Balloon Twisting Book
Balloon HQ presents: Twisting Balloons 101 Twisting Balloons 101 Let's twist again like we did last summer. Chubby Checker. Note: The symbols used in the above table are not part of any standardized system. They are simply a suggested set of clear pictures to be incorporated into drawings of balloons. Expect these symbols to change and become more abstracted as we work toward a standard set of symbols.
Books About Balloon Modelling. The Ultimate Balloon Book 46 Projects to Blow Up. Large Scale Balloon Art and Other Advanced Balloon Twisting Techniques. The Hardcover of the The Kids' Guide to Balloon Twisting by Cindy and Brad Trusty. Additional Internet sites and books related to the art of balloon twisting.
Also, some twists have multiple names and many of us use terms that are accurate only part of the time. This may be make it difficult for beginners and ESLers (English as a second language ers).
David Graves has provided a suite of drawings of basic twists. These are very well done, and he's offering them for your use, free of charge, in any and all future publications.
These images can be found in the Balloon HQ photograph database If you are thinking of writing a book, a web page, etc, that has basic instructions, you probably ought to have a look at these and send David feedback on them. They can be found in the photo area, under: Drawings of Balloons. Additionally, there are also animated balloon drawings for the following twists: Apple twist, Bird Twist, Ear Twist, Fold Twist, Meatball Twist, and Pop Twist. Check them out! Basic pinch and twist. Forming an animal amounts to making bubbles of various sizes and then twisting them together in different combinations.
Forming a bubble is as simple as pinching the balloon and twisting so that the pinched area stays pinched without your fingers. Well, this is almost true. The balloon will untwist unless some kind of locking twist is used to secure it. - ^ pinch and twist Locking twists and the basic four-legged animal.
If three bubbles are made using the method described above, the second two can be twisted and locked together. The hardest part of this is learning to use all of your fingers to hold bubbles that you've made until they get 'locked'. -= 1 a 2 b 3 c. In the above picture, the numbers refer to the twists, the letters refer to the bubbles. To secure all of these bubbles, fold the balloon at twist 2 so that 'a' and 'b' sit alongside each other. Now form another twist combining 1 and 2.
This is already the basic head of an animal. 'a' and 'b' are ears. 'c' is a nose. This same process can be repeated two more times to complete a basic dog (or whatever you wish to call it). That is, immediately below the head make three more bubbles and twist the second two together. This forms a neck and two legs.
Now, the same way, form a body and two more legs. If the balloon were held end to end with all of the twists in it, it would look like the figure below. -= tail leg leg body leg leg ^ ear ear nose neck ) ) ) Bird body or 3 bubble roll through. Any figure that has wings or arms needs those wings and arms to sit alongside the body. To form this we will make three bubbles and do the locking twist above, but make the second two significantly longer than the first.
This will be a head and wings. Make another bubble roughly the same size as one of the wings and push only that bubble completely through the wings. -= 1 body 2 wing 3 wing 4. The wings should be twisted together. When the body gets pushed through them, 1 and 4 will be locked together even though there is no twist between them.
/ ^ w b w i o i n d n g y g V/ ^. When making bird bodies with unequal size bubbles (an un-equal size roll- through), it's a lot easier to twist lock a short bubble with a long bubble and then roll a short bubble between them, than it is to.cram. a long bubble between two shorter ones. I start Lorna's Rose with a 3-bubble roll-through. Fold twist or large (elephant) large ear twist.
You simply make a long bubble, then bend it and twist the two ends of the bubble together so that it forms a circle, of sorts. This is good for making quick (but ugly) animal legs when the line gets long. It is also handy for making large elephant ears and the saucer on the Starship Enterprise.
It's the same principle as an ear twist, except an ear twist is usually done with a 1 inch bubble and an elephant ear is done with a much longer bubble. Ear (Pinch) (Bean) twist. This twist works well to make ears, a pig nose, hands, elbows, hips, eyes, lips, the center of a wheel, a cycle light, motorcycle engine, birds feet, rooster comb, snake rattles, an owls beak, and those little mechanical helpers that give us angles where we need them. To make one, take a bubble and twist the two ends of it together.
Before: after: )( ( v ) H H / o e / Insert finger l r / @ / d e / / / / /. Rip off the meatball with a firm jerk - if you find yourself tugging several times, you aren't angry enough. Use more force than you think you have to, so that you get a clean break. Sometimes you can help it tear by digging the nail of the inserting finger into the side of the balloon just above the twist. Be ready to pinch the balloon closed with your holding fingers just as soon as the meatball pops off.
