Day 58: New Years Balloon Drop

Today I set up a balloon drop for a local sorority that was having their 

new years eve party at a downtown hotel.

I snapped some pictures along the way, and I thought I'd share them for todays post.

Firstly... I was told that I was going to be setting this up on a 15 foot drop ceiling. This was not the case. I think it was closer to 25 or 30 feet...

I spent most of the time inflating balloons and filling the drop net with them.

Here is the net about 2/3 of the way filled.

The net is filled here and all ready to be hung from the ceiling.

Here it is all finished and fastened to the ceiling. The net holds 200 balloons and will help to add the the festive atmosphere of the holiday party that will be help later tonight.

The box on the side of the screen here while I was writing up this post magically searched what I was writing as I was writing it and suggested that I add this link to the post. This is the exact same product that I used to make the balloon drop. If you think you'd like to try this out for yourselves, I can recommend this product. I've used a few different brands when doing drops in the past, but I've been happiest with this on by far.

 See you tomorrow.

Day 57: Platypus

Last night I was asked for a platypus hat... specifically one that looked like a character from a Disney channel show.
I confess that I have never been asked for a platypus before, and certainly not one that looked like that character.
I pulled out my magic phone that can show me pictures of things and looked the guy up.
For a first try, and a strange request... I think it turned out alright.
The girl was quite happy with it.

This will be a design I'll sit down and work on so if I'm ever asked for it again I'll be ready.

See you tomorrow.

Day 56: So much pink.

As I was throwing out suggestions for this girl, her eyes lit up when I mentioned a flamingo.

Here is a mid level flamingo... it's quick to make, and still has a lot of character and color for the design.

On Monday nights I'm at a Doogans restaurant, and the Kids Nights are really starting to pick up since they brought me in. The customers there are all turning into big fans of the balloons and I'm often told that they come in other days of the week asking if I'm there.

See you tomorrow.

Another mobile test

Turns out there is a blogger app on the android store for my phone.
I'm just checking it out to see if I like the results.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Day 55: An Apple a Day...

I was asked for an apple last night at one of my kids nights at a Doogans.
When I asked the boy if he was going to give it to a teacher he responded "Nope. I like apples."
I feel we should encourage something like that. As anyone who knows me is well aware, I'm a picky eater. The wife accuses me of having the pallet of a 7 year old. I do like Golden Delicious apples though.

This is a rather simple shape... it's the same at the pumpkin design really.
Each new semester I try to make a good impression with my new professors by making them this apple then I make a little worm popping out of it.

I think I'll probably snap a picture of that when the new semester starts.

See you tomorrow.

Day 54: Old Saint Nick

I was digging through old albums looking for a picture for a client and I came across my Santa design from 2 years ago.

This holiday season was so busy for me that I never had the chance to make a large Santa for any of my regular gigs. Perhaps I'll sit down and make one just so I can have an updated model of it on the blog.

I'm pleased with most of this design... my only complaint would be the drawn on eyes. This was back before I had perfected my eyes and mouth inserts.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend.

See you tomorrow.

Day 53: The day after...

It's the day after Christmas, and I'm sure a lot of you are still recovering from all that holiday cheer.

Here is a nice picture my favorite regulars sent me after I made one of their requests at a local Kids Night.
I guess there is a whole series of books about a troublesome pigeon that should be allowed to do many things.

I made the pigeon from the descriptions they gave me and a quick look at the cover of one of the books that the father looked up for me on his phone.

From what they told me about the books, I think I would have gotten a kick out of them as a kid. Perhaps I'll track some down and add them to the stack of books I've started for if Kathy and I ever have children.

See you tomorrow.

Day 52: A Christmas scene.

Here is an example of how you can take separate parts and make something grander from them.
I took 3 designs that I posted earlier this month, and I combined them into a winter scene.
I think that the could almost tell a little story.
Perhaps the polar bear and the penguin worked together to build the snowman.

I'm still working on getting the two new instructional videos uploaded to all the various sites I post them to.
As soon as they are all up I will have the links here.

Have a great holiday.

See you tomorrow.

