How much to inflate the balloon
How do you know how much to inflate the balloon to give you
Marvin taught this rule of thumb at IBAC: leave 1/2 inch of uninflated nipple for each twist you plan on making. Of course, you need to leave extra uninflated nipple if you incorporate features like a poodle-tail. In practice, you will adjust bubble sizes and stiffnesses as you go so that it ends up right; otherwise you'll have to pop the nipple end, let some air out and re-tie in order to finish your figure. Years of experience also helps.
This idea is the fishing reel found in "Dewey's Zany Balloons." Dewey takes a bee body, inflates it half full, and does a basic apple. He then twists the apple in half horizontally. This gives the reel for the rod, and the 'apple stem' sticks out to be the crank for the reel. I sure that the rod needs no explanation. I've used this often for fishermen with great response.
It looks like two toruses (donuts) side by side, connected only at the centers. Like a yo-yo. If you pinch the donuts together on one side, it spreads open on the other side like a spring clothespin. You can then clip it on to a nose, ear, or whatever; it holds on by friction. For the earrings, add a few dangling 260's with 1-inch bubbles in the end (like poodle tails).
I have done this with both 260's and 350's, but I like the effect better with the 350. It turned out to be rather simple:
You should now have an oblong bubble with a thread of uninflated balloon running through it from end to end. Give this bubble a simple twist in the center, making two back-to-back apple twists. The friction should hold the twists in place. You're done!
More instructions:
Mark writes: I independently discovered this twisted apple-twist (yo-yo) this spring, after George Sands' book got me critically thinking about apple and hook twists. They're slick, aren't they? I had never seen them anywhere before twisting my first one, and remember proclaiming to several friends (and a professor) "I have just revolutionized balloon twisting!" :-) The biggest let-down of my twisting career came when I proudly showed Marvin Hardy one of them at IBAC. He said something like "Oh, that old thing" as he promptly made one and clipped it on my ear. :-(
Put a tulip twist in both ends of a 350, bend the balloon around into a horizontal "U" shape and suction cup both ends to a window to create a "basket-ball hoop."
I've used it for a table mount variation on the ray gun. ("keep 'em covered while I make the next balloon...").
The interesting thing about using 350's for the suction cup effect, is that you get a stronger suction than with the 260's (due to wider cross section?) and the 350's are structurally stronger.
Suction hint: If you are having trouble making the tulip twist stick, try this: After you make the tulip, work the twist (what would be the stem knot in an apple), back toward the end where you first stuck your finger in. As though you were trying to turn an "innie" into an "outie". When you get that end "flat", moisten it, press it against the glass and, while holding the tulip with one hand, gently pull on the body of the balloon with the other hand (pulling the twist partway back through the tulip.) Ta Da, Maximum suction cup effect.
I've been suction-cupping balloons to things all over the place. A few days ago I made a person that definitely needed a hat. The head was made out of a couple heart balloons. I suction cupped an apple balloon to the top of the head to form the hat.
Method
1:
Push the knotted nozzle a few inches into the balloon (like a hook twist), but don't twist
and close it off - just hold the knot through the balloon wall so that air can pass by.
With your other hand, twist soft apples of increasing size. The last apple will hold the
knot in place, and because the apples are soft, they will hold against each other pretty
well and not unravel (unless you give it to a kid...) Make sure you push the knot up into
the last apple. These are true stem-to-bottom-of-core apples, because they are really just
one apple twist twisted into smaller apples. I just made a 4-apple (no end bubble possible
with this method) tail as I wrote this, so it does work.
The beauty of this method is that if you don't size all the apples perfectly the first time through, you can almost untwist one apple at a time until they just start to leak, and then pass air back and forth between neighboring apples to adjust the sizes. A way to cap off this tail and make it look finished is to add a single small bubble from the end of a second balloon, tied off, but with enough uninflated balloon (1-2") still attached after the knot. As you make the deep apple, stuff the uninflated part into it, and complete in the regular way.
Note: In Texas Style Balloons, Bobby Cordell makes a rattlesnake tail by making a long, soft (squeeze some air out) hook twist (very long apple twist). Then, since it is soft, he twists it into 4 or so individual bubbles.
