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.

Day 15: Mouse

Here is an intermediate level mouse design. I like this guy because he's got some character, and can be easily modified to be another animal. This can be a squirrel if you give it a different tail, or any number of other rodents with some simple modifications.

See you tomorrow.

Day 14: Zompocolypse

Day 14!
It's been two weeks of updates so far. This is good for me. Perhaps the daily update idea is working for me.
I know there have been a few late posts, but I'm doing my best to keep up with the challenge I set for myself.


Those of you that know me are well aware of my unhealthy obsession and irrational fear of Zombies.
Zombies are really the only monsters that scare me. I'm not bothered by many things actually, but for some reason a idea of a shambling corpse that wants to eat me alive really wigs me out.
Go figure.

I had the pleasure of doing some decorations right before Halloween for the North East Ohio Witches Ball.
The group was great, their event was a blast, and I was happy to help them with the decor.

Here is one of the pieces I built for them. They had a little cemetery built in one of the corners of the ballroom so I built them some fresh graves with zombie hands sticking out.

I confess that the design is not an original idea. I saw a picture of the same concept done by another very talented twister at some point and made a note to sit down and try it some day. I made mine smaller also, his was from 350's.

See you tomorrow.


(edit: I'm told that the twister that inspired this design goes by Stretch the Balloon Dude. I'm always happy to give credit where credit is due. If anyone reading this is in Stretch's area, check him out. He's great.)

Day 13: You want who now?

I'm sure many of you have encountered requests along these lines.
"Can you make Spongebob?"
"Can you make me an Optimus Prime?"
"Can you make a Batman?"

Once you get to the level when people are genuinely amazed by the quality of your work... To the point where they begin to realize that this can actually be an art form instead of just a way to distract their kids... That's when the hard requests start coming up a lot more often.

Not a gig goes by where I don't have to deal with the more complicated request. Sometimes you just don't have the time to make these characters because they simply take far to long to build.

Tonight I had one of my weekly kids nights, and it was a little slower than normal. Construction in the parking lot this week meant that I didn't have as many people coming in, and I was able to take my time with each table.

I respect the parents wishes that I not have any pictures of their kids posted on the site... so here is a picture of basically the same design I made tonight from a birthday party I did a few weeks back. There are a few minor differences, but they looked very much the same.

Sometimes it is nice to be able to take the time to stretch the creative muscles.

See you tomorrow.

Day 12: RAWR!

So, the dinosaurs went extinct millions of years ago... but not for kids.
When I was a little kid I loved dinosaurs, and that hasn't changed for kids these days either.
Nearly every restaurant kids night or birthday party I do I get a request for one type of dinosaur or another.
Here is my design for a rather simple T-Rex.
The T-Rex and the Brontosaurus are the two that I get asked for the most. This is a very basic design that can be whipped up in about a minuet and has always gotten a great response for me. I'm posting the basic design today, so I can hold onto the more advanced design for latter in the year if I need it.

See you tomorrow

Day 11: Stupid Internet

My internet was down again yesterday, so this post is a day late.

I apologize for that, I've complained to Time Warner a few times of the last couple weeks, and they don't seem to want to do anything about it.

Enough of my whining, here is something for you loyal readers.

An intermediate level balloon gun. It is similar to a revolver in appearance.

I confess that the original idea is not mine. I saw an image of this type of gun on a japonese website and decided I had to sit down a figure out how to make it.

Here is the original image that inspired me to make the video.

Here is the video of how to make my version of the gun.

Hope you liked it, and I'll see you tomorrow.

Day 10: Go Dora Go!

I now that isn't right, but I couldn't think of a good title.

Here are some pictures of the Dora and Diago balloons I made as a special order for a birthday party.
They are basically larger versions of my balloon character.
I had fun building backpack also.

See you tomorrow.

Day9: Make me a balloon! Hop to it!

I have tried 3 times to upload the instructional video for how to make this fun little balloon frog... for some reason Youtube is giving me trouble.
I will keep trying, or perhaps I will give uploading the video to the podcast a try.
If you have iTunes, and are interested in balloon twisting videos already formatted for your iPod so you can have them when you might need them, then do a search for "Balloonatic podcast" in the iTunes store and you'll find the content that I've uploaded so far.

This is a very basic balloon frog, it's not the most detailed design I use, but it's quick and has a lot of character for a simple request.

See you tomorrow.

Day 8: Add some character

Here is my bunny. It's a little more advanced than the basic rabbit.
The thing I like the most about this lil' guy is that he has a lot of character.
This is something that you can do to nearly any other balloon design.
In the future you will see pictures of my more advanced dogs, cows, monkeys, etc...
I recommend that every twister look into  their own version of a more anthropomorphic versions of some of their animals. These characters can easily take the place of the balloon person that I posted about earlier in the week. The can be used to help draw attention to something for you or your client,  or simply a great way to show that you are a talented balloon twister. Not everyone can do what you do.

I think that I will certainly be adding the bunny to the list of designs to make a video for.. Please let me know if you have any other designs you'd like to see.


The new videos for the podcast and for youtube should be going up in the next few days.
I hope that you all will check them out and let me know what you think.
As always, please rate the videos if you like them, share them with your friends if you think they would like them also, and subscribe to the videos both on Youtube and iTunes. Subscribing helps me gather important data to help me figure out what kind of content my viewers are looking for.

See you tomorrow.

