Introduction:

Introduction

Balloon modelling is a relatively new field that has been around for less than one hundred years. Although there is no actual record to tell us exactly when balloon modelling first began, people first described seeing balloon workers in 1938.

In 1966 Jimmy Davis wrote a book called 'One Balloon Zoo'. This was the first book that described how to make many different one-balloon figures including the poodle, chihuahua, aardvark, and octopus. This book inspired many people to begin modelling, and some of the figures from his book have become favorites for balloon workers and their audiences. The poodle, giraffe, mouse, rabbit, swan, and monkey as described back in 1966 are still today very commonly made animals. But now over 30 years later balloon artists have improved negligibly, and are still making the same figures.

Most of the public has seen a dog being made. Also swords and parrots have become commonplace. Although I accept that these figures are popular, in my opinion it is time to move on and show the public something new and innovative.

Rather than being an instructional guide detailing twist by twist how to make several balloon figures, these lecture notes are intended to be a list of ideas that can be experimented with and incorporated into many different types of act. Whether it be for a children’s party, a balloon display, restaurant work or even close up magic there should be something here that is useful to you.

Terminology

Since these notes are more a list of ideas rather than an instruction manual, the descriptions of the figures will be kept brief. By looking at the pictures of the figures alone it should be possible to recreate them. Nevertheless the following terminology may be useful:

A Lock twist - two bubbles twisted together

A Pinch twist - one bubble lock twisted with itself

A Chain - A series of twists.

A 3 finger bubble - rather than measure the balloon by inches or centimeters, it is much easier to measure by fingers. A 3 finger bubble, is simply a part of the balloon that is 3 fingers wide. So a 3 hand bubble would be a part of the balloons that is 3 hand widths wide. By using this method it is easy to make larger bubbles constant in size.

Use your imagination. So far from balloons I have seen and made a teddy bear: driving a car, parachuting , climbing a tree, playing baseball, on a bike, on a motorbike, kissing on a swing, on a hat, in a hot air balloon, holding helium balloons, holding flowers, holding a baby, on a heart, holding a heart, on an aeroplane, on a helicopter, on a ferris wheel, riding a rocking horse, riding a camel and even on the back of a dragon.

The possibilities are endless so use your imagination and make the list much longer. Teddies are cute and are popular. If you learn nothing else at least replace the dog with the teddy!

Carrying Balloons

I have looked and used various different methods of carrying balloons. I began by filling my pockets with balloons, but this method looks untidy especially when searching for certain balloon colours. Next I tried using balloon bags, I found these to be annoying to carry, and also changed my appearance. Finally I decided to use a champagne bucket! This may sound peculiar but it is the prop that I now use. The reason is that it looks presentable, and it is practical. I can ask children to take their favourite colour balloon. This does not look at all messy, and it is a very easy quick way of taking out the balloon colours that you wish to use.

Simple but effective

Some impressive looking balloons are really very easy indeed. One such figure Michael Decker calls Julie's Rainbow. If you can plat then you can make this balloon!

Julie's Rainbow

Simply inflate three 260Q modelling balloons to the end and let out a small bit of air from each before tying them.

Twist all three balloons together and then plat the balloons right down to the end, where you twist the balloon once more. This forms Julie's Rainbow. You can also turn this figure into a hat, by bringing the first and second points where you twisted the balloon together. Now simply twist the balloons at this point.

Teddy juggling 5 balls on a unicycle

This figure can be made in approximately 1 minute. It sounds impressive and it looks like what it is supposed to be! It is suitable for table hopping and also works well as part of a magic act.

It can be made from a 260 or a 160 modelling balloon but the instructions for a 260 shall be given.

Inflate the balloon and leave 8 fingers width of the balloon un-inflated. Start twisting at the knot end.

Twist a chain of seven 1 finger bubbles. Lock twist the second and the seventh bubbles together at the base.

Pinch twist the fourth and sixth bubbles. Step 3

Put the first and second bubbles halfway through the loop to make the nose of the teddy-bear.

