Food
Birthday cake hat
Nov 27th
Happy birthday, Angie!
Here’s yet another birthday cake hat! They are (usually) fun for the birthday person to wear. ๐ (And always fun to model balloons on my stuffed animals.)
I injured my thumb earlier this fall and needed surgery. This is the first balloon I’ve twisted since my injury! I needed to use my left hand more as I just don’t have the strength in my right thumb quite yet and it was feeling a bit sore. But glad to be able to twist again!
Pumpkin poop [emoji]
Oct 27th
Here’s another pumpkin; this time, pumpkin poop! Like the poop emoji, except the pumpkin version. ๐
Whenever I make things like this, kids or people who are around kids recognize what it is supposed to be more easily than others.
Small pumpkin
Oct 15th
I’ve been seeing pumpkins and fall/Halloween decorations pretty much everywhere since the beginning of October!
Last year I made a really large pumpkin balloon, which I would love do again if I can find the time. Here’s a small pumpkin – I really like this cute pumpkin design by Graham Lee. He shows you two different ways to twist the stem – one faster/easier and the more intricate design shown here.
Happy fall!
Birthday cake
Jun 28th
A special birthday cake for a very special girl. Happy birthday!
This was the first time I used metallic colors for a birthday cake – I like how they look!
Hope everyone is doing okay, especially during this difficult time with the coronavirus. Hang in there and stay safe! Life has changed so much in many ways. Now, whenever I hear cars honking, I first think that it must be someone’s birthday!
Birthday cake with flowers
Dec 29th
Happy birthday, W! Can’t believe you’re two already. It was fun celebrating at Chuck E. Cheese’s – I haven’t been there since I was a kid!
This time I decorated the birthday cake with some small flowers (like the one added to the unicorn.) I’ve enjoyed using the chrome color balloons more – kids and adults like them too!
Giant pumpkin
Oct 31st
Happy halloween! This giant pumpkin balloon was made for a Fall Harvest Party. Afterwards, I fixed the popped balloons and it sat in my living room for a week and was used as a pumpkin playhouse! I removed one balloon in the back so our playhouse could have a window.
Raspberry (wearable costume)
Aug 13th
This wearable raspberry balloon is probably the largest balloon I’ve made (besides the organic balloon arch.) I listed it under “hard” for difficulty, but it’s mostly more time-consuming than hard.
I used 186 balloons, mostly link-o-loons and round balloons. There are 6 horizontal chains and 8 vertical chains of link-o-loons. I added two 260 segments inside for handlebars.
Happy birthday Kirsten!
50th birthday cake
May 6th
A very special happy 50th birthday to our friend Chris, whom my husband and I have enjoyed getting to know these last two years. Here’s a special birthday cake hat with the numbers 5-0 attached using some clear balloons. I added an extra structural balloon segment inside the cake in order to attach the numbers. Happy birthday Chris! What a memorable birthday with such fun stories.
On another note, I can’t believe it’s already May and this is only my first post! Time flies. Hope to have a few more posts soon, especially with many different celebrations coming up.
Balloon cake
Jul 15th
I haven’t posted in a while – just haven’t had the time. But I have been twisting quite often! I will try to get some more posts in this next month!
I think I’ve made more birthday cakes this year than I’ve made in any year so far. This five-sided cake design is one I often make, but each one is just as specially made. I tweak some small details (like colors) for each person. Here are a couple cakes.
Happy birthday to Ashley! I was so glad I got to meet Ashley and give this to her personally.
And happy birthday to Joshua! Thanks for inviting me to your party! I used Supergirl colors here, one of his favorite superheroes. You can see I added a yellow balloon layer in the middle.
I mentioned that you can put the balloon in the freezer to make it last much longer, and I was amused when Joshua’s mom sent me this photo of what he did when he got home. ๐
Fruit
Sep 20th
I’ve been making many different foods recently. Here are healthier ones. ๐
The pear balloon is pretty easy – I used a small green 5″ round and pushed some air towards the knot to get the pear shape. The leaves are made with two loop twists with a 160 green scrap, and the stem is a brown balloon scrap with just a little air in it to fill it without expanding the balloon. (At first I expanded the brown balloon, but I thought the proportions look better if you don’t – up to you.)
The grapes balloon is made with a purple 260 and green 160 scrap for the stem and leaves. There are many ways to twist the grapes. I twisted a cluster of 4 one-inch bubbles, then a cluster of 5 one-inch balloons, and twisted those two together. Afterwards, twist a cluster of 3 one-inch bubbles to form the bottom of the grapes, and then twist 2 or 3 more 1-inch bubbles and secure it with the intersection of the first two clusters. It may be a little hard to understand my from my description, but just give it a try and maybe you’ll come up with a new design. ๐
If you like fruit, check out the strawberries I made before.
Corn
Aug 30th
A friend invited us to a BBQ, so I thought I’d bring some corn. ๐ As I’ve said before, I love bringing balloon food to events. Kids and adults enjoy them.
