My favorite balloons to twist
Intermediate
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. 🙂 (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
Dec 29th
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
60th birthday cake hat
Sep 1st
60th birthday cake hat
Happy birthday to a longtime friend of ours!
I’ve made a similar 50th birthday cake balloon hat before. I like how the use of the clear 260 balloon helps make it look like the numbers are floating.
60th birthday cake hat worn by the birthday boy
Wild unicorn hat
May 20th
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
May 2nd
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!
Hat and scepter
Jan 15th
Birthday hat and scepter
A birthday hat and scepter, and very special happy birthday to a fabulous friend who turned the big 5-0!
Balloon hats
Dec 15th
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
Oct 3rd
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
Jul 12th
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
Jun 29th
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
Jun 28th
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
Mar 10th
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!
Happy bride
Feb 15th
Bride
Happy bridal shower to the lovely bride-to-be! I’m so excited for my friend Kirsten and her upcoming wedding.
To twist the hair, check out JocelynBalloon’s princess hair video.
To twist the dress, check out Unicaw89’s princess video.
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!
Birthday cake
Unicorn
Jul 23rd
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
May 6th
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
Aug 20th
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
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.
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!)
Tigger
Oct 8th
Tigger
Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo! Hopefully you’ll recognize this balloon as Tigger from Winnie-the-Pooh. I made this for a friend who used to dress up in a Tigger costume! Happy Birthday Chi!
To make this balloon, I used 3 orange 260s for the head, arms, body, and tail, as well as an orange 350 for the legs. I also used a blush 260 and 350 for the head and body, a pink scrap for the nose, and a red scrap for the tongue. Afterwards, I added the stripes and eyes with a black marker.
