Donkey Piñata - Scott Publications

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Donkey Piñata
By Barbara Schmidt
T
he basic technique for making a piñata is
to cover your base with scrunched up
pieces of colored tissue.
What You’ll Need:
• Small plastic donkey, l-inch
tall (available at toy stores,
craft stores, museum gift
shops)
• Colored tissue: Bright
Yellow, Orange, Red,
Purple, and Turquoise
• White thread
• Embroidery floss: Red and
Yellow
• Tacky glue
• Toothpicks
• Scissors
cut
cut
cut
T
cut
cut
Y
O
O
R
P
1. For each color of tissue,
fold an 8-inch square in half,
fold over again.
2. Cut off bottom fold.
3. Cut ¼-inch strips almost
up to the top fold. (If you cut
the top fold, your strip will
fall off. Keep it attached, like
you were making fringe that
is ¼-inch wide.)
Y
4. Cut ¼-inch squares off the
fringe, starting at the bottom
edge.
5. You will end up with ¼inch squares of tissue. Place
in a pile or in a small cup.
Cut all colors but try to keep
the colors separated.
6. Before covering the donkey
with tissue, make a hanger.
Tie white thread at the base
of the neck and around the
belly. Make sure the knot is
at the top and that the donkey is balanced if hung. Add
a dot of glue to the knot.
Folds
Y
T
Tail
Y
Y
O
P
R
O
Y
Covering the donkey
Y- Yellow
O - Orange
R - Red
cut
cut
cut cut
cut
P - Purple
T - Turquoise
60
AUGUST 2007 MINIATURE COLLECTOR MAGAZINE
1. Follow diagram for my
color pattern or make one of
your own. Place glue onto
donkey with toothpick, a
small section at a time. Don’t
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THE PLACE TO BE!
get too far ahead of yourself
with the glue. You don’t want
it to dry before sticking on
the tissue.
2. Using one color at a time,
pick up a square of colored
tissue, scrunch it up with
your fingers or tweezers, and
place on glue on donkey.
When scrunching up the tissue, keep watch on the
“fluffiness” of your piñata. If
you don’t scrunch it enough,
the donkey will look too
fluffy; if it is scrunched too
much, it will take longer to
cover and not look fluffy
enough. Once you do a few,
you will get the hang of it.
This technique is very forgiving. If you don’t like the
“fluffiness,” pull off the tissue and redo it.
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Five of California’s finest
miniature shops invite you to
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5
101
Sacramento
A
C
3. Hold donkey by one back
leg while you cover the body.
Once the sections have dried,
finish the last leg. If the glue
is still wet and you try to
hold onto it, the tissue will
flatten out. Don’t hold onto
sections that are wet.
D
Stockton
San Carlos
101
5
B
Tail
1. Braid yellow and red
embroidery floss to ½ inch
long. Tie a knot.
2. Cut the tail about 1/8-inch
below the knot, making a
tassel. Place a small dot of
glue on the knot and at the
top to secure.
3. Once dry, trim length and
glue to the tail end of the
donkey.
This project can be done in
many, many shapes. I have
made lots of different ones,
including a watermelon slice,
a sun with sunglasses, a chili
pepper, a ladybug, a fish, a
Mexican star, and a flower.
Any of these designs look
great using this technique.
For bases, either use small
plastic toys or make a shape
from FIMO or Sculpey.
■
Barbara Schmidt lives in Florida.
405
Ventura
E
Los Angeles
Newport Beach
A Elegant Dollhouse
1120 Fulton Avenue (Between Northrup & Hurley)
Sacramento, CA 95825
Phone: 916-484-0411, Fax: 916-484-0412
Email: elegantdollhouse@aol.com
Web site: elegantdollhouse.com
A full Miniatures shop conveniently located
between Highway’s 50 & 80. Open 7 days a
week. 25 years serving the miniature trade.
B Larrianne’s Small Wonders
1890 East Main Street
Ventura, CA 93001
Phone: 805-643-4042, Fax: 805-643-2046
Web Site: www.larriannessmallwonders.com
Hours: Mon – Sat 10 am – 5 pm; Closed Sunday
One of the nation’s largest and best stocked stores
with over 3,000 sq. ft. of quality miniatures from
local as well as national and European artisans.
Always the best and friendliest service since 1980.
Easy to find off 101 Freeway, take the Main Street
Exit.
C Bearly Big Enough
2314 Pacific Avenue
Stockton, CA 95204
Phone: 209-948-2088, Fax: 209-948-2112
Email: BearlyBigEnough@clearwire.net
Hours: Tues – Sat 10 am to 5 pm
Closed Sun and Mon
International and out of town shoppers proclaim our
shop “Worth the trip!”A very large selection for your
“SMALL” needs. Our staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and full of ideas. Plan lunch and spend the
day! Call for directions and holiday hours.
D Shellie’s Miniature Mania
732 Laurel Street
San Carlos, CA 94070
Phone: 650-593-4921 Fax: 650-593-4985
Email: shelliesminis@msn.com
Web site: www.shelliesminis.com
Hours: Tues - Fri 10:30 am – 5:30 pm
Sat 10:30 - 5:00
Closed Sun & Mon
We offer the best workshops and are a full-line
miniatures shop. We are just off Highway 101,
Holly exit in San Carlos.
E Garden of Miniatures
353 Old Newport Blvd.
Newport Beach, CA 92663
Phone: 949-722-1132
A collectors’ shop, offering beautiful and unusual
one-of-a-kind miniatures by local as well as Cottage
Industry artisans from the U.S. and Europe. We specialize in one-inch-scale and stock Bespaq, Bodo
Hennig, Reutter Porzellan and many more. We look
forward to your visit.