Balloon sculpture question...

[in Harmony with Jesus]

Oh, the way I made the butterfly...

2 - 260's in your color choice. Fully inflate except about a 1/2 inch, burp & tie. Tie the ends of one ballon together to make a circle. Repeat w/ the 2nd balloon. Bring the tie together w/ the other side & twist to make a figure 8 w/ each balloon. then twist them together to make the wings.

Inflate the bee body up to the tip, burp & tie. Twist off a bubble for the head & attach the wings at this point. Draw a face & there ya go!

[in Harmony with Jesus]

I also made a couple of butterfly hats on Saturday. They turned out real cute. It used 3 260's.

Fully inflate all three leaving about a 1/2" tail, burp & tie.

Using 2 make the wings like normal.

With the 3rd, twist off about a 1" bubble, wrap around the child's head to measure & twist together (just like the beginning of the basic helmet). Leave the rest straight up. Squeeze the air all the way to the end. Near the top twist off a bubble for the head & attatch the wings there. Draw a face & give the beautiful butterfly to it's happy owner.

[Sonshine D Clown]

I have used both brands Q & B - ***THIS IS NOT AN INFOMERICAL***

My first experience with the "B" was bad - but then I found out they made changes - so I gave it another try .. and honestly use them more then the Q balloons.

In my opinion: The "B" balloons are awesome, I love the extra length, the colors, the fact you can get most all the colors in 160 / 260/ 350 sizes.

However, I recommend only the FASHION or DELUXE colors

I do use some of the "Q" colors and they work very well.

But the majority of my orders from TMyers.com ... OR IF I need something very fast or clown makeup etc... I will order from clownantics.com or A2Z (both are in Michigan) and I can get my stuff UPS GROUND the NEXT day.. *S*

ok, my 60 seconds is up.

*S*


you can check out balloonhq.com for lots of ideas - or mbd2.com .. if you join (donation) Dale will allow you to the "Instructions" link.. where there are 23 pages plus of instructions for balloons ... its AWESOME.

[applegirl]

Great link to Balloon HQ! Thanks!

[Fitzwilly]

Originally Posted by in Harmony with Jesus

I wanted to throw in my $.02 on the balloons as well. I have not been happy with the Betallatex. They seem to pop a lot easier than the Qualatex.

Harmony - Betallatex require a different "feel" when you are twisting then the Qualatex balloons. Often the balloons are a little thicker and this has two side effects. (1)The balloon seems stiffer and more difficult to work with. Solution 1: Stretch the balloon completely a couple of times before inflating (this is especially important if you decide to try the pearl or metallic balloons.) Solution 2: Give the balloon an extra burb before tying. *Even better: Combine Solution 1 and Solution 2 when twisting. (2) When stretched and "losened up" the balloon can actually be stretched lengthwise after inflating and may seem more like a 270 giving you more balloon to play with.

Be sure to check the dates on your balloon bags. I reached in the drawer and pulled out a bag in the back dated 2004. Turns out they are still good. I put a few in my apron to test and used a few more for practice.

If you order many balloons you will find that at least one balloon and many times two, in most bags of Qualatex are defective. Now when you are only buying a few bags this isn't a big deal but when you are buying a lot and the defect rate is around two percent this cuts into your profit margin. I know this is only slight and if you are practicing at all it will matter even less but with Betallatex the defect percentage is more like .2% or less. I get frustrated at a gig when I am in a hurry and I pull out a balloon and it has an extra hole in it before I get to it. So I stuff it in a pocket and grab another and find that it is siamezed with another balloon.

So, try a practice session using only Betallatex balloons (which will help you acclimate to them quicker) and stretching them all a couple of times and burbing them before twisting. As you get used to the differences you should be able to use either brand with ease and it will open up a number of color combinations and other possibilities for you.

[Finito]

I like LaRocks.com... 100 Count Bag $4.60 -
250 Count Bag $11.05, for 260Q's not bad. Fresh and fast and a real pleasure to deal with.

As for what the kiddies ask for - general rule of thumb - they want either:
A.) Whatever the child before them had,
B.) A dog,
C.) A sword...

I find that the trick in NOT spending hours mindlessly twisting the SAME thing repeatedly is to keep the little buggers guessing... Entertain them with your performance, animated banter and wild movements. Get them excited in the mystery of WHAT you're making by being incredibly excited and curious yourself.

But ya, sometimes they just want that sword. No matter how cool that giant dragon hat is, they don't want it. Make the kid a sword.

[Shadpoke]

Howdy Apple Girl. Try expertvillage.com There are several balloon artist on there. Good Luck. BTW balloons are a great tool. You can add comedy with them. Try BHQ for some good patter.

Shadpoke T. Klown

[in Harmony with Jesus]

expertvillage.com is awesome!! Have a notebook & pencil handy. They have lots of great stuff & very easy to follow instructions. Plus since it's video you can actually see what you're supposed to be doing! And you can pause it to wrote or back it up if you miss something! I have a small notebook full of instruction notes just from that site.

[Bodiddly]

ok I got a idea on what balloons to get. Now I need some some input on a balloon pump. I want a good one but I do not the the best either.

[Finito]

Sounds like you want a good old double-action Qualatex Purple Pump... retails for about $4.

Balloon Pumps: La Rock's Fun & Magic