Make a half finger pinch twist at the base of the head. This keeps the teddy's head in the right position. Step 5

That’s the head made…now the juggling section…

Next make a chain of a 3 finger bubble (the neck) followed by a 2 finger bubble (the arm), next seven 1 finger bubbles (for the paws and the juggling balls) and another 2 finger bubble (the other arm) Step 6

Twist the base of the first bubble with the base of the last. Now pinch twist the first and the last of the one finger bubbles in this chain. Step 7

Now you should have a teddy juggling 5 balls.

To make the unicycle simply…

Make a 3 finger bubble followed by a loop twist. To make the loop twist simply take the balloon at the nipple end and make a one finger twist. Twist the base of this one finger bubble with the base of the 3 finger bubble.
Now put the one finger bubble inside the loop twist to form the unicycle.

You should now have a teddy juggling 5 balls on a unicycle all out of one balloon!

Note: As an additional touch the teddy can be given small feet. These are simply 2 pinch twists that are made above the unicycle wheel.

The Panda

This instantly recognisable figure was the idea of Marvin Hardy. It is small, cute and effective, but until now it has never been a practical figure to make.

The figure is made by inserting one balloon inside another, thus, giving a double layered balloon. In Marvin Hardy’s method to make the panda you had to accurately and carefully use a pin to burst one layer of balloon. This method did work, but required patience, accuracy and a very steady hand. Inevitably when people tried to make this figure the whole balloon would burst! So instead of using a pin, I recommend using sticky tape. Sticky tape will only ever burst one layer of balloon at a time, and is much easier to carry safely.

The tape I use sits in a wristband and is ready cut into small sizes. It is convenient, neat and effective.

It can be purchased from many stationary shops and it is designed for people wrapping up birthday and Christmas presents.

The panda is a two-balloon figure and can be made in approx. 4 minutes. It is relatively small, but it looks impressive and impossible to make.

In effect the panda is a white and black teddy bear. So for this figure you will need a white and a black 260 modelling balloon. Also you will need a balloon pump, sticky tape, scissors and a long thin balloon stick.

The balloon stick I use, is in fact a section from a coat-hanger. Take a metal coat-hanger and cut out the long straight section. Then smooth off the rough edges with sandpaper so as not to puncture the balloon. Now your balloon stick is ready.

N. B. When the stick is not in use put it out of harm's way. Always be careful not to injure anyone with the stick.

Take the un-inflated white balloon and push the metal stick down inside it. Now take the black balloon and stretch it down over the top of the white balloon.

Next hold the nipple end of both balloons and remove the stick. You now have a white balloon inside a black balloon.

Inflating the double balloon: I have found it to be impossible to inflate this double balloon by mouth, so I use a pump. A Qualatex 2 way pump is ideal for this. Put the pump inside the white balloon and inflate. Make sure the pump is held straight because there is increased tension on the pump, and it is possible to break it if care is not taken.

Leave a large portion of the balloon un-inflated. Approx. 10 fingers width, and tie the balloons together.

Next make the teddy bear as normal, and you will be left with a black teddy.

Now the sticky tape comes into play. The tape is an ideal method of bursting just one layer of balloon.

Decide which sections of the panda you want to be white and simply stick a small piece of tape on these sections and remove it. The black balloon should pop in these sections leaving the white balloon to be seen. (You will need to repeat this process if the balloon does not pop).

You will now have a panda, but it will need tidying up a bit. The black balloon will look a bit messy where it has been popped and you will simply need to carefully cut the black pieces away to tidy up the figure.

Be creative - this idea can be used to enhance many other figures. Do not limit yourself to simply using this technique to make pandas. You can make peacocks look colourful, or turn horses into zebras, or simply create new balloon colours by putting one colour balloon over another.

If you do make a panda it does not have to stand alone, you can make it parachute, climb a tree, or hold flowers. I often make the panda driving a car, thus giving me a panda car.

By experimenting and playing with balloons you can come up with figures that are unique to you and will be able to impress audiences with something impressive that they will never have seen before.

Sweets in balloon

An object inside a balloon interests people in much the same way as a ship inside a bottle. Sweets have and added bonus; if the balloon bursts the child won’t be upset because they have sweets to eat.

I firmly believe that only wrapped sweets should be used for this! I use gold chocolate coins and mini smarties packs.

