Joker Pinata

I am creating this post simply to show the photos of the pinata on which I have been working for almost a week.  Rest assured I will NEVER attempt to make another one, and, if this one falls apart in the next month, there will not be a replacement for the birthday party in July.  I have cursed, fussed, and cried over this POS, and it still looks pathetic.  Take my advice, spend the $25 for the pre-made Batman pinata!

Much like the e-trade baby from commercials, I underestimated the creepiness of this clown.

If you truly want to make a pinata, I suggest that you follow someone's pattern and instructions.  I made this up as I went along.  I made paper mache' with Mod Podge, water, and pages from an old phone book.  I applied it to three balloons I had taped together.  I can't even tell you how many layers are on the bottom section, but the top section has only 3 layers.  I used acrylic white paint.  I drew the face with Sharpie pens.  The hair is birthday streamers, and the hat is construction paper that I taped together while watching The Blind Side.  I have never been so disappointed in one of my DIY crafts.



PLEASE.....if anyone has had better luck with DIY pinatas, send me some photos.  I would love to see how one looks when it's done correctly.  Since this one is for a bunch of 5 and 6 year old kids, I'm just going to leave it as is and pray it bursts on the first hit.



These Flip Flops Are The Bomb...Water Bomb, That Is

First of all, let me give all the credit to the blog that inspired me to make these jazzed up flops.  The idea came from http://reddoorhome.blogspot.com/2011/07/balloon-sandals.html.  I saw the idea after someone pinned it on www.pinterest.com. 

All you will need is a cheap pair of flip flops and a bag of about 150-175 small multi-colored balloons, a.k.a. water bombs.  I already had the flip flops that I bought at a dollar store so I'd have something to wear to the beach while at Tybee Island in Georgia.  Today, I dropped in our local Dollar General and bought 2 bags of water bomb balloons.  Those are the only supplies I needed.

  

 Stretch each balloon just a little.  Next, tie the balloons (one at a time) around the the straps of the sandals.  It doesn't matter if you start at the top or the bottom. 

I varied the way I tied each balloon.  In other words, if the open end of the balloon was on the inside of the strap on the first balloon, then the open end of the balloon was on the outside of the strap on the second balloon.  This made it easier to "fluff up" the balloons when I was finished. 

Voila!  Cute flip flops for about 5 bucks.  Old Navy often keeps its flip flops on sale for 2 to 3 dollars during the summer, especially after The Fourth of July.  Don't hate on my fat feet!  I know how badly I need a pedicure!  The cute flops help the ugly feet to look better!!!

Tinted Glass Containers

I've been seeing these on Pinterest for weeks, so I finally bought some Modge Podge and tried it for myself.  They didn't turn out perfect, but I still think they are kind of cute.  I'll try some more when we collect a little more glass.

You will need a variety of glass containers.  You may use old wine bottles, baby food jars, syrup bottles, beer bottles, Coke bottles, or whatever you have on hand.

Mix 1/3 cup of Modge Podge with 1 cup of water until well combined.  Add as much gel food coloring as you would like to achieve the desired color.  Remember that the glass will be several shades lighter than your MP mixture.  Stir the food coloring in very well. 

I used a liquid measuring cup for the mixing, so it was easy to pour the mixture into the bottles.  Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the mixture into the first clean and dry glass bottle.  Swirl the liquid mixture around the inside of the bottle until ALL inside areas are coated with color.  Pour extra color mixture back into the liquid measuring cup.  Repeat this process with all of your glass containers.

Turn all containers upside down on a layer of newspaper or paper towels and allow to drain for five minutes.  Next, set containers upright to allow any liquid that did not drain to return to the bottom of each container.  Allow the containers to set for at least 1 hour or you will have ugly streaks in your finished product.  You can see several in mine.

Remove the top rack from your oven.  Place the bottles on the bottom rack. (Smaller bottles can be placed on a cookie sheet.)  Set oven to 180 degrees.  When oven has preheated with bottles inside, set your timer for 20 minutes and allow the bottles to "bake" until the timer reaches zero.

Carefully remove the VERY hot bottles and set them on a heat-safe surface to cool.  If you want the color to be darker, repeat this process once the glass has cooled COMPLETELY.

After a couple of days, I decided to try a few more colors. I bought both of these pieces at The Dollar Tree.