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  1. From balloon-request@cvs.rochester.edu Sun Mar 26 20:22:16 1995
  2. Received: from swift.cvs.rochester.edu by mother.ent.rochester.edu with SMTP id AA15878
  3. (5.65/IDA-1.4.4 for /usr/local/lib/lists/balloon.archive); Sun, 26 Mar 1995 20:22:16 -0500
  4. Received: by cvs.rochester.edu (4.1/MAIN-MX-1.4.3.1)
  5. id AA23278; Sun, 26 Mar 95 20:06:11 EST
  6. Resent-Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 19:05:44 -0600
  7. Old-Return-Path: <mabg9646@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
  8. Date: Sun, 26 Mar 1995 19:05:44 -0600
  9. From: Mark Balzer <mabg9646@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
  10. Message-Id: <199503270105.AA03626@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu>
  11. To: balloon@cvs.rochester.edu
  12. Subject: Hello (balloon) world & FAQ update?
  13. Resent-Message-Id: <"dCrfp3.0.gh5.2-WTl"@swift.cvs.rochester.edu>
  14. Resent-From: balloon@cvs.rochester.edu
  15. X-Mailing-List: <balloon@cvs.rochester.edu> archive/latest/90
  16. X-Loop: balloon@cvs.rochester.edu
  17. Precedence: list
  18. Resent-Sender: balloon-request@cvs.rochester.edu
  19.  
  20.  
  21.  
  22. Hello Balloonatics!
  23.  
  24. I've just recently joined your mailing list. My name is Mark and
  25. when I'm not out making balloons or ballroom/latin/nite-club dancing,
  26. I'm a PhD student in mechanical engineering at the University of Illinois.
  27. I've been sculpting balloons for about 4 years now. In Fall of '90 I
  28. bought "One Balloon Zoo" at a local magic store, and then got hooked.
  29. I rarely run into any balloon artists where I am, so I have learned most
  30. everything from books. You could say that I am a student of Dewey's,
  31. because I got all his pamphlets and mastered all his fancy tricks and
  32. beautiful animals early on. I did a library search and got a bunch of
  33. books through inter-library loan to acquire more skills. I'm pretty
  34. advanced and can make many, many different animals (even a bunch of
  35. vegetables - you should see my balloon pumpkin!), though I enjoy making
  36. complex, realistic looking things the best. I've got a few animals of
  37. my own which I've never seen anyone else do, and they include a penguin
  38. that actually looks like a penguin, a pair of ballroom dancers, and the
  39. best looking fishes you have ever seen! I'll post them when I get the
  40. chance. Oh, and the Hardy book is very good too (Hello Marvin!).
  41. I am really glad that I found this list, because I have already
  42. learned so much from you guys. From your excellent descriptions and
  43. ascii art, I can now:
  44. -blow up balloons backwards (I found that if you pinch the balloon nipple
  45. between thumb and index finger, and also between ring and pinky fingers,
  46. then separate these pairs of pinched fingers, you can stretch the balloon
  47. a little when you put that first puff in without anyone really noticing -
  48. this helps with the initial inflation),
  49. -flash inflate - what an AWESOME method this is - thanks Jim!
  50. -make a fabulous choo-choo train (Larry - if you ear twist the very first
  51. bubble, then hold it in your hand for 30 sec while squeezing it flat, the
  52. heat and squeeze cause it to turn into a realistic looking "cow catcher"
  53. which is made better by a few radial lines drawn with a marker... and I
  54. draw a headlight too - like a pound sign (#) in a circle)
  55. -learned about T. Meyers Inc. - What an impressive catalog they have!
  56. -I've ordered Great Balloons by Merlin through inter-library loan (thanks
  57. for your review Larry),
  58. -plus many, many little tips.
  59. I have yet to print out/try some of the animals described in the
  60. archived messages, but I will soon as soon as I get some more ballooons.
  61.  
  62. Hey Larry - do you have a brother (an old neighbor of mine) in
  63. Glen Ridge, NJ?
  64.  
  65. Hey did any of you see the movie The Mask where the main character makes
  66. his balloon animals? If you haven't seen it, rent it on video and watch
  67. the balloon animal part in slow motion as his black balloon morphs into
  68. a Thompson submachine gun with 50 round drum magazine and a pistol grip
  69. forearm. Now that's a VERY cool trick!
  70. There is a Steve Martin movie where he makes balloon animals, but I
  71. can't remember which one (maybe more than one? I believe balloons played
  72. a big role in Steve Martin's early comedy acts.) If you know of any
  73. movies with balloon animals in them, please post them to the list and
  74. I'll add them to the FAQ.
  75.  
  76. Here's a litle story I want to share: I was making animals in a bar
  77. last month and I ran into this one fellow who looked like he did _way_ too
  78. many drugs in the '60's... well anyway, he was a balloon artist, and the
  79. guy was amazingly FAST!!!! He borrowed a purple and a clear balloon, made
  80. a purple baby (what Larry calls a meatball) and stuck it in the clear
  81. balloon, then made a dog out of the clear balloon, and a rather well
  82. endowed male dog from the rest of the purple balloon :-) Literally 45
  83. seconds after his first puff, this guy was holding up two animals and
  84. announced "Here's a pregnant dog... and here's the one that did it!"
  85. A bunch of friends and I are Sunday night regulars at this place,
  86. and I often make balloon animals for the band members to take home to
  87. their kids (on condition that they sing a song mentioning each
  88. animal/thing I make in return :-). Larry's train was a big hit with
  89. them, and in return they treated us to Johnny Cash's old hit "I hear
  90. that train a'commin', it's rolling 'round the bend..."
  91. Last week one of the band members gave me the best compliment ever
  92. when he told me of a conversation he had with his son in a mall where
  93. they saw a guy making balloons. When the dad asked his son if he wanted
  94. one, the son replied "No, those aren't anywhere near as good as the ones
  95. you bring home." It just made me feel warm and fuzzy all over :-) :-)
  96. I really enjoy doing requests for people, and often bring my balloons
  97. with me when I have to go to social gatherings where I don't know many
  98. people - they are a real ice breaker - everyone's your friend if you can
  99. make balloon animals :-) :-)
  100.  
  101. Well anyway, I downloaded all the past messages, and in the course of
  102. several nights I read through them all, deleting the chaff, uh, I mean
  103. talc, and keeping the er, uh, latex... so to say. So I ended up with
  104. this 250k file and felt bad that I learned all this neat stuff without
  105. giving anything in return... so I did a little cut and paste work and
  106. updated your FAQ for you. It still needs some work, but it's a start.
  107. Hope you guys can use it. I'll be talking to ya soon!
  108.  
  109.  
  110. Mark
  111.  
  112. Oh, wait - I do have one request - How are those T. Meyers workshops?
  113. When and where and how much $ are they? Is there a schedule? Any near IL?
  114.  
  115. Also, please post any good and bad review of balloon books/pamphlets that
  116. you may have. The T. Meyers catalog lists so many... and I'm just a poor
  117. student!
  118.  
  119.  
  120. ****************************UPDATED FAQ 3/26/95**************************
  121.  
  122.  
  123. This document provides general information about the balloon sculpting
  124. mailing list, along with some frequently asked questions about the list.
  125.  
  126. This is an unmoderated list. Anyone is welcome to join. At the current
  127. time this is a rather small list. Due to the small number of people on
  128. the list, it is not unusual for it to be quiet for long periods of time.
  129. Please, don't let that stop you from asking questions or bringing up
  130. ideas when you first join the list. The list consists of people at many
  131. levels, so there is likely to be someone that can answer your questions
  132. or benefit from your suggestions. You may wish to introduce yourself to
  133. the list to let us all know what level you're at and any other
  134. interesting facts there are to know about you.
  135.  
  136. This introduction is not in any way complete. I used to say that I
  137. planned on finishing it some time, but the fact is that maintaining this
  138. document properly would be an ongoing task that I really don't have the
  139. time for. (When I have free time I'd rather draw up pictures of new
  140. balloon creations than work more on this document.) Stuff discussed in
  141. recent months has not made it in here. This should at least be enough to
  142. get you started and give you a feel for the list.
  143.  
  144. The following information was compiled mostly from old mail by Wayne
  145. Lampel (waynel@microsoft.com). Some additions and a few changes were
  146. made by Larry Moss (moss@cvs.rochester.edu). Updated by M. Balzer 3/26/95.
  147.  
  148. ****************************
  149.  
  150. General info about the list:
  151.  
  152. address for the list: balloon@cvs.rochester.edu
  153. address for questions/problems related to the list (including
  154. subscribing/unsubscribing): balloon-request@cvs.rochester.edu
  155. address for comments regarding this document should go to
  156. moss@cvs.rochester.edu.
  157. all mail to the list is archived and available for ftp on
  158. cvs.rochester.edu in pub/balloon.
  159. the archive is also available on WWW at:
  160. http://www.dcs.hull.ac.uk/Hull/dcs/people/bp/balloons.html
  161. and
  162. file://ent.rochester.edu/pub/balloon/balloon.html
  163. (the html page on ent.rochester.edu will be the one kept most
  164. up to date. This should go into effect soon.)
  165.  
