How to Make a Piñata

Want to learn How to Make a Piñata? Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial to make your own DIY piñatas in all shapes and sizes!

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Making your own piñatas is quick and easy with this simple how-to tutorial! DIY piñatas are one of my favorite party DIYs, and once you have the technique down, you can make your own piñatas in all different shapes, sizes, and party themes (like our DIY Bacon Piñata and Christmas Tree Piñata Party Favors!).

The other day I talked to you about My Favorite Cricut Hand Tools, and I’ll be using them again for this piñata project – the Cricut TrueControl Knife, Rotary Cutter, Self-Healing Mat, Cutting Ruler, and Acrylic Ruler.

Supplies Used to Make the DIY Piñata:

Kraft Board in White
Cricut Party Foil in Teal, Silver, and Purple
Cricut TrueControl Knife
Rotary Cutter
Self-Healing Mat
Cutting Ruler
Acrylic Ruler
Masking Tape
Hot Glue Gun

To begin, start by cutting the 48″ long roll of Party Foil (both sheets – foil and holographic foil) in half and stacking the four 24″ x 12″ pieces together.

The Cricut 60mm Rotary Cutter slices through multiple layers of materials with ease, so it’s the perfect tool for quickly and easily cutting through the stacked sheets of Party Foil.

The 3″ x 18″ Cricut Acrylic Ruler is made from frosted acrylic and is marked with easy-to-see 1/8″ measurements that are visible on both light and dark surfaces, so you can always see your markings. I found the Acrylic Ruler particularly helpful when working with the Party Foil since the shimmer can often make the material look both light AND dark at the same time!

Once the Party Foil has been cut into strips, it’s time to turn those strips into fringe! I used my TrueControl Knife and Cutting Ruler to cut 1/4″ fringe into the Party Foil. The non-slip Cutting Ruler is one of my favorite tools ever because it keeps your fingers away from sharp blades, so you can craft in safety with confidence. The markings on the Self-Healing Mat also provided an extra level of easy-to-see measurements which helped keep the hand-cut fringe uniform and even.

Repeat with additional colors of Party Foil as desired until you have enough to wrap your piñata.

Use the TrueControl Knife to cut your piñata design out of two sheets of Kraft Board. For my star piñata, I created a template out of cardstock and then used the template to cut multiple stars from Kraft Board.

To make the sides of the piñata, you will need to cut several 2″ wide strips of Kraft Board, long enough to wrap around the perimeter of your design.

Note: For my 11″ wide star piñata, I needed a 36″ strip of Kraft Board, so I cut (3) 12″ x 2″ strips and pieced them together.

Now, it’s time to assemble the piñata, so grab the masking tape and all of your Kraft Board pieces!

Use the masking tape to piece together the 2″ strips until the desired length is reached.

Bend and fold the 2″ wide paper strip to fit the perimeter of your piñata design. Note: start at the location where you would like to fill the piñata, and leave a little bit of overhang at the starting edge.

Use the masking tape to adhere the first face of the piñata to the sides.

When you get to the end, leave a small-ish piece of the 2″ strip un-taped (this is where you’ll fill the piñata later!).

Repeat the process with the second face of the piñata.

When you’re finished assembling the piñata, fill it up with treats, goodies, and small novelty toys. Seal the opening with additional masking tape.

Use the hot glue gun to layer the strips of fringed Party Foil over the piñata until the entire surface is covered.

Trim any excess overhang with the TrueControl knife.

Repeat the process for the opposite side.

For the sides, layer 2″ wide strips of Party Foil fringe.

Note: Depending on the shape of your piñata, you may be able to continuously wrap strips of Party Foil around the entire project instead of decorating the faces and edges separately. Please use your discretion and see which method works best for your piñata style!

Once you’ve mastered the basic technique, you can make piñatas in all kinds of different shapes and sizes! It’s so easy!

Now that you’ve learned how to make a piñata of your own, you can make them to match all of your different party themes and decor! Piñatas always make a party better!