Pinatas, pinatas, pinatas!

We lovingly hand craft custom made piñatas and other paper mache products to suit your requirements.

VW camper van wedding card box






This is another wedding card box and it's the last order we're doing before we move. We're hoping to get chance to finish off a few projects of our own between packing and organising everything.

It's smaller than the last one and this time the slot is at the top of the roof - there are more pictures in the facebook album click on this text to see the full set of pictures

These wedding card boxes are unique to us and can be custom made to your specifications. Prices start at around £50.

The pinata lady: custom made pinatas: Moving premesis.

The pinata lady: custom made pinatas: Moving premesis.: We move in 4 weeks so we won't be taking any orders due before September 2012. It's chaos here at the moment. I spent last night with a ca...

Kirkstall Abbey craft stall.


On a lovely sunny day, within the beautiful grounds of Kirkstall abbey, we had our second craft market.
 There were flowers, hearts, various monsters and animals, as well as a spider, a couple of butterfly's and aeroplanes - as you can see from the pictures. Sarah did some fabulous printed mugs and t-shirts which will be available from her website soon.


The next stall is on the 1st of July - hope to see you there!

http://pinatalady.blogspot.co.uk/ - new address!

We've set up a new blog http://pinatalady.blogspot.co.uk/ and we're seeing this as an opportunity to edit and update posts as we move posts across!

Rag rugs and pulp furniture.



We’ve been distracted from piñata making by having a go at making a rug out of old rags. We didn’t realise just how much material it took to make each patch. We used these instructions http://www.ragrugcafe.com/toothbrush-rugs-complete-video-instructions-part-1-beginners but it took longer and didn’t quite turn out how we’d intended. Hopefully when we fasten the pieces together it will come together and work out in the end. They are quite quick and easy as making your own rugs go!

 This is our new shoe rack. Its designed to eventually become a table once its been thoroughly tested by being climbed, leant on and generally abused. The pulp is a traditional rough mix used for furniture rather than delicate work such as masks as I'm still adding strengthening layers. We plan on adapting a recipe we found for repairing boats http://www.ehow.com/how_12203275_fix-marine-plywood-bass-boat.html to create a waterproof final layer. Its a very slow process as each layer has to dry before the next one is begun but shelves are a good way of testing the strength and durability of the design and materials. It doesn't look that impressive yet. Watch this space.

Pinata parties

http://gomexico.about.com/od/glossary/p/pinata.htm - An interesting page about piñata parties and Mexican traditions.
Here's the piñata song being performed by a Mariachi band http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_h5GPagGhM most of the utube clips of the song were pretty awful.
http://www.spanishtown.ca/familystory3.htm - another history of the piñata! Apparently the first Sunday of lent was piñata Sunday!

Recycled furniture or the shoe rack that dreamed of becomming a table.

We've finally decided what to turn the old university notes into a shoe rack! Its taken about 4 days so far from sorting out notes to turning them into pulp and then making a start on the actual piece. We're hoping this lot will be dry by the end of the weekend so that we can at least make the first shelf!

We have discussed turning it into a dining room table at some point in the future. With over 60 piñatas in the house space is a bit of an issue! We'll see how it turns out though and how strong the whole thing is by the time we've finished! We'd like a bit more practice before we make a start on the chairs but its about time we replaced our current shoe storage so at least this will do in the mean time. Its better than risking having a table collapse in the middle of dinner. Once we've made a few pieces we might price a few bits up and have a piñata lady furniture range. Lets just see how well this one lasts first!

Fancy doing something a little bit different this Easter?

We have several Easter egg bases on offer, starting from £15. These can be decorated to your taste with pretty flowers, monster faces,or whatever floats  your boat. We have big ones, little ones, giant ones, ones that fit inside each other and even one that will give you a special massage and make you a cup of tea on a morning!

Only kidding about the last one. We've also got chick bases and rabbit and duck moulds ready just in case. We plan on finishing a few in time for Easter. Including our own as We're going to make the kids work for their chocolate this year!



Piggy banks with personality

Piggy bank (several bases) from £30. These measure around 50cm from nose to tail. Click on this text for more pictures.This is a new design that's proved to be quite popular. The first three are already claimed and I'll keep making more as they're great stock for craft stalls (and last minute presents!).

