Permanent Balloon Animals

Off-topic
1

Maybe someone here can find an angle I can’t…
I twist balloon animals professionally (I use ‘animals’ in a relative sense; I also make motorcycles, helicopters, machine guns, etc.) and I was wondering if anyone has an idea of how to make a balloon last forever.
I can make some very intricate creations, but the problem is that they slowly deflate over time, and then I’m stuck with a bunch of dead balloon animals. I want to figure out some way to keep the form indefinitely.
So far, the only thing I’ve tried is paper mache. This doesn’t work too well, as you lose all the fine detail. I was thinking of something like shellac, but I don’t know if it will dry quick enough or hold its shape over time.

Let me explain the physics of deflating balloon animals for the uninitiated.
After a balloon animal is made, the balloon is filled to relative capacity. But it won’t hold its air permamently. After a few hours, they begin to decompose (they are made from natural latex, and as such, are biodegradeable). After a day or so, they have become slightly smaller, and after a couple of weeks (assuming no animals or kids get to them), they have retained their basic shape, but are about 1/2 their original size. At this point, they look like mummified balloon animals, and aren’t as much fun to play with.

I love twisting balloons, but as an art form (or even as a craft), it’s not really going to be appreciated until we find a way to make them last more than a few days.

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Re: Permanent Balloon Animals

I think it’s exactly that lack of permanence that adds to the coolness of balloon figures. Like a flower in bloom, they come into the world, brighten it with their beauty, and then are gone.

3

I would try some spray shellac. I have no idea how it would react to latex though and hopefully you could spray a thin coat on long enough to dry and seal up some of the pores in the ballons. If that works then you could go nuts and make it hard with subsequent coats of the stuff.

Good luck

4

Im pretty sure that the shellac would contract and would caust the mummified look bt only shinier and faster. You could maybe have someon professionally makeone out of glass but i dont know if thats even pssible to blow glass and mold it like that. It might be possible to have someone take a clay mold of the whole thing and then make a plastic one, im sur its possible but probably costly. I think youll just have to let them “die”.

5

Here is what you do. You give the kid the balloon immideatly after you make it. Then you get your balloon “hitman” To “whack” the balloon. You guys split your earnings 50-50. A perfect deal.

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Re: Permanent Balloon Animals

With all deference to the fact that this is “Just Conversation”, have you considered posting this question to one of the lists at Balloon HQ? Or consider attending Twist and Shout.

Or just try calling Biff Torkerson, Balloon Taxidermist.

Cheers,
Raphael Lasar
Matawan, NJ

7

paper machette the suckers… <_<

I want to get into balloon animal making whatever, how do I start?

Can’t you make them with helium too?

Where and what do you learn to make? And what’s the best balloon brand? I don’t want something cheap…

Can you ride and make a balloon animal? I ill be able to some day.

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Rafael,
I do realize that I could probably find info on the other pages as well. I just know the people on here, and wanted to see what we could come up with together. Thanks for the links, though! I’ve been wading through the balloonHQ forums, but they’re not as easy to use as this one.

Item530,
The best place to start is to find a book on how to twist balloons. I got mine from Barnes and Noble. I think I started with this book.
Once you have the basics down, there are other excellent books out there. You can find a lot of books at TMyers Magic. And any local party supply store can sell you the balloons. You probably want to go with Qualatex balloons. This is what most of the professionals use.
And you can fill the balloon animal balloons with helium, but because of the shape and nature of balloon twisting, there is not enough volume for the surface area, and so don’t float. Plus, the fact that helium molecules are smaller than air molucules make helium balloons deflate quicker.

And yes, I can make a balloon animal while riding. As a matter of fact, I have a routine where I make a balloon animal behind my back, handcuffed, while idling. I tried to learn how to do this while blindfolded, but I never got the blindfolded idling thing down.

And as for what you can learn to make, at last count I could do about 125 different creations (would you like me to list them?:smiley: )

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oh, please do… heheheh (evil chuckle)

10

I saw something on the Food Channel where this French dude in New York with a French accent used a small handheld Wagner paint sprayer to spray chocolate on a balloon. Then he popped the balloon and was left with a hollow chocolate shape that he then decorated.