  166. There will soon be a list of balloon sculptors on the net (and others,
  167. perhaps) with contact information that will be available from the above
  168. archive. Among other things this should allow you to locate other
  169. balloon sculptors in your area. while more pictures of balloon work are
  170. becoming avilable on teh archive, it's always easiest to share ideas when
  171. you can actually see someone making a sculpture. Collection of this
  172. information is not automated at this time, so if you'd like to be on this
  173. list send information about yourself to moss@cvs.rochester.edu. (Feel
  174. free to leave off anything that you dont' feel comfortable sharing. It
  175. woudl be nice if you would at least send your name so we can keep track
  176. of who's on the list, but even that's up to you.)
  177.  
  178. What we want:
  179. Full name, postal address, phone (day, evening, or both), e-mail
  180. address, URL (if you have one and know what it is), any other relevant
  181. information that will fit in a few short lines.
  182.  
  183. *****************************
  184. Buying balloons
  185. *****************************
  186.  
  187. WARNING!!!
  188. DO NOT GIVE BALLOONS TO YOUNG CHILDREN!!!
  189. CHILDREN MAY SUFFOCATE IF THEY SWALLOW THEM!!!
  190.  
  191. The most talked about source of balloons on this list in the U.S. is
  192.  
  193. T. Meyers Magic.
  194. 1509 Parker Bend
  195. Austin, Texas 78734
  196. (512) 263-9742
  197. (800) 648-6221 for orders
  198.  
  199. They seem to have just about the best prices and most complete collection
  200. of balloons and balloon related materials. They are also extremely
  201. helpful and nice people to deal with. If you have a serious interest in
  202. balloons, you will probably enjoy just being on their mailing list.
  203. If you don't have one of their catalogs, do yourself a favor and call
  204. them for a free catalog. It will probably come with a free copy
  205. of their news letter "True Inflations".
  206.  
  207. If you want to buy in wholesale quantities call
  208.  
  209. Pioneer Balloon
  210. 555 N. Woodlawn
  211. Wichita, Kansas
  212. 67208-3682
  213.  
  214. 316.685.2266 is their main number
  215. 800.999.5644 is the number to call to get a dealer referral.
  216.  
  217. They're the folks that make the best balloons around. They should be
  218. able to send you to a distributor in your area.
  219.  
  220.  
  221. In Europe:
  222.  
  223. Pioneer Ltd (0279) 501 090 ask for Debbie or Rozane and they will tell
  224. you the nearest distributor. Pioneer is situated at Bishop's Stortford
  225. near London.
  226.  
  227.  
  228. *****************************
  229. Books
  230. *****************************
  231.  
  232. As you might well imagine, there are many differing opinions on the many
  233. balloon books available. Here are a few blurbs posted by various people.
  234.  
  235.  
  236. Aaron Hsu-Flanders, Balloon Animals
  237. More Balloon Animals
  238. Balloon Cartoons
  239. Balloon Hats & Accessories
  240. These books are full of pictures for every bubble and bend that needs
  241. to be made to create some really nice looking balloon sculptures.
  242. I have seen many books on balloon animals and I think these are the
  243. best so far.
  244.  
  245. Aaron Hsu-Flanders, Balloon Animals
  246. More Balloon Animals
  247. Balloon Cartoons
  248. Balloon Hats & Accessories
  249. Each sculpture seems to build on previous sculptures. So why
  250. does he feel it's necessary to show detailed pictures of every
  251. step of every figure? While a lot of the material is good and
  252. helpful, it seems that a lot of pages are filled with duplicated
  253. information. If you strip out a lot of the repeated stuff you
  254. jsut end up with another pamphlet sized book. Now, that said,
  255. there is good stuff in them, so I really shouldnt' be putting
  256. them down, I just wish he had cut out some of the unneeded stuff
  257. and put all the material in his various books together into a
  258. real nice collection. My personal peeve with him is his dinosaur
  259. on p63 of More Balloon Animals. It needs an ear twist at the base
  260. of the tail to properly orient the tail, but instead of using one,
  261. sneaky Aaron holds the animal in a special way which orients the
  262. tail for the picture, realizing that it will never look that way
  263. without his hand there. Nevertheless, there are some good tricks
  264. to be learned from this series which can be found at most libraries
  265. and book stores.
  266.  
  267. Don Burda, Homer's Rubber Bubbles
  268. This book contains pretty good descriptions of some of the basic
  269. sculptures. It contains 86 pages with about 45 sculptures. There
  270. are several drawings for each figure in various stages of completion.
  271.  
  272. Marvin Hardy, Balloon Magic, 1987 The book is about $14. It's almost 200
  273. pages of instructions and photographs. It covers a very large
  274. variety of sculptures (65 figures total) from the basic four-
  275. legged animal to more advanced things like a motorcycle with a
  276. kickstand. I find photographs of balloons harder to follow than
  277. drawings, but I know many people prefer it the other way.
  278. Anyway, if you're looking for a general collection of 1-balloon
  279. animals, I suggest getting a look at this book. Many of the
  280. things in it are fairly standard, but I found enough ideas in it
  281. that were new to me to justify buying it. The only real problem
  282. I have with it is that it's hard bound. It certainly makes the
  283. book stronger and likely to last longer, but I think I'd prefer a
  284. spiral binding so I could leave the book open as I learn
  285. something new.
  286.  
  287.  
  288. Ralph Dewey, lots of titles His books are really only pamphlets and
  289. rather expensive for their size, but he has some of the most
  290. creative sculptures I've ever seen. If you can afford a few of
  291. them, they're rea worth having. What I said about Aaron
  292. Hsu-Flanders holds here too. I wish Dewey would put together a
  293. large collection of all his stuff. I have a few of his books
  294. already, but I'd buy a large collection of his stuff in an
  295. instant if it became available.
  296.  
  297. The books I highly recommend ( available from T. Meyers) are:
  298. Cartoon Balloon #1,2,&3 by Capt. Visual.
  299. Awesome Balloons By Flash, by Ken Stillman.
  300. These are not for mass ballooning. They are GREAT for the birthday child, or
  301. for restaurant work - they are major tip getters. These books have the little
  302. mermaid, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird, Roger Rabbit, Pluto, Opus, The Blue Genie,
  303. etc. Once you learn these forms you can take off on your own and create the
  304. coyote, roadrunner, awesome reindeer, Odie, Clifford, etc.
  305.  
  306. Great Balloons - The Complete Book of Balloon Sculpting
  307. written by Jean Merlin
  308. published by Kaufman and Greenberg
  309. written in 1986, revised in 1993, translated to English in 1994
  310. Full size, hard cover, perfect bound, 120 pages
  311. about $35
  312.  
  313. Aside from having no page numbers, which makes it slightly
  314. challenging to find the stuff in the rather complete table of contents,
  315. _Great_Balloons_ is actually the best book on balloon sculpting I've seen.
  316. Before now, most of the books available on balloon modeling were only
  317. slightly larger than pamphlets, contained shoddy drawings, and per useful
  318. bit of information, were far more expensive than this one. There is very
  319. little text throughout the book. The reader is expected to follow a
  320. series of numbered pictures. Some pages contain multiple models. It
  321. wasn't always obvious when glancing back at one of these pages which step
  322. 3 I should be looking at. This was never more than a momentary problem,
  323. The pictures are clear and, based on what I've done so far, fairly
  324. accurate. The book starts with the
  325. simple stuff that everyone learns to do in the beginning, but quickly
  326. progresses to stuff that I imagine would only be of interest to
  327. experienced sculptors. Most balloon sculptors are perfectly happy with
  328. simple creations. Merlin tends toward realistic looking figures. He
  329. says that he doesn't care what it takes to make an animal look
  330. realistic. He'll draw on them or use stickers to create faces. He'll
  331. use the proper colors whenever possible, and he'll use as many balloons
  332. as he feels necessary.
  333. What little text exists is written with a magician in mind, with a tone
  334. that almost says, "no one twists balloons without intending to use them as
  335. a selling point in an act, so here's how to do it." The hobbiest isn't
  336. even considered. With that in mind, if you are a performer you're likely
  337. to get more out of it than a non performer. I thought one of the best
  338. sections in the book was the discussion of using multiple balloons of
  339. different sizes and shapes to create things that can be seen on stage and
  340. yet simple enough to not bore an audience while the twisting is done.
  341. I counted 83 figures in the book. Most are based on a few basic categories
  342. of animals, ie the dog and related figures, the basic bird and figures
  343. related to that. Thankfully, when a sculpture is only a few steps off
  344. from one that was already described, the instructions refer to the
  345. earlier pages. There are quite a few variations on basic shapes that I
  346. had never seen or thought of before. I found the selection of things
  347. placed in the book to be very good.
  348. In addition to examples of balloon modeling, the book offers some advice
  349. on storing balloons, safety, tying knots, the use of varying colors while
  350. sculpting, and even building foot switches to control your sound system.
  351. I thought some of that would have been better left out, most notably the
  352. section on using colors. He states as fact that certain colors will
  353. break when making certain figures. I've found the manufacturer of the
  354. balloons to be a much more important thing to consider than the color of
  355. the balloon.
  356. Overall, I highly recommend the book to serious balloon twisters. But if
  357. you're just getting started or you like just fooling around with balloons
  358. occasionally this probably isn't the book for you.
  359.  
  360. Jimmy Davis - One Balloon Zoo, 1966 - Basic animals presented with clear
  361. explanations and excellent pictures. A couple of pages of general advice
  362. and banter
  363.  
