How to make a Pencil mini piñata with Cricut

Create a Pencil mini piñata using your Cricut and our SVG files for teacher appreaction week, graduation, or back to school celebration.

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Learn to make this cute Pencil mini piñata using your Cricut for a school gift idea or as a coloring party favors.

Hello magical crafters, we are going to be creating this Pencil mini piñata together today. Even though I say pencil, you can also make this into a crayon as well. I have provided both the pencil and crayon details so you can choose which one to create.

This piñata is by far the easiest to create. From start to finish, it comes together very easily making it perfect for beginners. This mini piñata would be perfect for a coloring party favor, keeping the art supplies inside.

Supplies needed to make this mini pinata are…

• Cricut Explore Air 2 machine
• Cutting mat (light)
• Score pen
• Cardstock (65lb works great)
• Crepe paper (also known as party streamers)
• Scissors
• Glue
• Foam Tape
• String or ribbon
• Pencil Mini Pinta SVG file
• Pencil Details SVG file

Click on the button above to purchase the Pencil Mini Pinata SVG file through our shop or you can head over to our Etsy Shop to purchase and download the file. You can use another type of electronic cutting machine that uses SVG files, but for this tutorial, it will be demonstrated using the Cricut Explore Air 2 machine.

Once the file has downloaded, let’s head over to Cricut Design Space.

Uploading into Cricut Design Space

Bring up Cricut Design Space and click on “new project” to open up your canvas. Head down the left side of your screen and click on “upload”. Click on the “insert image” option and you can either drag and drop or browse for the Pencil Mini Pinata file.

It will now take you to the save option screen. Youcan rename this file and add a few tags to help find it in the future. Click on save as a “cut file”. Now you should have the SVG file template in Design Space. Now we need to change a few things before hitting that “make it” button.

Changing cut lines into score lines

Let’s head on to the right side of the screen and click on “ungroup”. This will give you multiple groups that I kept together to make it easier for you. Unfortunately, Design Space does not keep each section labeled separately, but it does allow you to rename them, so you can rename them as you go.

Next, go over to the side panels and click on the inner rectangle. Then head to the top of the screen and click on the drop down menu, then select the “score line” option. It should now change all the inside lines on the panels into score lines. ( Will appear as dash lines.) You can rename each one as score lines, then click on “ungroup”.

Now let’s select the outside part of the panels to select all of them, rename each one and then click on “ungroup”. We need to attach each score line to it’s corresponding panel. Select both the score lines and the panel together, then head down the right side menu and click on the “attach” button. (Looks like a paperclip) This will tell the machine that the score line goes with that panel. Repeat the others until done.

Adding details to your Mini Pinata

Before you resize your mini pinata, go ahead and download your detail pieces to add to your mini pinata after assembling. Upload it to your canvas. You can find the detail files in the Magical Crafting Library. And if you are already a subscriber to our email list, it’s waiting in your inbox.

Resizing your Mini Pinata

Once everything is attached together, click on “select all” at the top of the menu screen. Click on the bottom square corner and drag it over to resize it to the size you’d like it to be. For reference, I made mine about 8 inches tall. Save your project.

Now it’s time to finally hit that “make it” button at the top.

Cutting our Pencil pinata out

Double check your settings in the cut preview screen. Arrange your cardstock colors in the order it gives you and make sure you have the right size paper selected. You can choose white as the pinata base color or you can match the cardstock color with the crepe paper color.

The cardstock weight I use is the 65lb, after adding the Crepe paper, it’s definitely sturdy enough to hold some goodies. You can use the 80lb if you wish. Once everything is good to go, click on “continue”.

Align your cardstock on the mat and smooth it over, making sure it’s adhere to the mat. Insert the mat into the machine by pressing the blinking “arrow” button. Make sure you insert the score pen and check your cut settings. It should be set to cardstock. Then press the blinking”C” button to start the cut.

Once it’s finish, upload the mat by pressing the “arrow” button again, flip the mat over, and peel it away from the cardstock. This helps the cardstock to not curl up on you. Repeat this process until everything is scored and cut.

Prep and Assemble Time

For easy assembly, refer back to the canvas screen and lay out each piece accordingly. I’ve also included a picture below for the set up as well. This will help keep the guess work to a minimum when trying to figure out where each side panel belongs.

Now take each side panel and fold along the scored section. Once that is done, it’s time to glue everything together.

Start with the base of the pencil on the table. Grab a side panel and add a few tiny drops of glue to each tabs on one side. Depending on which glue you use, will determine how long you’ll need to hold it in place until it doesn’t move. Repeat with the other panels until all side panels are glued down.

Be careful to not add glue to the door tabs, as this will prevent you form opening it.

Add glue to the top tabs and align the top layer on to it. We now have a 3D Pencil.

Completing our Pencil Pinata

To finish our Pencil, we need to add some Crepe paper to make it a pinata. Grab your Crepe paper and let’s start cutting some fringes. You can simply take your scissors and cut a lot of lines down the Crepe paper on both sides and then cut down the middle to create two strands of fringes. Or you can save your hands a bit of a workout and follow these easier steps below.

Grab your knife tool and self healing mat. Fold a few layers of he Crepe paper onto the mat.

Take your knife tool and cut a little less then half way down. Making slices to the end. Repeat on the top part as well.

Grab your scissors and cut down the middle, creating two fringe pieces.

Since this is a pencil pinata, I did a few different colors. You can choose mulitple colors too or just all one color.

Starting at the tip of the Pencil, add glue and apply the fringe, wrapping it around all the way up to the top.

Apply fringe to the top of the door. Add your choice of string or ribbon to the door holes for easy access to the goodies. Now your Pencil mini pinata is complete.

Add the finishing touches to your Pencil with the final details. (Located in the Magical Crafting Library) There are also crayon details so you can make those too.

Congrats Crafter, you now have your own Pencil or Crayon Mini Pinata made by you.

What do you fill a Mini Pinata with?

There can be a number of items you can choose to fill your mini pinata up with. Since this is a Pencil Mini Pinata, you can focus the goodies on being school theme.

Some items to choose from can be…

• Pencils, pens, and colored pencils
• Hair bows, clips, and ponytail holders
• Pencil sharpers and pencil top erasers
• Sticky notepads
• Bookmarkers
• Gift Cards
• And of course Candy

Follow and tag us over on Instagram @ivylillies and show off your Pencil mini Pinata creation.

Want more mini pinatas to make? Check these out below.

• Chalkboard Sign Mini Pinata
• T Rex Mini Pinata
• Watermelon Mini Pinata