You want the meatball to fall inside the balloon and not be pressed against the torn end by the escaping air pressure (I usually tilt it away from the torn end to make sure). Don't worry about the air that escapes, especially when you're first learning.
You need a certain amount of balloon to tie off, anyway. Once you've been successful at creating a few meatballs, you can adjust for maximum meatball size and air retention. Let enough air out of the balloon before tying so that you can push the bubble in. The balloon has to have some room available to do this, so don't fully inflate it. Draw a face on the ball and make a lion and you have a man eating lion.
For those with a graphical browser:. Now there is a bubble and your finger inside the large bubble. There is a second layer of latex around the small bubble. The outer layer is still connected to the big bubble. With your free hand, pinch the big bubble where the little one is inside of it and hold that bubble in place. With the finger nail inside the balloon, break that outer layer.
(The outer layer to be broken is marked by x's in the above picture). Breaking it just takes a bit of practice. If you stretch the balloon that you want to break, by working the bubble further inside the long bubble with your other hand you should weaken it enough to help break it.
While still pinching the large bubble, work the little one free. Your finger will still be inside of the balloon. Pinch here V - - ( /- ^ and here. Since you're pinching the balloon, air shouldn't escape while you get your finger out. Now just tie the balloon from the end where your finger came out of. I make what I call the 'puzzle toy,' which is simply a meatball put into fully inflated balloon, which I then loop into a pretzel shape.
The meatball can then float from one end to the other by turning the balloon. A bubble inside the balloon doesn't always roll very well, but a ball is heavy enough that it rolls through the whole pretzel shaped balloon very easily. For pregnant animals, I was taught to push the little ball into the balloon with your finger and then twist and twist and twist until you feel a good tightness on the end of that finger. Then angle your finger and pop with your fingernail. Works for me most everytime. A hint for tearing off a meatball inside a balloon, which I discovered by watching Richard Levine here in Eugene:.
Make the bubble. Poke it deep into the balloon with one finger. Pull that finger out fast - the balloon will often pop due to friction, and the 'meatball' is free!. If (3) fails, tear the end off with a.fast.
motion, which is easier than slow. Failing (4). Use scissors. Latex makes crummy dental floss!. When you twist off the bubble that is going to be inserted, make it fairly small and twist it 4 or 5 complete turns. The first hard part is pushing the bubble into the main body of the balloon. Make sure the bubble is smaller than the main body of the balloon.
I hold the main body of the balloon in my right hand right up close to the twist. I then (slowly) push the bubble into the main body with the index finger of my left hand. When you get it in, push it as far into the main body as you can. With the thumb and index finger of your right hand pinch the main body down onto the twist of the bubble. Hold this tight in your right hand and start to pull your left index finger out of the main body. The idea is to break off the bubble at the twist with the fiction between the main body and your left index finger. Sometimes if you move your left index finger down a little at the first joint you can increase the friction and insure that the twist breaks.
When the twist does break, clamp down with your right thumb and index finger to seal the hole. Then retie and the bubble is inside the main body. I push the bubble in almost all the length of my index finger, then I grasp the little bubble with the other hand from the outside and withdraw my pushing finger just enough so that I can pinch the bubble right where it meets the rest of the balloon. This pinch should be firm enough and should effectively cut-off any chance of air escaping once you pop off the bubble. Now, give a twist your finger that is still on the interior of the balloon; make sure you give your finger a hook shape and sort-of scoop twist.
Usually the bubble will just pop free and you'll be left holding an unknotted balloon. And you'll probably have about enough space left where you're holding to simply knot it up, if you like. Try practicing with a superball, it is a lot easier to insert and break off. I could not manage to get a bubble inside a balloon - until this last weekend!
Two hints helped me get it to work:. From the October Balloon Magic Magazine ('Magic' section): Push the bubble back into the balloon by holding it with your thumb and first two fingertips until it is back into the balloon, then use one finger to push it the rest of the way in. I had a lot of trouble pushing the bubble straight back with just my forefinger; it kept slipping out before I could get it secured into the balloon. Make the bubble smaller than the diameter of the balloon itself. I was definitely making the bubble too big before. Myers instructions on the balloon seed (bubble insertion) to be the easiest to do consistently. After inserting the bubble, twist another bubble on the end (it will look like a tulip twist) and pull it off.
