Make a Balloon Animal

I attended the Southeastern FCM convention this spring and learned this flower. Thanks to David O'Bryant (pictured below) for sharing this version with me.

Instructions

You need two balloons of the same or complementary colors for the petals. Inflate them fully and release a little air to soften them. Tie the nozzle to the nipple end and flatten the resulting loop to locate the middle of the balloon.

Move the knotted end along the balloon to find the point where all three of the loops are the same size. Twist together at this point making three equal-sized petals.

After making the 3-petal sets from both balloons, twist them together at the middle and arrange the petals in alternating colors. This alone makes an attractive flower, but interweaving the petals will give it an added dimension. Take each petal and pull half of it through the loop of the petal next to it from back to front. Work your way around the flower in one direction, always positioning the pulled-through segment in the front.

For the center of the flower, take a contrasting balloon and make a tulip twist followed by three pinch twists.

Deflate and tie off the remainder of the balloon and push the deflated end through the flower from the front. You may want to tie the deflated end to the nozzle of a fully inflated green balloon to make a stem, adding a couple loop twists to make leaves.