March 2013 – Khool Balloons

Software Engineer

Congrats to one of my former teammates Al on his retirement! Al was one of the original people who built the very successful software product that I’ve been working on. I made this for his last day at work. Thanks for everything and best wishes!

The design of this balloon is similar to the balloon I made of my friend Christian, except that I drew in the eyes instead of using balloon eyes. I also made a 4-bubble body instead of a 3-bubble body. You might notice the tie is made with a 260 balloon instead of a 160 balloon. And I gave him a right hair part.

Cra-Z-Art Metallic Markers

These Cra-Z-Art Metallic Markers work great on balloons, both light-colored and dark-colored. I love these metallic colors! And no shaking necessary (unlike paint markers.) The ink also will not rub off if the balloon is deflated (unlike permanent markers.)

Here’s an example of what they look like on a black, purple, and a light blue balloon.

Where to buy

I found these at my local Walmart for about $4-5.
You can also find them on Amazon.com. (The packaging looks a little different, but the product number is the same.)

I use my white paint pen and black marker the most, but having additional color options is great – just a little bit of color can add a lot to a balloon.

Car

Here’s a red car balloon for my nephew that I decorated to look like “Lightning McQueen” from Pixar’s movie “Cars.” I made this based on Yonaimy’s video.

To make this balloon, you’ll need one red 260 for the car frame, a white 260 (or just a scrap if you don’t want to make it a bracelet), and a black 260 scrap for the wheels. Then draw the face, headlights, and any other car decorations you’d like to add.

[ Yonaimy’s video ]

Roses

Flowers are always nice to have for special occasions, or for any day, real or rubber :). Balloon flowers are nice, bright, and colorful, and don’t require watering (and actually do not like direct sunlight.)

I saw this rose design from Mr. Boma’s youtube video. To make this balloon, I used one pink 160, one red 160, and one green 160. The pattern for twisting petals may be a little tricky at first, but is pretty easy once you figure it out.

[ Mr. Boma’s rose video ]