It separates easier. Later you can use other techniques to put one color inside another etc. When I'm breaking off a meatball, I twist the balloon tightly around my finger inside the balloon to ensure that I pull it all back. It makes it a little more difficult to break off the ball, but I find it ensures a successful insertion.
I leave a little tucked inside, and the flash gets incorporated into the knot. Peas In A Pod. Make five or six meatballs, and then deflate the balloon around them, leaving something that looks like a pea-pod. The pea-pod can also be called a caterpillar. Then if you make wings out of another balloon you've got a butterfly. Note: A chain of small bubbles, each pushed into the balloon body separately can be used to create the same effect.
After the outer balloon shell is deflated. When you are trying to do 'peas in a pod' or a caterpillar body, do you do several separate meatballs inside one balloon? Or do you do a string of small bubbles and try to push them all inside the larger balloon? Mine keep untwisting. Up till Saturday, I did use a series of separate meatballs. However, I got my hands on the insect edition of Balloon Magic, The Magazine, and it explained a technique using a series of tulip twists: Start with a tulip twist, and push it inside the balloon a few centimeters.
Grasp the tulip twist inside the balloon, and twist at the point before it. You now have a second tulip twist outside the balloon. Push it in the same way, and repeat the process until you have a sufficiently long string inside the balloon.
Now deflate the outer balloon. When I tried this, I couldn't believe how easy it was, and how fast. It went a lot quicker than pushing a meatball in, tearing off, reknotting, etc. Plus you lose less balloon this way.
When making a lot of little bubbles in one, make one bubble, push it in extra deep and make a small tulip twist. Then push the tulip twist in extra deep and repeat. Keep going untill you run out of balloon. Do one bubble at a time. Of course you have to hold on to the unit, but make it easy on yourself and only try to shove 1 in at a time. Make sure that the diameter of the bubble is smaller than the diameter of the balloon. The smaller the easier.
Here is the method for making a butterfly or caterpillar body. Inflate a 260 (works with other sizes too) about halfway. Twist a one inch bubble, then push it into the inflated portion of the balloon, leaving enough balloon to twist another one inch bubble. Twist a one inch bubble, then push it into the inflated portion, and repeat until you have the required number of bubbles in the balloon. Pop the outer balloon, leaving bubbles with a membrane around them which keeps them from untwisting. Glo-Sticks. Glow sticks in balloons are awesome!
My daughter and I couldn't sell yo-yo balloons with glow sticks in the them fast enough last 4th of July. Adults and kids were constantly stopping us and we couldn't restock quickly enough. Best of all, when all the lights were out in preparation for the fireworks, glowing balls were 'bouncing' in the air all over the place!. There are a number of ways you can use 'glow-sticks' in latex balloons for a cool nighttime effect.
Here are a few:. You can preload the small glow-sticks inside round balloons you plan to inflate with helium. On site, crack the lights to activate them and inflate the balloons with helium. Be sure to test ahead of time to make sure the:.
Balloons have enough lift to carry the lights for a significant amount of time. Balloon colors chosen are transparent enough that the lights show up in the level of darkness you will have on site. which light colors show up best with which balloon colors. You can do an 'apple twist' with a glow-stick inside the inside-out portion of the balloon. This can work with apple balloons, even better with bee body balloons. For longer glow-sticks use #524 balloons. These specialty balloons are traditionally fairly opaque, however, so test before using them commercially.
The apple twist concept can also work with the long, 22', lights by using #260, #340, #344, #350, or #360 balloons. Successful apple twist maneuvers can be made easier for such long balloons by inserting clear plastic tubes first and then simply and quickly sliding lights in when you have a crowd. It is still important to test light, color, and opaqueness combinations. Lite-Sculptures(TM) offer a third possibility. They are patented devices that allow glow-sticks to be inserted and removed from inflated balloons at will.
They also allow for easily adding or removing gas from the balloons any time you like. Generally they are too heavy to float in the air with helium. I originally designed them for table decor, but they can be used like Japanese lanterns for room decor, or in other forms for individual play.
