June 16, 2009
MS150 and Making of the Banana Pinata
Last weekend I completed my second MS150 bike tour! It is the most fun way to raise money for a great cause—finding a cure for multiple sclerosis. Last year, I completed the ride on an old Trek mountain bike and did only a bit of training, but this year I had my stylish new road bike and a lot more training under my belt! It made a huge difference. I felt stronger during the ride, and much less pain afterwards! Thanks to my great sponsors, I raised even more money than last year too.
I was a member of my company team again this year, which is definitely the way to roll! As a member of a large team, you get a private team bus to take you to the starting point, and you get a private team tent to party under at the halfway point. Every year there is a contest for the best-decorated team tent. Our team picked a decorating/party theme of Mexican Fiesta this year, so our tent was decked out with colorful decorations, maracas and sombreros!
Our team mascot is a banana, so I decided I’d make our mascot into a pinata to go along with our theme!
First, my dear husband created this amazing 3-dimensional cardboard base for me. I filled it up with candy, added a strap to hang it up with, and taped it shut.
Next, I covered the cardboard base with a layer of newspaper strips. I used a paste made from flour and water. It’s messy, but washes off easily.
Then I wrapped this with a layer of crepe paper (it’s the stardard stuff on a roll that you buy at party/paper supply stores). I used the same flour paste on this.
For the next layer, I made slits in the crepe paper before I glued it on in order to get that authentic pinata look. 
For this I used YES! paste. I think it’s really designed for scrapbooking and book arts, but it worked swell for this. It’s a little thicker, allowing me to apply more accurately than I can with the flour paste, so only the non-slit edge gets glued down to maintain that “fluffy” look! I also added on arms and legs made from twisted-together pipe cleaners. I just poked holes in the pinata and stuck them on with gobs of glue.
Finally, I added facial features, hands, and feet that I printed on a laser printer. I printed two of each hand and foot as mirror images of each other and glued each set together with the pipe cleaners in between. The face parts were laminated before I glued them on to make them more sturdy.
We named him Juan! When he was hung in the middle of our tent, a sombrero was added, and maracas were taped to his hands. The kids on the team had a great time busting him open and eating all the candy goodness inside! It was a fun addition to the party.