Method 2:
In George Sands' book Encyclopedic Balloon Modeling he presents the "Center Apple
Twist" technique which enables you to put an apple in the center of a balloon, or
literally anywhere you put a twist first. For the knotted nozzle, you substitute tiny bits
of broken balloon held against the wall of the balloon and push them and the balloon wall
into the balloon to make one apple twist after another. It takes a few trys to find out
just where to place the balloon bit and how to push it in so that the result looks good,
but it's a very useful trick. Sands recommends using an apple twist followed by a few
Center Apple Twists stacked together for the rattlesnake tail. Here is Mark Balzer's
better-looking version that explains the details of the Center Apple Twist technique:
The trick is to make that 1/2" distance as absolutely small as you can... like 1/4" or less. If it is too big, you will get... an ugly mess. These 'apple' twists are not really perfect apples connected stem-to-bottom-of-core; but rather like apples connected *near* their stems to the bottoms of the cores. Because of this, they want to form a little lop-sided. Keep that 1/2" number to a minimum and twist each apple enough times so that it snugs up tightly against its neighbors. That minimizes the lop-sidedness and allows them all to help hold each other in shape. If you have lop-sided apples, rotate them so that they cancel each other out and still form a straight rattle. You need good inter-bubble friction to hold it all together, so talc on the outsides of the balloons is a no-no. I just made a 4-apple + end bubble tail as I wrote this, so it does work, though it is harder and slower than Method 1.
Method 3:
Method 1 ends in an apple, unless you add a second balloon. Here's a method to add the
bubble at the end with one balloon. Twist a small bubble at the end of the balloon. That
is the last rattle. Twist all the air out of the next two inches of balloon by continuing
to twist the balloon into a thread. Take a small piece of broken balloon and wrap it
around the center of the thread you just made. Push the thread and balloon bit deep into
the balloon (like a hook twist), but don't twist and close it off - just hold the knot
through the balloon wall so that air can pass by.
Now, with your other hand, twist soft apples of increasing size. The last apple will hold the knot in place, and because the apples are soft, they will hold against each other pretty well and not unravel (unless you give it to a kid...) Make sure you push the knot up into the last apple. These are true stem-to-bottom-of-core apples, because they are really just one apple twist twisted into smaller apples. I just made a 3-apple + end bubble tail as I wrote this, so it does work. Isn't topology wonderful?
Method 4:
A variation on the first part of method 3: leave an un-inflated tail at the end of your
balloon. Then, take the ring of nipple (saved from a discarded balloon), roll it up the
nozzle-end to where the inflated and uninflated sections meet. Then, make a poodle tail at
the end of the balloon. Trap the thickened, added ring of latex with the end of your
finger and use it to secure a hook twist. Please note: if you leave the uninflated section
of the poodle tail too long, you will have an awkward space between the end apple and your
rounded rattle. Not cool for tight looking tails, very cools for space-alien feelers/
antennae.
This is the "hook twist" that Dewey describes. He uses it for a lot of neat animals: dogs, snakes, squirrels, frogs, etc. This twist is basically a variation on the apple twist. Instead of pushing the nozzle into the balloon only about an inch, push it in as far as you can reach with one finger. If you bend the balloon a bit you can reach further along the wall of the balloon. Now grab the nozzle through the wall of the balloon and twist the way you would make an apple twist. Then carefully work your finger out of the balloon. I use the thumb and middle finger of the same hand that has the index finger inside the balloon. These two fingers kind of push the sides of the bubble back a bit while I retract my index finger. If you can do an apple twist you already know how to take your finger out. It's just a bit harder now since there's more finger inside the balloon. Practice making apple twists of increasing size. I suppose a bit of powder on your finger couldn't hurt to reduce friction, but I've never tried it. When you take your finger out of the balloon, the bit of balloon inside the bubble that goes from the nozzle to the end of the bubble will go straight from the twist to the end of the bubble. If the bubble is bent (or hooked) as described above, that inner piece of balloon will hold it in that position.
The key to getting that shape is really to get the nozzle further into the balloon than your finger could reach if the balloon was kept straight. I scrunch up the bubble to really reach in there far. Note that no matter how far you reach in, the same length of balloon will be inside since you're only putting inside the balloon what covers your finger, so the further you can get the nozzle in, the greater the hook in the bubble.
I call a bubble placed inside the balloon a meatball.
Twist a small bubble.
----------------- \ -- most of balloon )(__) - small bubble _________________/
push the small bubble as deep as you can into the big one with your index finger.
