Jack-O-Lantern Pinata

Hey pretty people.  Not sure if you caught this post over at Eighteen25 for their awesome September Spooktacular.  But my project was this adorable Jack-o-lantern Pinata.

And guess what? I have never made one before.  I have done paper mache and I figured a balloon would work but the rest was me winging it.  And I was surprised to find out that it's really easy!

Here's how I did it...trust me....

Supplies you need:

balloon, newspaper, glue stick, orange paper streamers, fringe making scissors (or regular scissors), and cupcake liners.  Not pictured: masking tape

To make your paper mache just use equal parts water and flour.  I used 1 cup each.

Cut like a gazillion 3 inch strips of newspaper.

Blow up your balloon and set it on something to stabilize it.

Dip strips of paper in the mixture and slide fingers down the strip to get the excess goo off.

(This gets messy so put down lots of newspaper and wear an apron to protect clothes)

I used about 3-4 layers doing this to make sure I made a good mold. This step is gooey but goes surprisingly fast. About 20 minutes.

Leave an opening where you tied off the balloon and let dry for at least 24 hours.  Make sure you rotate it around to be sure it dries completely.  Since I had the time, I let it dry for two days.  That made it perfect for me. 

During the drying time...cut your streamers into some fringey goodness. If you don't have these scissors, you can use regular scissors.  These just cut out a lot of time. But I love these things and my OCD self has designated scissors for everything...paper, gift wrap, fabric...so having ones to make fringe?  

It was destiny.

After your mold dries, pop your balloon with a pin and remove it.

I painted my mold orange but another option is to use your streamers as your last paper mache layer so it dries orange. I wish I would have done that instead.

Tape the top edges to make them more sturdy.

Now wrap your fringed streamers around your mold starting at the bottom.  You can use a glue gun, glue stick or even more of the paper mache glue.  I used a glue stick and it worked great and made it go super fast.

Stop when you get close to the top and then fill it with goodies. I put very little candy in mine since...you know...they will get the major hook up already when they trick or treat.  So I added bubbles, pens, glow sticks, and hand sanitizer from the dollar tree. 

Poke 2 little holes on each side for hanging.  I used orange twine. Other options fishing line, or ribbon.

Cover your hole with more crepe paper streamers and finishing winding your fringe to the very top.

For the top I used two cupcake liners for the stem. At first,  I was totally stuck on what to do for the stem part. Since my opening was at the top I didn't want to use anything too heavy.  I just used a glue stick on the edges and pressed the edges down around the top.  Then I added one more on top of that one to give it a little bit more height. It looks like a little beanie but I adore it.

click here to print

Add a sweet little face with this fun printable I made for you. I wanted mine to look jolly. 

 A jolly jack-o-lantern.  Yeah.

Now hang it and when the 31st rolls around, whack that thing until it rains candy!

I think I'll make another one but this time I am going for a cutie patootie monster one similar to my monster cupcake picks from last year. OK then. Happy crafting.