Pinata

I wish I was Hispanic. Because then I would be a pinata expert.

I tried really hard to make a cute pinata for the 4th of July BBQ, and it didn't quite work. I had a vision of an elaborately simple American flag pinata that I could whip up in a couple of hours using the tried and true papier mache method of construction. How hard could that be? I have never had trouble making pinatas before--all one of them. (Of course, I have always made round papier mache items using balloons as my base, so how difficult could it be to move on to a rectangular object?).

I worked all afternoon on my papier mache box--even putting it in the oven to speed up the drying process. I made 6 panels--that was not hard--just a bunch of newspaper strips soaked in flour paste. The difficult part was trying to put all of the panels into some sort of shape--they dried all warpy, and didn't match up very well. We got most of it put together, and Farm Boy (who should stick to farming and quit trying to be artistic) said it could work if we made the pinata look like the flag waving in the breeze. More like a tornando, if you ask me!

Needless to say, I ran out of flour and so I made a trip to Wal-Mart to pick up some more flour, so I could finish my project. I got my flour and was walking to the cash register to pay for it, when I saw a pinata, just waiting for a good home. And since it was on clearance, I justified the purchase. Good-bye tornado tortured star-spangled banner; hello lovely star-shaped pinata that was made in China!!!!

Maybe I would have more luck with pinatas, if I was Chinese...