Happy Pride!

Whether you are celebrating this month or throughout the summer have a safe and happy Pride! Times are a bit dark and sometimes scary. Let's make the world a little brighter, a little more colorful, and fill it with a little more love.

Happy Twisting!

Balloon Sword Finale: Wonder Woman Sword

I had a lot of fun working on different balloon sword designs this week. To wrap it up this week I wanted to take ideas I've learned this week and come up with my own design. I am super crazy excited about the Wonder Woman movie. So here is my balloon version of the 2017 movie sword. I had a lot of fun with this. Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend!

Theme weeks are fun! I will be doing more in the future : )

Balloon Swords: Part 3 MEGA SWORDS!

MEGA SWORDS! They are bigger, badder, and more epic! Just what the adventurer needs. This is by no means an extensive list. There are lots of great tutorials out there. All of the balloon swords today come from the amazing tutorials by Balloon Sage. Please please please check his youtube tutorials out if you want to learn some really cool twisting designs. Good instructions, easy to follow, and an attention to detail that sets him apart! His details always have a purpose- yes they are aesthetically pleasing and fun but they usually are also adding support, and customization options that can be applied to lots of different designs. Once you get the basic designs down you can go nuts! (He also has a mix of twisting designs and decor tutorials- so much good stuff!)

Left to Right: BIG Balloon Sword, Deluxe Balloon Sword, and the last two are Mega Balloon Swords: Fire and Ice .

One thing I've taken away in my short time twisting is size UP. Most twisters use the 260s so when you use 360s they automatically give off a bigger is better vibe. The first BIG Balloon Sword uses a 360 as the blade and is a quick sturdy option for "active play". The deluxe swords have sweet blades! Twisted, braided, and woven/chained. These designs take a bit more time, but I am excited to experiment with them. One of my new dreams is to incorporate ballooning into cosplay- I have seen some really cool balloon costumes, and I think balloon weaponry (such as swords) would be a cool way to achieve some of the larger than life fantasy weaponry while being lightweight and cost effective. Soon.

Happy Twisting!

Balloon Swords: Part 2 Pirate Swords

Argh Mateys! We are moving beyond the one balloon swords and jumping into multi-balloon creations. I wanted to stick with a theme and so today I have for you some pirate swords!

We start with the one balloon 260 classic pirate sword from yesterday., The next is the same design, but mega-fied using two 360s. Balloon Sage on youtube has a video to show you how to make this one. The next is just a fun twisty sword using the metallic silver and gold balloons. And the last is a two balloon pirate 'cutlass' sword from a youtube tutorial by Michael Floyd.

Happy Swashbuckling!

Balloon Sword: Part 1

Hello balloon lovers! It has been a while but here we are ready to jump back into it. I have not been blogging much but have been posting more regularly on the FB page so be sure to check that out for all the balloon goodness you may have been missing.

I have a lot of fun creating things for holidays, events, and even upcoming pop culture attractions (aka movie and tv stuff). But sometimes in between that I don't really know which direction to go in. I want to learn all the balloons! I want to make all the balloons! So I decided to bring it back to basics.

The Balloon Sword: Part 1- one balloon swords

The balloon sword is an absolute staple of the balloon world. But they also sometimes get a bad rep. I personally think that any balloon that brings any amount of joy or wonder to a person (whether they be a kid or adult) is a good balloon. As I have scoured the internet checking out other balloon twisting blogs, fb pages, and business pages a strong theme of "go beyond the basic balloon dog and sword" permeates.  While I am blown away with the endlessly creative ways current balloon artists are pushing the absolute limit of balloon twisting artistry sometimes simple is best. Simple works. It's quick, efficient, and the building blocks for greater things to come.

So without further ado I give you a collection of simple one balloon swords

On the left we begin with the simple one twist sword and by the time we get to the right we are in full swashbuckling pirate mode. Fun, fast, and STURDY one balloon swords are a great choice to please a crowd of rambunctious adventurers.

Any other one balloon sword designs you love? Please share in the comments! Want to learn how to make the designs above? YouTube 'balloon swords'. Almost all of the above swords had several different people demonstrating how they do them. Watch lots of versions! People learn differently so see who has a style you enjoy.

Stay tuned as we progress to more complicated balloon swords later this week!

Happy Twisting!