My favorite balloons to twist
Weapons/Tools
Simple shield
Sep 5th
Shield
A balloon sword is fun; having both a sword for offense and a shield for defense is even better! This balloon is fast to make and great for parties. I made these at a kid’s birthday party, which took place at a playground where kids could run around. Kids like being able to choose their own colors.
Check out this video tutorial from Gregg Ka-Zam:
Battle mace
Apr 4th
Mace
This battle mace will be the last in this short series of weapons.
The chain is the same as you would make for the nunchucks. I figured out how to make the spikey ball by changing the icosahedron balloon slightly.
I really like the spikey ball and will try some other designs with it!
Bow and Arrow
Mar 29th
Here’s another balloon based on a design by Michael Floyd – a bow and arrow. And you can actually shoot the arrow with the bow (takes a little practice.)
Bow and arrow
To make this balloon, you’ll need four 260 balloons. One for the bow, one for the handle, one for the string (uninflated), and one for the arrows.
[ Michael Floyd’s tutorial video ]
Nunchucks
Mar 23rd
Nunchucks
These nunchucks are easy to make, and fun to play with (and won’t cause any damage)!
You can make the handles in many different ways. I used two 160s for the two handles. I’ve also used 260s for the handles before. I used two gray 160s to make the chain. You could use just one, but then you have to push the air as shown in the video (or you can use the straw trick.)
The nunchucks pictured above are based on a design by Michael Floyd.
[ Michael Floyd’s tutorial video ]
One-balloon swords
Mar 20th
To go with my nephew’s Ninjago theme, we gave out these balloon swords at the end of the party. These are simple one-balloon swords, very easy to make, but lots of fun to play with. I made a couple dozen or so, with several extras in case they popped. Leave about an inch of the balloon uninflated when blowing up the balloon. I brought a pop-up laundry basket to hold all the swords.
One-balloon swords
This post begins a short series on balloon weapons.
