DIY Ninjago Piñata: wrapping up (and stuffing?) piñata man

After making the frame, the next step is to wrap the frame with cling wrap. This process was really most time consuming and frustrating, and this was when I learned that I really should have secured straws horizontally across the body to maintain the shape (width wise). This was how I ended up with a pinata man that was skinnier than I originally planned; every time I pulled the cling wrap to tighten it, pinata man gets skinnier. (URGH!)

In my mind, I thought the cling wrap would remain taut when wrapped around the frame but that wasn't the case. The cling wrap would sink, and I knew it would sink even more after I place wet paper-mache on top.

That's where the tissue and plastic shoe boxes came in. (Make sure you use empty tissue boxes so you can turn your project around/over without tearing the cling wrap.) Placed inside pinata man, the boxes supported the cling wrap and prevented them from sinking. But the boxes couldn't support the entire surface of the structure (e.g. corners), which meant I ended up with an uneven paper-mache surface. (More URGHS!)

I also learned that it's best to put the paper-mache on by sections (e.g. head), cover that section with the desired layers of paper-mache, let that section dry first before removing the box support inside, and then move on to the next section (e.g. torso). When you reach the final section, leave a panel at the side open (i.e. without paper-mache). Once everything has dried up, pull out your straw frame through the panel. The cling wrap should come out together. Then seal up the panel with paper-mache.

I like the next part of the process the most: painting pinata man!

Project Ninjago Piñata: Making 'piñata man'

So Kai wants a Ninjago piñata for his sixth birthday, which has proved to be a challenging task thus far. My plan is to make the frame using straws, wrap it with cling wrap (or Saran Wrap in the US), and paper-mache it.

We call him "pinata man".

Using bendy straws and some sticky tape, I made the frame. It was a little challenging getting the proportions right and making sure the straws go where you want them but I now learned that this was the easiest part of the project!

On retrospect, I could put straws across the body to keep the shape. I didn't initially because I wasn't sure if I could pull most/all the straws and cling wrap out of the paper-mache when it's completed. If I had straws across the body, it would have helped maintain the shape better. Now my ninja man is skinnier than I originally wanted, which is an absolute bummer.

Before I started the paper-mache process, the frame is as tall as Kai!

Sailing life's ocean

Smooth sailing. How I wish everyday could be like this for Kai.

Funny how a mother's day can swing from stinky (like not having any time for a shower till after the kids sleep) to super stinky. I blame social media. After a trying session of helping my 5yo kid, who's struggling to read, I checked in on Facebook and coincidentally, some friends were showing just how well their 5/6yos are reading. That's when my heart sunk right to the bottom (I don't think it even hit any bottom since a mother's love is suppose to be a bottomless pit).

Through Facebook, blogs, Twitter, Instagram, and other cool apps, you share victories with your friends and families. You share tears. You share once in a lifetime moments. You share fears.

I fear for my son. I am afraid of the burden called life that he has to carry. Truth is, I don't know for sure if Kai is dyslexic even if the experts hinted that he could be. Why should I even label him; I'd rather believe that he would come into his own at his own pace. Yet a (selfish?) part of me knows it'd be easier to 'explain things' if he is indeed dyslexic.

Husband thinks I am an emotional worry wort. (Well, everyone's got someone strange in the family right?) But I am a mother. I wish life would be smooth sailing for my children. Since that's not going to happen, then I guess I'd just have to teach him how to sail life's ocean.