{"id":247,"date":"2011-03-14T11:01:17","date_gmt":"2011-03-14T17:01:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desertwind.us\/blog\/2011\/03\/two-for-one-space-shuttle-valentine-box-and-monster-truck-piata\/"},"modified":"2011-03-28T07:33:23","modified_gmt":"2011-03-28T13:33:23","slug":"space-shuttle-valentine-box-and-monster-truck-pinata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desertwind.us\/blog\/2011\/03\/space-shuttle-valentine-box-and-monster-truck-pinata\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-for-One Space Shuttle: Valentine Box and Monster Truck Piñata"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CRASH<\/a><\/p>\n

Our nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s farewell to the beloved space shuttle<\/a> has been at the front of our minds this past few months, so it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no wonder that when I asked our 2nd grader what type of Valentine\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Day box he wanted to decorate (thinking of the oatmeal-can rocket ship, or the ubiquitous construction paper-wrapped shoe box) he insisted on a space shuttle.\u00c2\u00a0 Mom and Dad built it, and Boo (our son) decorated it. After completing its noble card- and goody-carrying mission, it was decommissioned to the top of our son\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s dresser. I despaired of ever getting rid of it.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a month to Boo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s (belated) birthday party. After looking around town, unsuccessfully, for a suitable pi\u00c3\u00b1ata for a mature young man of 8 years, we decided to build our own.\u00c2\u00a0 Boo wanted a monster truck, and as we tried to negotiate features (he wanted fancy rounded edges, I wanted a simple boxy design) we remembered the Valentine Shuttle. It even had a handy dandy candy compartment in the form of a cargo bay.\u00c2\u00a0 Why not turn it into a custom Monster Truck? So we did.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part One: Valentine Box<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

We used NASA Diagrams<\/a> for\u00c2\u00a0 the cool background information (did you know the orbiter is just a very elaborate glider, when all is said and done?) and for the shuttle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s general shape:<\/p>\n

\"pinata1a\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fairly simple construction \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a corrugated cardboard box, with paper board sides and a cone for a nose. For the Valentine Box, we used packing tape and painted with tempura and acrylic paints.<\/p>\n

Another view of the original Valentine Box, as Boo prepares to paint:\"pinata1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After Boo\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s first coat of paint.\u00c2\u00a0 Acrylic (white paint) worked well on cardboard and but just \u00e2\u20ac\u0153okay\u00e2\u20ac\u009d over packing tape: \"Pinata2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Boo did (nearly) all of the painting and sticker positioning. We forgot to take a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153completed\u00e2\u20ac\u009d picture, so here is a picture taken after the school party, and the following mile-long walk home in the bottom of Bug\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s stroller (fortunately, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see the footprint where I trod on it after it escaped containment):<\/p>\n

\"pinata3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part Two: Monster Truck Pi\u00c3\u00b1ata<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The first thing we had to do was take the entire thing apart and replace packing tape (stronger) with masking tape (weaker), and introduce some points of weakness into the body (we want the pi\u00c3\u00b1ata to break, eventually). We filled the cargo bay with candy, and shut the payload doors. Using spray adhesive, we wrapped the shuttle in several layers of tissue paper:<\/span><\/p>\n

\"pinata4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Missing steps, many missing steps. Well, you can see that we had to wrap and replace all of the shuttle bits, but we also added:<\/p>\n