  364. George Schindler - Basic Balloon Sculpture, 1983 - Beginning instruction
  365. in simple animals - 2 good pages of face/eye/detail ideas for highlighting
  366. your animals with markers, nice balloon-fruit-in-a-basket idea. Bibliography.
  367.  
  368. Kay Watts, Balloon Sculpture.- This is a lousy book except for page 8 where
  369. they give 16 sets of eyes/faces for marking up your animals and a few lines
  370. to use when your balloon pops. Bibliography.
  371.  
  372. Bruce Fife - Dr. Dropo's Balloon Sculpturing for Beginners. Beginner book
  373. with hilarious text - Fun to read with nice illustrations and literally
  374. a joke every few paragraphs.
  375.  
  376. T. Meyers workshops are also great places to learn about balloon sculpting.
  377.  
  378.  
  379. *****************************
  380. Some sculptures in messages
  381. *****************************
  382. Title - (Author, Subject, Date, Time)
  383.  
  384. Airplane - (Larry Moss, airplane, 09/18/92, 14:43:45)
  385. Bat - (Larry Moss, bat, 10/05/92, 21:33:48)
  386. Bear - (James Batten, Re: Freezing balloons to preserve them, 02/04/92,
  387. 09:43:22)
  388. Bike - (Larry Moss, bike and car, 1/20/94 15:46:02)
  389. Bird in a gilded cage - (Larry Moss, Bird in a gilded cage (text),
  390. 01/08/93, 22:37:02)
  391. Brontosaurus - (Larry Moss, Re: Storage - and show, 3/7/94)
  392. Butterfly - (James Batten, the butterfly, 06/02/92, 09:09:17)
  393. Car - (Larry Moss, bike and car, 1/20/94 15:46:02)
  394. Christmas Tree - (Larry Moss, Trees and other holiday gooddies, 12/22/92
  395. 14:09:27)
  396. Christmas Tree - (Larry Moss, holiday sculptures (Christmas tree), 12/7/94
  397. 13:51:30)
  398. Daffy Duck - (Larry Moss, Daffy Duck 8/29/94 11:45:46)
  399. Dinosaur, T-rex - (Chris Pugmire, space man, 11/08/93, 15:53:00)
  400. Dreydel - (Larry Moss, Trees and other holiday gooddies, 12/22/92
  401. 14:09:27)
  402. Dreydel - (Larry Moss, dreydel 11/28/94 11:23:08)
  403. Flower, multi-balloon - (James Batten, the flower, 02/06/92, 13:59:32)
  404. Goofy - (Larry Moss, goofy, 04/29/92, 18:01:18)
  405. Groucho Marx - (Larry Moss, balloon caricatures, Groucho Marx and
  406. balloon news 2/5/94 )
  407. Hat, monkey - (James Batten, hats, 06/01/92, 11:41:50)
  408. Hat, parrot, shark - (Todd A Neufeld, Buffett Balloons 6/11/94 23:29:14)
  409. Kangaroo - (Larry Moss, kangaroo, 02/06/92, 18:37:28)
  410. Lady Bug Bracelet - (Raymond Bowers, Introduction, 9/15/94 14:46:00)
  411. Lion - (Aaron Fasel, Re: Baby Simba Balloon11/1/94 12:45:38)
  412. Motorcycle - (Larry Moss, Re: Motorcycle Balloon - Help!, 9/27/93
  413. 17:46:09)
  414. Octopus - (Larry Moss, Juggling convention, ostrich, octopus, 07/27/92,
  415. 22:44:13)
  416. Ostrich - (Larry Moss, Juggling convention, ostrich, octopus, 07/27/92,
  417. 22:44:13)
  418. Power Ranger - (Clyde & Arlene Powers, Retry Power Ranger 1/30//95 23:10:04 )
  419. Rabbit - (Jim Batten, Re: caricatures 2/6/94 22:12:21 )
  420. Rabbit - (Steve Hattan, Sculptures, 4/25/94 16:27:02 )
  421. Reindeer - (Larry Moss, reindeer , 12/15/92, 22:27:52)
  422. Rhino - (Larry Moss, pins, rhinos, pops 10/2094 18:15:23)
  423. Santa - (Larry Moss, Santa, 12/15/92, 22:28:50)
  424. Scorpion - (Larry Moss, 9/7/94 15:38:20 )
  425. Snoopy on a motorcycle - (Larry Moss, Re: Motorcycle Balloon - Help!,
  426. 09/27/93, 17:46:09)
  427. Snowman - (James Batten, snowman, 06/09/92, 11:31:24)
  428. Spaceman - (Chris Pugmire, space man, 11/08/93, 15:53:00)
  429. Spaceman, additional info - (Larry Moss, Re: space man., 11/08/93, 17:04:00)
  430. Starship Enterprise - (Larry Moss, enterprise and triceratops,
  431. 02/13/92, 16:24:50)
  432. Stegasaurus - (Larry Moss, Re: Storage - and show, 3/7/94)
  433. Sword - (James Batten, Re: Freezing balloons to preserve them,
  434. 02/04/92, 09:43:22)
  435. Tiger - (Jim Batten, Re: busking, summer tip, seals, 6/11/94)
  436. Train - (Larry Moss, choo choo train, 05/17/92, 14:23:15)
  437. Triceratops - (Ian Osborne, Tricerotops, 1/17/95 22:19:52 )
  438. William Tell routine - (Larry Moss, NABA and routines again, 06/12/92,
  439. 22:29:24)
  440. Witch's hat - (Larry Moss, Re: Halloween Balloons, 10/03/92, 17:43:48)
  441. Woman with baby - (Chris Pugmire, space man, 11/08/93, 15:53:00)
  442. X-rated balloons - (J.J. Smith, adult models, 2/17/95)
  443.  
  444. *****************************
  445. Terms and Techniques
  446. *****************************
  447.  
  448. Balloon types
  449. -------------
  450. 130
  451. 250D
  452. 260Q
  453. 260A
  454. 260E
  455. 280D
  456. Q made by Qualatex.
  457. A-E made by Ashland? A's are the thinnest. E's the thickest.
  458.  
  459. Rather than describing each type of balloon, here's a quick explanation.
  460. Long skinny balloons are identified by a two part number. The first
  461. digit is the diameter of a fully inflated balloon (in inches). The next
  462. two digits refer to the lenght of the balloon fully inflated (also in
  463. inches). A 260 is two inches wide and 60 inches long when fully
  464. inflated. Well, this is what it should be, but in actuality you'll
  465. notice a large variation in this. Even within the same package you'll
  466. find that differnet colors inflate to different sizes. A letter
  467. usually follows the number on these balloons. It differs according to
  468. the manufacturer of the balloons. Some manufacturers use this as to
  469. describe how think the balloon is (as an indicator of strength and
  470. difficulty to blow up).
  471. 130' and 280's are available from T. Meyers. Tilly, makes both.
  472. There have been some differences of opinion on these:
  473. "Tilly 130 balloons: These are great! Teeny tiny little balloon animals!"
  474. "The 130's aren't the sort of balloon I expect to use a lot. They're not
  475. easy to blow up, but it can be done without pain."
  476. "I got some Tilly 130's this weekend. I REALLY like the 130s. I have not
  477. had any trouble blowing them up."
  478. "The Tilly are not Qualatex quality. You can feel the difference."
  479. "I like the "feel" of the Tilly rubber, too."
  480. Twisting them takes absolutely no effort. You can almost treat them
  481. as short pieces of rope. They're great for adding details to larger
  482. sculptures. Possibilities are blindfolds on ninja turtles, small flowers
  483. on hats, lassos in a cowboy's hand. I also like using them on costumes
  484. when I make them. Jewelery is a nice touch.
  485.  
  486. Heart
  487. These inflate into the shape of a heart. Very handy for some types of
  488. sculptures. Qualatex makes two sizes, but I dont' remember what they are.
  489.  
  490. Round
  491. Your standard "party" balloons. They are identified by a single number
  492. that refers to their diameter. I don't use these enough to know more
  493. about the different kinds.
  494.  
  495. GEO (donuts)
  496. Made by Qualatex. Inflate to look like donuts.
  497.  
  498. Spinner - <description here>
  499. Airship - <description here>
  500.  
  501. Bee Body
  502. These balloons are small and roundish with a narrow point on them that
  503. forms sort of a stinger.
  504.  
  505.  
  506. QUALATEX
  507. ========
  508. Most of us are probably familiar with Qualatex balloons. The company
  509. which makes them is Pioneer Balloon. It turns out that they do not
  510. sell to the public, nor to anyone who has less than about $1,000 to spend.
  511. Instead, they refer you to a qualified dealer. In addition to making
  512. and selling quality balloons, they have a support network for balloon
  513. designers. Alas, they mean caterers and those other round-balloon
  514. people.
  515.  
  516. Pioneer Balloon
  517. 555 N. Woodlawn
  518. Wichita, Kansas
  519. 67208-3682
  520.  
  521. 316.685.2266 is their main number, I believe
  522. 800.999.5644 is the number to call to get a dealer referral.
  523.  
  524. My Qualatex distributor would be Lippman Co. in Portland, OR. Their
  525. prices, per gross, are:
  526.  
  527. 260Q assorted colors $5.75
  528. 260Q one color only 5.75 <= no difference for all one color!
  529. 260Q jewel tone 6.25
  530.  
  531. No bulk discounts.
  532.  