They can also be used as piñatas, although they're strengthened and made in response to being nagged to make things that don't automatically get smashed up.

The first three are made for young children so instead of the usual slots they've been made so that pennies can be poked up their nose or fed to them. The pigs can then be shaken upside down to make them 'poo' out the pennies. Or at least they will when they're finished!

I can be tasteful, its just more fun not to sometimes!

Heart pinatas

Heart piñatas
Large selection available. If there is a specific one you're interested in then please get in touch for more details. They range between 20-60cm to give you a better idea of size. We charge around £15-40 depending on the size and level of detail.


A few of the duplicates have sold already The pink rose heart is gone but there is a red one available on etsy (with a full description http://www.etsy.com/shop/Thepinatalady ). There are also two large newspaper heart bases still available.
The green one my eldest made and its not for sale.


The heart piñatas were mostly made with a valentines day post in mind as well as an urge to experiment with patterns and designs.

The beast of many eyes.

Blob monster £36 Measures around 100cm.  I made a similar one a few years back and never got any photos so this was my attempt at recreating that. This piñata could easily be converted into a very surreal storage box or a super sized money box.

This isn't the most up to date photo as each of the eyes now have eyelids. This piñata is currently on display at Full Circle Bespoke Design Emporium.

Tea pot Pinata

Tea pot (unfinished) £35 approx - including decorating the base to your taste. This piece measures around 65cm from spout to handle)This teapot piñata is still in its newspaper base form and can be decorated to your taste. It would be perfect for a summer tea party.
It can also be converted into storage (with the addition of a working lid). It will only support light weights whilst in use as hanging storage. This piece and most of the others featured can also be converted into an extra large money box.

Mz Piggy £22 Measures around 50cm tall. These piñatas are currently on display at Full Circle Bespoke Design Emporium. Both the pig and frog are easily converted into a piñata or a money box.
This and the frog one were my first experiments using moulds. I prefer working from scratch as its more of a challenge but, as you can see, even  when we use a mould each piece produced is still unique.





 Hermit the frog £22 Measures around 50cm tall. One of my earliest piñatas. This picture does not do justice to the detail used in this piece, for instance it doesn't show his little froggy shaped fingers or the depth used to enhance his facial features.

Elephant pinata for sale

Elephant £45 for decorated version. The picture here is of an unfinished base. (80cm long) Click on this text for pictures of a finished version This elephant was made as part of a pair for an Indian wedding. The wedding ended up taking place in India so they were no longer needed. One of the pair has already sold and this one is available to be decorated to your taste. It can easily be converted into a wedding card box, money box or storage. The last one was bought as a hanging decoration.

Giant pocket watch pinata for sale


Pocket Watch £40 (60cm diameter)
There are lots of pictures of this piñata on the blog and on facebook http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263148590382797.70623.234857009878622&type=3.
Its also possible to convert it into a small cupboard or bookcase. The hands will move although it might not withstand a lot of playing with from younger children! Its possible to hang this piñata from its very sturdy chain.

Alice in wonderland piñatas

This piñata is still available for sale


Mad hat £40 (60cm diameter)
There are lots of pictures of this piñata on the blog and on facebook http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.263148590382797.70623.234857009878622&type=3.
It can also easily turned into a very interesting and unique storage box - perfect for someone with clutter and a thing for Alice's adventures!
This piñata and the pocket watch also featured in this post are currently on display at full circle bespoke design emporium.

Hitting the burlesque wet spot.

A friend of mine recently had her birthday at the wet spot in the Wardrobe. When I called the manager to ask if it was possible to take a piñata he told me that if I could get a piñata past his security guys then I was welcome to take one. He didn't sound very confident.

Here of the pictures of it after it got kicked in. Right next to the mens toilets in the basement!

Babushka

You might wonder why I've included a Russian doll in with the Christmas/winter piñatas. I grew up with a melting pot of cultures and I happen to have a soft spot for Babushka.

The very short version is that when the 3 wise men came knocking at her door and invited her to come with them to deliver gifts to the new king she put it off. When she realised what a mistake that was she began delivering presents to every child hoping that one of them would be the Christ child.

