How to Make a Reindeer Balloon Animal

Just in time for the holidays, here's a reindeer balloon animal. If you can make a dog, you should have no problem making this one. If you like, you can add a red nose to represent Rudolph.

You'll find instructions here.

And if you'd like to make the basic reindeer/moose, you'll find instructions here.

How to Make a Turkey Balloon Animal

Here's a fun turkey balloon animal that you can make for the kids in November and for Thanksgiving.

This one requires nine balloons and it's not complicated. With practice, you could make them for kids just as long as you're not short on time or have a long line waiting. I think that it can also make a nice Fall or Thanksgiving decoration.

You'll find instructions here.

How to Make a Pumpkin Balloon

For Fall or Halloween, here are step by step instructions that show you how to make a pumpkin balloon.

As you can see, you can also draw on the pumpkin to make a jack-o-lantern.

After making this one, I can tell you that it's rather involved and may be more practical for decoration than for twisting for kids at an event. But if you can get fast enough at making them, I'm sure they'll be a hit at a Halloween party.

You can learn how to make the balloon pumpkin/jack-o-lantern here.

How to Make a Swan Balloon Animal

Here are step-by-step instructions that show you how to make a Swan Balloon Animal. This is probably the most basic swan balloon that one can learn and there's another version that is typically a bit more touchy to work with but allows you to use the swan with other balloons and balloon-based decorations.

You can learn the basic swan balloon animal here.

How to Make a Saber Balloon Sword

If you make sword balloons at your gigs, you're probably already making the basic saber sword. But if you have the time, you may want to try out this variation that features a more detailed handle.

Of course, you can figure out to make this one just from the picture, but if you like, you'll find instructions here.

A Flower Balloon Hat

Here's something that I never thought of before. It's a balloon hat with a flower on it. This one should be a hit at parties.

Of course, if you're already an accomplished balloon twister, you'll be able to make this one in a flash. But if you're new to balloon animals and just learning, there are some thorough instructions that will walk you through the process of making sculpture and even offer insights and tips on fitting and working with the balloon hat.

You'll find the instructions for a flower balloon hat here.

How to Become a Balloon Animal Vendor

Here’s a story that offers a brief introduction on how to make money with balloon animals. There’s a discussion of vending (making and charging for each balloon), hiring out as an entertainer and working for tips.

"The lady [a vendor] I mentioned before says her top seller is Elmo," says the story. "...but she also offers an assortment including a monkey, spider, cobra, Pegasus, teddybears, butterflies, unicorns, bears, dinosaur, and other animals, a green alien, Oscar the Grouch, Tweety Bird, Barney, a ballerina, and more."

According to the story, the vendor charges between one and five dollars per balloon, depending on the complexity. While the listed balloon animals sound like definite "winners" that will be popular with kids, I'd advise that all twisters be aware of the trademark issues.

You can read the story here.

Cool Double Balloon Sword for Parties

Ever work a party where there are lots of little boys and you want to make a special sword for the birthday child? I just came across this spectacular Double Sword that is made of two balloons. The use of the two balloons offers lots of options for not only creating a big sword, but a colorful one that can match the party color scheme, a child’s team colors and more.

You’ll find the step-by-step instructions here.

By the way, in practice, I discovered that the handle, because it's made from two balloons, may be too thick for small hands to comfortably hold. As a result, I found that you can modify the handle so it features an opening between the two balloons that a child can slip his or hand through. It may not look as good but it's easier for children to hold and since they have their hand between two balloons, it's far more secure.

By the way, these instructions are found at Magic.About.com, which is one of the best balloon animal sites on the web. As the name implies, the site is geared towards magic, but it’s got a thorough, well written section devoted to learning balloon animals, and also features instructions for some cool, advanced balloon animals. I’m sure that I’ll be revisiting some key aspects of this site in later blogs.

Young Girls Raise Money With Balloon Animals

According to a recent article, Madison Stirens, a second grader and Madison and Erin Stirens, an eighth grader, both from Owatonna, Minn., made balloon animals to raise money for the Steele County Humane Society.

The girls went door to door in their neighborhood making balloon animals and asking for donations. "We're doing it for a good cause," says Erin Stirens in the story. "It's important to us to make sure they are treated well and taken care of. We've always loved animals."

You can read the story here.