  533.  
  534. TILLY
  535. =====
  536. Tilly balloons are the work of TILCO International, supposedly the
  537. oldest balloon company. They, also, don't really sell direct. Call
  538. for a distributor near you! My *distributor* is Windy Balloon Company,
  539. and they sent me a price list with the TILCO International name on it.
  540. The Tilco catalog is focused on round balloons, and it was
  541. only through careful inspection that I found some twisting balloons.
  542. They must make more than I found, because T.Meyers sells a wider
  543. variety than is shown in the Tilco catalog!
  544.  
  545. Windy Balloon Corp.
  546. 106 West Gardena Blvd
  547. Gardena, CA 90248
  548.  
  549. 800.421.1980 for orders
  550. 310.532.5328 Fax
  551.  
  552. Tilco prices, per gross:
  553.  
  554. 260T $5.50
  555. 360T 6.50
  556.  
  557. No mention of bulk discounts.
  558.  
  559.  
  560. SUPERIOR
  561. ========
  562. "Manufacturing Since 1957." The superior catalog actually has the
  563. twisty balloons prominently displayed! They also have magician's
  564. clear balloons for $6.07 a dozen. The "Knobby" balloon is a
  565. "Superior Specialty" - I don't know what it is, exactly, but it
  566. sounds like fun.
  567.  
  568. Superior Balloon Company
  569. 20923 John R. Road
  570. Hazel Park, MI 48030
  571.  
  572. 800.323.0405 Orders Only
  573. 810.543.2234 Phone
  574. 810.543.1593 Fax
  575.  
  576. These balloons come in an assortment, or your choice of nifty colors.
  577. Superior Prices, per gross:
  578.  
  579. 220S $2.65
  580. 260S 5.26
  581. 321S Bee Body 6.10
  582. 330S 5.50
  583. 340S Knobby 8.41
  584. 615S Doll (?) 5.61
  585.  
  586.  
  587. PRESTIGE
  588. ========
  589. Prestige Balloons are made by somebody or 'nother... the catalog I
  590. have has the name of the Windy Balloon Corporation. Prestige is
  591. a round-balloon company at heart. Their price list mentions only
  592. the lowly 260, and no others. The do have bulk discounts, though!
  593.  
  594. See TILLY, above, for the Windy information.
  595.  
  596. Prices per gross:
  597.  
  598. 260P @ 1 gross $5.76
  599. @ 9 gross? ("split case") 4.80
  600. @ 18 gross? ("full case") 4.00
  601.  
  602. They also have a new size that you
  603. may find interesting: 360s. If you like airships but don't find them
  604. long enough, these should do it for you. I talked to Jim at T. Meyers
  605. Magic when I ordered the stuff. He said he likes the Prestige balloons.
  606. For the last week or so I've been playing with Prestige balloons
  607. Here's the good news:
  608. --------------------
  609. They're slightly longer than 260Qs. This makes them great to use for
  610. hats. Recently I've been finding that the qualatex balloons haven't been
  611. long enough for some of what I want to do with them. I don't know if
  612. this is because of a change in the balloons or a change in what I'm
  613. doing. Whatever teh reason, I like the extra couple of inches I get with
  614. the 260Ps.
  615. They're more consistent throughout the package. All the qualatex
  616. packages I've had in recent months consisted of black balloons that were
  617. hard to blow up, clear balloons that were very thin and blew up thicker
  618. than the others, etc. Each color seemed to feel different to twist.
  619. That doesn't seem to be a problem with prestige.
  620. They inflate straighter.
  621. They sqeak a lot less.
  622. They're a bit cheaper.
  623. 360s are a great size that qualatex doesn't make. I haven't come up with
  624. anything that really needs to be made with a 360. But they're fun to
  625. work with.
  626. The bad news:
  627. ------------
  628. They're harder to blow up by mouth.
  629. The powder inside them clumps in the cold.
  630. I think I've been popping more of the prestiges when making complex stuff.
  631. Since I like the feel of them better I haven't decided if it's my fault or
  632. the balloons' fault that they're popping.
  633.  
  634.  
  635. T.Meyers
  636. ========
  637. T.Meyers has the best selection that I have found.
  638. T.Meyers sells balloons, balloon twisting books, and a smattering of
  639. magical props. They are your friends. They have a wide array of
  640. pumps and pump supplies, balloon aprons, some stickers, and so forth.
  641. Get their catalog, it is fun.
  642.  
  643. T.Meyers Magic Inc.
  644. 1509 Parker Bend
  645. Austin, TX 78734
  646.  
  647. 512.263.2375 for Information
  648. 800.648.6221 Orders only
  649.  
  650. Prices, from Price list #94, as of 8/1/94, per gross:
  651.  
  652. Qualatex
  653. --------
  654. 260Q @ 1g assorted colors $6.00
  655. @ 10g 5.40
  656. @ 48g 4.95
  657.  
  658. @ 1g single color $7.00
  659. @ 10g 6.30
  660. @ 48g 5.95
  661.  
  662. 321Q Bee Body @ 1g $6.25
  663. @10g 5.60
  664.  
  665. Prestige
  666. --------
  667. 260P @ 1g $5.90
  668. @ 10g 5.30
  669.  
  670. 360P @ 1g $8.50
  671. @ 10g 8.00
  672.  
  673. Tilly
  674. -----
  675. 320T @ 1g assorted colors $6.00
  676. @ 10g 5.40
  677.  
  678. @ 1g single color $6.00
  679. 5.40
  680.  
  681. 130T @ 1g $5.75
  682. @ 10g 6.25
  683.  
  684. 245T @ 1g $5.75
  685. @ 10g 5.25
  686.  
  687. 260T @ 1g $5.75
  688. @ 10g 5.25
  689.  
  690. 280T @ 1g $6.50
  691. @ 10g 6.00
  692.  
  693. 340T @ 1g $10.00
  694. @ 10g 9.00
  695.  
  696. 344T @ 1g $9.70
  697. @ 10g 8.75
  698.  
  699. Superior
  700. --------
  701. 312S @ 1g $3.50
  702. @ 10g 3.15
  703.  
  704. 315S @ 1g $4.50
  705. @ 10g 4.05
  706.  
  707. 330S @ 1g $7.25
  708. @ 10g 6.75
  709.  
  710. 418S @ 1g $6.25
  711. @ 10g 5.75
  712.  
  713. 524S @ 1g $9.70
  714. @ 10g 8.75
  715.  
  716. T.Meyers also has needle-through balloon balloons, yo-yo balloons
  717. (YoBalls), rocket balloons (great fun!), and flying saucer balloons.
  718.  
  719.  
  720. U.S. Balloon, in Brooklyn,NY
  721. =============================
  722. Their prices are good, but you need a tax id to buy from them.
  723. They only sell wholesale.
  724.  
  725. Prices of 260Qs from US Balloon:
  726. Asst $5.19 qty: 3gr
  727. $4.70 qty: 36gr
  728.  
  729. solid colors
  730. jewel $5.89 qty: 3gr
  731. $5.34 qty: 36gr
  732. other $5.19 qty: 3gr
  733. $4.70 qty: 36gr
  734.  
  735.  
  736. Chazpro Family Fun Shop
  737. =======================
  738. They sell mostly magic, but they do sell balloons too.
  739. They do mail order,
  740.  
  741. Chazpro
  742. 603 E. 13
  743. Eugene, OR 97402
  744.  
  745. 503.345.0032
  746.  
  747. Their prices, from memory, are:
  748.  
  749. 260Q @ 1g $5.75
  750. @ 10g 5.25
  751.  
  752. As far as I can tell, the only other company around that sells balloons
  753. worth looking into is Gayla. I was given a bunch of them to try out.
  754. The colors were great, the balloons weren't bad, and the price was better
  755. than Qualatex, but they still weren't as good as Qualatex. I actually
  756. would have given them another try but the folks I buy balloons from said
  757. they were having too many problems with them and stopped carrying them.
  758.  
  759.  
  760. Does stretching the balloon help?
  761. ---------------------------------
  762.  
  763. In my opinion, no. All that stretching them really does is weaken them
  764. in some areas. This is useful if you want to fill it a little
  765. differently, like with a bulge in the middle, but that's about it. The
  766. more they are stretched or weakened, the sooner they'll pop.
  767.  
  768. Blowing up a balloon
  769. --------------------
  770. There are balloon pumps that make this somewhat easier. If you're
  771. interest in balloon sculpting is just as a hobby, a pump can be a great
  772. asset, however I strongly urge anyone who plans to use balloons in an act
  773. to learn to blow them up with their mouths. It looks much more impressive
  774. than using a pump and means one less item to carry to shows. That
  775. doesn't mean that if you're twisting balloons for an audience you should
  776. avoid pumps. If you're inflating more than a few balloons a pump can be
  777. a very handy tool.
  778.  
  779. When you first get started you will probably be tempted to stretch the
  780. balloon. You may find that it helps some, but more likely, you'll just
  781. change the shape of the balloon and possibly weaken it enough to pop when
  782. you start twisting. The best way to fill the balloon is with one large
  783. breath without pausing. The fewer breaths it takes to inflate the
  784. balloon, the smoother the balloon will look and the easier it will be to
  785. work with. Unfortunately most people can't do that. Hold the nozzle of
  786. the balloon in your mouth and pinch the balloon about one inch away from
  787. the nozzle.