These are not generally available, but we expect to revive their availability over the next six months. We plan to start showing these in the next couple of months on our web site: Designs incorporating the internal structuring techniques I developed for the Lite-Sculptures(TM) have won several international design awards (including IBAC and NABA) and have been among finalists for others. They have been published in Images, Balloons and Parties Today, Flowers, and Balloon World magazines. They were featured in what I believe is still the only one man, public art gallery exhibit devoted exclusively to balloon sculpture. Check with distributors of the glow-sticks for related chemical light products that may not include balloons but which might go well with outdoor, night vending.
The discussion about glow sticks in helium balloons reminded me of the first Balloon Convention we attended. Unique Concepts Open House in June 1986. At one of the evening events Chuck Guberman entertained us with a magic act.
Of course he was great. At the end of the act they did a balloon release in the Ballroom. This ballroom had a very high ceiling. I would guess somewhere over 25 feet high. Anyway the Balloons had glowsticks in them and it was quite a sight to see them rising in the ballroom.
Then as the event approached midnight the balloons began to slowly drift down. What a sight. I'll never forget it. I'm not sure who was responsible for this effect, but have a feeling that it involved Rocky Toomey, Jamie Jeffreis, Don Cheeseman, Marie Mandoli, Chuck and Joyce Guberman, who were all instructors at this event. I always wondered if the falling balloons was planned or just a surprise to all involved. Check out the following company.
The sticks are $32.50/Tube of 50. And all are 22' long.
They also have super jumbo at 20% thicker size for $42.50/Tube. And for those of you interested in novelties, giftware, electronics and party supplies, this company has over 500 products (similar to Oriental but much much more!) for really great prices.
Ask for a catalog. Rhode Island Novelty (in Johnston, Rhode Island) Tel 1800 528 5599 or 401 274 1818 fax 1 800 448 1775. At the Euro Jam there was a guy from Belgium that was making some GREAT eye balls! He was using glow sticks. Glow sticks are well known by the Millitary people.
They are these plastic sticks that are filled with a chemical and they glow when you bend them. They do not get warm so you can use them in balloons with very few problems. They come in several sizes and colors too and can glow for several hours! You can get these glow sticks at fishing accessories stores. Anyway the eyeballs.
Get one of these small sticks glowing, put inside an uninflated clear 260. Blow up a small bubble, just big enough to hold the small glow stick. Tie off and cut off the rest. Now blow up a white 260. I cut off the end just above the knot so that I have less of a bulge later. Push the clear 260 into the white one, just enough so that it looks like the white of the eye around the clear (or in our case the glowing part). Now let the air out of white by putting a small hole in the tail end of it.
The white will now sit tight on the clear 260. Then you can do the same again with a 3rd color that will match the color of your figure, or any color that you would like to use. These eyes are extra cool and look great!
The glow sticks can be used in all kinds of ways, not just for eyes. I can't wait for my next night job where I can put them in hats!. A boy asked me if I could make his sword into a light saber. He had a small glow stick that I inserted into the end of a 260 then twisted closed leaving the glow stick hanging from the end.
The entire shaft of the sword lit up. I bet I made 30 more of them before the night was done. The lighter colored balloons worked best and the shaft had to be shorter than normal or it got top heavy. If you are looking for Glow product call 1-800-367-4569 Chicago, IL. They are a big outfit and have it all wholesale. You might want to check your local fishing store.
They have small glow sticks that fit on top of bobbers for night fishing. I have not tried to put them in a balloon but they are definitely small enough. Go to a fishing shop, normally they sell little fluorescent things that you can put in a 260. The name of the Glow light company is: CHEMICAL LIGHT,INC. 595 NORTH LAKEVIEW PKWY VERNON HILLS,IL. 60061 1-800-446-3200 I have done business with them for a long time and they are excellent. They carry all sorts of Glow light to stuff balloons, drop in drink glasses, or wear as whatever.
They just sent me samples of their newest stuff: tiny lights that can stuff into a balloon and push the button and the thing comes on and blinks. We vend the glow product as well. Recently I have done many weddings and special events and found a company I thought you all might find useful. Is based out of Colorado and has tons of glowsticks which I have found beneficial. They carry lots of colors and even sticks for high intensity effects and industrial ones that last 8-12 hours.
I am doing a 'Crystal Ball' function this weekend and am using them inside clear over white 3' balloons to look like real crystal balls. Their web address is. LightenUps, flashing lights that fit INSIDE balloons, come in red, yellow, green flashing LED's that are individual units - will float with 16' balloons (best with Hi-float) and can be used in smaller balloons for sculptures, arches, walls, balloon drops, etc., float them on water, any type of nighttime use. They flash continuously for 36-60 hours, operated by watch type batteries - and don't have to be used strictly with balloons - use them with centerpieces, etc. LightenUps are about 1' diameter plastic encasements with a flashing LED sticking out - they come in yellow, green and red.
