HOW TO MAKE A PIÑATA FROM A CARDBOARD BOX!

Materials for a DIY Piñata

 Cardboard
 Paperboard (optional - this would be something like a cereal
box or poster board)
 Tissue Paper or Streamers
 Masking Tape
 Glue Sticks
 Scissors
 Rope

1. Decide on the design for your piñata. Some good DIY piñata ideas
include:
 A number representing an age
 Simple, fun shapes like a cactus, pineapple, watermelon slice, or
rainbow
 A photo of a person or animal cut to shape and glued to the
cardboard

2. Cut the shape of your piñata out of cardboard twice.

This will be the front and back of the piñata. It doesn't have to be perfect,
but the more uniformly the two sides match, the easier it will be to connect
them in the next step.
After I painted the portrait for my piñata, I cut it out to shape and used it as
a template to cut out the two pieces of cardboard.
3. Cut paperboard strips to whatever depth you’d like your DIY piñata
to be.
It’s really about your preference and how much room you need for the
candy. I made my strips about 3” wide. Since my piñata was relatively
large and it was a piñata for one, I figured it didn’t need to be too deep.
4. Use the paperboard strips to connect your two cardboard cutouts.
Start by lining up the paperboard strips around one cardboard piece and
taping them together with the masking tape.
For this part, you can definitely use regular cardboard— you might just
have to work at it a bit more to bend it to shape. I liked using the
paperboard since it was very bendable which made it easier to conform to
the shape of the cardboard cutouts.
Once the strips are connected to one piece of cardboard, set the second
piece of cardboard on top and tape it to the paperboard strips, as well. Use
more or less masking tape depending on how easily you want the piñata to
break open.
Before I completely sealed the piñata up, this is the part where
5. Cut a flap near the top of your piñata.
This is what you will use to put the candy inside of the piñata. I ended up
making my flap on one of the upper sides of my piñata, though many like
to put theirs directly on the top.
As long as it’s not in a spot that the candy can spill out of, you’re good to
go!
6. Prepare your piñata fringe.
If you’re using tissue paper, cut it into 2-3 inch strips and if you're using
streamers you can move on to cutting slits along the length of it.
My strips were about 3” wide and I cut slits about ¾ of the way up. That
left plenty of room to glue the strips to the piñata.
7. Start gluing the fringe onto the piñata.
Be sure to start at the bottom of your homemade piñata and work your way
up, allowing the fringe to overlap enough to cover up the cardboard.
I ended up having some spots that were tougher to cover because of the
awkward shape of my piñata, but I was easily able to patch up any gaps by
gluing in some individual pieces of fringe.
If you’re really concerned about the cardboard showing through, you might
want to paint or cover the entire thing with paper before gluing on the
fringe– though I don’t think that part is necessary unless your piñata has a
lot of intricate curves.
Please note - If you are making a piñata that will have photo or artwork on
the front, you only need to apply the fringe to the back side.
I used double-sided tape to attach my painting to the front of my piñata. I
did this step last since the fringe wrapped slightly around the front and the
painting could now cover that up while presenting a more finished look.