  788.  
  789. Blow into this small section of the balloon and try to form a bubble.
  790. While blowing, stretch the section of balloon you are holding a small
  791. amount. It's much easier to fill the rest of the balloon if you have a
  792. small bubble to get you started. After forming this small bubble, pinch
  793. the nozzle closed so no air comes out, and take a deep breath. Now, if
  794. possible, with one breath, fill the balloon. Use stomach muscles and not
  795. cheek muscles. Puffing up your cheeks and blowing from your head will
  796. only succeed in making you dizzy and possibly hurting your eyes and
  797. ears.
  798.  
  799. The idea is to blow through the small opening you form with your mouth
  800. around the balloon. One common mistake is to blow hard while letting the
  801. cheeks fill with air. Doing so will only build pressure in your mouth.
  802. Also, remember to breath through your nose. Blowing into the balloon
  803. isn't a good reason to forget about breathing, and hyperventilating isn't
  804. the best way to be reminded.
  805.  
  806. If you find that it hurts to blow up the balloon you are probably blowing
  807. too hard. Relax and blow a bit softer. If you really can't get the hang
  808. of it now, use a pump and try to blow it up with your mouth later. It
  809. isn't worth hurting yourself. The fun part is twisting anyway.
  810.  
  811. It does take some practice to get it down so you don't pass out.
  812. The most important point is that you push the air out of your lungs
  813. with your diaphragm, through your mouth and into the balloon. Your
  814. cheeks should never puff out; if they do, they will surely be sore!
  815. If you feel like you're blowing too hard, you are. Relax. It
  816. takes a lot less effort than you realize. Sometimes just blowing more
  817. gently is all it will take to fill the balloon.
  818.  
  819. Not blowing into the balloon is the most commond mistake, blowing
  820. very hard will tend to close the balloon opening and result in your
  821. cheeks exploding before the baloon goes up. It's learning how to
  822. focus your breath into the balloon that will suddenly make it easy.
  823.  
  824. A hint I found for blowing up balloons easier is to:
  825. 1. Pull on the balloon slightly
  826. 2. Start blowing, not too hard, but firmly
  827. 3. Slowly release the pull on the balloon - at some point a
  828. bubble will appear, and the rest is easy!
  829.  
  830. That said, the best way is to work up. If you can find some
  831. Ashland 2-60As, they're relatively easy to inflate. About
  832. 1/3 to 1/2 of the people who try can blow them up in their
  833. first session; most of the rest can master it the next day.
  834. Practice with them a while. You can blow good balloons and
  835. have fun, but they'll pop more easily than heavier balloons.
  836. Once you're comfortable with them (e.g., can blow them up
  837. in one breath), then try getting some Ashland 2-60Es or
  838. Quaalatex 2-60Qs. They're heavier and will take more abuse
  839. while twisting, but are harder to blow up.
  840.  
  841. If you blow them up by mouth, you earn a certain amount of respect from
  842. fellow adults when THEY try to inflate one.
  843. There is only one issue of concern for those who receive balloons from
  844. people who inflate the balloons by mouth and that is germs.
  845. While they are impressed that you can inflate the balloons, they also
  846. are not happy to see their child sucking on the balloon in the same
  847. place you just had you mouth! In fact I know of one balloon worker
  848. who was inflating by mouth and got sued. One kid who received an animal
  849. later came down with pneumonia.
  850.  
  851. Blowing up a balloon backwards
  852. ------------------------------
  853. (Filling it up at the tail (nipple) and ending at the nozzle.)
  854. This is useful for a sculpture like an elephant where you want a long thin
  855. trunk and a thin tail or if you're going to be making a lot of twists and
  856. you need room for the balloon to expand on each end. There are several
  857. ways you can do it.
  858. 1. Stretch the balloon as much as you can while inflating. That is hold
  859. the nipple of the balloon in an outstretched hand whiel blowing into the
  860. nozzle. This is sort of difficult to get the hang of and it's a lot
  861. harder to get air into the balloon.
  862. 2. Stretch only the nipple end of the balloon a little before inflating.
  863. By stretching one spot on teh balloon you're weakening it at that point.
  864. That spot will naturally get inflated first since the air will be
  865. stretching some latex that's already been stretched. Once a bubble is
  866. started it will continue to fill from that spot.
  867. 3. Wrap your fingers loosely around the balloon leaving only the tail
  868. free.
  869. A combination of 2 and 3 allows you to get the most control over how
  870. the balloon gets filled.
  871.  
  872.  
  873. The Flash Inflate method:
  874. -------------------------
  875. Last week while on a business trip I met up with a bunch of magicians for
  876. dinner and we all decided to make balloons for the waitress since it was her
  877. last night. I thought I saw someone blow a balloon real fast and asked him
  878. about it. He of course denied it, but knew of the technique. Seems it was
  879. developed in Japan since they don't like to stick things into their mouths.
  880. While trying to explain it to the rest of the group I attempted to demonstrate.
  881. ONE SMALL PUFF and the entire balloon was inflated. To say it was fast is a bad
  882. understatement.. It was as close to magic as ballooning can get. It was just
  883. there!
  884. One warning, this did hurt my cheeks the first few times when learning.
  885. I have a hard time controlling how much I inflate so I limit this to making
  886. monkeys and swords.
  887. Whatcha do is.. stretch the balloon REAL good, then litteraly use both hands
  888. to pull the mouth of the balloon open. It doesn't spread all that far, but
  889. you have to stretch it open as far as it will go. Now you have to pretend like
  890. you are going to play the trumpet (or blow a pea shooter), purse your lips and
  891. use the tip of your tongue to plug it. Build up pressure behind the tongue
  892. then snap the tongue back so the pressure can escape. (of course you have
  893. to be holding the mouth of the balloon to your mouth at this particular time)
  894. If it works you don't see the balloon inflate... it just IS inflated. It makes
  895. a neet wooshing sound.. adds to the over all effect.
  896. One gotcha I found is it only works on never before inflated balloons. I've
  897. tried inflating balloons, letting the air out and trying again just for practice
  898. but it just won't inflate properly the second time.
  899.  
  900. Balloon Pumps
  901. -------------
  902. Pumps allow you to keep talking while the balloons are being inflated.
  903.  
  904. The Qualatex AirInflator - $4 from T. Myers Magic. It fills a 260 in
  905. about 4-5 strokes, since it works on both the in & out motions. It is
  906. about 2.25" in diameter and about 13" long, so it is easy to carry and
  907. you can tuck under your arm or between my knees, or drop it to the ground
  908. if you need to while you twist. I am very happy with it.
  909. HOWEVER, it has a weak point where the "head" attatches to the
  910. "body". The head is removable from the pump shaft; it is held in by a
  911. few small tabs of plastic wheich broke after a few months of fairly
  912. light use. I used a large dose of Duco Plastic Weld and attatched it
  913. permamently, and it is holding up fine so far.
  914.  
  915. T. Myers Magic sells several different pumps starting from the little
  916. TINY blue squeeze pump (many, many squeezes needed), to the pumps which
  917. inflate on both push AND pull of handle, though it still takes a few strokes,
  918. (but is good if you are walking around) all the way up to their 'Pump 1'.
  919.  
  920. Euro Pump: For $6 I thought I'd give it a try. It's small, and easy
  921. to pack. It does appear to be built of tougher stuff than the other
  922. double-action pumps I've seen.
  923.  
  924. Pump O - this is what I use and I really like it. The materials used on
  925. this aren't as strong as Pump 1, but otherwise they should be about the
  926. same. If you've used the old version of this I can only say this is
  927. better. I got mine about a year ago. I think it was only a short time
  928. before that they improved it. A fair amount of my performing income is
  929. from balloons and I haven't found the need to upgrade to a "Rolls Royce"
  930. yet. $65.
  931.  
  932. Pump 1 - called "the Rolls Royce of balloon pumps" in the catalog. It's
  933. priced that way too. $138. It will probably last you the rest of your
  934. life and then some. Will fill a 280 in a single stroke. It's probably about
  935. 3 feet tall and 6 inches in diameter. Not a small thing to lug around.
  936. that inflates on either stroke, up or down, and will completely
  937. fill a 260 in less than one full stroke. Good if you are going to be
  938. stationary such as at a mall where you are set up to have people come
  939. to you. It is also large enough that you can pull the sections apart
  940. and stuff a large supply of balloons inside for compact travel.
  941.  
  942. The last one mentioned was the Pogo Pump, now called Pogo 2. Pogo 1 had
  943. to be discontinued due to problems getting parts. $60.
  944.  
  945. Compressed air
  946. --------------
  947. Get an old Electrolux cleaner, clean the guts out of it, place a funnel
  948. on the exhaust end of it and place the mouth of the balloon over the funnel.
  949. This will blow them up readily. Unfortunately, power is not available
  950. everywhere you perform. (but you can inflate the balloons before the show.)
  951. Also, a tank of compressed air with a regulator works great.
  952.  
  953. Helium
  954. ------
  955. Balloons and helium are not
  956. good bed partners, period. Helium is a tiny, monoatomic molecule.
  957. In a short space of time, through osmosis, the helium will leave the
  958. balloon and then the balloon will stop floating and go for ground zero.
