Category: Intermediate

Flower hat / centerpiece

A very special happy (surprise) birthday to a most caring and wise friend; this flower hat fits her perfectly! 🙂

It can be worn as a hat or sit on a table as a centerpiece.

This is the first hat like this that I have made. The base is similar to what I’d make for the cake hat, except the top is twisted a bit differently so that there are more connection points to add flowers. I added flowers all around. Next time, I need to get a 360 video of it! My hubby didn’t think I could finish it in time, but I did!

Birthday cake hat

Happy birthday, Angie!
Here’s yet another birthday cake hat! They are (usually) fun for the birthday person to wear. 🙂 (And always fun to model balloons on my stuffed animals.)

Birthday cake hat

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!

Polka-dotted penguin

Congratulations to my friend Amy Moy on the publication of her wonderful children’s book The Polka-Dotted Penguin, a book about celebrating differences, inclusion, and kindness. Available on Amazon, as well as other bookstores. Also check out Evie the Extraordinary’s YouTube channel!

Learn more about Amy and her daughter Evie, and their story on their web site!

Polka-dotted penguin

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!

Bicycle

Bicycle

I’ve really enjoyed being outside this summer and fall, as I’m sure many have been during this pandemic. This balloon was made for a friend that I went biking with this summer, something I loved doing as a kid and haven’t done in a long time!

I followed Vyacheslav’s tutorial to make this balloon (linked below.) I’ve also made a tandem bicycle based on this design before.

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)!

Peppa Pig

Peppa Pig

I followed Sergey Loginov‘s videos to twist this balloon. I substituted a heart for the big round balloon.

This design uses quite a few interesting techniques, especially for the head. The ears are attached on the inside, by tying them after turning the head balloon inside out (similar to how the cherry is attached to the ice cream cone balloon, and how the orange carrot nose is attached to Olaf.) The head also has two balloons inside of it, to help achieve the shape of the head. I’m not anywhere near a master at manipulating balloons inside balloons yet, but I hope to get better at it!

I use dry erase markers when I can to draw the face – then I can erase if needed. But sometimes I only have certain colors in permanent markers.

Happy birthday, S!

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!

Jeep

A very special happy birthday to D, who turned 16 and got a car. 🙂 Well, a balloon car for now.

Jeep

This one is a jeep, it even has a spare tire in the back. I wanted to add more detail, but was crunched for time.
It’s always a balance. (If I wanted to get things perfect, I might not ever get anything done!) I had fun making this one!

Happy birthday, D!

Unicorn

Unicorn

I’ve been wanting to make this unicorn balloon (designed by Jackie Ochitwa, video linked below), and then a friend asked if I could make a unicorn! (Get well soon, K – you’ll be back up and running in no time!) This design uses a couple more advanced techniques, so I put it as “intermediate” in terms of difficulty, but it’s a fun one to make and easy to put together.

The more advanced techniques include: (1) a raisin twist to attach the ears to the head and (2) making curly balloons. I used different sizes from what Jackie uses in her tutorial. I used what I had – 260s for the body; 160s for the hair, horn, and flower; and a 6″ heart for the head.

You could use this design to make ponies from “My Little Pony” as well. I’ve learned ponies and unicorns are quite popular, especially with 4-5 year olds – my cousin’s daughter just asked me for one the other day.



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.

My first organic balloon arch

Organic balloon arch

For my grandma’s birthday party, my cousin and I put together this organic balloon arch, using tons of balloons and fishing line. I used uninflated balloons to attach the arch to the curtain rods. (If your wall is empty, you can get some small removable sticky hooks to attach to the wall.)

This was the first organic arch (or any arch) I’ve made. It was a lot of fun to do! One tip is to start with smaller balloons on one end and gradually get larger. Also, include a couple really large balloons.

I didn’t think to get a nice photo, but here’s one that was taken on a phone late at night after we finished. We were in a bit of a time crunch, but it worked out well. At the party, we took many photos with the balloons in the background. I’d love to make another one sometime!

A very special happy birthday to my grandma, whom I’m thankful to have in my life, and who defied doctor’s expectations about her health this year.

Balloon cake

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.

Birthday cake

Happy birthday to Ashley! I was so glad I got to meet Ashley and give this to her personally.

Birthday cake

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. 🙂

Cake in the freezer (last longer!)