The "Whirly-Bird" hat...

[Mr. Dazzle]

I was surfing through myspace today when I noticed a picture on Stubby T. Clown's profile of four people in a booth at Cici's Pizza all wearing balloon hats that looked like ball caps with the little whirly bird pinwheeles...

I wanted to try to replicate his balloon hats and I was able to do so fairly easily...

Here it is (my first attempt)





Its almost as fun to make as it is fun to wear....

[Calavera]

Tell me, how does one go about manipulating balloons without popping them?

It was "fairly easy" to you? That just boggles my mind.

[Wowza]

All balloons pop. Balloon artists stack the odds in their favor by keeping the balloons cool and out of the sun, and by never fully inflating the balloon. By leaving room at the tail, air has room to move when the twists are made.

[pixcoco]

And most important of all...fresh balloons. Check the date code.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Yeah..... what they said. Thats pretty much it ...An icepack in the pocket of your balloon bag on a hot day and trimmed figernails are always a plus aswell.

[Shadpoke]

That is a cute hat. Good job.

Shadpoke T. Klown

[Fifi D. Clown]

..and lots of practice! Nice beany Mr. Dazzle. I think even I could manage that one!

[Fitzwilly]

Originally Posted by Calavera

Tell me, how does one go about manipulating balloons without popping them?

It was "fairly easy" to you? That just boggles my mind.

You may want a little more behinds the scenes information Cal. We have mentioned the BHQ site before (Balloon HQ - Educating the World About Balloons and Balloon Art) but here are a couple of links directly to pages I think you might find interesting.

Balloon HQ presents: A professional guide to balloon art decorating, twisting and delivery

[Lolly Plop]

Nice hat Mr D. Could you write up instructions for those of us who can't figure out how to make it from a picture.

[bugaboo the clown]

That's cute. I will have to add that one to my lineup! Thanks for sharing.