Chocolate coins (depending on their diameter) are small enough to be inserted into the balloon before inflation. Smarties are slightly harder to put inside balloons:

I use a 3" balloon for this. The wider balloon is needed because the object is fairly large.

Inflate the balloon and tie it. Now push the smarties inside. Be careful not to puncture the balloon with the corners of the box.

Hold onto the sweets, and without removing the other hand from the inside of the balloon, pull the smarties across. The sweets are pushing one way and your other hand moves in the opposite direction. The inside section of the balloon should snap, leaving your thumb inside the balloon.

The smarties have a layer of balloon wrapped tightly around them, use your thumb that is still inside the balloon to remove this layer, and expel it from the balloon.

Tie the balloon and now finish it by making any animal you desire.

The Balloon Stuffer and the Electric Pump

Balloon stuffers and electric pumps are props used primarily by balloon decorators. Their main drawback is the price. Both stuffers and electric pumps retail for around £120, however, they do have their uses in balloon modelling and by using them you can make a range of intriguing figures.

The balloon stuffer can be used for placing plants, teddy bears, ribbons and general decorations inside a round balloon. Decorators and even certain florists make use of this, but currently balloon modellers do not.

I use this prop at home to make figures to take along to shows, the reason being that both the stuffer and pump require electricity and they are both fairly large and cumbersome.

A popular figure I make using these props is a monkey on a palm tree inside a round balloon. This figure is a mystery to people as they cannot understand how the figure came to be inside the round balloon. Also the round balloon is not even tied making it even more perplexing.

By using this technique putting balloon models inside round balloons many other creations can be achieved. Use your imagination and invent many other figures of your own!

Coin Thru’ Balloon

At the moment there are relatively few magic tricks that incorporate balloons. This trick I believe is one of the strongest. The effect is simple and visual: A coin is borrowed, a clear round balloon is the inflated and the coin is visibly passed straight through the balloon. The balloon can then be given to the spectator!

This trick is based on Coin Thru’ rubber, for that effect a glass is taken and a layer of rubber or latex is stretched over the top of the glass, held in place with an elastic band. A coin can be seen sitting on top of the glass. The coin is then pushed through the rubber into the glass.

The secret is simple the coin is always below the rubber, but it is stretched tightly to give the appearance of being on top.

This trick has one main drawback: it looks set up. The coin begins on the rubber and cannot be handled freely before the trick.

Coin through balloon has a few advantages over this old trick:

The coin can be borrowed and handled freely
The surface to be penetrated is an everyday object. I.e. an inexpensive clear round balloon.
It can be inflated in front of the spectator.
It is the spectator’s coin that goes through the balloon
At the end of the trick the whole apparatus can be given to the spectator for them to keep.

So now for the explanation…

To achieve this effect there is a short preparation process. The set-up does not take more than 2 minutes.

Simply take a 10 pence coin and push it into an un-inflated balloon, (a 10" balloon is ideal), then inflate the balloon. This is done so that the latex will tightly stretch around the coin.
Grip the coin through the inflated balloon tightly and let the balloon deflate. Now pull on the coin firmly, but carefully. You must make the coin appear to be outside the balloon, but be careful so as not to break the balloon.

Step 2

Next take some elastic thread (Goldzac is ideal and can be bought from sewing shops) and wrap it loosely around the coin. Now your set-up is complete. Step 3

I like to have two clear balloons in my pocket. One prepared with a 10p coin and the other with a 50p coin. That way you can appear to give the spectator a choice of which coin to give you. I ask for a large silver coin; of course only two British coins are possible.

If they give me a 50p then I go to the corresponding pocket and take out a balloon prepared with a 50p inside it.

Borrow a coin, and inflate your round balloon making sure to cover the coin as you inflate the balloon. Now tie the balloon:

This is harder than it may seem because you have a coin to conceal. Several different methods will be described:

I place the balloon under my arm and turn sideways. My body conceals the coin as I tie it. Then I replace my hand over the coin and bring the tied balloon out.
Another method is to conceal the coin with your leg. Some people raise their leg to support the balloon, by doing this you can also cover the coin at all times. I do not use this method because I do not feel it is very natural. However, if a stool is nearby it becomes more natural because the foot can be rested on the stool. This needs to be presented as an on the spur of the moment decision to tie the balloon up in this manner.
A one handed knot would be the ideal answer. I have played around with this idea, but am yet to come up with a neat way of doing it. Can you help??
A final suggestion is to not actually tie the balloon but to block the hole up. Special balloon ties can be bought, as can various air blocks.