  959. Depending on the thickness of the balloon all, this might last anywhere
  960. from 45 minutes or several hours. Mylar constructed balloons are more
  961. stable as far as remaining up in the air for a period of time. There
  962. is a liquid on the market that you can squirt into the balloon prior to
  963. inflating with Helium, and the balloon will last up to a week rather
  964. than the traditional 16 hours. Check with your local balloon delivery
  965. shop for what they are using, since there is more than one brand available.
  966.  
  967.  
  968. Is blowing baloons up damaging to your health?
  969. ----------------------------------------------
  970. I don't think it's a problem at all for the lungs, but it can be a problem
  971. for the eyes and ears if you're not careful. If you blow too hard (the
  972. most obvious sign is puffing up your cheeks) you build pressure inside
  973. your head. That pressure can do serious damage to your eyes and can at
  974. least cause temporary pain in your ears (I don't know how serious that
  975. can be for your ears). You also don't want to forget to breathe with
  976. your nose while blowing - the talc inside the balloons IS bad for you.
  977.  
  978. Balloon care
  979. ------------
  980. Does freezing the balloons really preserve them?
  981. It seems to have worked well for my balloons. Mine are > 5 years old,
  982. kept for almost all of that time in a freezer. They seem just fine.
  983. I do not thaw and refreeze them much though - that may make a lot of
  984. difference. They are also 260Es (double dipped) rather than 260As
  985. (single dipped), which might make a lot of difference, too.
  986.  
  987. A coat pocket seems likely to flex them a lot while they are cold.
  988. This is definitely bad for them.
  989. Ziplock bags are pretty good for storing balloons.
  990.  
  991. If you take a work apron ( the kind that only
  992. tie around the waist ) and double the bottom up you get a large pocket by
  993. sewing the edges up. You can also run a few extra rows of stitches on up to
  994. create extra pockets..
  995. I bought 2 canvas "nail" aprons at a hardware store $2 a piece and cut
  996. the straps off of one and sewed it on to the bottom of the other.
  997. Each apron came normally with two wide pockets. I sewed a new seam up the
  998. middle of each and got 8 pockets about 3 inches wide. I worked great.
  999. Stuffed each different color into a pocket. I had 10 colors but I found
  1000. that the colors were not evenly distributed in the bag (lot's of purples,
  1001. not many blacks) so I combined some balloons where it would be easy to
  1002. identify them (black with white, green with lt. blue).
  1003.  
  1004. History of Balloons
  1005. -------------------
  1006. There seems to be more information around about the history of
  1007. balloon sculpting than about the balloon itself. Balloon sculpting
  1008. has only been around for a few decades so there are still plenty of
  1009. people around that remember its evolution.
  1010.  
  1011. Here's the little bit that I do know. At least I consider it to be the
  1012. real evolution of the balloon. Some others may disagree since what we
  1013. currently think of as a balloon is the latex or mylar varieties and this
  1014. is, well, a bit different. You can find mention in fairly old books of
  1015. toys made out of water filled animal bladders. Bladders apparently expand
  1016. quite a bit (I haven't tried.) Unfortunately I can't give you names of
  1017. these books since that's about all I've been told by the various
  1018. librarians I talked to. I went looking for references like this, but
  1019. these weren't in history books and I have no idea where to start. As far
  1020. as more modern books, there is a reference to a ball of this type in one
  1021. of the Little House on the Prairie books. I think it was "Little House
  1022. in the Big Woods". It's near the beginning of it. If you really want to
  1023. do the research I suggest you look through literature written during the
  1024. Renaissance in Europe. An old issue of True Inflations said something
  1025. about latex balloons at, I believe, a worlds fair. Merlin has found
  1026. references indicating that balloon sculpting dates back at least as far
  1027. as the Aztecs.
  1028.  
  1029.  
  1030. Types of twists
  1031. ===============
  1032.  
  1033. Apple twist
  1034. -----------
  1035. This can be done with any balloon, but if you do it with a small, round
  1036. balloon you can actually form something that looks like an apple. This
  1037. can be great for a William Tell routine. I'll try to describe it on a
  1038. small balloon first. Blow up the balloon part way and tie it off. Push
  1039. the nozzle end into the balloon with one finger until it is inside the
  1040. tail of the balloon. With the other hand grab the tail far enough in to
  1041. grab the nozzle also and give it a few twists. this should stay on it's
  1042. own. You should now have something that basically forms the shape of an
  1043. apple with a stem sticking up.
  1044.  
  1045. This twist has a lot of uses aside from just making apples. In any long
  1046. thin balloon you can push the nozzle in and form a bubble with the nozzle
  1047. being further into the balloon than the twist. When you release this it
  1048. should stay in the balloon without any other locking twists.
  1049.  
  1050. Basic pinch and twist
  1051. ---------------------
  1052.  
  1053. forming an animal amounts to making bubbles of various sizes and then
  1054. twisting them together in different combinations. Forming a bubble is as
  1055. simple as pinching the balloon and twisting so that the pinched area
  1056. stays pinched without your fingers. Well, this is almost true. The
  1057. balloon will untwist unless some kind of locking twist is used to secure
  1058. it.
  1059. ______________ ____
  1060. -(______________)(____)
  1061. ^
  1062. |
  1063. pinch and twist
  1064.  
  1065. locking twists and the basic four-legged animal - If three bubbles are
  1066. made using the method described above, the second two can be twisted and
  1067. locked together. The hardest part of this is learning to use all of your
  1068. fingers to hold bubbles that you've made until they get "locked".
  1069. ______________ ____ ____ ____
  1070. --(______________)(____)(____)(____)=
  1071. 1 a 2 b 3 c
  1072.  
  1073. In the above picture, the numbers refer to the twists, the letters refer
  1074. to the bubbles. To secure all of these bubbles, fold the balloon at
  1075. twist 2 so that 'a' and 'b' sit alongside each other. Now form another
  1076. twist combining 1 and 2. This is already the basic head of an animal.
  1077. 'a' and 'b' are ears. 'c' is a nose.
  1078.  
  1079. This same process can be repeated two more times to complete a basic dog
  1080. (or whatever you wish to call it). That is, immediately below the head
  1081. make three more bubbles and twist the second two together. This forms a
  1082. neck and two legs. Now, the same way, form a body and two more legs.
  1083. All of the twists in the balloon look like the figure below.
  1084. ___ ___ ____ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
  1085. --()(___)(___)(____)(___)(___)()(___)(___)(___)=
  1086. tail leg leg body leg leg ^ ear ear nose
  1087. |
  1088. neck
  1089.  
  1090. ())__
  1091. \ ____ (__)
  1092. ()(____)()
  1093. ()) ())
  1094.  
  1095. Bird body
  1096. ---------
  1097. Any figure that has wings or arms needs those wings and arms to sit
  1098. alongside the body. To form this we will make three bubbles and do the
  1099. locking twist above, but make the second two significantly longer than
  1100. the first. This will be a head and wings. Make another bubble roughly
  1101. the same size as one of the wings and push only that bubble completely
  1102. through the wings.
  1103. ________ ______ ______ ______ _
  1104. --(________)(______)(______)(______)(_)=
  1105. 1 body 2 wing 3 wing 4
  1106.  
  1107. The wings should be twisted together. When the body gets pushed through
  1108. them, 1 and 4 will be locked together even though there is no twist
  1109. between them.
  1110. _
  1111. _(_)_
  1112. / ^ \
  1113. | w|b|w |
  1114. | i|o|i |
  1115. | n|d|n |
  1116. | g|y|g |
  1117. \__V__/
  1118. ^
  1119. | |
  1120.  
  1121. Curly tails
  1122. -----------
  1123. That's where you curl the balloon around your finger and then inflate
  1124. (or inflate again like I do cause it's hard work otherwise).
  1125.  
  1126. Ear twist
  1127. ---------
  1128. That is, take a bubble and twist the two ends of it together.
  1129.  
  1130. before: __ ____ __ after: ___
  1131. __)(____)(__ ( v ) <-- formed with single bubble
  1132. / ^ \
  1133.  
  1134. Or, described another way,
  1135.  
  1136. ( )( )( )( )-------
  1137. ^ ^
  1138. a b
  1139.  
  1140. form a bubble and then twist its own ends together. ie: points 'a' and 'b'
  1141. are twisted together 'folding' over the bubble inside. The size of the bubble
  1142. determines what the use is for.
  1143. Often, as when making a bear or cat, a one inch bubble is used, by having the
  1144. edge that looks like the ear canal poining forward on the head it looks like
  1145. a cat, pointing to the sides of the head it looks more like a bear. At least
  1146. that's what they say. I always make them point forward, it looks more charming
  1147. to me that way.
  1148.  
  1149. Meatball <is this the official name?>
  1150. --------
  1151. Otherwise known as "putting an object or bubble inside a balloon"
  1152.  
  1153. I call the bubble inside the balloon a meatball.
  1154. You can put an object inside the balloon the same way you put the bubble
  1155. in. Instead of twisting the bubble, just push the object you want to use
  1156. into the end of the balloon. Grab the object through the balloon as you
  1157. do with the meatball. Then break the object free inside and tie the new
  1158. end of the balloon. A bubble inside the balloon doesn't always roll very
  1159. well. The ball is heavy enough that it rolls through the whole pretzel
  1160. shaped balloon very easily. I also like leaving tips inside of balloon
  1161. figures when I'm in a restaurant.
  1162.  
