365 Days of Balloons

Day 331-345: Getting caught up: Stupid Midterms

2011-10-21T21:41:00.000-04:00

I know, I know.
Midterms and the fact that October is my busiest month of the year has kicked my butt.

I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to get so far behind.

I have still been taking pictures all along, so I can get myself back to where I need to be.

Day 331: Bumble Bee

I've been working on some new insects. This is a modification on the Bee design that Stretch The Balloon Dude showed me. I really loved the way he made the stinger.

Day 332: Elephant Hat

This is a slightly larger and more detailed version of my elephant hat. This was made for a camp show I did for a daycare center. One of the counselors was nice enough to model it for me.

Day 333: Frank

I'm goofing around with making large headed versions of Halloween monsters.
Here is a Frankenstein I built for one of my restaurants.

Day 334: Horse Rider

Here is another of the pieces made for the camp show. This was to create a character of a horseback rider.
Again, one of the counselors was nice enough to model it for me.

Day 335: Percy

I've been getting asked a lot for this Percy character. Sometimes they ask if I can give him the detectives hat.

Day 336: Monkeys

More from that camp show I did, we told the story of the 3 monkeys.

Day 337: Birthday Hat

I've been having fun making balloon people birthday hats this week. This is the first version of the birthday person hat.

Day 338: Birthday Hat

This is the second version of the hat. It's a little more structurally sound, and has better legs. This one is a good bit taller also.

Day 339: Big Plane

I neglected to order 350's in my last balloon order, and as a result was making things I'd usually make out of smaller balloons out of 650's. Here is the plane design I worked out.

Day 340: Mario

You recognize this guy, right? This is the quickest design I've come up with for the plumber so far. I'm sure I could do one that is a little more simple, but then I'd be loosing important details that I'm not sure I want to let go.

Day 341: Smurf and Friend

That Smurf movie has caused me to get a lot more Smurf requests than I used to.

Here was a shot at a basic smurf and the cat that chased them around.

Day 342: Strong Man

Another from the camp show. This counselor is dressed up like the strong man from the circus.

Day 343: Tiny Turtle:

At my Donato's Pizza location, the trend of tine balloon animals is catching on. I've got a few families now where the kids ask for tiny versions of the designs.

It helps me think more carefully about my shapes, so it is helping me out as well.

Day 344: Dem Bones

This years balloon skeleton design. He's going for a ride on a Beef O' Brady's balloon in the entryway.

Day 345: Witch Head

Here is a modification of my Chief Wahoo head that I make for going to Cleveland Indians games. If I change the color, adjust the nose, and give it a big black hat... I've got a giant Witch hat.

Who would have thunk it.

Ok.
There.
Back to where I need to be.

If the weather is nice I will be doing a bunch of ballooning at a local pumpkin farm this weekend. I should be able to get some more pictures there.

Thanks for being patient.

Only 20 days left and I will be at the 1 year mark.

See you tomorrow.

Day 329-330: Laser Swords

2011-10-06T11:15:00.002-04:00

I don't want to get sued... I've heard that Lucas has been cracking down lately.

There are 2 pictures with the same kid here. He asked for a "Sabre of Light" and then everyone else at the table had to get one.

Mom was late, and we thought we should make her a giant one so she could defend herself.

This counts for 2 days of posts, 229 and 230.

first was the smaller sword, then came the giant one.

See you tomorrow.

Day 328: Octopus

2011-10-06T11:10:00.001-04:00

Here is a design I built for a local restaurant.

I had an assignment for my photography class where I had to take pictures of interesting things that were primary colors.

Of course I cheated, and made things for each restaurant that would work for the assignment.

Here is blue.

See you tomorrow.

Day 327: Crabby

2011-10-06T11:06:00.001-04:00

These guys were all about the Sponge Bob balloons.

It was busy when they first arrived, so I wasn't able to make anything too crazy.

They hung out for a while, and by the end of the night it slowed down, so they got a quick Mr. Crabs.

See you tomorrow.

Day 323-326: Stuff

2011-10-02T07:59:00.001-04:00

Day 323: I had set up at my hair cutting place a few weeks back, and had fun making balloons for the customers that came in.

I made a few display pieces while I was there also.
Here is a balloon stylist that I made, trying to draw peoples attention to the sales that were going on.
I tried to make a mini hair dryer for him to hold.

Day 324: Duck Bracelet
This lady here has been on a balloon bracelet kick it seems.
This week she asked if I could make a duck bracelet.
I wonder what she'll ask for next week.

Day 325: Foofa
I didn't know what the heck a foofa was, so this girls dad had to show me on his phone.
I think I did a good job making a balloon version of this Yo Gabba Gabba character.

Day 326: Sitting Leprechaun
I've made a lot of different leprechauns on this blog, two of my weekly restaurants are Irish themed. Here is a design I worked up that has the lil' guy sitting on the counter.

See you tomorrow.

Day 319 - 322: School Is Killing Me Already

2011-09-28T10:08:00.000-04:00

School got really busy over the last week, so I had to let other things slide.
This is me making that up.