Day 51: Twas the he day before Christmas

I have filmed 2 holiday themed instructional videos that I planned on posting as a gift to you guys for the holiday, but my internet has been questionable again today and every time I begin to upload a video file the service craps out on me.
I'll try again tonight when I get back from holiday rounds, and perhaps things will work out so you can have some new videos to watch for Christmas.
The videos I shot are for the wreath that I posted on Day 42, and for this holly leaf decoration.

This is one I haven't made in at least 3 years... I don't know why but I guess I just forgot all about it.
You can experiment with the length or thickness of the leafy parts to get them just the size you like.

Here is the instructional video for how to make the holly decoration

http://blip.tv/file/4560140

Have a wonderful holiday!
I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 50: First big milestone.

Hey!
We've made it 50 days so far. This is great.
To celebrate, I'm making lobster.

This is a fun design to make because it's not something that most people have seen before, and you will usually impress the customer because they assume they are stumping you by asking for a lobster. I came up with my original design for the lobster when a teenager asked me for a lobster wearing sunglasses... He wanted a rock lobster.
The first lobster didn't look as good as this one, but it was nice to have a challenge to work out for myself.
Hope you like it.

It's come to my attention that I should make a request to my readers... in the spirit of the holiday.

If you're in the giving mood, please take a couple minutes to click on a few of the adds on the page and let them stay open for 20 seconds or so. If you could click on something on those add pages that would be great also. I guess I only get credit for adds that have been clicked on.

If you would rather not click on a bunch of adds, then feel free to head over to www.blip.tv and watch some of my instructional videos. You can find them by searching for "balloonatic". There will be adds that play that also help me out.

I'm trying to get these sites to the point where they support themselves and I can afford to buy some better equipment to produce higher quality instructional videos.

I appreciate any help you guys give. 

I won't mention the adds again for at least another 50 posts, so don't worry about this being a common thing.

See you tomorrow.

Day 49: Colder than a Polar Bears bottom

Here is a fun Polar Bear design I do around this time of year. It's a simple modification of a standard teddy bear shape with a few added details and a scarf. This guy can be made quite easily with any sized balloons, of course you would have to use more than one for the larger sizes, and is a great option for the kids.

See you tomorrow.

Day 48: Something Sweet

Today I offer for your viewing pleasure... A balloon Candy Cane.
I don't think that a holiday decoration can get any easier to make than this.

See you tomorrow.

Day 47: lil' tree

Here is a very simple Christmas tree. I was asked by a parent if I could make an ornament, to which I replied that it would take a long time... but I could make them a small tree if they'd like.

You can knock one of these out in less than 2 min, and though it may not be as detailed as the more advanced trees it is still a fun little design.


I apologize for the demon eyes and the washed out face... I'm trying to teach myself Photoshop and this was the best middle ground I've been able to find. As I get better I'll go back and touch up old photos.

See you tomorrow.

Day 46: simple bunny

I've already shown a more advanced design for a rabbit. This is the slightly simpler version of my bunny. The whole thing is made from 2 balloons of the same color and a white scrap. It takes almost no time to build and still looks far better than the 1 balloon rabbit we all learned when we were starting out.

See you tomorrow.

Day 45: Where do YOU think buffalo wings come from?

My local magic group changed locations last month for our monthly meeting to a wing place. I decided to throw something together to say thanks for letting us use the space.
I had been working on a more detailed cow for a while, and had noticed that the design could look very much like a buffalo or bison with a little tweaking.

Here is the finished product. I think that it turned out rather well for a first attempt.

See you tomorrow

Day 44: Shakes fist in anger

I know I've made this complaint before... but My internet provider is killing me.
I've had 2 different techs out to my house to try and fix the problems with the internet dropping several times a day... no luck so far.
The next few posts will be made from my phone.. and I'll do my best to make this all up to you guys.
I'm on holiday break from school for a couple weeks, and I plan on shooting a bunch of new videos.

Today is a random one. I was asked for "a sniper rifle in a hurry" by a grown man last week. He had arrived well before my normal shift began at a restaurant I entertain at, and was leaving as I was beginning. He had heard that I make a variety of firearms and asked for something to impress his kids with.

This isn't the best sniper rifle I make, but it is one that I can make fast.

See you tomorrow.  

