Archive for October, 2011
Donatello (from TMNT)
Oct 31st
Happy Birthday Matt! I was trying to think of a popular cartoon character from my childhood to make and thought of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I watched this cartoon every Saturday morning, as well as played the video games.
To make this balloon, check out this balloonmodels.com blog post for step-by-step instructions. I mostly followed the instructions, but not exactly. I used one 260 green for the legs, one 260 green for the arms, part of a 260 green for the head, a purple 160 scrap for the mask, part of a yellow (golden rod) 260 for the chest, a brown 260 for the shell, and a brown 160 for the staff. If I make this one again, I’ll change the design slightly.
One-balloon teddy bear
Oct 22nd
Someone recently asked me about making a teddy bear, and here’s a one-balloon version. I followed these directions from balloondesigns.net (UPDATE: no longer exists.) The purple teddy bear is what you’ll end up with if you follow the instructions above exactly.
Tips: You’ll want to leave almost a 5″ tail when pumping the balloon. When twisting the series of seven bubbles to form the head, twist the 4th and 6th bubbles a little smaller than the others, so that the ears will not be so large. You can draw two different faces – one on each side!
The pink teddy bear is another version. This one has a neck, a tail, and uses only one balloon for the body. I left about a 4″ tail to make this one.
[ Teddy bear instructions ]
A simpler penguin
Oct 15th
D and I met up with some friends visiting from out of town today, and they have two kids. What balloon can you make when aren’t sure what to make? Penguins! Everyone loves penguins!
I’ve made my own penguin design before, but today I tried a simpler penguin design from the Twister Sisters.
This penguin design is a pretty good design for beginners. You don’t need to worry about making sure you inflate/twist the balloons exactly the right length because you won’t use the entire balloon.
You will need three balloons – a black 260, a white 260, and an orange 260. I also used a blue 160 scrap for a bow-tie.
Check out this video from the Twister Sisters to learn how to make this penguin!