Spy Party: Make a Pull String Bomb Pinata

Sometimes secret agents have to do risky work... like diffusing a bomb?  We made a pull-string pinata bomb for this party game.  Red string, blue string, polka dots are usually the ground, which to pull first... so much pressure!

  
Materials

 flour, sugar, water, bowl & whisk, newspaper, balloon, ribbon, craft knife, paper clip, string for hanging, paint, paintbrush, pen, and prizes!

How-to Steps

1) Find a round balloon (punch ball works great).

2) Make the paste:
       a.  whisk a 1/2 c flour into 2 cups cold water (475ml)
       b.  heat 2 cups water to boiling in microwave
       c.  bring mixture to boil
       d.  add 3 tablespoons sugar (45ml)

3) Inflate balloon and shred newspaper into 1" strips while waiting for paste to cool.  Find something to set the balloon on to steady it when attaching the strips in step 4.

4) Wet strips in paste and cover balloon.  Cover and refrigerate leftover paste. Hang balloon to dry at least 24 hours.

5)  Add second layer of paste/paper mix and let dry 24 hours. Recruit all hands for this activity!

6)  Paint pinata! Get help for this part, too!

7)  Cut rectangular hinge in bottom of pinata using sharp craft knife and try opening the hinge. Ours was 3-4 inches per side.

8)  Create a hanging loop at the top end of the pinata.  I poked two holes at the top and looped a string through by poking one end of string through a hole, then reaching in with another hand to guide the string through the other hole.

9)  Fill the pinata with prizes!  We put in safety glasses (rear-view spy glasses, cool! link below post), a gummy road kill creature (Oriental Trading Company), and a bag containing a half cup of mini-marshmallows with instructions for a marshmallow shooter game and a mysterious puzzle piece.

10)  Cut enough strips of ribbon for each party guest.  Our ribbons were about 20" long.

11)   Use a craft knife to make small slits for each ribbon around the hinge.  Insert 2-3 inches of one ribbon into each hole.  I used a paper clip to help slide the ribbon into the slit.

12)  Make a second set of notches in the hinge door for the other ends of the ribbons.  Insert 2-3 inches of each through the hole.  I wove the ribbons around each other to make it hard to guess which one would lead to opening the pinata.

13) Select one ribbon to be the ribbon that opens the pinata when pulled.  Tie a knot or two at the end of this one so that when the ribbon is pulled, the pinata hinge door will open.

14) Close the pinata door!  Ours held so tightly that I didn't need to reinforce the edges of the hinge with tape and it was inconspicuous enough that I didn't hide them with tissue paper. Done!

15) To play the game, instruct kids that they will take turns.  Have each child pull their ribbon complete out to see if that is the one that will explode (open) the bomb!

16)  Don't forget to take pictures!