Dig piñatas? Learn to make a Uteriñata!

Want to wow your next baby shower attendees? Make a Uteriñata! It’s a piñata shaped like a uterus! It’s great for baby showers, but I was also thinking it would be cool for Red Tent parties (daughter’s first period) or even hysterectomy parties.

I think beating a uterine effigy with a stick is a little … violent, so I made the Uteriñata to include ribbons at the bottom. Only one of the ribbons is attached to the cervix, all the others pull right out. The lucky ribbon pulls the cervix off and candy and little plastic babies come out!

What you need:

• Balloon
• Newspaper
• White glue
• Modge-podge (optional)
• Water
• Tissue paper or crepe paper (pink and magenta are a great combo)
• Pipe cleaners
• Ping pong balls
• Coffee can lid (or round piece of cardboard)
• Ribbon
• Hot glue gun w/ hot glue

How you do it:

Step one:Blow up the balloon quite full, this will give a nice upside-down pear shape to the uterus. Mix glue with water (about 1:1). Rip up the newspaper into strips.

Step two: Dip the newspaper in the glue mixture and remove excess with fingers (this will get really messy!). Lay the strips on the balloon. Cover the entire balloon, with only a small portion around the balloon knot open. Tie a ribbon to the knot and let dry overnight, hanging upside down.

Step three: When the Uteriñata is dry, pop the balloon (the most fun part!). Cut around the cervix, leaving about a 1-2” portion attached as a hinge. This way you have a nice cervix flap. Cover the raw edges of the uterine side with tissue paper using glue or modge-podge. Cut out about a 10” by 10” piece of tissue paper. Pinch the center of the tissue paper and twist. Trim a hole in the twisted peak, then insert the peak into the cervical os. Cover the cervix flap with tissue paper, gluing and trimming as needed.

Step four: Fold up the tissue paper if it doesn’t come pre-folded. Cut 1.5 inch strips of tissue paper. While still folded, cut fringe into the paper every thumb-width or so.

Step five: Glue tissue paper in strips up the Uteriñata. Apply a line of glue or modge-podge on the dry Uteriñata and adhere the top (non-fringed) portion of the tissue paper, leaving the fringed portion free. Start near the cervix (bottom opening) and work up to the fundus (top). Let dry.

Step six: You will need to make three holes in the Uteriñata, one for the hanger, and two for the fallopian tubes. I used a Dremmel drill, but the sharp point of a pair of scissors and some elbow grease should work fine as well. The hanger should be at the top of the Uteriñata. The fallopian tubes should start about ⅓ of the way down the uterus. Make three small holes.

Step seven: Use the lid of a coffee can or a round disc of thick cardboard as support for the top hanger. The Uteriñata will be heavy when loaded with goodies, so you want a nice stable support inside to spread out the weight, rather than center it on one point. Make two holes in the disc, and tie the ribbon to the disc. Thread the long end of the ribbon through the top hole. Fold the disc and insert into the Uteriñata, it will unfold inside and should fit snugly against the inside of the fundus.

Step eight: Wrap pipe cleaners in tissue paper. Use hot glue to secure. At the ends add a long fringe of tissue paper. Glue ping-pong balls into the fringe for ovaries (try to cover as much of any logo as you can). Glue ends of fallopian tubes into holes made at the sides of the uterus. Shape the fallopian tubes as desired. You may glue the ovaries to the fallopian tubes to maintain the shape.

Step nine: Cut several lengths of ribbon (about 20-36” long). You should have at least one ribbon for all participants, depending on how many rounds of ribbon pulling you might want. Thread the ends of these ribbons through the cervical os, it should be a tight fit (if not, add more tissue paper around the cervical os). Tie one of the ribbon ends to an anchor inside the Uteriñata which is larger than the cervical os, such as a plastic baby, action figure, or just a piece of candy. This will be the ribbon that, when pulled, will open the Uteriñata, so make sure it’s a secure knot.

Step ten: Drill a hole in the flap of the cervix across from the hinge. Drill a corresponding hole on the uterine side. Fill the Uteriñata with goodies. Thread a short piece of ribbon through both holes to secure with a simple knot.

Hang from something sturdy! Take turns pulling out ribbons until the anchor ribbon is pulled. The cervix should give way and candy will pour out. If the cervix gets hung up or the candy flow is too slow, be ready for an emergency episiotomy with a pair of scissors!

All photos by Kat Mitchel.