Ideal Bite

Mini Halloween Piñatas
1 hour, plus drying time; makes multiple piñatas 

What You Need:

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup flour
• Latex water balloons
• Recycled newspaper
• White primer such as Safecoat or white nontoxic paint, such as Earth Safe
• Serrated knife
• String
• Tape
• Nontoxic orange paint, such as Blick's Tempera paint (Tempera uses a natural, biodegradable protein as a binder)
• Black marker
• Optional: salt; Yes Paste or DIY glue; clear glitter; and a thick wooden stick about 1/4 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long (to mimic a pumpkin stem)

Directions:

1. Make a paste with the water and flour: Heat water to a boiling in a small sauce pan, and gradually add flour (if you want to keep it for a while, add salt to the mix so it doesn't mold up), stirring constantly, until it thickens to gluelike consistency. Remove from heat and cool. Add some Yes Paste or DIY glue if you need extra bonding strength.

2. Blow up and tie water balloons.


3. Tear newspaper into strips about 1/4 inch wide if your water balloons are small; if you're using bigger ones (like 9-inch balloons), then tear 1-inch strips.


4. Dip newspaper strips into paste and apply over entire balloon, smoothing out bumps. Apply four layers of paper. Set aside to dry for 20 minutes, turning once so air hits all sides.

5. Once they're dry, apply a coat of primer over entire balloon (a thicker layer will make it more opaque).

6. After the primer dries, use a serrated knife to make a slit down one side (basically, you just want an opening to put candy inside). Then pull out the balloon rubber and discard. Open the piñata just enough to securely tape a piece of string about the length of the piñata at one end of the slit, inside the opening, then stuff with candy, making sure the string stays out. Then lay the string across the slit, on top of the candy and reaching across to the other end.

7. Take a newspaper strip and papier-mâché the slit closed; the string should be hanging out one end. (If you want yours to look like a pumpkin, leave a small hole to put the stick into - to make a stem.) You can open the piñata by pulling the string back and tearing open the newspaper without having to smash it. 


8. After sealing, give the piñata another coat of primer.


9. Once it's dry, decorate with paint, markers, glitter, anything, to use as favors or decorations.