There are so many different versions of this story but I think its a lot more preferable than the story of some dodgy tubby geezer dressed in red that likes creeping around in kids bedrooms to deliver presents with no real explanation. Plus the coca cola Santa looks like he's got a drinking problem and I'm not sure he's fit to be driving a sleigh - especially one that can fly.

If you're wondering where my issues with Santa originated from - we had a Swedish troll that looked like Santa and still comes out to lurk on my mums mantelpiece every Christmas. I'll try to get some pics next year!

Stag night pinata

This stag night piñata is for http://www.iamstaggered.com/ and is my first corporate piñata. The staff at Staggered are well informed and lovely, I'd recommend looking them up if you're organising a stag do. There's loads of free and useful information on their website for the groom to be.


This is more of a pulpture style piñata as I wanted to experiment and see just how close to perfect I could get all the details. I haven't actually used pulp this is all made from layered paper, mostly newspapers recycled from local business's.


http://www.facebook.com/mediaset/?set=a.345639192133736.86788.234857009878622&type=1- here's a link to the 'making of Cameron' album. He is over a meter tall.
We needed a new laundry basket in a rush so I decided to knock up a quick one. Its an old printer box covered in a few layers of papier mache. This is a very simple design and doesn't have to be so garish! The kids seem to like it.

Modern Santa pinata

Here's a more traditional and more modern Santa made from balloons. They make fantastic decorations in the run up to Christmas and are a fantastic way of entertaining the kids and working off those seasonal frustrations!

They're mostly made from balloons and old newspaper.

1st anniversary

Today was the end of a very long and complicated case I've been working on. Its also my first anniversary as the piñata lady (or pimp as I'm known in my home town - apparently it suits me better... but lets not go there).

I made a giant neon pink willy with oversize balls. It was the first and only one where I used wool for a more 'realistic' effect. I was really worried it wouldn't sell and when it did it only went for 99p. Not remotely worth if for the 6 hours work that went into it.

Over 100 piñatas later I still don't have a proper website (long story), I'm at least starting to get the hang of the sales side of things and I'm still thoroughly enjoying my gluing habit.

My 50th piñata was the camper van (my favourite) the 100th was probably the red heart. I don't really know where I'm going with this I just felt like I should write a post today if only so that I can look back on it next year and see how far I've come. Now I'm more confident with my piñata making skills I'm going to spend a couple of months organising paperwork and stock before focusing on the business side of things and building up to something special. Hopefully next year we'll have a big party somewhere and celebrate in style.

I do have a celebratory bottle of tequila stashed but I drank too much of that last weekend and don't even want to think about it at the moment! Maybe I'll save it for next year.

I love my day job and I've worked really hard to get where I am, and I love the crafty projects too. I do know that I need a proper website but we're still ranking 1st on a lot of searches.  I decided before I started that I was going to take it slowly over the first two years to see how it went. Its starting to feel like a proper little business, even though my methods are sometimes a bit unconventional! I've not quite got over the point where this seems like a hobby that's got out of hand but we have been chatting about having a proper little shop a few years down the line and I'm itching for a publicity stunt and branching out so we'll see what happens...

Marble pot.

I'm itching to make papier mache furniture. This is my first project made entirely from paper pulp (and marbles). I used some 'antique' and some modern marbles (140ish) as something interesting to set into the mush.

I was a bit impatient and managed to squish the first layer. It still needs painting. Both of my children, one of whom was two at the time were involved in the making of it.

Sorry this picture is so ropey there was a giant inflatable pink unicorn trying to eat out of it at the time. Out of literally hundreds of pics this was the best. One day I'll bring myself to take some more!

I built the base first and then built up the sides a layer at a time. I really wouldn't recommend this as a first project with pulp! I got to this point and decided it would make a nice ash tray and that I never wanted to see the blooming thing again.

Russian doll pinatas

Not only are there piñatas that look like Russian dolls,

we can also make one piñata that slots inside another!


Or seven in this case. I'll add more photos and information when the flower tower is finally complete.



I had to stand on a chair to get a picture from above it's that tall!

Funky flower pinatas!

These are made from fastening several balloons together. Its a lot easier with a helper, otherwise I find as you fasten one down another pops up!


This is an old post I've only just published. Some of the first piñatas I ever made.

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