I love pinatas. I really do. You get to take out your anger on some inanimate object that someone has spent hours, if not days, creating. And, for your outburst, you are rewarded with bulk lollies. Yep, pinatas are gold. Pure gold.
...a pineapple helmet. Happy days.
So when a friend of mine chose a hawaiian theme for her birthday...It. Was. On. Any excuse for a pinata will do. After much brainstorming we decided a pineapple would be suitable.
Ingredients
Bulk plain white flour
Water
Bulk newspaper (cut into rough squares)
Bulk newspaper (cut into rough squares)
Round balloon
Green Cardboard
Acrylic paint (yellow, green and red)
Gold glitter glue
Double-sided tape (the thin stuff)
Paper fasteners (the gold ones that kind of look like a nail)
String
Gaffa tape
Hot glue gun or some form of super-glue
Bulk lollies and chocolates (make sure they're in wrappers)
Whisk together enough flour and water to create a smooth, semi-runny paste. Blow up your balloon to the desired size. Dip pieces of the newspaper in the flour and water and place on balloon. Cover the whole balloon, leaving a fist-sized gap at the top. Put extra layers at the top end so your pineapple isn't too pear-shaped. Let it dry and repeat the process 2 more times.
Pop the balloon and tip out the rubbish. Trim the top so it is all pretty and neat. Fill it up with as many lollies and chocies as you think it can take. Use a screwdriver to piece four holes evenly spaced (kinda in a square) near the top of the pinata. Pass two pieces of string from one side of the pinata to the other, so it ends up with four hanging ropes and a crossbar on the inside (see the pics, you will get what i'm on about!).
Put a couple of layers of yellow paint on your pinata. Then add a bit of red to the yellow and paint on the diamonds. Put a dot of gold glitter glue in the middle of each diamond. Put gaffa tape over the hole.
For the top, cut the green card board into strips one inch wide and various lengths. You will need about 20. Trim the ends so they are pointy. Paint the edges with green paint. Use the double sided tape to stick them together in the middle, in a star-like shape, from longest to shortest. Bend them up.
Cut two 3 inch squares out of the green cardboard. Paint the edges with green paint. Stick them together to form an eight-point star. Glue this to the gaffa tape. Glue the top to the squares and Bob is your uncle my friend.
Enjoy the spoils.
And with the remains...
...a pineapple helmet. Happy days.
Oh, I do love a good theme party. Particularly when they are as committed to decorating as the crew at Bartenderz Boutique Events are. And the team at WA Mechanical Services spared no expense with costuming. Truth is, when 88 pirates ransack your boat you can't control them. That's far too many plastic swords. In mother nature got her pirate on, producing a fiery sunset as the MV Moonlight Express prepared set off...
88 swashbuckling pirates walked on board our boat on Saturday night. The boat was transformed into the ultimate pirate ship. Pirate flag hanging at the back. Cannon on the bow. Ropes and nets covered the ceilings and the walls. There were treasure chests brimming with coins (some chocolate, some plastic - we worked it out pretty quickly). Skeletons and lanterns were scattered throughout. Four large barrels and some planks of wood made up the bars. I was a little disappoint there wasn't a single drop of rum in any of the barrels.
There were guns and parrots and plastic swords a-plenty. A layer of smoke lingered eerily over the floor. Pirates tunes filled the air thanks to the very committed DJ, Luke. The walls were plastered with friendly reminders of pirate law and treasure maps. Nothing like reading about the rules of Parlay while on the dunny. Peter Pan also made an appearance. And, up on the flybridge Pirate/Chef Bonny and his sidekick, from Bonstar, were whipping up traditional Paella to feed the hungry pirates. I didn't know pirates liked Paella. It must've had rum in it, or something, cos it was cleaned up in no time at all. 