----------------- -- __) ____________ (__)__<- (_________ \_______ _________________) (___ your hand (___ ________ (____/ pinch here | V ------------------ --xx __)__________ (__)x(___________ __________________) ^ | and here
Now there is a bubble and your finger inside the large bubble. There is a second layer of latex around the small bubble. the outer layer is still connected to the big bubble. With your free hand, pinch the big bubble where the little one is inside of it and hold that bubble in place. With the finger nail inside the balloon, break that outer layer. (The outer layer to be broken is marked by x's in the above picture). Breaking it just takes a bit of practice. If you stretch the balloon that you want to break, by working the bubble further inside the long bubble with your other hand you should weaken it enough to help break it.
While still pinching the large bubble, work the little one free. Your finger will still be inside of the balloon.
pinch here | V ----------\ __ ----__________ (__) (___________ __________/--------- ^ | and here
Since you're pinching the balloon, air shouldn't escape while you get your finger out. Now just tie the balloon from the end where your finger came out of.
peas-in-a-pod: make five or six meatballs, and then deflate the balloon around them, leaving something that looks like a pea-pod. The pea-pod can also be called a caterpillar. Then if you make wings out of another balloon you've got a butterfly. [Note: A chain of small bubbles, each pushed into the balloon body separately can be used to create the same effect... after the outer balloon shell is deflated.
A hint for tearing off a meatball inside a balloon, which I discovered by watching Richard Levine here in Eugene:
When you twist off the bubble that is going to be inserted, make it fairly small and twist it 4 or 5 complete turns. The first hard part is pushing the bubble into the main body of the balloon. Make sure the bubble is smaller than the main body of the balloon. I hold the main body of the balloon in my right hand right up close to the twist. I then (slowly) push the bubble into the main body with the index finger of my left hand. When you get it in, push it as far into the main body as you can. With the thumb and index finger of your right hand pinch the main body down onto the twist of the bubble. Hold this tight in your right hand and start to pull your left index finger out of the main body. The idea is to break off the bubble at the twist with the fiction between the main body and your left index finger. Sometimes if you move your left index finger down a little at the first joint you can increase the friction and insure that the twist breaks. When the twist does break, clamp down with your right thumb and index finger to seal the hole. Then retie and the bubble is inside the main body.
I push the bubble in almost all the length of my index finger, then I grasp the little bubble with the other hand from the outside and withdraw my pushing finger just enough so that I can pinch the bubble right where it meets the rest of the balloon. This pinch should be firm enough and should effectively cut-off any chance of air escaping once you pop off the bubble. Now, give a twist your finger that is still on the interior of the balloon; make sure you give your finger a hook shape and sort-of scoop twist. Usually the bubble will just pop free and you'll be left holding an unknotted balloon. And you'll probably have about enough space left where you're holding to simply knot it up, if you like. Try practicing with a superball, it is a lot easier to insert and break off.
I could not manage to get a bubble inside a balloon -- until this last weekend! Yea! Two hints helped me get it to work:
I found T. Myers instructions on the balloon seed (bubble insertion) to be the easiest to do consistently. After inserting the bubble, twist another bubble on the end (it will look like a tulip twist) and pull it off. It separates easier. Later you can use other techniques to put one color inside another etc.
When I'm breaking off a meatball, I twist the balloon tightly around my finger inside the balloon to ensure that I pull it all back. It makes it a little more difficult to break off the ball, but I find it ensures a successful insertion. I leave a little tucked inside, and the flash gets incorporated into the knot.
If you want to put a ball or other object inside, it's the same thing, except that you don't start with a small bubble. You would just insert the ball the way the small bubble was inserted.
There are basically two ways to put something inside a balloon:
Superballs are high-bounce balls. They are available at most toy stores and come in various sizes and colors. The smaller ones go nicely into balloons.
A super-popular item is ball-in-balloon toys. I also got superballs through Tom Myers, and in the end each one costs the same as a single balloon. So, cost isn't really a factor -- it's just like doing multi-balloon figures. However, these things are more like kinetic toys than figures. Some things I've been making with superballs in them: fill a balloon all the way, put a ball in, and tie the balloon into a big, loose knot. Overhand and figure eights work great. You can twist 1" bubbles in each end then connect those together if you want. A simple but stunning balloon/ball "maze"! Another toy: fill two balloons of different colors; put a ball in each. Make a long double-helix (see below), and you have a spiral ball racetrack.
