Make a Balloon Sculpture

This sculpture uses a red 260 balloon, two light blue 260 balloons, one green and two yellow 160 balloons, plus a white scrap for the eyes.

Inflate the white scrap to about 3 inches and tie it off. Twist it into two equal bubbles and then tie the opposite ends together. Now twist the two bubbles in opposite directions, effectively making both of them a pinch twist. Save these for the eyes.

In flate the red balloon about half way and begin with a 2-inch bubble, followed by a 1-inch bubble. Give both of these a pinch twist. This will be the head. Follow this with a 1-inch bubble for the neck and then three 3-inch bubbles made into a bird body. This will be the upper body. Next make two 1-inch pinch twists, then deflate the rest of the balloon and tie it off.

Attach the eyes between the two pinch twists that form the head. When the sculpture is complete you can add the eye and mouth details with a black marker.

Inflate both light blue balloons all the way and release a little air to reduce the pressure. In each one tie the ends together for a big loop. Use the Z-bend technique to make each loop into a heart shape. Attach both wings between the neck and the body.

The abdomen is the most challenging part of the firefly. Begin by inflating one yellow and one green 160 balloon about 2/3 of their length. Make a 1-inch pinch twist at the knot end of each balloon and twist the balloons together at this point. This will be the tip of the tail.

Make a 1-inch and then a 2-inch bubble in each of the balloons. Connect the end of the green 2-inch bubble to the end of the yellow 1-inch bubble. Now lay the yellow 2-inch bubble along side the green one and roll it through the loop made by the green 2-inch and the two 1-inch bubbles.

Repeat the above step, using a bubble slightly longer than the 2-inch one. Be sure to push the yellow bubble through from the opposite side so the stripes will alternate colors. Continue with the same process, varying the length of the stripe to get the taper you want. When you get to the top of the abdomen, make a 1-inch bubble in each balloon and twist them together. Deflate and tie off the remainder of both balloons.

Attach the abdomen to the bottom of the upper body. Inflate the remaining yellow 160 completely.Wrap the middle of the balloon into a tight coil and then release it. It should retain a curve for the middle of the antenna. Make Z-bends about 8 inches from each end, tie the ends together, and secure behind the eyes. If you want the tail to glow, you can activate a glow stick and insert it into the abdomen.

 

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• See previous sculpture.
• Basic Balloon Twists.

 

 

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