- 1
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Blow up a balloon, tie it off and set it on a bowl.
- 2
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Put some flour in a shaker, add just enough water to wet all the flour and shake into a paste.
- 3
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Pour into a pot of more water and bring to a boil.
- 4
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Cook and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Too runny? Add more flour or cook off more water. Too thick? Add more water. Exact measurements are not necessary.
- 5
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Pour the paste into a container and wash out your pot. Let the paste cool.
- 6
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Tear newspaper into strips. Wet strips one at a time with paste and place on balloon.
- 7
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Overlap strips as you go and smooth out bubbles and wrinkles. Leave a space around the knot, and be sure to use a few layers for strength.
- 8
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Make sure to do several layers. It helps to hold it up to light and look for the balloon color to show through, to identify thin spots.
- 9
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Cut two cardboard ovals for ears, making sure to cut a curve to fit against the balloon.
- 10
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Cover the ears with paper mâché too. Allow to fully dry and harden. I set mine by the heat vent to speed things up!
- 11
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Use a little white glue and masking tape to attach ears to head.
- 12
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Bend a piece of wire to form a hanging loop. String could work too.
- 13
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Tape it to the top of your piñata. I bent wire back over the tape too.
- 14
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Snip a hole in your balloon and let it deflate and pull away from the insides.
- 15
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Remove balloon.
- 16
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Paper mâché over the balloon hole.
- 17
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Paper mâché over the wire loop (a few layers for strength) and the connection between ears and head.
- 18
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Once the paper dries again, spray it all one color. I used gray paint.
- 19
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Cut a door with a craft knife on the bottom.
- 20
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Candy door...
- 21
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Cut the pull strings. I use curling ribbon and cut at least one piece per kid attending the party.
- 22
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Attach the one ribbon that will actually open the door. Cut a slit in the door and thread it through.
- 23
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Tie a paper clip on the end.
- 24
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Tape the paper clip down.
- 25
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Fill with candy!
- 26
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I like to add stickers too.
- 27
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Close the door.
- 28
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Put a couple strips of paper mâché across the door opening. Not too much as you want it to tear open eventually.
- 29
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Attach the other ribbons loosely with one layer of paper mâché without sealing the door up more.
- 30
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Ribbons attached. Basically you want the winning ribbon to be on there tight, and the others easy to slip out.
- 31
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Let it dry. I put mine by the heat vent.
- 32
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Use a sharpie or other permanent marker to draw out the facial features.
- 33
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Paint in the eyes with white acrylic.
- 34
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Paint the face with Mickey's flesh color.
- 35
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Paint the tongue red.
- 36
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Use black for the nose, ears, pupils, etc...
- 37
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Use a small brush for outline details.
- 38
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Paint around the ribbons.
- 39
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Done! Hang it from the ceiling or have an adult hold it above the kids as they take turns pulling the ribbons.