Now you have a tied balloon, take the coin from the spectator and instantly swap it for the other coin. A simple classic palm should suffice.

Now the magic can happen. Take the prepared coin push it into the balloon. This can be done slowly and visibly. Let people see exactly what is happening.

As the thread breaks it sounds as if the balloon has somehow broken, the coin will fly into the balloon.

Hold onto the thread for a while if you want to delay dropping it (I drop the thread just before handing balloon to the assistant), and then give the spectator the balloon with their coin inside.

The trick costs virtually next to nothing, the preparation is quick and a miracle can be shown to the spectator, and they can show their friends the balloon to prove what happened.

Why not put a sticker on the balloon? Then they can take your advert with them.

Note: A golden coin is shown in the pictures.

Card in Balloon

Effect:

A balloon tortoise is made and placed on an assistant’s arm
A card is selected and keeps jumping to the top of the deck
The card then turns face up
It is signed, and left face up in the deck
The card then jumps to a small box, where it can be seen folded up inside. It is explained that the tortoise rushed down the spectator’s arm, bit the card and carried it to the box
When the card is removed from the box, a corner is missing, and it is found inside the balloon tortoise.

Set-up:

Take a playing card and tear out a corner from it. Tear the

card jaggedly so that when the card is matched up at the end of the trick, a clean match can be seen. Make sure you have a duplicate card. Step 1.

Place the remaining three-quarters of the card face up in a deck of playing cards, approximately four cards from the top. Step 2

Take the other remaining quarter of the card and fold it. It can then be pushed into an un-inflated balloon. I use three inch balloons for this. Step 3 Step 4

A card box is also needed. The box has a magnetic flap on it. The flap has the design of a quarter of a playing card on one side, and a plain black design on the other. This means that the box can be shown to have a card inside it or can be shown to be empty as desired.

The performance:

Inflate the balloon holding onto the corner of the card. The card will not be seen. Step 1

Tie the balloon, still holding onto the card and make 2 finger bubble that contains the card. Step 2

Push this bubble into the balloon and break it off. To the audience you are just making a balloon figure, and have made a small ball inside a balloon. This small ball serves a couple of useful functions: it hides the card, and it makes a noise that disguises the noise the card would make rattling inside the balloon.

Now finish the tortoise balloon, and colour it in if desired. The balloon will sit on a spectator’s jumper. Step 3

Next take a pack of cards and fan them, being careful not to show the face up card, and perform a riffle force (or your favourite force). Forcing the top card. Step 4

Now go into an ambitious card routine: I perform a tilt move, then a double lift, place the card in the centre and show that it has jumped to the top

Next I perform a charlier cut, this moves the face up card to the centre of the deck.

Then a top change, the card apparently once more goes into the deck.

By spreading through the cards you can now show the face up card. The effect being their card has turned face up. Square up the cards.

On the top of the deck is the duplicate card. To get rid of this execute a top palm, and go to the pocket and ditch the card, explaining that you want a pen for them to sign the card with.

Get the spectator to sign the three-quarter card, by out-jogging it slightly from the pack. Do not have the card fully removed! I explain that if it is signed and is kept in this position then it will be impossible for me to remove the card without the audience noticing.

I now perform a spread pass, moving the card to the base of the pack

It can now be folded by using the mercury card fold, and can be palmed off, and shown to have jumped to a small wooden box.

The card box is shown to have a folded card inside it, although in reality it does not. You are just seeing the magnetic flap.

You go to remove the card from the box, but really add the palmed card to the box.

Next you explain that the tortoise bit the card and carried it to the box. Remove the card and it can be seen to be the signed card, but with a corner missing.

Take a sharp object and get a spectator to burst the tortoise. Inside it the matching quarter of the card is found!

Although this routine sounds complicated it is essentially an ambitious card routine, followed by a card to box. The card being found in the balloon makes a nice finale.