You activated them with a little 'button' on the back which can actually be used like a paper clip too. They can also be deactivated. The lights flash continuously for 36-60 hours.
They float in 16' balloons (at Denver altitude which may mean they will float in smaller balloons at lower elevations). They are for NIGHT use and are quite dim during the day. When used inside smaller balloons for sculptures, etc, a little hi float in the neck helps to lubricate them to insert them easier. This is great for BALLOON DROPS! The yellow ones were used in final night centerpieces at IBAC, placed in a handful of irridescent shred under a glass block - it was pretty neat!
Some clowns are using them for under their shirts! Also, this is a great way to create FLOATING centerpieces! The price is 95 cents each and are shipped from Longmont Colorado by mail or UPS. There is no minimum to order, but I would prefer to ship a dozen at a time at least, you pick the colors. I can't take credit cards but for small orders I will ship and invoice, due on receipt. Leslie Brandt 3633 Sunflower Cir Longmont CO 80503 (303) 485-0016 BrandtsCo@aol.com Super Balls.
Insert ball. Inflate balloon but don't tie it. Bounce it on the floor. Watch the fun. Superballs are high-bounce balls. They are available at most toy stores and come in various sizes and colors.
The smaller ones go nicely into balloons. Ball-in-balloon toys are super-popular items. I got superballs through Tom Myers, and in the end each one costs the same as a single balloon. So, cost isn't really a factor - it's just like doing multi-balloon figures. However, these things are more like kinetic toys than figures.
Some things I've been making with superballs in them: fill a balloon all the way, put a ball in, and tie the balloon into a big, loose knot. Overhand and figure eights work great. You can twist 1' bubbles in each end then connect those together if you want. A simple but stunning balloon/ball 'maze'! Another toy: fill two balloons of different colors; put a ball in each. Make a long double-helix (see below), and you have a spiral ball racetrack.
The superballs sold by Tom Myers fluoresce under a black light! I discovered this when I used two of them as eyeballs in 'googly eyes' (inside of a clear 260Q bubble) while twisting near the bandstand in a bar. Since the bandstand is lit up with 'black' lights, the superballs looked like they were ready to jump right out and grab you - like a cat's eyes in your headlights!. My favorite thing I picked up from T. Myers was using two small super balls in a clear heart or clear 260Q to make googley eyes. When you stuff anything inside a balloon with the meatball method, you end up with a layer that surrounds what you put inside.
After working at putting things inside balloons, I can now even controllably unwrap the layer of balloon from the object (ball, etc.) I stuff in the balloon before I withdraw my finger. Google eyes with inserted superballs (or balloon balls) look best if you unwrap the clear cocoon from them after insertion. When I put something inside that I want to unwrap, I try not to break the cocooned object off completely. Instead I try to leave a little latex attaching the cocooned object to the rest of the balloon. My finger stays inside the balloon to plug the hole so the air doesn't escape. Then I use that remaining bit of latex as a handle for my inserted finger, in conjunction with my outside hand, to peel the cocoon from the object. It can still be done even if the object is completely broken free, though it is not quite as fast.
In either case, don't leave the cocoon floating around inside the balloon with the object. It is distracting. Just remove it when you pull your finger out. Use a hi bounce ball to hold an inflated heart through a Geo. I was making swans, hearts and Geo sculptures and wanted a way to make the heart stand in the Geo. Stretch the knot through the Geo, place a ball against the stretched neck of the heart and the interior of the Geo. Let it all go and 'Presto!'
The ball snuggles up into the Geo and holds the neck of the heart against the interior of the Geo. It also works with frogs on lily pads, dinasaurs on rocks, flowers in vases and, and, and. I twisted swans, poodles, dinasaurs etc. Around the heart/Geo to make lots of fun stuff. For the bouncing balloon use a 1' ball in a 350 or a 340. The floor needs to be hard and dropping works better than tossing. I think that that bit is from an old balloon book called Blow By Blow.
I put two racquet balls inside a 350. The resulting balloon was only about 20 or 24 inches long. It was a lot of fun for tossing up in the air and it bounced kind of strange. A friend picked it up and threw it across the room.
