My favorite balloons to twist
Birds
Happy Penguin Awareness Day!
Jan 20th
Happy National Penguin Awareness Day!
Quick quiz:
Are penguins birds or mammals?
Penguins live only in cold temperatures: True or False?
Penguins can travel as fast as 15mph: True or False?
More penguins
Nov 6th
Penguins
More penguins! I like penguins, and I also have a plethora of black balloons, so I made more penguins. 
To make this balloon, you’ll need one black 260, one orange 160, and one scrap white 260. This penguin balloon is a slightly modified version of the birds I made before (based on Twistina’s design). You can inflate the black balloon leaving about 3 inches uninflated. You’ll make one less bubble for the body, and will add the white balloon in the front. For the penguin on the right, I also added an extra twist where I attached the beak.
Don’t be surprised if you see more penguin balloons in a future post!
A simpler penguin
Oct 15th
Penguin
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!
Hummingbirds
Jun 26th
Hummingbirds
This hummingbird has a very similar design to the butterfly. I saw this design in Marvin Hardy’s Advanced 260 Balloon Magic book.
The hummingbird is easier to make than the butterfly. There is one less twist for the wings. You’ll leave a couple inches of uninflated balloon for the beak.
In the picture is a blue hummingbird made with a 260 balloon and a second smaller pink one made using half of a 160 balloon.
Mr. Penguin and snow!
Dec 26th
Mr. Penguin
This year, Atlanta experienced its first white Christmas since 1882! I remember always wishing for a white Christmas as a child (but now I get tons of snow living in the Northeast.) We got maybe almost 2 inches of snow, and many churches were closed due to the icy roads.
During our family Christmas Eve dinner, some of my cousins suggested I make a penguin balloon. So, being “snowed in” this morning, I took some black, white, and orange balloons and decided to give it a try. I designed this penguin balloon off the top of my head. Below is the resulting Mr. Penguin, playing in the historic Atlanta snow!
To make this penguin, I used two small white 5″ round balloons, two black 260s, an orange 160 (scrap), an orange 260 (scrap), and a red 160 (scrap).
First, I used one (entire) black 260 (inflated with a 4″ tail) to make the head and the first loop for the body. The eyes are made from a white round not fully inflated, twisted in half. The white part of the body is a white round. I then used the second black 260 for the back of the penguin body and tail (you don’t need to use the whole balloon.) The beak is a very small scrap of orange balloon, and the feet and bow tie from 160 scraps. I’m pleased with my first try at a penguin.
Mr. Penguin biking in the snow
Mr. Penguin making snow angels