Day 7: I know, I know... I'm late

The internet was down at my house yesterday, so I'm posting day 7 a little late.
There will still be a Day 8 post later on today as well.

At my Monday night Kids Night, the restaurant has a bar off to the side.

I thought I'd make something for display over there, and the bartender on duty was very excited with my gift.

Hope you dig it.

See you tomorrow.

Day 6: It's a bird! It's a Plane! It's... a Helicopter

I made this large balloon helicopter for a little boy who was turning 4 last year. His father flew a helicopter, so understandably this kid was crazy about them.
The mom had requested that I make a helicopter cockpit large enough that her son could pose in it for pictures. I took it a step further and built the whole things big enough that he could run around in it and pretend he was flying it.
The mother told me that 2 weeks later it was still the only toy he was playing with from his party, nothing else had even been taken out of the package yet.
The helicopter was roughly 5 feet long by 4 feet tall. I had to build it in 3 separate parts so I could transport it to the party in my car and then assemble it there before the show.

I had to see if I could fit in the thing myself...I have to admit it was pretty cool.

That was a fun build.

See you tomorrow.

Day 5: I got you something.

You know how nice it makes you feel when someone gives you flowers? Or how it helps you get out of trouble when you give someone flowers?

Here is my design for a rather simple balloon flower, it's made using 3 balloons, and the creation of the stem almost always gets a great reaction.

Also, it just so happens that I have a video on the Youtube page that explains how to make this flower... I hope you'll check it out.

This video will probably be ending up in the Baloonatic Podcast sometime soon as well.

Thanks for stopping by... See you tomorrow.

Day 4: There is SNOW on the freaking ground!

don't know how those of you that live outside of Ohio are doing, but there is freaking snow here.

Ohio is a state where you can experience all 4 seasons in a single day, or have high 70 degree weather one day and snow on the ground the next morning.

I thought I'd get into the season and post something from a cold climate today.

BALLOON PENGUIN!

I'm sure that more cold weather designs will be showing up as we get closer to Christmas, but for now I hope you like my version of the balloon penguin.

I'm also including a link to the youtube video I've done for how to make this penguin.

See you tomorrow.

Day 3: You did what?!

Some of you may have seen the emails, or had a picture shown to you by a friend or co-worker.
Balloon fashion shows are growing more and more popular in Asia and Europe, and it's beginning to hit the shores of the good ol' U.S. of A.

I have been making some great balloons dresses for clients in the area and I thought I would show one off.
This dress was made as a piece for a charity fashion show to benefit a local school districts special education program.

It is not the most elaborate dress I've done, but I wanted to showcase it because it helped to grab attention for the cause it was made for.

This is a simple cocktail dress with a hat, clutch purse, and bracelet all made from balloons.

  (Here is a link to the facebook album that has some pictures of the building process.)http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2003863&id=1279062722

I have since had the pleasure to offer my dress building services for some weddings and prom dresses.

Day 2: Who let this guy have a Youtube page?

I almost missed out on posting on my second day... that would not be a good start.

Today I thought I should also bring attention to the fact that there are some videos that I have made to teach some balloon designs.

There are around a dozen or so videos on Youtube at the time of this posting that I have filmed for the masses.

These videos range from the basic twists to how to make a wearable balloon jet-pack.

As a matter of fact, the balloon jet-pack video is the one I used as the test video for launching my podcast.

That's right! Not only has some fool let me post videos on Youtube... Those people over at iTunes are letting me have my own podcast as well.

Here is a link to this now famous Balloon Jet-Pack video...

Also, for those of you that have iTunes and are interested in subscribing to my new podcast... Just do a search in the iTunes store for "Balloonatic" and I will show up under podcasts.

I plan on transferring over the videos that I've put on Youtube, and will begin shooting new content for the podcast.

Day 1: Where to begin?

I wasn't sure what the first balloon design I should post should be... There are so many to choose from.

The basic balloon dog seemed like a good choice, but I didn't want to start this off with such a simple design.

I chose for my first post to be the balloon character that I make. I admit that it is not entirely my design, I've drawn some aspects from other twister and made it my own.

I like these little figures because they are very easy to pose in different ways, they can be made to hold onto items or to hold up flyers or business cards for display.

Here is one I made for a local rotary group to help draw attention to the fact that they were selling raffle tickets.

A new beginning!

I'm giving this blogging thing another try, and this time I have a theme that will help to keep me coming back every day. 

I am going to challenge myself here on the blog... to post a new balloon design every day for the next 365 days.

That's right, I'm going to try for 1 full year of balloons. I am going to start right away, because if I wait till the new year this might get pushed aside by some other projects I have in the works.

I will start with some basics, and around the holidays I'll probably post images of sculptures that have to do with that time of year.

I will need the help of my readers also. Help to drive people that may be interested in this project to my blog. I also plan to launch a podcast in the few weeks to go along with the balloon building.

Information will be posted here about the podcast, the instructional videos I'll be posting on youtube, and also developments in my area with my own entertaining.

Just as with my youtube videos, if anyone has any requests for a certain design to be posted or explained I will be happy to make and post an instructional video.

Tonight is one of my weekly kids nights, and I will begin snapping pictures of what I make so I can post them here.

The goal with this project is that it will cause me to go back and look at the designs I've been using, and hopefully help me build improved versions. I hope that this will help me and those that are interested in learning from me to improve the quality of the work we are presenting to the public.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you'll some back often.

Mot