To make this balloon, you’ll need three 160 balloons. I used yellow, and also a white and golden rod for different color kernels. You can use other colors for other varieties of corn. Also, you’ll need a white scrap for the eyes and a green 160 balloon for the husk if you’d like. You’ll use a simple weaving pattern. Check out Sergey’s video for instructions. Use a marker if you want to add a face.
What happens when you squeeze balloon corn? It becomes popcorn…hahaha
Cupcakes
Aug 21st
I was stopping by a brunch at a friend’s place and thought I’d bring cupcakes. I love balloon food. ๐
This balloon is quick to make, but requires a more advanced twist tulip twist and a couple pinch twists. You’ll need a 5″ round, a 160 balloon for the frosting, and a ~4″ red scrap for the cherry. I saw these in a video tutorial by Scott Kazan. I have so many blush 5″ rounds, and am glad I found another way to use them!
[ Video tutorial by Scott Kazan ]
Christmas cake
Dec 23rd
Cakes are high on the list of balloons I twist. (Who doesn’t like cake?) Here’s one I made for a Christmas party. I added a red stripe on the sides to make it a little more festive. Merry Christmas!
Pretzel
Jun 11th
I came across this pretzel balloon while reviewing some of the fun and super cool creations by Sage the Balloon Sage. It’s an easy balloon to twist and only requires one balloon. Add “salt” with a white paint marker. I always get a kick out of serving balloon foods to guests. ๐
[ Balloon Sage’s pretzel balloon design video ]
Minnie Mouse birthday
Jan 26th
This birthday cake was made for a fun,ย energetic little girl who LOVES Minnie Mouse! Happy Birthday Kylen! ๐ It was so great to celebrate with you! Can’t believe you’re growing up so quickly!
This balloon is a birthday cake balloon with a Minnie Mouse balloon on top (the feet are squeezed in.) I had thought about twisting Minnie Mouse permanently in on top of the cake, but this way, you can easily take Minnie off and just hold the Minnie Mouse balloon if you want.
The balloon cake usesย the same pentagonal base design you see in most of my balloon cakes. Minnie Mouse is made based on this design by Syan. I need to work on the cheeks a bit so Minnie is less like a chipmunk. Not pictured here is a heart balloon that I attached to Minnie’s hand with “Happy Birthday!” written on it.
[ Syan’s instructions for Minnie Mouseย – translated version ]
Two-tier cake
Dec 22nd
I made this cake for a Christmas party today. I wanted to make a cake larger than the one I usually make, and made this two-tiered six-sided cake.
To make this cake, I used fourteen white 260s, two green 260s for the top of the cake, six green 160s for the frosting to decorate, and a couple scraps for the candle. It was the first time I made a cake this size and took 2+ hours.
Hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 28th
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
I made three turkeys this week – the easier, inedible kind. ๐ Took about 10+ minutes each after I figured it out. I saw a photo of another version of a balloon turkey online a while ago and wanted to try to make one sometime.
To make this balloon, I used a 350 brown balloon, two 260 brown balloons, and part of a white 160 balloon. First, make the main body with the 350 balloon. Do a three bubble roll-through and then wrap/tie the fourth bubble in place. Second, use a 260 balloons to make a wing, slide it through the body, and then make the second wing on the other side. You’ll probably have some balloon left over – pop it or use scissors to remove it. Third, use the other 260 to make the legs. You’ll likely use the entire balloon for the legs. Lastly, add the bone to the legs using the white 160.
Ice cream cone
Oct 21st
Here’s a fun food balloon. This balloon requires a few different neat techniques to make the cone itself and to attach the cherry to the ice cream. No glue was used. This is 100% balloon!
I got the idea for this balloon when I saw this ice cream cone balloon by Mishel Sabbah. However, I didn’t have any Geo Blossoms of the right color, so I made the “ice cream” part a little differently. Also, my version is smaller and I added a tulip twist to the cherry.
To make this balloon, I used five blush 160 balloons for the cone (you could also use goldenrod or brown), one white 160 and one 5″ round for the ice cream, and a small scrap of a red 160 for the cherry.
The cone is made the same way you’d make the base of the cake balloon, except you shorten the bubbles as you go to achieve the cone shape. You won’t use up the entire blush 160 balloon, and can use one of the resulting scraps to attach the cherry, and another scrap to put the entire balloon together.
I should explain how to attach the cherry in more detail in another post, but it basically requires inserting the (blown-up) cherry into the white round, tying it to the white round, pushing the cherry out of the round balloon (turning it inside-out), and then inflating the round balloon.
If you like sprinkles, you can draw some “sprinkles” with some colorful markers.
Happy Birthday Em!
Strawberries
Jun 13th
I’ve been trying to think of ways of using my heart balloons, and here’s a good one!
You’ll need just one heart balloon, and a part of a green 160 balloon for the stem. To attach the stem to the heart balloon, you’ll use the raisin twist (the same way you attach Hello Kitty’s hair bow.)
Lastly, draw the seeds on the strawberry with a black marker.
These are really cute and really simple! And young kids will be able to recognize them easily!