02 May 2012

How to make an Easy Darth Vader Pinata


In honour of International Star Wars Day* I thought it was about time I posted this tutorial on how to make an easy peasy papier mache Darth Vader pinata.
(The photos have only been sitting there since November 2010).

This pinata was so easy; I kid you not.
I have made other pinatas before (PAINFUL) and it took three years before I was willing to try again.
I figured this out all on my own, and I hope you enjoy making your own Darth as much as I did mine...

*International Star Wars Day is May the Fourth (be with you) ...get it? 



What you need:

  • A standard el cheapo, regular sized balloon, blown up
  • A smallish bowl to prop your balloon up in
  • Newspaper torn into large-ish bits (too small and it'll take too long - big is better)...

...and some Cornflour glue...



Now we start the papier mache...



  1. Dip each piece of paper into the cornflour glue and then slap it on the balloon. Overlap the pieces and don't leave any gaps. 
  2. Leave a hole at the top... draw a circle where you want your hole to be... this is where you will fill your pinata with goodies once it is done.
  3. When the top half is covered, flip your balloon and cover the bottom half as before.



You will be relieved to know that you only need to do one layer! Phew. Papier mache-ing is so boring.
When it is completely dry you can *pop* the balloon and reinforce the hole. Punch through a couple of holes to thread string through, so you can hang Darth up when it's party time...




Now lets get on with the decorating...


What you need:

  • Black craft paper: cut into one thinner, longer strip (for the front rim of Darth's helmet) and one wider shorter strip (for the bit at the back).
  • Black acrylic paint
  • Double sided tape (and/or your trusty hot glue gun)
  • A print-out of Darth's Face... (right click image below to save to your computer, then print and use)



Attach the craft paper "helmet rim" using either double-sided tape or your trusty hot glue gun.

Make a "widow's peak" shaped crease in the front of the helmet rim to give it that "Darth Vader Helmet" shape (mine is more subtle than obvious, but it's there if you look)...


Time to slap some paint on...


The final touch is adding the printout of Darth's face... try printing out different sizes until you find the best fit... it's a bit of trial and error (black and white printing works fine - that's what mine was)





Now you can stuff Darth's head full of (wrapped) sweets and treats; crinkle up some tissue paper and squish in on top to plug the hole. 

Then string Darth up and bash his head in...



That will teach Anakin to turn to the Dark Side!


{P.S. For International Star Wars Day we're having a "May the Fourth...Be With You" kids night for the 8&9-year-olds from our church. Mr G and I have started doing something fun with Dash's agegroup once a month. Last month it was "Kids Go Wild" - with a bit of snail-eating thrown in. This month we're taking approximately fifteen kids to Laser Strike and then bringing them home to dress up in Star Wars gear, eat Wookie Cookies and slurp Yoda Sodas and munch popcorn while watching a Star Wars movie. It's gonna be fun. I cannot claim credit for the idea... it was Dash's brainwave when he realised May the Fourth fell on a Friday... that's my boy!}
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