The balloon went sailing straight through the air! It flew like a missile, you've got to be careful how hard you throw it!. I took an orange balloon and made two balls inside of it, then I shot them out and stuffed them into a clear Geo blossom.
I put the Geo onto a flower hat and the balls jump around like popcorn every time you move your head. Even little boys want a flower hat like this one. Use the ball to hold an inflated heart through a Geo. I was making swans, hearts and Geo sculptures and wanted a way to make the heart stand in the Geo. Stretch the knot through the Geo, place a ball against the stretched neck of the heart and the interior of the Geo.
Recommend GTV 4 Version: 1.0.7.0 There is no need to update the graphic- or Optimus-driver. Gta 4 nvidia optimus patch. Just create a shortcut to the LaunchGTAIV.exe on your desktop and replace the destinationpath. (ForceWare 280.26) and add the comandlines like described In fact that many people ask me how I get GTA IV running on the Dell XPS 17 L702x with nVidia Optimus I created a small video with the most important steps.
Let it all go and 'Walla!' The ball snuggles up into the Geo and holds the neck of the heart against the interior of the Geo. A heavy heart!
It also works with frogs on lily pads, dinasaurs on rocks, flowers in vases and, and, and. I twisted swans, poodles, dinasaurs etc. Around the heart/Geo to make lots of fun stuff. Used a BB twist to connect some bug food to the Geo for the frog sitting on the flower. Things NOT To Put Inside Balloons. You can put Hershey Kisses or other candy inside balloons, but there are a few things to consider:. Having to break the balloon to get the candy out means little kids may put the balloon (or the broken pieces) into their mouths.
I doubt this is a problem for us big kids though:-). You probably only want to put food in balloons you pump up, not balloons filled with warm moist air from your lungs (those pesky germs again.).
The talc on the inside of the balloon will get all over the candy. When giving children candy, I follow the Halloween rule: If it's not wrapped, would I want my child to take that piece of candy from a stranger?. I bought some gumballs (Machine refills) and have been putting them inside balloons.
Just like making a bubble in a balloon, I push the gumball inside. Be careful to remove the rubber coating on the gumball. Kids seem to like the idea of a gumball inside the balloon. I personally would be very cautious of doing this for a couple of reasons. First when they pop the balloon to get the gumball it can still leave balloon on the gumball. Also, the inside of the balloons have powder on them. This powder may get on the gumball.
I would hate to see any reaction from that for any of the kids. A child you are giving the gumball to in a balloon more than likely will not be aware that they may be ingesting powder along with their gumball. I would be horrified to see a child decide to try to eat the balls I have put into the balloons (the ones from TMeyers) as they had previously seen another put gumballs inside of them instead of bouncy balls. A gum ball is a perfect size but we try to educate kids NOT to put balloons near/in their mouths and this might send a mixed message.
Free Printable Balloon Twisting Instructions
You're putting something that could be edible inside a NON edible balloon. As for mouth blowers, your breath combined with a gumball they are going to stick in their mouth would not be the smartest thing. Candy inside a balloon is a nice idea indeed, and most kids like it. The powder inside a balloon is talc. It's harmless unless you're allergic. Personally, I always use wrapped candy.
It's cleaner and safer, and lots of candies have colourful wrappers. I remember doing balloons for football fan friends of mine (all you Brits and Yanks out there would call it 'soccer'). I made balloon persons in the team colors and put in wrapped gumballs that looked like soccer balls. Everybody loved it. I can quote no studies or statistics, but from my general experience as a balloon twister and worrier, and for the balloon coating around the gumball, I consider putting a gumball in a balloon to be an accident waiting to happen.
From a child's perspective, if you show him something made to be put in the mouth, most won't know or care there's a balloon coating on it. I've had children break twisted balloons to get at the small rubber ball inside.
The idea of doing that with a gumball scares the life out of me. The impetus for putting a gumball in a balloon is simple: it fits. It's a fun, colorful thing that fits in there, by golly. But in order to get to it, the sculpture has to be ruined, or the child has to wait a week, at which point the white gunk in the balloon will be a permanent attachment to its sweet, sticky exterior. Other fun, colorful things to put in there might include Tetracycline, Tylenol, and a host of illegal products. But we don't just put things in there because they fit, we put things in there because it enhances the sculpture or makes it more fun.
