The Greatest Piñata Ever Made, Part 9

Alternate Title: How to get two giant piñata parts to stick together (and stay that way), part 2.

Step 6: Make papier-mâché paste.

Take a heaping serving of Elmer's Glue-All and pour it into a tray you don't mind never using again if you forget to wash it off right away. Add about half as much tap water as glue (so . . . 2 parts glue to 1 part water, max). Hey, look, you just made (cheap, inauthentic, fake, amateurish) papier-mâché paste!

Step 7: Make papier-mâché.

Paste is great, but it's not papier-mâché without any papier. Tear yesterday's newspaper into strips. For these huge seams, I'm using huge pieces of newspaper . . . but for smaller projects, or detail work (like around the teeth of the Tyrannosaurus), you can use much smaller pieces of newspaper.

Dip the paper into the glue/water mix, and (this part gets really messy) rub the glue all over (and into) the paper with your bare hands. You don't want the paper to be dripping wet, but you do want it to be saturated with glue and water (the water makes it easier for the glue to soak through the paper). Wipe off any excess paste.

Step 8: Apply, and let it dry.

Lay the strips of gluey newspaper across whatever seam or area you want to reinforce. Smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles with your fingertips. Don't pull too hard against the paper . . . it's really wet now, and will tear more easily than when dry. Repeat this process up to 4 layers of paper thick (any more and you'll have a hard time drying all the way through).

And that's it! Just step back and let the glue dry. You can add more coats once your first ones are entirely dry . . . not when they're just a little damp, but when they're dry, dry, dry.

Tomorrow's a busy day, but Monday will bring dry papier-mâché, reinforced seams, and a piñata ready to have its lower jaw put on!