Wild unicorn hat

Wild unicorn hat

This unicorn hat got a bit wild! I feel this hat matched the bold and fun spirit of the birthday girl, who also loves unicorns.

This was a fun one to make, especially as it was my first time trying this idea out. I took apart my swiffer so I could use the stick to make the curls.

Happy birthday, Koko!

Balloon hat

Balloon hat

Happy birthday to a special birthday girl, S! I’m starting to get short on many balloon colors, but you can use almost any color combination for hats!

I haven’t been to a birthday party in a while! This one was outside at a playground, on a nice, sunny day (super great to be outside except for the pollen allergies.) Hope everyone is hanging in there; we’ll get through this together!

Also, I found another use for my stuffed animals!

Balloon hats

This year, I’ve made more balloon hats. They are just fun, and perfect for the birthday person! Here’s a couple recent ones I made for some special birthday people! (And look! I found a way to use my basketball during this pandemic!)

Balloon hat using Qualatex neon balloons

Happy birthday, S!

These are both six-sided hats. The more sides, the more balloon you have to use after building the base. These are also easier than making the birthday cake hat, which requires more twisting, tying of knots, and other details.

Balloon hat

Happy birthday, T!

Celtics hat

Green/gold (Celtics) hat

Happy birthday, Marc! Here’s a green and gold birthday hat (Celtics colors) for the birthday boy, who is a big Boston sports fan.

I was a little short on time, so I went with a five-sided hat instead of six sides. Next time I make a hat like this, I will inflate the green balloons a little less, so that I can use the ends in the same way I used the gold balloons. I will try to keep track of how much is left uninflated.

Can’t wait till live sports are back on (whenever that may be and when it is safe)!

Birthday cake

Birthday cake [hat]

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!

50th birthday cake

50th birthday cake hat

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.

Birthday hat

Balloon hat
Balloon hat

This balloon hat was made for a special birthday boy, my super-energetic nephew. (Can’t believe you’re growing up so quickly!)

This hat has the same base as the five-sided birthday cake and this other hat. You can choose different colors and arrange the ends in various ways to create many unique and fun hats. It takes me about 15 minutes now.

Happy July 4th Birthday!

July 4th birthday hat
July 4th birthday hat

A very special happy July 4th birthday to my lovely and talented Aunt Jess! My aunt, uncle, and cousin visited and we got to celebrate in person. We had a great time vacationing in Cape Cod with family and friends.

Designed on the fly, this hat is five-sided and uses five 260 balloons. (You could make it with any number of sides three or greater, but I like five.) It uses a circular weaving pattern, the same one I use to make a birthday cake. I also added a brim with a 160 balloon. Afterwards, I bent the remaining balloon segments so that they curve downward.

July 4th birthday hat
July 4th birthday hat

Minnie Mouse birthday

Minnie Mouse Cake
Minnie Mouse Cake

This birthday cake was made for a fun, energetic little girl who LOVES Minnie Mouse! Happy Birthday Kylen! 🙂 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 uses 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 Mouse – translated version ]

Balloon hat

Older kids and adults love fun balloon hats! (Smaller kids, not so much – they usually prefer something they can hold.)

One way to begin, is to make the basic balloon helmet. After that, just be creative! Use lots of different colors. Add a propeller and/or a balloon curly! Hats can draw quite a lot of attention.

Balloon hat
Balloon hat

[ Basic helmet instructions | Balloon curly youtube video ]

Propeller hat

Propeller hat

Here’s another easy hat to make, modeled by another one of my stuffed animals. (Stuffed animals are really good at sitting still for any length of time.) To make this hat, you’ll need one 260 balloon and one scrap 260 balloon. You start by making the basic helmet out of one balloon. Then, with the scrap balloon, make the propellers (similar to the rotors for a helicopter) and twist it to top of the hat. You can hide the knot by twisting it so it’s on the inside. (In the above pictures it isn’t hidden, but in the below two pictures it is.)

Propeller hat (top)

Propeller hat (front)

Easy rainbow hat

Rainbow hat

I made a hat for my stuffed animal! Ok, it’s almost a little too cute for me, but my teddy bear seemed like a good-sized model for the hat.

Really fun hats can be made easily with just a few twists, and you’ll usually use at least two or balloons for a hat. From my experience, I found that older kids like them, but some younger kids not so much. Younger kids (preschool age) would rather have something they can just hold.

To make this:

I used segments of 160 balloon scraps to make the above hat, which is a mini-size version of a hat you’d make for a person. To make this hat for a real person to wear, you’ll need four 260 balloons, preferably different colors. Start by making the helmet. (The helmet is pink in the photo.) Wrap the balloon around the person’s head to make sure it’ll fit. Then blow up 3 (or more) balloons, leaving a little less than an inch uninflated, and attach them to the ends of the helmet. Pretty simple, huh? You only really need 4 twists to make this hat!

Birthday cake and princess (Snow White)

Birthday cake and princess

Happy birthday G! I made a princess that somewhat resembles Snow White (G’s favorite princess). And what’s a birthday without birthday cake?

Princess (side)

Princess: To make the princess, I used this video to help me get started. For the head, I used a black 260 for the hair and a blush 350 for the head. For the body, I improvised and made a slightly more detailed dress. I used a blush 160 for the arms, a 260 shiny blue for the top of dress, and 350 and 160 yellows for the bottom of the dress. If you only have 260 balloons, that is fine. I just like to use different sizes so everything is more in proportion. You may not be able to tell from the picture above, but both the bottom and top of the dress (and the hair) use a bird body (or three-bubble roll through.) I used a red 260 scrap to make a small hair bow, and a white paint pen and different colored markers to draw in the facial features.

Birthday cake: For the birthday cake, I followed this video to make the base of the cake. I made my cake 5-sided instead of 6-sided. After making the base, I “decorated” the cake using 160 pink balloons. The candle is a pretty neat twist. The candle is basically made by using a tulip twist, which can be a little difficult the first time (it might pop when you take your finger out of the balloon.) You can wear this birthday cake as a hat too!

[ Video link: Princess balloon ]
[ Video link: Birthday cake ]

Not just for kids!

Happy Birthday M and S!
Dog and cat

I twisted some simple balloons (heart wands, flower hats, and four-legged creatures) for two special birthday girls at IHOP after our softball game one night. I used to think balloons were just for little kids, but I’m starting to see adults can enjoy them too (to my surprise!) This past summer while visiting family, I twisted some balloons for my little cousins, and I think my grandpa enjoyed them just as much. 🙂

(D commented that my friends aren’t really adults, but I disagree!)