Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

Magical Balloon-dude Dale has a great balloon blog on his website (http://www.mbd2.com/forum/balloon_Animal_Blog). As someone still getting started, seeing some of the large, detailed balloons that Dale had created, is somewhat intimidating. I make a tiny 2-3 balloon dragon compared with his much larger and more detailed dragon. But, seeing his designs can also be an inspiration to continue learning and trying to make bigger and better designs.

I highly recommend checking out the Magical Balloon-dude’s website.

Celebrate the Art of Balloon Sculpture by participating in 12th Annual Balloons Around the World on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. Visit http://www.balloonsaroundtheworld.com/ to sign up or find a group near you.

One of the great resources for any balloon twister is the Balloon HQ (http://www.balloonhq.com/). I must admit, that I haven’t spent enough time there. I visit from time to time when I am looking for something specific, but it has a vast collection of information.

If you do balloons or interested in doing balloons, I suggest you check out the Balloon HQ and see what they have to offer.

I think I got started doing balloons like everyone else. I bought a bag of the Traditional Assortment by Qualatex. I had a lot of people tell me that the jewel tone balloons pop more than the other colors and eventually moved on to the Carnival Assortment. I have to say another issue with the traditional assortment is the challenge of telling Quartz Purple from the Onyx Black before the balloons are inflated. Both colors appear black.

As time went on, I started using more and more balloons. I eventually bought a bag of green balloons for flowers and a bag of red for ladybugs. After a while, I stopped buying the assortments and started only buying individual colors. The assortments are OK for grabbing a bag of balloons for a jam or to test out new colors. The biggest problem I had with the assortments is that I would run out of one or two colors. At Chrismas, I didn’t have enough green, red and white balloons. The cost of my balloon orders increased when I went from buying assortments to buying each color individually. I had to carry a larger inventory of balloons to make sure I had each extras of color.

I am at the point where I can use 100-200 balloons a week (or sometimes more). With that volume, it is easy to justify having inventory of balloons. I know they will all be used within a few months.
I currently have two or three shades of each color balloon. Each time I buy balloons I try one or two new colors.

I keep my balloons organized, both in my bag and overstock supply in rainbow order from pink/red to purple. I think it makes it easier for me to find balloons and keep track of what I need to order. The only problem is the websites I use to order balloons sorts balloons by type and usually lists them in alphabetical order.

Here are some more jokes… this time they are about dogs, one of the more popular balloon and face painting designs.

Q. What is the difference between a dog and a marine scientist?
A. One wags a tail and the other tags a whale.

Q. What kind of dog likes to hang around scientists?
A. A laboratory retriever

Q. What is a dog’s favorite soda?
A. Pupsi-cola.

Q. Why did the dog see the doctor?
A. Because a stitch in time saves canine.

Q. What do you tell young dogs when they make too much noise?
A. Hush puppies!

Q. Why are dogs bad dancers?
A. Because they have two left feet.

Q. Why are dogs like hamburgers?
A. They are both sold by the pound.

Q. What kind of dog tells time?
A. A watch dog.

Q. What is smarter than a talking dog?
A. A spelling bee.

Q. What happened when the dog went to the flea circus?
A. He stole the show.

Q. Why did the dog have to go to court?
A. Because he had a barking ticket.

Q. What are a dog’s clothes made of?
A. Mutt-erial.

Q. What do dogs put on their pizza?
A. Mutts-arella

Q. What has 400 teeth and says, “Beware of dog?”
A. A picket fence with a sign on it.

Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in June, the official jam will be on Monday, June 13th.

This month, we will share ideas for doing events outside. How to keep balloons from popping or face paint designs from melting. For me, that means making more balloon hats/bracelets that won’t hit the grass and pop or not doing designs ear to ear when face painting. Bring your ideas and an open mind for the discussion. The regular Jam will be from 7:00-9:00 pm when the restaurant closes. Bring your balloons and face painting supplies.

Note: The theme is more a conversation starter for the dinner period of the jam. It is not a lecture but an open opportunity to ask questions of the group or share what has worked in the past.

The actual jam portion of the night begins around 7:00 and continues until Cici’s closes at 9:00pm. You can come as early or late as you like.

The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels.

June Face Painting and Balloon Jam in Chantilly
Monday, June 13th
Buffet from 6:00 – 7:00
Jam from 7:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

What should a face painter or balloon twister wear to an event? When I go to jams, I will often wear a fun character t-shirt and a goofy hat. But for bigger events, I don’t want to look like the average person on the street.

