I am making the death star pinata, thanks again for the previous tips! I am on my 5th layer and I waited 24 hours for each layer to dry except for the first one which I only waited about 5.5 hours. After reading way too much on the internet, I’m concerned with the thought that maybe I didn’t let that first layer dry enough??
The party is about 7 weeks away and when I am done with today’s layer, I will sand, paint and then decorate. Then fill with candy and place in our pantry for the remaining time.
Should I do anything differently?
Thanks so much. You are a life saver! I’ll send a picture of the final product.
Answer from Piñata Boy
Even for a large Death Star piñata you should be able to stop at 5 layers, so just let this last layer dry, then pop the balloon and cut a small opening in the piñata (which you’ll use to fill it). You’ll know right away by the smell whether or not there’s mold in it, but if there is, that’s okay. Once it dries out the smell will go away. You may need to use a blow dryer or a small fan to speed the drying process along, but you have plenty of time to let the papier-mâché dry out completely before the party.
Sometimes when you sand papier-mâché it just keeps cracking and crumbling, and the surface never gets smooth. You can try to smooth out the sanded surface using Mod Podge, or else just go ahead and paint over it and consider the texturing to be fine structure on the surface of the Death Star. Latex paint fills in small cracks and gaps better than spray paint does, but latex paint costs more and take more time to apply. Either one will work fine.
Good luck!
I just made the first layer of a mine but i forgot to put salt in my flour water mix any other way to prevent molding
As long as you let the layers dry completely, you shouldn’t have a problem with mold. If you do notice a mildewy smell, just let the papier mâché dry completely and the odor should go away.