You could spray chocolate on your balloon creations. Yum. :slight_smile:

Or you could spray something like paper mache paste on the balloon creation. There has to be something that you can spray on that will dry and keep the shape of the balloon creation. You might have to spray something like Pam on the balloon to keep the balloon from sticking to the sprayed on stuff so the structure doesn’t collapse as the balloon deflates.

I kind of like the chocolate idea. Chocolate and a paint sprayer. What fun!

11

?huh?

posting in the balloon thread without mention of smearing them with loctite?

i’d go with egg whites myself.

12

(You asked for it…)

Balloon animals I can make:
dog, cat, lion, tiger, bear, motorcycle, helicopter, airplane, sword, bow and arrow, butterfly, horse, lovebirds in a heart, parrot, toucan, threecan, secretary bird, crow, eagle, rose, simple 5 petal flower, simple 6 petal flower, 2-tone 6 petaled flower, tulip, scorpion, money in a tree, monkey on a banana, koala, kangaroo, rattlesnake, cobra, simple snake dragon, complicated snake dragon, godzilla-type dragon, godzilla, razor scooter, motor scooter, birdcage, person [football, basketball, volleyball, soccer, ballet, hockey, ski jumper, downhill skier, luke skywalker, juggler, singer, crutches, guitar player, water skier, snowboarder, figure skater, spiderman, balloon twister, roller blader, skater, boyfriend), curling stone, bunny, frog, lightsabre, double-bladed lightsabre, rapier, dragonfly, crown, Statue of Liberty, princess sceptre, t-rex, cougar, jaguar, apatosaurus, pterodactyl, Hats (basketball hoop, heart hat, flower, snail, homestarrunner, viking, volleyball, propellor, baseball cap), monster, column, shotgun, AK-47, M16, tommy gun, flame throwing tommy gun, big laser gun, super soaker, elephant, giraffe, shovel, guitar, saxophone, sombrero, maze, ball, care bear meter, twister, lizard, chameleon, dolphin, killer whale, fish on a fishing pole, cow, complicated dog, Chester Cheetah, Pink Panther, Road Runner, coyote, duck, rubber duckie, swan, flamingo, lady bug, penguin, butterfly wings, olympic torch, vase, barbells, puppet, wings, crutches, rattle, hockey stick, baseball bat, micro mouse, angel, flip flopper, Nimbus 2000, cane, lance, ear of corn, parrot on a swing in a cage on a hat, unicorn, pegasus, mullet, slug, caterpillar, rain stick, rhinoceros, turtle, umbrella, BUni, duck-billed platypus, Elmo, mermaid, winnie the poo, llama, kitchen sink…
…and more.

It’s more like 165, but I hadn’t counted in a while, and learned a few new ones since my last list.

13

i know the feeling
everytime i get onto another forum, i get this feeling that i shouldn’t really be there
i can’t find the functions i’m looking for
and i end up coming back to JC to ask
it may be cheating, but at least i’m home
:slight_smile:

14

How about trying to fill a balloon with polyurethane or something like that. It should dry and keep the ballon in shape. Only one problem, it grows a little bit while drying.

15

Dude just use the balloon hitman.

P.S. Balloon is one hard word to spell.

16

Uhhh… PERMANENT Balloon Animals?

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:slight_smile:

thats an impressive list of balloon creations I have not listed mine before … someone told me about puting wax on the balloons like hot wax that goes cold or at lest liquid wax that hardens allmost str8 away works … i donno how it would not pop the balloon… maybe they put a kind of pounder on the balloon and then put the wax on but ether way someone told me that is what they do to make them last… I don’t know if it would be permernent or not … but if it worked you would deffinetly get more time out of them …

you can make them last in film and photos

I agree there is something compelling about temperary art

18

I’ve seen a big (ca 2m tall) bronze sculpture of a baloon dog. Thats one way of making it last. Unfortunately I can’t find a picture of it.

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did the whole thing in concrete…

Or no! Better yet! find a way to inject them with concrete…

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pray on glue might work to keep it from deflating and it could add a nice glossy look too.