Day 319: Applebee's

I had a little down time at a Kid's Night at a local Applebee's, so I thought I'd put something up front. I hadn't tried making and apple out of a 640 yet, so I thought I'd see how it looked.

Day 320: Catapult

When asked for medieval things, it's usually things like swords or bows, not siege weapons. This was a first attempt at a catapult. It did work a bit, it launched a balled up napkin a couple feet. I need to spend a little time looking at the design and trying to figure out how to increase the tension.

Day 321: Ribbit

There have been a few different versions of the frog on this blog. It's something that I've gotten a lot of requests for over the last year, so I want to make something that I'm happy to hand out, and that is my own unique design. Since this picture was taken I've changed the back legs a bit, so it's still a work in progress.

Day 322: Royal Beating

This was a fancy princess wand I made for a birthday girl... that could be used as a weapon. Her brother was getting a gun, which means he was going to be shooting his sister all day. I wanted to give her a way to defend herself, and even fight back if needed.
This should be able to give a good bopping.

See you tomorrow.

Day 318: Greetings

2011-09-24T22:25:00.000-04:00

I've been having fun lately making balloons to stay up front at my restaurants.
I like to make things that will catch peoples attention and can be left up for at least a couple days so that customers coming in on the days that I'm not there can be like "What's with the balloon?"
And then the staff can be like "It's Kid's Night on Thursdays, you should come back and check it out."

Here is a version of a dragon hanging out on the Please Wait To Be Seated sign.

See you tomorrow.

Day 317: Another Angry Bird

2011-09-23T07:34:00.000-04:00

The popularity of the rather addicting Angry Birds game means that I've had to develop versions of these birds that can be made in the time allotted at restaurants.

The design for the birds isn't all that complicated actually, and can be switched out for any of the colors quite easily.

I don't have a quick version of making the pigs yet.... they still require raisin twists and inverting balloons and stuff. I'm working on it though.

See you tomorrow.

Day 316: Goggles

2011-09-23T07:31:00.000-04:00

I was asked for a pair of swimming goggles... this girl often comes up with things I've never been asked for.

I'm also wary of making things that go around a persons face or neck. I'm fine with making hats, but I don't want to risk something popping and getting someone in the eye or tightening around a throat.

I made these with the condition that they not be work.

See you tomorrow.

Day 315: Bumble Bee

2011-09-23T07:28:00.000-04:00

Only 50 days left on the challenge.

Here is the Bumble Bee I've been working on. It's based on Stretch the Balloon Dude's design, I'm just trying to work the body segments a little differently.

See you tomorrow.

Day 314: Pirate!

2011-09-20T08:46:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was Talk Like A Pirate day, and I did get a lot of requests for pirate swords and parrots to ride on shoulders.

I made a fun display piece to have at the hostess stand.

This scalleywag has been through a lot. He's missing an eye, a a tooth, a hand, and a leg... the life of a pirate is nit an easy one.

Luckily, he has his parrot companion and his bottle of grog to help with his mood.

See you tomorrow.

Day 313: Full of Hot Air

2011-09-19T08:13:00.000-04:00

ARRRR!
If I would have realized that today is "Talk Like A Pirate Day!" then I would have tried to have something piratey for this post.

I'm sure I'll get plenty of pirate themed requests at my kid's night tonight, so perhaps I'll have something good for you for tomorrow.

Here is the much larger version of the Hot Air Balloon.
It's suspended by a 36" balloon filled with helium.

My plan was to try to get some shots of this balloon with all the huge hot air balloons taking off in the background, but an adorable little girl walked up to my wife and asked if she could buy it because it was her birthday.
I gave it to her as a birthday gift, and she was very happy with it.
I imagine she walked back to her family and lorded her new prize over all the other children.

See you tomorrow mateys.

Day 312: Balloon A-Fair

2011-09-18T12:03:00.000-04:00

There is a local Balloon A-Fair happening this weekend... so guess where I'll be.

For those of you that don't know what a Balloon A-Fair is, it's a huge event where people with hot air balloons set up and launch from a single location. Last year I think there were over 100 balloons in the air at the same time.

This is my test model for a design I'll be building... It worked out like I thought it would, so I'll be heading to pick up the supplies I need to make a grander design.

The final design will be tomorrow post.

See you tomorrow.

Day 311: Crazy Hats

2011-09-17T14:55:00.000-04:00

At a restaurant grand opening last month I ended up making a lot of variations of my tall crazy hats.

Here was a table that was very excited to pose for a picture.

See you tomorrow.

Day 310: Elephant Bracelet

2011-09-17T14:53:00.000-04:00

Here is a new one. I've never been asked to make an elephant bracelet before...

See you tomorrow.

Day 309: Over the Hill Crown

2011-09-17T08:44:00.000-04:00

Here is a simple modification to an old design.

At an Outback I was doing a Kid's Night for, this woman was celebrating her birthday.

I was asked to make her a special hat for the occasion.

The place was busy, so I couldn't get too out of control, so I added "40" to the top of a crown.

See you tomorrow.