  1163. I push it as deep as I can into the 260 and then rip off the top and
  1164. immediately grab the new 'nipple' and tie it. Sometimes it's really
  1165. hard to rip off the top and I am forced to use my teeth.
  1166.  
  1167. -----------------
  1168. \ --
  1169. most of balloon )(__) - small bubble
  1170. _________________/
  1171.  
  1172. push the small bubble into the big one with your index finger.
  1173.  
  1174. -----------------
  1175. -- __) ____________
  1176. (__)__<- (_________ \_______
  1177. _________________) (___ your hand
  1178. (___ ________
  1179. (____/
  1180.  
  1181. pinch here
  1182.  
  1183. |
  1184. V
  1185. ------------------
  1186. --xx __)__________
  1187. (__)x(___________
  1188. __________________)
  1189.  
  1190. ^
  1191. |
  1192. and here
  1193.  
  1194. Now there is a bubble and your finger inside the large bubble. There is
  1195. a second layer of latex around the small bubble. the outer layer is
  1196. still connected to the big bubble. with your free hand, pinch the big
  1197. bubble where the little one is inside of it and hold that bubble in place.
  1198. With the finger nail inside the balloon, break that outer layer. (The
  1199. outer layer to be broaken is marked by x's in the above picture).
  1200. Breaking it just takes a bit of practice. If you stretch the balloon
  1201. that you want to break, by working the bubble further inside the long
  1202. bubble with your other hand you should weaken it enough to help break it.
  1203.  
  1204. While still pinching the large bubble, work the little one free. Your
  1205. finger will still be inside of the balloon.
  1206.  
  1207. pinch here
  1208.  
  1209. |
  1210. V
  1211. ----------\
  1212. __ ----__________
  1213. (__) (___________
  1214. __________/---------
  1215.  
  1216. ^
  1217. |
  1218. and here
  1219.  
  1220. since you're pinching the balloon, air shouldn't escape while you get
  1221. your finger out. Now just tie the balloon from the end where your finger
  1222. came out of.
  1223.  
  1224. If you want to put a ball inside, it's the same thing, except that you
  1225. don't start with a small bubble. You would just insert the ball where
  1226. the small bubble was placed inside.
  1227.  
  1228. A hint for tearing off a meatball inside a balloon, which I
  1229. discovered by watching Richard Levine here in Eugene:
  1230. 1. Make the bubble
  1231. 2. Poke it deep into the balloon with one finger
  1232. 3. Pull that finger out fast - the balloon will often pop
  1233. due to friction, and the "meatball" is free!
  1234. 4. If (3) fails, tear the end off with a *fast* motion,
  1235. which is easier than slow.
  1236. 5. Failing (4)... use scissors. Latex makes crummy dental
  1237. floss!
  1238.  
  1239. A trick for making bubbles inside a balloon for peas in a pod/caterpillar
  1240. and also for making apple twists is to: *lick your finger* before pushing
  1241. the bubble in. This makes it MUCH easier to get your finger out without
  1242. pulling the bubble out, losing a lot of air, or whatever. Of course, you
  1243. can have as much fun with this as you like hamming it up.
  1244.  
  1245.  
  1246. Hook Twist
  1247. ----------
  1248. This is the "hook twist" that Dewey describes. He uses it for a lot of
  1249. neat animals: dogs, snakes, squirrels, frogs, etc. This twist is basically
  1250. a variation on the apple twist. Instead of pushing the nozzle into the
  1251. balloon only about an inch, push it in as far as you can reach with one
  1252. finger. If you bend the balloon a bit you can reach further along the
  1253. wall of the balloon. Now grab the nozzle through the wall of the balloon
  1254. and twist the way you would make an apple twist. Then carefully work
  1255. your finger out of the balloon. I use the thumb and middle finger of teh
  1256. same hand that has the index finger insdie the balloon. These two
  1257. fingers kind of push the sides of the bubble back a bit while I retract
  1258. my index finger. If you can do an apple twist you already know how to
  1259. take your finger out. It's just a bit harder now since there's more
  1260. finger inside the balloon. Practice making apple twists of increasing
  1261. size. I suppose a bit of powder on your finger couldn't hurt to reduce
  1262. friction, but I've never tried it. When you take your finger out of the
  1263. balloon, the bit of balloon inside the bubbel that goes from teh nozzle
  1264. to the end of the bubble will go straight from the twist to the end of
  1265. the bubble. If the bubble is bent (or hooked) as described above, that
  1266. inner piece of balloon will hold it in that position.
  1267.  
  1268. _ __
  1269. | V \
  1270. -------------\ /-------/ / B |
  1271. \ / ______ _/ |
  1272. )( A /
  1273. / \ /
  1274. -------------/ \-----------/
  1275.  
  1276. The line going from point A to B in the above picture should actually be
  1277. straight, but with ascii characters I don't see an easy way of showing
  1278. that. The key to getting that shape is really to get the nozzle further
  1279. into the balloon than your finger could reach if the balloon was kept
  1280. straight. I scrunch up the bubble to really reach in there far. Note
  1281. that no matter how far you reach in, the same length of balloon will be
  1282. inside since you're only putting inside the ballon what covers your
  1283. finger, so the further you can get the nozzle in, the greater the hook in
  1284. the bubble.
  1285.  
  1286.  
  1287. Pop twist
  1288. ---------
  1289. It is often desirable to get more limbs on an animal than there are ends
  1290. of the balloon. The basic dog works out ok, but legs need to be grouped
  1291. in twos. The pop twist will allow two legs or arms to be separated.
  1292. Twist two medium bubbles, three small bubbles, then another medium
  1293. bubble. Do a lock twist with the medium bubbles so nothing untwists.
  1294. __
  1295. ( ) <-
  1296. // \\ <- Three medium bubbles
  1297. (a) (b)
  1298. (c) <- 3 small bubbles
  1299.  
  1300. Ear twist bubbles a and b. Twist them about 5 times each (completely
  1301. around). Now pop c. The air should not come out of any of the other
  1302. bubbles.
  1303.  
  1304.  
  1305. Toes
  1306. ----
  1307. I'm not sure what anyone else calls this one so for now I'll call it a toe
  1308. twist since that's what I like using it for. Make an ear twist, with only
  1309. a little air in it. The softer the better. Twist the bubble in half
  1310. now to form two toes.
  1311.  
  1312. twist along this line
  1313. |
  1314. v
  1315. ___
  1316. ( v )
  1317. / ^ \
  1318.  
  1319. ^
  1320. |
  1321.  
  1322.  
  1323. ********************************
  1324. What to say when a balloon pops
  1325. ********************************
  1326.  
  1327.  
  1328. When a balloon goes BANG say
  1329. "May you rest in pieces!"
  1330. "I sure got a bang out of that!"
  1331. "That was a weasel. It went pop."
  1332. "I told you I was going to BLOW it up!"
  1333. "Sssh, don't tell anyone how I did that!"
  1334. "Sorry son, the dog was rabid, had to put it down" (from movie The Mask)
  1335. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that the Doctor puts him back together again."
  1336. Q - What do you call a balloon dinosaur with a hole in it?
  1337. A - extinct.
  1338. When I do shows I usually have a gun in my pocket... the kind with the
  1339. little flag that pops out that says "bang" on it. When a balloon pops
  1340. I grab the gun quickly and fire at it and say triumphantly, "got it".
  1341. Hold you hands to your chest saying, "He GOT me!"
  1342. I also snapped an empty balloon into my face as I was attempting to blow it
  1343. up. I would grab my nose and make a horrible face and a shocked face at
  1344. the same time. Always got a good laugh.
  1345. When blowing up the balloon, I would comment somewhere that "You have to be
  1346. careful with these things...they have a hole in one end!"
  1347. Which reminds me of another bit I have used.... The balloon inflated, and
  1348. held at the mouth end, and have everyone do the "lift-off" countdown.
  1349. Great laugh getter. I did this in our church service once and it worked
  1350. great. Everyone had been waiting to do that for years, and I was the one!!
  1351.  
  1352.  
  1353. *****************************
  1354. Notation
  1355. *****************************
  1356.  
  1357.  
  1358. Standard ascii methods for describing balloon creations.
  1359.  
  1360. First and foremost you must identify in words how much of the balloon
  1361. should be filled; i.e. Blow up the balloon leaving an X inch long
  1362. uninflated nipple.
  1363.  
  1364. *****************************
  1365.  
  1366. Legend for method 1:
  1367.  
  1368. () - One/half inch bubble (need we go smaller?)
  1369. (=) - One inch bubble
  1370. (=-) - One and one half inch bubble
  1371. (==) - Two inch bubble, etc. For long bubles, use (L=) where L is
  1372. the Length of the bubble in inches. ie. (30=) for a 30" bubble.
  1373. [] - Same as other bubbles, but bent in the middle
  1374. xn - Twist connection (where n = the number of the connection)
  1375. O - Pop bubble
  1376. (@) - Apple twist
  1377. (!) - Pop twist
  1378.  
  1379. If I designed it right, this should be the classic dog with a 1 1/2 inch
  1380. nose, 2 ears bent in the middle, and connected to the back of the nose.
  1381. A 1 inch neck follows, then two more one inch bent legs connected to the
  1382. neck. 3 inches of middle and two 1 inch bent legs connected to the middle
  1383. followed by a 2 inch tail.
  1384.  
  1385. (=-)x1[=]x1[=]x1(=)x2[=]x2[=]x2(===)x3[=]x3[=]x3(==)
  1386.  