That's why balls in the balloon make perfect sense. They make a fun boingy thing while the balloon is alive, then they can be removed and played with afterward (by children over three). T's ball putter is a cool gizmo, the balls are cheap (no more than the cost of gum, I don't think) and nobody eats talc or gets a latex allergy in their throat. If you must put candy inside the sculpture, then use wrapped candy. Better still, give the sculpture hands and let it hold the candy. Use a model that incorporates the candy and its wrapper into the design so they won't be too quick to take it off.
I haven't tried it, but there's probably an opportunity to put a wrapped hard candy in the feet of an acrobat, for example, or anything that you want to stand up by weighting the bottom. When I was in first grade (during the Pleistocene, as I recall), I was given a Christmas stocking in the shape of a gingerbread man with a cookie for a face. He was my buddy for the rest of the day, going everywhere I went, down to the dirt hill, through the Bluebonnets, under my bed, etc. That cookie wasn't good eats by the end of the day, and it wasn't a good face, either. I was a kid, and I didn't really understand the rules for how I was supposed to play with things; but then, I was a kid, and there aren't supposed to be rules for how I played with things. Gumballs are interesting.
If they are lighter then bouncy balls they would be great for googly eyes for figures for display. They wouldn't make figures so top-heavy. And the color selection is interesting. But I would definitely not use them for handouts. Just wrapped candy. I do like the idea of using colored gumballs for eyeballs. Since they are less heavy, the figures would become less topheavy.
I mostly use balloon meatballs for eyes just because of this topheaviness. I would strongly discourage the use of ANYTHING edible combined with balloons. We stress to the children and the parents to keep balloons away from their mouths. It would be confusing to a toddler when you give them a balloon; tell them to keep it out of their mouth and let them see a gum ball inside. The very notion of putting anything edible into a balloon strikes me as an incredibly bad idea. There are health concerns (sanitation, latex reactions, choking on a fragment of balloon).
There's the fact that the child will have to pop the balloon to chew the gum, or wait until the item is deflated, exposing the gum to more of whatever is in there. If you're using a ball putter, you'll have to puncture the wrapper around the gum to insert it, so that doesn't sound like a solution to me.
If you must give away gum, you could make figures holding a wrapped piece of gum, or use gum as the weights in the feet of. Putting a ball into a sculpture is great, because it adds an element of fun, and gives the kid something to play with long after the sculpture's gone.
Giving a gumball introduces a number of negative possibilities when at best it just gives a kid something to chew on for fifteen minutes and spit out. I really wouldn't recommend doing anything the associates balloons with putting something stretchy and rubbery into one's mouth. Where To Get Stuff To Put In Balloons.
Accent Annex, 1-800-322-2368. Loftus Novelty, 1-800-453-4879 has a whole novelty catalog.
Oriental Merchandise Co., 1-800-535-7335. Order their wholesale catalog. Oriental Trading is either 1-800-828-9898 (a Dallas number) or 1-800-228-2269 (a Omaha number).
Slam Bam in Brooklyn, NY, 800-451-7481. Source Book, published by Paper and Party Retailer Magazine, (203)845-8020. A good all around source for many items. I get my glow sticks at Martin Industries in Ontario, CA. You can call directory assistance for the 909 area code for their number. The owner is Gary Martin. They supply Disneyland and Knott's, and their stuff is always fresh, which is important.
There's a place called Oriental Trading Company in Omaha, Nebraska, that has all sort of teensy toys, superballs, et al. For WAY CHEAP. Their number is 1-800-228-0475. Their prices are good but the shipping will kill you unless you order a large quantity.
Call and have them send you a catalog. Tools for Putting and Object Inside a Balloon. The ball putter was invented because putting a ball into a 260 is something that takes a knack. The balls 'n balloons toys can require you to put a ball in every 2nd or 3rd balloon. After a day of this my finger hurts.
The ball putter makes it fast and easy, but you are carrying around another tool. If you can get the ball into a 260 quick and easy and it doesn't hurt your finger, you don't need a ball putter. Myer's 'Ball Putter' is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I was not really sure about it when I ordered it. Now, I wouldn't give it up!. I've been using the T. Myer's Ball Putter to put superballs in balloons, and I love it.
