News: Balloon Twisting Hints and Tips

Here are just a few little random tips that may help you while making balloon animals for fun and profit. This list is only a collection of random balloon tips and tricks that I've come up with on the fly tonight. If you have any other suggestions or questions, please feel free to post them in the comments section and I'll do what I can to help as well.

• Trim your fingernails and make them nice and smooth. You can also keep your hands soft with a lotion as well.
• If your balloons are not dusted or seem to be sticky or tacky, you can sprinkle them lightly with baby powder or talcum powder to stop them from sticking to each other and reducing the sound of squeeking or popping. A little dusting goes a long way and too much may even cause the balloon to untwist itself so be careful.
• If you are a clown that wears gloves, try cutting off the fingertips so that it is easier to feel the balloon and make your balloon figure.
• To draw on the balloon, use a felt tip pen or a Sharpie marker. 
• Use a pump to blow up the balloons so that you don't hurt yourself trying to blow them up by mouth. It's not wimpy to use a pump; it's smart!
• Use the best quality balloons you can find that are fresh and well taken care of. That means they have been kept dry and out of direct sunlight. The best balloons on the market at the time of this writing are Qualatex and Betalic.
• Underinflate your balloons when trying a new creation. It's often easier to practice on a softer balloon.
• To give yourself more room in tying a knot, let a little air out first. You can also wrap the balloon around two fingers instead of one so that you get more space to tie. With practice, you can learn to tie the knot with less and less excess balloon, causing the knot to be closer and closer to the nozzle of the balloon.
• Choose one hand to hold the balloon and another hand to twist the balloon. The holding hand should be at the nozzle and the twisting hand should be on the tail end of the balloon. This will cause your balloon not to untwist itself while you are making a shape.
• Many shapes are very similar with only slight variations in bubble sizes. For instance, the dog, rabbit, giraffe, squirrel, and mouse are all very similar with only bubble sizes being the difference. Learn to see these similarities and differences and you can be a great balloon artist more quickly.