Helium

To make my balloons different and more interesting I often use helium. Helium (He) is a safe and entertaining gas. It makes the voice raise in pitch and makes balloons float; these properties make helium commercial and popular, and therefore an ideal prop for use in balloon sculpting.

Most helium canisters are large, obtrusive and very heavy, making them extremely impractical for use in shows, however, a company called Midget World in Worcester makes small helium canisters called Midget Widget. These are even small enough to go into a jacket pocket and can be used for table work. They can be contacted at:

Widget World,

Blackpole Trading Estate East,

Blackpole Road,

Worcester WR3 8SG

Tel: 01905 754520

Fax: 01905 754060

These canisters are relatively small and lightweight, but because of this they can not hold much gas. They hold 150 litres, that will fill approximately thirty qualatex heart balloons or 5" round balloons. I find this to be plenty of gas for an evenings work, so long as gas is not wasted, and larger balloons are not inflated.

Currently the canisters cost £11.99 and £5 for refilling (April 1999 prices).

Teddy holding helium balloons

This requires no real explanation as the name tells all. Once you have mastered the basic teddy bear you can make him hold balloons. Simply take a 5" round balloon and fill it with helium, now attach an uninflated balloon or a ribbon, and give your teddy arms to hold onto the balloon with.

The teddy will not float if he holds one or even two 5" round balloons. But if you do want him to float then he can hold either more small balloons or a bigger helium balloon.

Note: Neither 5" round balloons nor heart balloons have a long float time. They will float for a few hours only depending on the quality and thickness of the balloons that you use.

Experiment with helium. It can be incorporated into virtually any figure. You can make figures look cute and attractive by just adding a helium heart balloon. Also you can make hot air balloons float. This does require a significant quantity of gas so I advise you use a larger canister for this!

Super Hi-Float

Super Hi-Float is a liquid plastic used primarily by balloon decorators to keep helium balloons afloat for longer. Until now it has not been used in conjunction with modelling balloons, but I have found that it can be used to keep modelling balloons inflated for longer. It is useful for large models that take a long time to make.

For example a hot air balloon with a teenage mutant ninja turtle in the basket may take over an hour to make, and would stay in good condition for around 3 or 4 days. If , however, you use Super Hi-Float the figure would take nearly twice as long to make but would last for around five months in good condition.

The practicality of this is that large impressive display models can be taken to functions, taken away and reused, also some shops require their balloon displays to last that extra bit longer. By using Super Hi-Float you can easily achieve this.

Super Hi-Float is bought by the quart, and a dispenser (which is necessary) can be purchased for it. A quart bottle is sufficient for approximately 150 modelling balloons.

Directions for use with Q260s:-

Take a 260 and hold it at the nipple end between finger and thumb. Squeeze the balloon, and move your hand down the balloon. I.e. take the air out of the balloon.
Place the balloon over the hi-float dispenser, press down and allow a small amount of hi-float to go into the balloon.
Next rub the balloon and push the hi-float all around the balloon.
Dry the nozzle of the balloon and inflate it.

Hi-Float can be purchased from all good balloon dealers.

Further Reading

There are many books, magazines, lecture notes and videos available on balloon modelling that detail how to make hundreds of animals, hats, flowers, vehicles, letters, and miscellaneous objects from balloons. For further information on making new figures I would recommend:

Decker, M. (1995) 'Double Decker' Playtime Balloons Ltd.

Hardy, M. L. (1996) 'Balloon Magic 260Q Figures' (Updated edition of Balloon Magic - The complete guide on Balloon Figure Tying) Pioneer Balloon Company

Hardy, M. L. (1996) 'Balloon Magic Advanced 260Q Figures' Pioneer Balloon Company

Qualatex 'Balloon Magic The Magazine' Pioneer Balloon Company

Wooding, B. (1989) 'Balloon Toons' Playtime Balloons: Thornbury Press

Wooding, B. 'Commercial Balloon Modelling for Profit' Video: Trik-A-Tape Company

The Marvin Hardy books should be available from most magic shops. Bob Wooding's video is available from MJR Balloons, and for the balloon magic magazine you can write to:

Pioneer Europe Ltd.,

Unit 1B Goodliffe Park,

Stansted Road,

Bishop's Stortford, Herts.

England CM23 5PP