Day 43: Must have been some magic in that old felt hat

You may be able to settle an argument for me. I think that they end of the Frosty the Snowman song implies that Frosty was hit by a car. Some people have argued that it ends with Frosty melting away.

What do you think? Post a comment and let me know.

Here is my balloon snowman. I haven't really found a design that I'm 100% happy with that has 3 segments to the body, I tend to stick with this 2 segment design because it's not hard and still is very clearly a snowman.

Mine is the one on the left... in case you couldn't tell.

See you tomorrow.

Day 42: It's that time of year

Around this time of year I tend to find myself making a lot of decorations for not just my restaurant gigs, but for clients to take home and use at family gatherings.
I plan to try to grab shots of the decorations I make to help give you guys some ideas that perhaps you haven't had.

Here is an easy wreath. It's just a braided loop with a bow and some berries added for color.

Here is the video for how to make the wreath.

http://blip.tv/file/4558831

See you tomorrow.

Day 41: Asked for something new

This boy asked me for a purple and black dog with a Santa hat... something I've never been asked for before.

I think it turned out alright.

See you tomorrow.

Day 40: A little more advanced...

Here is a more advanced reindeer. 

I like them because they have a lot of character and are quite cute.

See you tomorrow.

Day 39: What are you wearing?

Sometimes I get asked for something like "Make me a huge crazy hat."

Here is a simple and quick one. Just some spirals and a smiley balloon.

See you tomorrow.

Day 38: Santa hat

A quick and simple santa hat.
You can change the color to green to make it an elf hat also.

Day 37: That red nosed guy

Christmas time is nearly here. And that means that I have to start competing with the holiday decorations at the locations I twist at.

Here is a moderately challenging balloon Rudolf.

See you tomorrow.

Day 36: You want a what on your hat?

This boy asked for a teddy bear, then half way through asked if I could make it into a hat.

It's important for every twister to know at least one universal hat design that you can attach most other designs to.

See you tomorrow.

Day 35: Poly want a balloon?

Here is my simple parrot... Well, it's not the really simple 1 ballon parrot that most beginners learn. The design is similar to my penguin with just a few modifications. If I have time I like to add white for the eyes.

eyes.

See you tomorrow.

Day 34: Let's play some Hoops!

I threw together a basket ball and hoop for a kid the other night.

I haven't made either of these in a while, and I think that the designs may have improved since last time.

Over all I was quite happy with the final product.

See you tomorrow.

Day 33: Final project

Today I had the final for my dance class.

(For those of you that don't know me, I decided to find out if I can dance... So I signed up for Tap class this semester. I got a B for the technical portion of the final. So it seems this balloon guy may have some rhythm after all. I have to do the written final on wednesday.)

Anyway, to try and improve my chances of getting a good grade I made balloon versions of the members of my dance group so we could be holding them while we dance.

Here they are before the class began

See you tomorrow

Day 32: Giraffe

Here is an example of a more detailed giraffe. It is made exactly the same way as the giraffe I covered in the video post, but I've added a blush heart balloon for the nose and mouth, and the proportions are slightly changed.

Here is the instructional video for the simpler version of a giraffe.

See you tomorrow.

Day 31: My! What a long.... Neck you have!

What is it about dinosaurs that captures the minds and hearts of children? I remember being crazy of the giant lizards as a kid, and I encounter dozens of kids just like I was every week that ask for a variety of species... many of them ones that weren't around when I was a kid. (I've been told that a few of the names that I knew growing up have since been proved to be younger versions of other types of dinosaurs... and now I feel out of the loop.)

The picture below was what I made when asked for "Da DINOSAUR with the really really long NECK!" (I did my best to type out the pronunciation and inflections.)

It is a very simple design, not all that detailed really, but the size impresses the kids.

See you tomorrow.

Day 30: It's my BIRTHDAY!

Today (Dec 3rd) is my birthday... It was a kinda crazy, and I came home to discover my internet was down again.
Thanks for that present Cable Company. It's what I really wanted.


Today I will share with you some thoughts on making friends with your local media.
Below is a picture of me with local radio a personality. We were both at a car dealership for their 85th anniversary celebration, and hit it off well.

She posted this picture along with some others of my work at that event on the radio stations website, and I had more than one person tell me that they saw those pictures.

