These are the piñatas that started it all.  On a weekend in September 1995 I found a box of shredded paper packing material while cleaning my garage. I hadn't made a piñata since I was in fifth grade, but Halloween was approaching and for some reason it occurred to me that the shredded paper would make a perfect outer covering for a ghost piñata.  So I made these two piñatas for a neighborhood Halloween party.

I painted these piñatas before decorating them because I wasn't sure how well the shredded paper would cover the ghost, and I didn't want newspaper showing through.  (Yes, the ghost is painted gray -- I didn't have any white paint).  I didn't expect the newspaper to show through on the bat, but I painted it anyway.

The Bat!

Decorated using black crepe paper, colored felt, and googly eyes.  Everything is glued on using Elmer's Glue.  I drew lines on the wing membranes using a black marker.  If you look closely, the wings aren't quite even.  Which one is longer?  That's right!

The Ghost!

The overall ghostly effect of the shredded paper was exactly what I imagined it would be, and I was happy with it.  When the kids attacked the ghost, the shredded paper made a ghastly mess everywhere, which made the piñata that much more fun.

I made these piñatas on a whim and had no plans to make any more.  In fact, three years would pass before I made my next piñata. (That piñata is the simple pink heart at the bottom of the Make a Heart page.)