I’m going to be a bit controversial here and say that I’ve never in my life made a piñata before. I know right… for a chronic DIYer, that’s pretty much unheard of! I’ve just never had a good reason to in the past, but now that Halloween is almost here and my nieces are a bit older, I thought it was the perfect time to put my fringe-trimming skills to use and make one for them to crack open on the big day.
And guys, it’s so much fun! Not to mention easy. Especially since I used some paper lanterns I found at The Reject Shop which are not only perfect for holding candy, it also meant I didn’t have to mess around with paper mache. Double win!
Materials
- Paper lantern from The Reject Shop
- Crepe paper in white and black from The Reject Shop
- Double-sided tape
- Regular sticky tape
- White paper/card
- Scissors (regular, plus fringing scissors if you have them)
- Candy from The Reject Shop
Step 1
Assemble your paper lantern according to the instructions on the packet.
Step 2
Cover up the hole at the bottom of the lantern with a sheet of card taped in place.
Don’t worry about making this part look perfect – you just want to make sure that it seals off the bottom so that the candy doesn’t fall out. The fringing will eventually hide the card from view so for now you can tape it up as messily as you please. 🙂
Step 3
Cut a crepe paper ‘skirt’ for your piñata that’s just a little shorter than the height of your lantern. Make sure it’s wide enough to wrap all the way around your lantern with a bit of overlap.
Step 4
Set aside your crepe paper skirt and start cutting the rest of your crepe paper into strips (I made my strips around 2.5cm/1 inch in width). Make sure each strip is long enough to wrap all the way around your lantern.
Handy tip – you can skip this step entirely if you opt to use white streamers instead of crepe paper.
Step 5
Once you’ve cut all your strips, start trimming them to create a fringe. To do this, simply snip partway into your strips at regular intervals, stopping before you cut all the way through. The end result will be a nicely fringed piece of crepe paper.
Another handy tip – This step will be much quicker if you double or triple fold your crepe paper strip so you’re cutting through several layers at once. And it’ll go that much faster still if you’re using fringing scissors. 😉
Step 6
Once you’ve fringed your streamers, set them aside for a moment and return to the crepe paper skirt you created in Step 3. Fringe the bottom of the skirt.
Step 7
Apply pieces of double-sided tape to the backs of your fringed crepe paper strips and start sticking them to the crepe paper skirt, starting from the bottom and working your way upwards until the whole skirt is covered. Make sure you overlap them as you go.
Step 8
Cut waves into the bottom of the crepe paper skirt – this will be the wavy part at the bottom of your ghost.
Step 9
When the waves have all been cut, flip the skirt over so that it’s face down and apply some double-sided tape to the back, along the top edge. Then stick it to the lantern, wrapping it all the way around the middle.
Step 10
Start covering the rest of your lantern with fringed crepe paper strips, starting from where you attached the skirt and working your way up to the top. Make sure you overlap each layer of fringe over the previous one so no part of the lantern peeks out and all you can see is fringe.
Step 11
Once you’ve reached the top and your lantern is fully covered in fringed strips, fill the lantern with candy.
Step 12
When your pinata has been filled with sweet treats, cut two semi-circle pieces of white card to cover up the hole in the top of the piñata. Stick them down with sticky tape before covering them with more fringed crepe paper. Make sure you leave the hook peeking out so you can still hang up your lantern!
Step 13
Cut two ovals and a jelly bean shape from some black crepe paper. These will be the eyes and mouth of the ghost.
Step 14
Stick the eyes and mouth on the ghost with some double-sided tape and your little Halloween friend is complete!
I’d planned to give these to my nieces to pull apart on Halloween, but they’re looking so sweet and innocent all propped up in my studio that I might not be able to part with them! What do you think – could they legitimately pass as decorations for all-year-round use? 😉
xx Steph
A little note: This post was created in partnership with The Reject Shop. All opinions, the project and my newfound love for piñatas are my own. Thanks for supporting the organisations that support Make and Tell.
Oh my goodness, these are just adorable!
Thanks Rachel! xx
these are the cutest things ever. omgawd, i would never break it!
Aw thanks Laurel. And I know exactly what you mean – I don’t think I could break these either now they have smiley faces haha!
Oh Steph, these are too cute! Such a good idea to use a paper lantern as a pinata base, I would never have thought about that but wow is it a lot faster than paper mache! Love your little ghosty pals. Maybe one to keep and one for the nieces? 🙂
Ooh good thinking! I’ll totally keep one and the nieces can still have their piñata fun. Oh and I have to admit I’m not the first one to think of the paper lantern idea, but I’m hooked – it’s such a good substitute for getting all gluey and messy 🙂
oh my – these are so stinking cute!
Thanks Sara! <3
Oh my word, how fun are these!!
Thanks Amy! Spooky Halloween isn’t really my thing, but fun I can do (thank goodness!) 😉
I’ve never made a pinata either! But these are just so rad.
Oh you should definitely try it out – fringing is strangely therapeutic 😉 . Thanks for visiting PJ, I’m so thrilled you like these little guys! xx
These ghosts are so cute, absolutely adorable!
Thanks Monique – you’re so lovely and I’m super glad you like the ghosts!
Is it ok that I want to give these little guys a hug? Such a great project and I love that it’s a version of Halloween that is a little less scary so it’s really appropriate for scaredy cats like me. 😉
Haha, I want to give the sad one a hug too! And I’m thrilled to have found another scaredy cat in you – I’m the biggest scaredy cat of them all!
Now this is SUCH a clever way to make a pinata! That lantern is the perfect base for it . Way to go!
Aw thanks Amber!
These are so cute! Never thought of using a lantern to make a pinata!
Thanks Andrea! Oh and you should definitely try the lantern thing out sometime – it’s much faster and no mess! 😉
These are made of lanterns?! How cool! They are so cute, I don’t think I could break them!
Thanks Bre! I’m having the same issue right now… I don’t think I can break them so they’re just sitting on my studio floor smiling up at me haha 😀
This is the cutest halloween project ever! It’s adorable!!!
Aw thanks Paula – I’m really glad you like these little ghosts! 🙂
These little guys are so cute! And I love that there’s no paper mache mess to deal with!!
Oh my goodness these are the cutest ghosts I have ever seen. And so smart to use the lanterns! Love it!
Hi Steph!! My 4 year old requested a ghost piñata for his birthday and I’m sooo happy I found your tutorial! Using the paper lantern is genius and I’m so excited to use them in the future for other round-ish piñatas! Thanks so much for the super cute tutorial!
Hi Lyndsay, I saw your ghost pinata over on IG and it was soooo cute. Just darling! I’m so glad my tutorial came in handy – thanks for sharing your finished pinata! xx
So adorable! Love this idea for a party!
Bom dia Stephanie
olhando para seu site a cada dia fico mais encantado
Todo ano fazemos a festa das bruxas
este ano com certeza vamos aproveitas das sua idéias
UM FELIZ ANO NOVO
Oh you are so sweet, and I’m thrilled to hear you’re enjoying my projects! I hope you had a great holidays and happy new year! 🙂
This is excellent idea! Super cute.
Thanks Jamie, I’m so glad you like them! 🙂
The piñatas are fantastic but I’m also very curious as to where you got the legs for the skateboard table?! Or did you purchase it as a whole?
Hi Alicia! I got the table as a whole from Swenyo. It’s one of my favourite pieces of furniture. 🙂 https://swenyo.com/shop-by-category/furniture/chairs-benches/skurniture-bench-natural/
Done it and I love them, I base mine on your idea.
That’s so great to hear Alma, I’m glad they turned out well! 🙂