This past Halloween I did line twisting for some 450 kids; and I do some ballooning every week at my theater gig...

I've spent time and money buying balloons and balloon supplies...

I've sent countless qualatex balloons to an early grave...

All in an effort to expand my balloon sculpting skill...

and yet, kids always seem to ask for:

Dogs, Swords, or Flowers

8-)

This happen to anyone else?

Find your balloon-i-catures deflating without a loving home of it's own?

Are your multi-balloon eagles perched all alone?

Have your balloon top hats, topped out?

Is there no end in sight?

Here kid - want a dog?

A lot of children have only seen amature twisters. Either someone from church or a parent who decided that it was easier to buy a pump and a bag of balloons than it was to hire someone that knew what they were doing. So in those sort of situations I start throwing out suggestions and ideas. Some are sculptures I feel like making, some are pure nonsense..."shoelaces." Also, I don't always let the child tell me what they want, I am the clown and I know just what type of balloon you need. If they really want something in particular I'll make it to avoid a scene but if not then voila... It is a Venusian hot plate!

Yea i mostly do dogs i cant do er alaberit things but i can do more then Dogs but they are fast & easy for along long line & when you start getting tired

What did you say? You want a dog? What did you think this morning . Today I'm going to give a clown a really hard time by asking him to make me the most difficult balloonsculpure I can think of. Common can't you really think about anything else? Please suprise me, use your imagination and I will try to make it for you....

When I make something unique... like, last week was the 3 balloon ball - the evening turns into a ball night- or the horse bracelet .. then most girls want that - or the dog... well that is a creature all to itself...

kids have to go shopping at the doggy store = I sing "How much is that doggie in the window" and they have to bark- its hillarious- Sonshine is not the American Idol.... when its all done, the dog on a leash or course goes home with it new owner

I usually make a few swords to give out because a sword is quick and easy to make. I offer a few choices but the sword, dog, and flowers are the most requested. I couldn't imagine doing 450 like Jollywell did. I can usually twist balloons for about 2 hours and then my hands get very sore.

Darrell

You definately get sore fingers when doing mega-lines; and it sucks. I've never used them before, but I ordered a few pair of balloon twister's gloves (the white gloves with the rubber grip bumps on the palm side) - going to test them soon to see how they feel while twisting.

I think that (from the child's perspective, at least) there is something to "keep it simple." One friend of mine has ran across a twister someplace who could do amazing things. What did her 5 year old son ask for? A sword! But, then, when the twister made a fancy sword, the boy was a bit upset. "Mommy, THIS isn't a sword!" The real magic is in the child's imagination, not the technical aptitude of the twister (beyond having solid fundamentals, of course.) Sometimes, children (and even parents) just aren't far enough along to appreciate the artistry of something more advanced yet.

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid...

Whenever I'm doing line work...I give them a choice of about 9 or 10 different one balloon figures...Amazingly, a child will ask if I can make a starship enterprise...to which I reply..."I probably can...but would you like a dog, a cat, a sword or a flower...If its a birthday party...often times I don't give them an option...I let them know that I can only make everything one time...that way nobody has the same stuff and everyone gets to see your repetoire...

I've seen some guys do some cartoon characters...and I would always think wow...thats cool to know...but when would you use it...? So part of me...wants to practice the bigger stuff in my spare time (which means I'll never learn it) and the other part of me is content with what I know already...I've got a pretty decent amount of things I can make...

I make a mental list of things I get asked for that I don't know...and if I need to learn it later I will...

There are a number of two or three balloon creations that are quick and easy and if you mix the colors they really grab peoples attention. I have conducted a very unofficial test sometimes making a two or three balloon creation with all the same color and sometimes using two or three colors. It is almost astonishing the different level or response the two pieces will get. If you have the opportunity to use multiple colors in your sculptures please do, it is visually much more exciting and will get you noticed much more.

You definately get sore fingers when doing mega-lines; and it sucks. I've never used them before, but I ordered a few pair of balloon twister's gloves (the white gloves with the rubber grip bumps on the palm side) - going to test them soon to see how they feel while twisting.

Let me know how those gloves do Jolly!!
Thanks!

I tried the twister's gloves out this weekend while working a promotion at a movie theatre. So here's my take on them...

Things I disliked about them...
Sometimes the gloves get loose around the fingertips; so tying knots or doing tricky twists became more difficult than it had to be. It wasn't that bad, but I'd like to see a pair hit the market that had some sort of fastener at the wrist to keep the gloves snug.

If you're doing variety; there is too much movement. Putting the gloves on to twist, off to do magic, on to twist, off to juggle, etc...
If you're doing twisting only - they'd probably be great; not so hot for variety.

Things I liked
You get a nice grip on the balloon from the rubbery ridges on the palm of the gloves. Maybe because of the extra grip or something, but I seemed to have less "squeaking" when using them.

Also, the gloves are soft and comfortable and breath easy. The cloth tips cover potential fingernail snages and such - lessening wasted balloons from popping.

I'll definately use them when I do booth/line twisting only. They'd be great for the event I did this halloween with over 400 kids. I'd recommend giving them a try for your next twisting line, to see if they work for you.

I have thought about getting a pair of the "mechanic's gloves" to see how they work. They seem to stretch to fit the hand and have a tacky surface.

Hmm, that might not be a bad idea. They'd certainly last longer than the balloon twister's gloves if they work. Juggling in them would be ok as well; as would some magic.

I may give these a try....

I saw they were on sale at a couple of stores for Christmas. I know my brother uses them all the time for various projects and really likes them.