I say my sharp wit pops the bubbles. It's so fast I can usually do it before the recipient (child or adult) sees what I'm doing, and they go gonzo (that's a technical term) when they see the ball bouncing around inside the figure. T Myers ball putter is great for super balls but won't work with bubbles. At IBAC, Marvin recommended that for stuffing you first go to your local Farm Supply store and buy a 'Banding Pliers' - a pliers used for stretching rubber bands when castrating animals. With a simple squeeze you can stretch and hold open a balloon nozzle while you fill it with confetti or whatever. Marvin invented the Jiffy Tube system specifically for inserting items into the 260's.
It works great. There are 3 tubes which will allow you to insert things into 260's, 5', and 9' balloons. We use the 'banding pliers' to easily fit the neck of the 260 over the end of the tube.
To put a business card into a balloon you need to start with a jewel tone color (yellow, orange, etc.) You will need to inflate the balloon leaving enough to do the insert, pop and the twists for a small animal. Roll the card around a pencil or pen and insert, pop and tie off.
Then strip the rubber off of the card. I don't bother to get this piece out as it shortens the balloon but you can if you want to be mysterious about how the card got in there. Twist the nose, ears and neck and gently unroll the card (it will have to stay somewhat curled) then finish the animal. Practice, practice. The ball putter has saved my life.
I am not very coordinated, and I keep my fingernails very short for twisting. The ball putter rescued me. In fact, one day I forgot it, and someone knew I put balls in balloons. I tried it without it, and couldn't do it. I will sometime spend the time to be able to do it without the putter, but for now, I rely on it. For older kids (especially boys) who think they are 'too cool' for balloons, I put the ball in a clear, blow up another darker color (I like blue or purple) and twist the two together, all the way up the balloons.
It makes a toy-like balloon. The kids love turning it one way and then the other to watch the ball swirl around. When putting objects in balloons you can use an Elastrator from your local farm supply store.
It is normally used to remove tails from lambs or castrate calves. It stretches a very small, very strong elastic which is then placed over the offending part and released. (Gentlemen, wince here!) Anyway the point is that the elastic is similar to the ring of the nozzle of a balloon and some objects can be placed in regular balloons. The ball putter impales the ball. If you can already put a car in a balloon you probably won't need a ball putter. The ball putter is a tool to help you learn how to put your first ball inside a balloon.
In rough terms the ball putter is a 1' diameter, 4' long wooden dowel with a pointed metal spike sticking out one end. You impale the ball on the spike, then stick the ball into the end of the balloon. Here comes the nearly impossible part. You slip the ball off the spike, then stretch the balloon a bit to give you some working room, then you pop the inside of the balloon, the part next to the ball. (If you are real real real lucky, the ball will be in the balloon and you won't pop the outside balloon too, and you won't release too much air in the balloon. When the ball on the putter is pushed into the balloon, the ball should lean against one side of the balloon before you hold the ball and pull the putter out of the ball.
This leaves plenty of space for the putter to break the latex around the ball without touching the outer skin. If the ball is grabbed in the center of the balloon you have a good chance of breaking the balloon. It's a small thing but it makes all the difference. My daughter could not put anything inside a balloon before the ball putter. She used it for one week and has never used it since. Now she can put nearly anything into a balloon.
(FOR SALE: barely used ball putter for cheap). I put a small screw-eye on the end of my ballputter and have it hanging from my keychain. If you want a quick and easy way to put balls in balloons then the ball putter is recommended. I got it along with T's book on this topic. It has ideas for various balloon sculptures and how balls and balloons can make neat toys for kids. It takes a bit getting used to but is worth it. Pop twist.
It is often desirable to get more limbs on an animal than there are ends on the balloon. The basic dog works out OK, but legs need to be grouped in twos.
The pop twist will allow two legs or arms to be separated. When you are at a point where you want to make a Pop Twist, twist two medium bubbles, three small bubbles, then another medium bubble. Lock twist the medium bubbles so nothing untwists.
Ear twist the first one. In out / / V / / ( ).
Books About Balloon Modelling Books About Balloon Modelling, Balloon Decorating And Clowning You can use the links below to order the books directly from, the largest Internet bookshop. Captain Visual's Big Book of Balloon Art RECOMMENDED FOR ADVANCED TWISTERS from the UK: Balloon Animals RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS by Aaron Hsu-Flanders Book With Pump and Balloons Step-by-step illustrations and more than 150 photographs teach the art of making balloon animals. From the UK: Balloon Sculpting by Bruce Fife a Fun and Easy Guide to Making Balloon Animals, Toys, and Games/Book and Balloons Includes over 50 figures in all.