My favorite balloons to twist
Posts tagged Christmas
Reindeer (wearable)
Dec 25th
Reindeer (wearable)
Merry Christmas everyone!
I made these two wearable reindeer balloons for the kids next door. It was so much fun watching them run around the house with these balloons, singing “Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.” Boundless energy!
To make this balloon, you’ll need two brown 260s for the head and body, one dark brown 160 for the antlers, and several 260 scraps: white for the eyes, black for the eyeballs, and red for the nose. I made this based on Twister Sister’s tutorial, with a few changes: I used 260 balloons instead of 350 balloons and I also added some ears. You could easily turn this into a hat.
Christmas Tree
Dec 15th
Christmas Tree
Merry [almost] Christmas!
I’ve been meaning to make something Christmas-related, and finally made this tree! I didn’t want to make a very big tree, and so I used 160 balloons and not 260 balloons. This tree is about 8-10 inches tall.
I’ve seen Christmas trees made in different ways – by making each layer separately and then joining them, or by using all round balloons.
To make this balloon, I used 3 green 160 balloons, a gold 160 balloon to decorate the tree, and some scrap 160 and 260 balloons for the ball ornaments.
I started by making a pinch twist, and then 3 small loop twists (connected at the same spot), followed by a small bubble and then another set of loop twists, followed by a small bubble and then another set of loop twists, and so on…, and ending with a small bubble at the bottom. The lower the level of branches, the more the loop twists, and the larger the loop twists. Whenever you’re about to run out of the green balloon, just pop the remaining balloon, tie a knot, and wrap it around the balloon; then attach another green balloon and start again where you left off. Lastly, I twisted a series of bubbles (using the gold 160), and used different colors of balloon scraps to make ball ornaments to decorate the tree.
Merry Christmas everyone!
Dec 22nd
Last Saturday my church hosted a Children’s Christmas party. It was a lot of fun, with crafts, gifts, and also Koko the clown, who entertained the guests with magic tricks, juggling, balloons, and shared about the meaning of Christmas. At the end, we also gave each kid a balloon animal, with which I helped out.
Because we were expecting possibly 100 kids, I tried to think of simpler balloon animals. We gave out red flowers, camels (which the wise men rode), and sheep (who were present in the stable where baby Jesus slept.) I was out of green 260 balloons, so I cut the red (for the petals) and green (for the stem) 160 balloons into halves to make two smaller flowers.
Camel
Camel: The camel balloon was a pretty simple animal to make. I went with a one-balloon design based on this camel youtube video. I simplified the design a bit – I didn’t do the tulip twist, and because I wanted the knot to be at the tail and not on the head, I started by making the tail first (instead of the head.) You’ll want to leave a little bit less than a 4 inch tail when inflating the balloon. I like to use up the entire balloon, and it may take you a try or two to get the size of the legs and body of the camel just right so that you have just the right amount left for the neck and head. After you are done twisting, bend the neck of the camel upwards, and bend the head downwards.
Sheep
Sheep: The sheep is a little more complex than the camel, as it uses two balloons and requires more knot tying. I followed these instructions from Professor Wonder to make this balloon. I also simplified this balloon in that I didn’t use the tulip (apple) twist to attach the two balloons. Instead I just tied the ends together. (I’m not too good with the tulip twist and often end up popping the balloon.) In addition to white sheep, I also made a few that were blue, pink or purple, and used either black and blush for the head. (The kids preferred blush over black.) I try to use up the entire balloon here as well, so I don’t have do any additional cutting or tying.
Professor Wonder also has a two-balloon camel design, as well as other characters from the nativity scene.
After you finish making the camel and/or sheep, you can use a Sharpie or dry erase marker to draw the eyes and mouth.
[ One-balloon camel video by Charles ]
[ Sheep instructions and other nativity characters by Professor Wonder ]