If you get the opportunity to work an event where local news of radio will also be there, take the time to introduce yourself. Make them something really spectacular so you can impress them, and possibly even get a small mention on their program. Be courteous, be professional, and you'll be surprised how well things can go for you.

See you tomorrow

Day 29: simple swan

Here is a quick and easy swan.  Not much to say about it really.

See you tomorrow.

Day 28: Don't have a cow

I have been playing around with the blog and my website, trying to update it with information about the podcast and stuff... And I'm trying to wrap my head around RSS feeds and XML files.
Anyone that knows me knows very well that I am not good at this sort of thing. I'm an entertainer and a salesman... technology scares me.

Over on the right of the blog there are now some links for the videos that I'm making. You can see the last few that I have posted, and watch them whenever you want through the Blip.tv viewer.

If anyone out there has a suggestion for a better website for hosting my videos so that they can be put on iTunes and the like, please let me know. I don't have a lot of control over what they do with my stuff over at Blip.

Anyway... Here is todays balloon.

It's a cow. A slightly more advanced design, it is similar to the monkey that I posted yesterday in it's construction. I tend to bounce back and forth between making this sitting cow, and one standing on all fours.
I hope you like it.

See you tomorrow.

Day 27: MONKEY!

I filmed an instructional video for a more advanced monkey design. I had gotten several requests for it...
Unforgeable, I learned that the video editing program I was using was just a trial version. I am now on the lookout for a good video editing program so I can chop the video up for Youtube. The video is almost 20 min long, so it exceeds the posting limit.

I did put the video up on the iTunes podcast.
Everybody remember how to find that? Just search for "balloonatic" in your iTunes store.
You can also watch it at Blip.tv at http://blip.tv/file/4446958/. (This is another place where all the videos will be showing up.)

Anyway... Here is the monkey. It has a lot of options for posing it, and it can be used to hold up business cards or flyers quite easily.

Once I get the video editing troubles sorted out, I'll put the video for making these up on the blog as well.

See you tomorrow.

Day 26: Slow and Steady

Here is a simple balloon snail that I've grown fond of. It's not the most complicated snail, but it is quick and has a lot of character. This guy works great if you get asked for "something Spongebob" but you don't have the time to build one of the more complicated characters.

You can find the video for making this snail on my Youtube page, and it is also on the podcast.
You can also view all my videos through Blip.tv.  Here is a link to the snail video.

http://blip.tv/file/4408200/

I filmed a couple videos for the podcast today, I need to work on editing them a little.
Look for them to show up soon in your iTunes store if you search for "balloonatic", and they will also be on the youtube page.
Once I post them I will also have them here on the blog.

See you tomorrow.

Day 25: Beauty And The Beast

It seems that Beauty And The Beast, that Disney classic... was playing over Thanksgiving.
I have been getting a lot of requests for princesses and candelabra, and I was pleased when someone finally asked me for the enchanted rose.

I've been working on a few different designs that use clear balloons... I'm sure they will be showing up on the blog at some point.

See you tomorrow.

Day 24: hats!

I think it's very important that any balloon entertainer have a good variety of hats in their arsenal.
The truth is, nearly any animal can be turned into a hat... And it's easy to create a lot of great abstract shapes that make wonderful hats.
Above are just a few examples.
See you tomorrow.

Day 23: You throw down the rope!

"Why did it have to be snakes?!"

100 points for the first person to comment and tell me where those last two quotes are from.

Here is a very simple snake design. Often when I mention that I can make a snake, or the customer sees it listed on the balloon menu... they scoff and say "I can make a snake. You just blow up a balloon!"

This quick design is just what you need to show those people that not only are you a better balloon twister than they expected, that you know how to do some crazy stuff and bend these balloons to your will.

Here is a picture of the snake.

Here is the youtube video explaining how to make this version of the snake. It includes instructions on how to get the balloon to swirl like that. There are many ways to achieve this swirl, I only present the way that I've found works best for me.

You can also download this video to your computer or iPod by searching for "Balloonatic" in you iTunes store and grabbing it from my balloon podcast. If you like what you see, please rate the podcast subscribe.

I already have a list of what the new videos will be, and they will be going up shortly.