Last year, I had one event where I was specifically told NOT to wear shorts and that my shirt needed a collar. I have actually considred finding a formal looking outfit for the higher end events, but don’t want to look like the catering crew.

Some events, I were my pair of green and white striped overalls from Game Bibs. Game Bibs targets the college sports fan and makes striped bib overalls in most college team colors. At most events, I will wear my custom designed pair of Converse shoes. Converse has a variety of shoes that can be customized by choosing the colors for each piece of canvas or leather used to make the shoe.

I am always on the lookout for something fun to wear. I find that the websites that sell face paint and balloon supplies seem to offer more shirts and accessories for women. I am also considering getting a custom embroidered

When doing balloons, I generally prefer to work inside. Sure, working inside provides protection from the weather, but it also helps the balloons.

For the most part, surfaces are smoother indoors. Outside, balloons can pop when they come in contact with leaves and grass; concrete and bricks; and a variety of other rough surfaces. Also, on a sunny day, a dark colored surface (especially metal or pavement) can get very hot. These conditions all present popping hazards for balloons.

In addition to issues related to rough surfaces, changes in temperatures can also cause the balloons to pop. The air inside a balloon will expand or contract when exposed to changes in temperature which could lead to popping. After one winter event, I was wearing a balloon hat when I left a gig and walked about 100 yards outside in the cold. When I got inside again, my balloon was about 10-20% smaller. Going from a cool indoor space to a hot outdoor space can have the opposite effect where the balloon will expand 10% and risk popping. I have also noticed that if I make sample balloons in the morning, they will start to spontaneously pop a few hours later when the temperature has risen 10-15 degrees.

When I do balloons, I try to take into account the surrounding conditions. On a hot day, I will try to make the balloons a little softer. I will also try to make smaller balloons like hats or bracelets that are less likely to pop or come into contact with rough surfaces.

I know that I cannot guarantee that a balloon will NOT pop, but if I do my part, I can increase the chance that the balloon will last until the kids make it home.

When I am at a restaurant, birthday party, or other event, I like to interact with the kids beyond just asking them what they want. Sometimes I will ask about school or some recent event/holiday. Other times, I will try to make a silly comment about their request.

I have watched other entertainers doing shows or interacting with kids. They seem to have comments or jokes for just about any situation. I know this comes from experience and knowing what worked in the past. Since I haven’t been doing this as long as others, I am still building my list of jokes. During the past year, I have purchased several books of jokes and riddles. Although I have looked through the book, I haven’t done a good job of finding ones that I use on a regular basis.

I am going to try to compile a list of jokes related to various things related to the popular balloon and face painting designs. Today, I will begin with jokes about butterflies and other insects. The butterfly is one of the most popular faces for little girls and is also an easy balloon to make. When a kid asks for a butterfly, I will often call it a “flying stick of butter” and ask what type of toast they like best.

Here are some of the better jokes I found on the Internet.

Q. Why did the butterfly?
A. Because it saw the ice-cream float.

Q. Why wouldn’t they let the butterfly into the dance?
A. Because it was a moth ball!

Q. Why did the boy throw butter out the window?
A. Because he wanted to see a butter-fly!

Q. What goes zzub, zubb?
A. A bee flying backwards!

Q. What do you say to an annoying beetle?
A. Stop bugging me!

Q. What bug isn’t allowed in the boys’ bathroom?
A. A lady bug

It seems that most balloon twisters start by learning the basic dog balloon and then move on to bigger and “better” balloons. I think it is good to learn how to make a variety of balloons and to have options from something simple to something a little fancier.

I have kids ask me all of the time, “What is the most difficult thing you can make?” That is a hard question to answer. The truth is that unless they are the only person there and I have all of the time needed, I wouldn’t consider making it. Yesterday, when faced with that question, I pulled out two balloons, twisted them together and added a head to make an alien hat (two lime green 260s and a green alien head) for a young boy. I upgraded the design by using a clear round balloon around the alien head and he was simply amazed.

While it might be fun to make big and fancy balloons. I find that three of the simpliest balloons I learned how to make are still very popular when offered. They are the tiny bracelets made to look like a turtle, bee, or ladybug. (Each is made by inflating about 5 inches of a 260 balloon and twisting a series of bubbles for the head and legs and using the rest of the balloon for the body.) After learning these, friends showed me how to make fancier versions, but those versions cannot be worn as a bracelet. I have been at events were kids start collecting the balloons and keep coming back for just one more. Eventually, they start wanting blue turtles or purple ladybugs so they have something their friends don’t.

While I know that there are fancier versions of the turtle or ladybug that can be made using 3-4 balloons, I am sure I will continue to make the simple versions by the dozen.