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.

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!

Tandem bike

Tandem bike

This tandem bike was made for my friends who recently got married! Congratulations LL&A!

I based the design on Vyacheslav’s bicycle. I extended the bicycle frame to make a tandem bicycle (and then added another seat and set of pedals.) I only had white round balloons, so the wheels are white instead of silver. Also, I used a 160 balloon instead of a 260 for the tires.

To make this balloon, I used:
Four 260s for the bicycle frame
Two small rounds (or quick links) for the wheels
Some scraps to help secure the wheels
Two black 160s for the tires and pedals
One black 260 for the seats and handlebars

[ Vyacheslav’s bicycle tutorial video ]

Motorcycle

Motorcycle
Motorcycle

This motorcycle balloon is based on Mr. Boma’s motorcycle, with a few minor modifications. To make this balloon, I used one black 260, one gray 260 along with a scrap, one yellow 260 along with a scrap, and part of a 160 black balloon for the handlebars. You’ll be using the pinch twist a lot for this balloon!

Motorcycle (side view)
Motorcycle (side view)
Guy with his motorcycle
Guy with his motorcycle

I made a person (mini-version of my friend) to go with the motorcycle using 160 balloons. I used the same technique I would with 260 balloons. It’s a little harder to work with the balloon to make such small twists (especially for the head), but not too bad (though you may not be able to add as much detail as easily.)

Guy with his motorcycle
Guy with his motorcycle

Happy Birthday Bernie!

[ Mr. Boma’s motorcycle tutorial video ]

Car

Red car
Red car

Here’s a red car balloon for my nephew that I decorated to look like “Lightning McQueen” from Pixar’s movie “Cars.” I made this based on Yonaimy’s video.

To make this balloon, you’ll need one red 260 for the car frame, a white 260 (or just a scrap if you don’t want to make it a bracelet), and a black 260 scrap for the wheels. Then draw the face, headlights, and any other car decorations you’d like to add.

[ Yonaimy’s video ]

Sports car

Sports car

Happy Birthday Adam! Adam’s a car guy (he knows so much!), so a car was perfect for him.

To make the car, I used three full 260 blue balloons to make the car frame, two black 350 balloons and part of one 160 silver balloon to make the wheels, and the remaining part of the silver 160 and one blue 260 scrap to make the spoiler.

First, I made the body of the car. (I used these instructions from Michael Floyd to help make the base of the car.) Then I made the wheels using the tulip twist (similar to how I made these donuts) and then attached them. The wheels are a little tricky to twist (mostly because the knot is a little hard to tie) but I thought they looked pretty cool and were worth the effort. (The other option is a simple loop twist.) I tried to give it some chrome hubcaps/rims. Lastly, I added a spoiler to make the car look more like a sports car. If I had more time, I would have made two people to put into the car!

[ Michael Floyd’s instructions for a car balloon ]

Helicopter #2

Helicopter

I’ve made a helicopter before (see this previous post.) I made the same helicopter balloon again, and then added two additional features.

First, I added tail rotors made with a 160 balloon. They are just like the main rotors, just smaller.

Second, I formed the cockpit using a small clear 260 balloon. I also put a small ball (with some pictures of faces attached) in the balloon, just for fun. I’ll have to find some little toy people to use for purposes like this!

Racecar

Racecar

This racecar was designed as I was twisting it. When you don’t have a design in mind, just start twisting and you’ll figure something out!

Racecar (front view)

Construction:
I used one blue 260 balloon to make the base of the car, which consists of a number of pinch twists and something like a three-bubble roll through. The blue balloon is broken into two parts. The first is used for the almost all of the car, and the second part is used for the wings.

I used one black balloon to make four separate wheels – each wheel is made using a tulip twist, which is then tied and cut off from the rest of the balloon. (Make sure you leave a little bit of uninflated balloon so that you can wrap that part around the rest of the balloon to attach the wheel.)

Lastly, I used a clear 260 balloon scrap to form the inside of the car (I was going to put a toy person or marshmallow Peeps rabbit in there, but forgot!)

Next time, I’ll try using a 350 balloon to make larger wheels and do something else with the wings so that the knots aren’t as visible.

Happy Belated Birthday M!

Helicopter

Helicopter
Helicopter

Little kids (especially boys) seem to love trains, trucks, and other vehicles. So, when I came across instructions for this helicopter balloon, I was eager to try it out. This balloon takes two balloons – preferably one 160 (for the rotors) and one 260 (for the helicopter body.) If you only have 260s, two 260s will work just fine.

See the directions from Professor Wonder here.

Helicopter

My comments on the instructions: You will use up the entire balloon for the helicopter body. I found that I quickly ran out of “balloon” and I had to make a lot of the bubbles smaller than what the instructions called for. (For example, the 6 inch bubbles were more like 3.5-4 inch bubbles for me.)
When making the rotors, I inflated the balloon till there was 1-1.5 inches left, not the 3 indicated in the instructions. I wanted to use up as much as I could of the balloon for the rotors.

To take the pictures, I attached a piece of string to the rotors and hung up the helicopter. A helicopter belongs in the air anyway. 🙂 For a kid’s birthday party, if it fit your theme, I imagine you could hang the helicopters (and perhaps some airplanes?) around the room as decorations for a nice touch.

[ Instructions from Professor Wonder ]