See you tomorrow

Day 22: Thanksgiving.

It's Thanksgiving day, and what balloon would you expect to see? A turkey, right?

Well... You're wrong. You get a monkey.

I can't seem to find my picture of the Thanksgiving Turkey I make as centerpieces, and what with the craziness of dealing with the holiday I simply didn't have the time to throw one together.

Rest assured, the turkey will make an appearance, but now it will randomly pop up on the middle of march or something.

Here is the quick and simple monkey climbing a tree that I make during line work or when I don't have enough time to make the more advanced monkey.

The more advanced monkey is actually next on my list of designs to film a video for, so keep and eye out for that one.

See you tomorrow.

Day 22: Gonna need a bigger boat

Tonight I was asked for a shark balloon and I wasn't too busy because it is the day before thanksgiving... So I threw together a new shark design. I haven't made a shark in a few months (just haven't been asked for one since the summer) so I worked out a quick and simple new shark design. Overall I'm happy with how it turned out.
See you tomorrow.

Mobile test

I'm checking to see how well the mobile post program works for blogger. If this works out I'll be able to update right from my phone while I'm on the road.


(It worked! The formatting isn't perfect, but at least I can get the images and text to show up on the blog from my phone. I'll fiddle around with the settings as I go to try and get it all straightened out.)

Day 21: Lady Bug

The Lady bug is very similar in design to the turtle. The head and legs are made the same, there is just a modification to the shell that makes it into two separate wing segments instead of a single bubble for a shell.
I also add some 160Q balloons as antenna.

Here is a picture of a happy recipient of a Lady Bug, and then a close up picture of the balloon.

It's a simple and cute design.

And with that I am all caught up.

Sorry again for the delay. I wish that I wasn't at the whim of my internet provider.
If I could figure out a way to do this all from my phone, I would... I'll have to look into if there is a blogger app.

Anyway... Thanks for coming by.

See you tomorrow.

Day 20: Little Turtle

Here is a rather simple turtle design I do. It can be made very quickly, and is always a hit with the crowds. He's a cute lil' guy, and can easily be made into a bracelet.

The turtle in the picture was made using a 350Q balloon, but the design is exactly the same is with a 250.

Here is my instructional video for making this simple turtle design.

One more update to go to get all caught up.

Day 19: I know I'm late again.

Many of you may not be aware of the horrible service that Time Warner Cable delivers to it's customers.
It is not uncommon for my internet to go down for hours or days at a time for no reason at all, and when I call customer service to complain the only advise the can offer is that I should restart my router.

I apologize that I am a couple days behind. I have not had working internet at my house. My TV was working fine, and that is all part of the same package, so It seems that TWC is simply unable to provide the services that I pay them for.

Today I am posting from Campus, since it is the only place I can seem to get reliable internet.

Anyway... enough griping about stuff I can't change.

Here is a simply butterfly I made for a nice family last night at a kids night.

I usually like to squeeze the wings into shape to make them more butterfly like, but I forgot for this one.

See you in a couple min, because I'm doing 3 updates in a row today.

Day 18: Scorpion

Here is a basic balloon scorpion I made for a little boy at one of my weekly kids nights.

The shape can be easily modified to become a lobster, hermit crab, or other things with claws.

The picture doesn't really do it justice, and I was having trouble finding an angle that showed off the claws.

Here is the instructional video for how to make this balloon animal.

Today I sat down and transfered all the videos I had on my Youtube page over to the iTunes podcast.

They should show up when the servers refresh.

More videos are in the works for both Youtube and the iTunes podcast.

You can find my Youtube page by clicking on the video above.

You can find the podcast by searching for "Balloonatic" in your iTunes store.

See you tomorrow.

Day 17: Stingray

(Insert Crocodile Hunter joke here)


Had two sisters ask for stingrays to match the stuffed animals that they carried with them.
I hadn't been asked for a stingray in a few years, so I threw one together.
I think they turned out just fine.

See you tomorrow.

Day 16: Under the sea

I was asked for a Squidword last night... But it was at a kids night that was rather busy.
Here is the quick version of Spongebobs friend I threw together for one of my tables.
I know it's not perfect, but I was working against the clock.

See you tomorrow.