Day 308: Balloon Bag

2011-09-17T08:24:00.000-04:00

I've been working on a new balloon bag... my old one broke on me.
I was using a bag specially made for balloon professionals, and while at a block party this summer I lifted up the bag and the bottom fell right out of it... my balloons were scattered all over the sidewalk.

I was shown a great design by Stretch the Balloon Dude, and used it as a base for making my own balloon rig.

It's still a work in progress, but here is a picture of the main compartment.

This is where the 160's, 260's, and 350's are stored.
I've got a separate section holding the 640's, and I'm working on an efficient way to sort all the varieties of smaller balloons I keep with me.

When the cart is done I'll post a final image of it... perhaps the final design is something other balloon twisters will be interested i trying for themselves.

Day 307: Little Monster

2011-09-13T06:49:00.000-04:00

Last night at my Kid's Night I decided to make some little creature to sit on the counter up front.

Don't ask me what the heck it is.... I was just messing around.

I think it looks like some sort of dragon turtle... but I had kids naming different types of dinosaurs.

See you tomorrow.

Day 306: Hot Dog

2011-09-12T10:19:00.000-04:00

No more Hot Dogs.

I rarely eat hot dogs after Labor Day.

I won't be going to any more baseball games this year, I don't have many grilling days left... I'll miss hot dogs.

Here is a balloon hot dog.

It's a quick and simple design.

Don't eat it... balloons don't taste good.

See you tomorrow.

Day 305: Balloon Shoe

2011-09-12T10:16:00.000-04:00

Here is an instance where I was asked for something I've never event thought of attempting before.

The lady at the table asked me to try to make a balloon version of her business logo... which was a green strappy high heeled shoe.

I've never made a high heeled shoe before... much less a fancy one.

I wish I would have thought to get a copy of her business card so I could show you the logo so you could see if I got close or not.

I did... trust me.

See you tomorrow.

Day 301-304: Updates!

2011-09-10T22:48:00.000-04:00

Getting caught up.

Day 301: Mouse Hat

I posted a different version of a mouse hat a couple months back.

Here is the updated version.

I'll have some better pictures of this once I grab some screen shots from film of the show I made this for.

Day 302: Duck Hat.

Another update of a previous hat I've posted.

I've been making a lot of duck things lately.

Day 303: Dog Hat

Hey! Look! It's another animal hat!

Day 304: Monster High
I've been talking with someone about doing a Monster High themed birthday party.

I'm trying to think of things I can do that would work for Monster High.

A girl came into one of my kid's nights with some Monster High toys... and asked if I could make a balloon copy of one of the dolls purses.
I think I did a good job with the time I had.

See you tomorrow.

Day 300: This is SPECIAL!

2011-09-06T09:15:00.000-04:00

Imagine the voice of Gerard Butler when you read the title.

If I would have planned ahead I would have made a spear or Spartan helmet for today's post... but I didn't think of it.

Instead, I'll show you a balloon Moe.

This was done at a birthday party a few weeks back. One of the dads wanted me to make a balloon Moe to make fun of one of the other guests there that was often compared to Moe from The Simpsons when the teasing began.

I don't think I got Moe's overbite perfect, but over all I'm quite pleases with how the balloon turned out.

See you tomorrow.

Day 299: Hunk of Meat

2011-09-06T09:11:00.000-04:00

Here is a strange one...
One of my favorite groups of regulars asked me for all food balloons a couple weeks ago.
One asked for a big ol' turkey leg.

I've never made one of these before, but I did see a balloon twister buddy of mine make one at a Christmas party we were both working once... so I gave it a shot.

Certainly, it doesnt' look like it's dripping with juices and delicious to eat... but that's good. I wouldn't want the kids to start chewing on the balloons.

See you tomorrow.

Day 298: Flamingo Hat

2011-09-04T16:41:00.000-04:00

I was rained out at the outdoor festival I was going to be twisting at today. It didn't look like the weather was going to be all that great, but I thought I'd give it a go anyway.
I was there for all of 20 min before it began raining on me.

I'll give it another shot tomorrow, hopefully the weather will be nicer, and I'll get a chance to sell some of those bracelets.

Today's balloon is a flamingo hat that I made a couple weeks back. The girl didn't seem all that keen to wear it, but she was surrounded by friends and they convinced her it was a good idea.

See you tomorrow.

Day 297: Balloon Jewlery

2011-09-03T23:40:00.000-04:00

If you've been following my blog, you have seen a lot of different things that can be made from balloons.
For the most part the balloons are inflated and twisted into shapes, but there are a lot of things that can be made from un-inflated balloons as well.

Here is a selection of bracelets made from un-inflated balloon scraps.

I save my scraps anyway, because I often find uses for them when I'm building designs for people... but I accumulate a lot of scraps in a short amount of time.

When I sat down to start cutting the scraps into the proper lengths to make these bracelets I had a plastic grocery bag filled completely with scraps of all different colors... easily 3-4 pounds of balloon scraps.

This weekend is Labor Day weekend, and there is a local festival that I twist at every year. Last year I brought a dozen or so of these to the festival and they were a big hit. I wanted to bring a lot more this time to see if I can start a cool new fashion trend in the area.

I'll let you know how it goes.

See you tomorrow.