How do I make and attach the handle part of the pacifier? The base I want it to be round and about 1-2″wide and the handle itself also.
2. How do I make the stork body where it looks kinda like a duck standing on long legs. I want to make it to stand so it can stand next to a table. The bill I’m guessing would be made out of a paper towel core. Thanks
Answer from Piñata Boy
Any part of a piñata that does not contain candy can be made from almost anything you want, because it does not have to be broken open. So addressing the stork’s legs first:
The legs have to support the weight of the filled piñata without breaking, so you’ll want to make them fairly strong — probably too strong for the kids to break, but that’s okay if there’s no candy in them. You can make the legs separately and then attach them to the body. The easiest way would be to use something like cardboard mailing tubes. If you don’t have anything like that available, then you can find something cylindrical that’s the right diameter — even a stack of cans of food taped together. Then wrap them in newspaper, a lot of newspaper. Like take two entire sections of a newspaper and wrap them around the cans and tape it in place. Then cover the newspaper with many layers of papier mâché, one at a time, allowing each layer to dry before doing the next one. You’ll end up with a couple of heavy and sturdy tubes made from newspaper and papier mâché that should be able to support the weight of your piñata even when it’s full of candy. Remember that the belly where the legs attach also has to be reinforced a little so the legs don’t push up into it when you stand the piñata on its feet.
As for the pacifier, the handle and the base won’t contain candy so they can be made of anything you have available that works. Sometimes to make a large flat shape it’s easiest to use thin cardboard. Since the base of the pacifier isn’t a target area, you could even use corrugated cardboard. You can make the base of the pacifier by cutting out two pieces of cardboard, one for the top and one for the bottom. Then cut some 1-2″ thick cardboard pieces and tape them along the edge to hold the top and the base apart to give them the thickness you want. The handle of the pacifier can be made from anything that has the right length and diameter — even a piece of rope, wrapped in masking tape and papier mâché to stiffen it up, could work. When I’m faced with a question of how to make something, I’ll usually look around in my garage, in a craft store, or in a hardware store and often times something I never would have thought of will present itself as the perfect solution. To attach the pieces, just tape them together with masking tape and cement over them with a few layers of papier mâché.
Good luck!