bottom. Use hot glue sparingly to adhere the nose to the main paper-mâché shell (the head).
Now, Take the paper-mâché shell made for the cheeks and slice it in half. Try to make it as even as possible. Use the center hole where the balloon was removed from as a guide. Use hot glue sparingly to adhere the cheeks to both sides of the main paper-mâché shell (the head).
Take the paper-mâché shell made for the ears and slice it in half. Try to make it as even as possible. Use the center hole where the balloon was removed from as a guide. Use thumbs to press lightly to make indentions into the paper-mâché shells. There is no wrong way to do this. Press slowly and work your thumbs around the shell. Paper-mâché is very forgiving, so if you push a part in too much just pop it back out from the back and try it again. Use hot glue sparingly to adhere the ears to both sides of the main paper-mâché shell (the head).
Next we will construct the chin. Take the paper-mâché shell made for the chin and cut a tear drop shape out of both sides. Cut down the pointy tips. Then begin to make small ½ inch slices along the edges. This enables the shell to fit a curvature shape easier. NOTE: You may need to place the chin on to the main pinata several times to sort of gauge where you may need to make adjustments so it fits to your main paper-mâché shell (head) accordingly. Once you have it fitting right, use hot glue sparingly to adhere the chin to the bottom of the main paper-mâché shell (the head).
The balloon still needs to be removed from the main paper-mâché shell ( the head). Untie the knot of the balloon. This will release the air allowing the balloon to detach from the walls of the paper-mâché shell nice and slowly. Go ahead and release the air from the second punch balloon, untie the other punch balloon half shell made for the hat.
The hat will go on top of the main paper-mâché shell ( the head), but you will need to use your thumbs to create some form. Press slowly and work your thumbs around the shell. Paper-mâché is very forgiving, so if you push a part in too much just pop it back out from the back and try it again. Try to look at a picture of Mario so you can respectively see how his hat looks. I try to make it tall in the front and lower around the other edges. Once you have a form that you are happy with, use the string from the main paper-mâché shell ( the head) and string it through the hat paper-mâché shell. Use hot glue sparingly to adhere the hat to the top of the main paper-mâché shell (the head).
The hat still needs the brim. Take the wax paper that was paper-mâchéd into a flat sheet, and cut the bottom in a curved way. Cut the top also in a mirrored curved way. Next remove the wax paper by peeling away. Use the scissors to cut small ½ inch slices along the edge that will be adhered to the hat to make the brim. Use hot glue sparingly to adhere the ½ inch slices to the top of the paper-mâché shell (the hat).
The final step is to use paper-mâché mixture to cover all the seams of the paper-mâché shells that were pieced together. The hot glue used throughout is just a place holder so that you can paper-mâché over the seams and make it seamless. After you cover all the seams, set this aside so it can fully dry. I know you are probably thinking this doesn’t look like Mario, well not yet it might not. In the next and final post I will show you step by step how to bring this authentic paper mache piñata to life with some color. Be sure to come back to see Mario completed. This is an awesome party piñata that any kid is sure to love.
Click to read previous post: How To Create An Authentic Pinata (Post 1 of 3)
Click to read following post: How To Create An Authentic Pinata (Post 3 of 3)
Comments