  1387. a pop-twist used to generate two legs & paws:
  1388.  
  1389. ... (==)x1[=]x1(=)!x2[=]x2(==) ...
  1390.  
  1391.  
  1392. a tulip becomes: (==)@
  1393.  
  1394.  
  1395. If more than one balloon is used we can group the twists in a
  1396. single balloon with '{' and '}'. We can still use xN to designate twists
  1397. as long as N continues to increment with twists in teh new balloons.
  1398. Taht way a previous xN can be used to show where the new balloon gets
  1399. connected.
  1400.  
  1401. this would be two balloons twisted together:
  1402. {(===)x1(===)}{(===)x1(===)}
  1403.  
  1404. *****************************
  1405.  
  1406. Legend for method 2:
  1407.  
  1408. (x) - x inch long bubble
  1409. (xA) - apple twist
  1410. (xET) - ear-twist
  1411. (*) - pop-twist
  1412. (xAL) - for arm loop as in a standing bear... would also serve
  1413. as a leg loop.. the two are the same, and are nothing more than LARGE
  1414. ear twists any way.
  1415.  
  1416. (.5),( 1 ),( 1.5 ),( 2 ), etc for the different sizes.. [spaces are
  1417. optional within the paren's, but might give a better sense of size].
  1418.  
  1419. the X's and numbers I found to be confusing between the bubbles. Not all
  1420. bubble ends are twisted around one another. the paws of the basic dog for
  1421. example are just the two ends of bubbles, no locking twists. So, how about
  1422. a captital letter at each point thats to be locked together. the basic
  1423. dog now looks like.
  1424.  
  1425. ( 1.5 )A( 1 )A( 1 )A(.5)B( 2 )( 2 )B( 3 )C( 2 )( 2 )C( tail )
  1426.  
  1427. or.. (1.5)A(1)A(1)A(.5)B(2)(2)B(3)C(2)(2)C(tail)
  1428.  
  1429. Special bubbles could have abreviations for them.. ie: ear-twist is ET..
  1430. a half inch eartwist could be (.5ET) If you want to pop the bubble between
  1431. two ear-twists us *.. size doesn't matter for this, but you have to realize
  1432. that each ear-twist must be twisted around 5 or 6 times before pop the center
  1433. bubble... notation.. (.5ET)(*)(.5ET)
  1434.  
  1435. A bubble made by pushing the finger in, then twisting
  1436. off is the apple twist.. its what I use to make the nose for a bunny.
  1437. So (1A) for one inch apple.
  1438.  
  1439. The bird body.... It's three balloons, with one pushed through.
  1440.  
  1441. (1)A( 2 )B( 2 )A( 2 )B( rest of the balloon)
  1442.  
  1443. Now the bunny head.
  1444.  
  1445. (1A)A(1.5)B(1.5)A(1.5P)B(2)B(2)B(1)A(off to the legs)
  1446. nose |head with cheeks| ears |neck| rest of the bunny
  1447.  
  1448. Please note, the nose is a (1A) with the A inside to show an apple
  1449. twist. This might work better with a half inch bubble.
  1450.  
  1451. *****************************
  1452.  
  1453. Legend for method 3:
  1454.  
  1455. Knot: .
  1456.  
  1457. Uninflated balloon: ... length proportional to the following.
  1458. _
  1459. Bubbles: (_) this is the smallest bubble 0.5"
  1460. __
  1461. (__) this is 1". add an underscore above and below for each 0.5"
  1462.  
  1463. This makes the size of bubble linearly proportional to the
  1464. real size.
  1465.  
  1466. Putting the no. inside the bubble is fine too. But I think
  1467. it is not important. The impression of the proportion is
  1468. enough. Measure a bubble that your think is 2" and see how
  1469. long it actually is... you'll be surprised. When you have
  1470. associated the screen image with the actual bubble, then it
  1471. is very easy to tell.
  1472.  
  1473. Order: diagrams are read from left to right, top to bottom. There
  1474. is no confusion which bubble is made first, which is second,
  1475. third etc.
  1476.  
  1477. Twists: lines like this \_______/ are drawn to indicate connections:
  1478. ___ __ __
  1479. .(___)(__)(__) nose and ears of a classic dog.
  1480. \______/
  1481.  
  1482. __ ___ ___
  1483. .(__)(___)(___) mickey mouse nose and ears.
  1484. \___/\___/ the bubbles are folded in the middle as
  1485. clearly indicated.
  1486.  
  1487. whether the twist lines are above or below is unimportant.
  1488.  
  1489. Tugs: Similar to the above. When a bubble x is tugged between
  1490. two bubbles y and z, y and z must be twisted together
  1491. already. So, a line is drawn with one end from the middle
  1492. of x, the other end connected to the middle of the twist
  1493. line of y and z. The positions of the ends of the line
  1494. indicate whether the whole bubble x is rolled behind y and
  1495. z or just a portion. The starting place is marked by a
  1496. slash, the ending by a vertical bar.
  1497.  
  1498. y z
  1499. __ ________ ________
  1500. .(__)(________)(________)
  1501. \__________________/
  1502. ____|
  1503. ____/___ _______________________
  1504. (________)(_______________________)...
  1505. x
  1506.  
  1507. The above is a swan. The whole bubble x is rolled behind
  1508. y and z. Sometimes I'd like to roll only half of x
  1509. behind y and z, like this:
  1510.  
  1511. y z
  1512. __ ________ ________
  1513. .(__)(________)(________)
  1514. \__________________/
  1515. __|
  1516. ______/_ _______________________
  1517. (________)(_______________________)...
  1518. x
  1519.  
  1520. The profile of the above swan will be like this:
  1521. __
  1522. ( ).. (this diagram is, of course, not
  1523. \ \ part of my formalism. It is just
  1524. \ \ an insert to illustrate my point)
  1525. \ \
  1526. __ \ \
  1527. __ (__-_\_\
  1528. (__)(________)
  1529. -_)
  1530.  
  1531. When a bubble is inserted between two bubbles:
  1532.  
  1533. A frech poodle head:
  1534. ____ ____ ____ __
  1535. .(____)(____)(____)(__)
  1536. \ \__________/
  1537. \_________|
  1538.  
  1539. Labels: feel free to add labels and other descriptive words:
  1540.  
  1541. A classic dog will be:
  1542.  
  1543. nose ears neck legs body legs tail
  1544. ___ __ __ __ __ __ ______ __ __ ____
  1545. .(___)(__)(__)(__)(__)(__)(______)(__)(__)(____)....
  1546. \______/ \______/ \______/
  1547.  
  1548. More visual aids:
  1549.  
  1550. It is nice to start a new line after every twist line.
  1551. ___ __ __
  1552. .(___)(__)(__) nose & ears
  1553. \______/ CLASSIC DOG again.
  1554. __ __ __ this may be more visual.
  1555. (__)(__)(__) neck & legs
  1556. \______/
  1557. ______ __ __
  1558. (______)(__)(__) body & legs
  1559. \______/
  1560. ____
  1561. (____).... tail
  1562.  
  1563.  
  1564. tail 3-part body
  1565. __ ________ ________ More visual SWAN
  1566. .(__)(________)(________)
  1567. \__________________/ bend this bubble until it
  1568. _______| looks like a swan neck.
  1569. ______/_ _______________________
  1570. (________)(_______________________)...
  1571. neck
  1572.  
  1573. ____________________
  1574. ______/______ ____ ____ \ SNOOPY
  1575. .(_____________)(____)(____) |
  1576. \__________/ | wrap around and tug half-way
  1577. |______/
  1578. __ ____ ____
  1579. (__)(____)(____)
  1580. \__________/
  1581. \__ (notice the direction here
  1582. _____|____ is signficant, that's why
  1583. ____ /____ ____\ a vertical bar is used)
  1584. (____)(____)(____)
  1585.  
  1586. Start: Start by describing how much air to inflate. This is a complete
  1587. example.
  1588.  
  1589. TEDDY BEAR
  1590.  
  1591. start with 6" of uninflated balloon.
  1592.  
  1593. ear ear
  1594. nose __ __
  1595. ____ ____ /__\ ____ /__\ ____
  1596. .(____)(____)(__)(____)(__)(____)
  1597. \ \________________________/
  1598. \________________|
  1599. __ ___ ___
  1600. (__)(___)(___) neck and arms
  1601. \___/\___/
  1602. __ ___ ___
  1603. (__)(___)(___) body and legs
  1604. \___/\___/
  1605. _
  1606. (_). tail
  1607.  
  1608. *****************************
  1609.  
  1610. Legend for method 4:
  1611.  
  1612. n A number representing a length in some standard unit. inches?
  1613. n, not surrounded by anything is a bit of uninflated or deflated
  1614. balloon.
  1615. (n) A bubble of length n.
  1616. X A letter [A-Za-z] representing a twist. This can be anywhere except
  1617. inside a bubble. Actually I suppose this can be defined as a letter
  1618. or nothing so that we can say X is always between bubbles.
  1619. [n] A bubble that's been folded in half or an ear twist.
  1620. n can be followed by optional modifiers when inside a bubble:
  1621. @ Apple twist.
  1622. ! This bubble gets popped. Hmm, n doesn't need to be present in this
  1623. case.
  1624.  
  1625. *****************************END OF BALLOON FAQ**************************
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