Chanel No. 5 has to be the most iconic bottle of perfume ever made. We decided to pay the Parisian perfume tribute with a piñata finished in gold — we even gave the stopper that signature octagonal shape! Make it for a couture-loving friend’s birthday or bachelorette! It’ll be trés chic! Read on to see how to make one for yourself.

Materials Needed: Large pieces of cardboard, corrugated cardboard, pencil, twine, x-acto knife, packing tape, ruler, hot glue gun, white gesso, paintbrush, tissue paper (in white), gold tissue wrap, printer, cardstock (in white), scissors

Step 1: Draw and cut out a 22” long by 20.5” wide rectangle, then round the edges. Trace the design onto another piece of cardboard for a mirror image and cut out.

Step 2: Cut a 7.5” wide strip of corrugated paper that’s long enough to go around the perimeter of the rectangle. Attach the corrugated paper to the cutout with packing tape. Then, tape the mirror image onto the other side. To make a trap door to fill the piñata with treats, leave a small portion of the end of the corrugated paper strip untaped.

Step 3: Make a small “x” with an x-acto knife toward the outer points of the rectangular part of the piñata. Cut two pieces of cardboard about 2” by 3” and cut a small “x” on those too. Cut a piece of twine about 24” long, then thread and knot the end through the cardboard square inside the piñata. Thread the twine out of the “x” at the top of the pinata. Repeat for the other side. Then, tie the loose ends into a loop for hanging.

Step 4: For the “neck” of the bottle, cut out two cardboard circles with a 5” diameter. Then, cut a piece of corrugated paper that’s 4” tall and wide enough to go around the perimeter of the circle. Hot glue the edge of the corrugated paper around one of the cardboard circles, then hot glue the other circle to the top. Center the cylinder on top of the rectangular base and hot glue to secure.

Step 5: For the stopper, cut a 39” by 2” strip of cardboard. Section off the strip into four sections: 6-½” , 13”, 6-½”, and 13” and fold along the lines. Hot glue the ends together to form a rectangular frame. Cut a trapezoid that is 2” tall and with a 9-½” top and 13” bottom; trace and cut out three more. Then, cut two rectangles that are 9-½” by 4-¼”. Next, cut four trapezoids 2-½” tall with a 4-¼” top and 6-½” bottom.

Step 6: Hot glue the bottom of the two longer trapezoids to parallel sides of the rectangle, then glue the rectangular piece in between the top of the two trapezoids. Then, hot glue two smaller trapezoids to remaining holes to form a complete top. Repeat the process on the bottom of the rectangle base. Finally, hot glue the completed piece to the top to the cylinder.

Step 7: Paint the piñata base with gesso and let dry completely.

Step 8: Cut a bunch of fringe out of white and gold tissue, using an x-acto knife and ruler. Our fringe was roughly 2” tall and 1 cm wide.

Step 9: Draw a rectangle on the base for the label, then fill the rectangle with white fringe. Hot glue gold fringe to the piñata, starting from the bottom and working your way up the sides. Finish with white fringe for the top of the perfume bottle cap.

Step 10: Enlarge and print out the Chanel perfume label onto white cardstock. Cut out the letters with scissors then glue onto the piñata.

Step 11: Fill the piñatas with treats, then hang. You’re ready to party!

Crafting by Justine Pon
Styling & Photography by Naomi Julia Satake