The superballs sold by Tom Myers fluoresce under a black light! I discovered this when I used two of them as eyeballs in "googly eyes" (inside of a clear 260Q bubble) while twisting near the bandstand in a bar. Since the bandstand is lit up with "black" lights, the superballs looked like they were ready to jump right out and grab you - like a cat's eyes in your headlights! Very cool!
The ball putter was invented because putting a ball into a 260 is something that takes a knack. The balls n' balloons toys can require you to put a ball in every 2nd or 3rd balloon. After a day of this my finger hurts. The ball putter makes it fast and easy, but you are carrying around another tool. If you can get the ball into a 260 quick and easy and it doesn't hurt your finger, you don't need a ball putter. T. Myer's "Ball Putter" is one of the greatest things I've ever seen. I was not really sure about it when I ordered it. Now, I wouldn't give it up!
My favorite thing I picked up from T. Myers was using two small super balls in a clear heart or clear 260Q to make googley eyes. When you stuff anything inside a balloon with the meatball method, you end up with a layer that surrounds what you put inside. After working at putting things inside balloons, I can now even controllably unwrap the layer of balloon from the object (ball, etc.) I stuff in the balloon before I withdraw my finger. Google eyes with inserted superballs (or balloon balls) look best if you unwrap the clear cocoon from them after insertion. When I put something inside that I want to unwrap, I try not to break the cocooned object off completely. Instead I try to leave a little latex attaching the cocooned object to the rest of the balloon. My finger stays inside the balloon to plug the hole so the air doesn't escape. Then I use that remaining bit of latex as a handle for my inserted finger, in conjunction with my outside hand, to peel the cocoon from the object. It can still be done even if the object is completely broken free, though it is not quite as fast. In either case, don't leave the cocoon floating around inside the balloon with the object. It is distracting. Just remove it when you pull your finger out.
With regards to the little bit of loose rubber left in the balloon after you've inserted an object, and then stripped the rubber off the object: I usually make sure I trap that little bit in the first small bubble I make. It's a lot less obvious than leaving it in a long bubble, where you can watch it rattle around as you tilt the balloon. I've seen a twister manage to insert an object, manipulate the rubber off the object,(his finger still in the balloon) and then drag the little rubber bit out... all in one shot.
I've been using the T. Myer's Ball Putter to put superballs in balloons, and I love it. I say my sharp wit pops the bubbles. It's so fast I can usually do it before the recipient (child or adult) sees what I'm doing, and they go gonzo (that's a technical term) when they see the ball bouncing around inside the figure. T Myers ball putter is great for super balls but won't work with bubbles.
At IBAC, Marvin recommended that for stuffing you first go to your local Farm Supply store and buy a 'Banding Pliers' - a pliers used for stretching rubber bands when castrating animals. With a simple squeeze you can stretch and hold open a balloon nozzle while you fill it with confetti or whatever.
Marvin invented the Jiffy Tube system specifically for inserting items into the 260's. It works great. There are 3 tubes which will allow you to insert things into 260's, 5", and 9" balloons. We use the "banding pliers" to easily fit the neck of the 260 over the end of the tube.
To put a business card into a balloon you need to start with a jewel tone color (yellow, orange, etc.) You will need to inflate the balloon leaving enough to do the insert, pop and the twists for a small animal. Roll the card around a pencil or pen and insert, pop and tie off. Then strip the rubber off of the card. I don't bother to get this piece out as it shortens the balloon but you can if you want to be mysterious about how the card got in there. Twist the nose, ears and neck and gently unroll the card (it will have to stay somewhat curled) then finish the animal. Practice, practice.
Use a hi bounce ball to hold an inflated heart through a geo. I was making swans, hearts and geo sculptures and wanted a way to make the heart stand in the geo. Stretch the knot through the geo, place a ball against the stretched neck of the heart and the interior of the geo. Let it all go and 'Presto!'. The ball snuggles up into the geo and holds the neck of the heart against the interior of the geo. It also works with frogs on lily pads, dinasaurs on rocks, flowers in vases and, and, and. I twisted swans, poodles, dinasaurs etc. around the heart/geo to make lots of fun stuff.
Needed:
Method:
Fill the glass, to within 1/2" of the top. For a wider glass, use slightly less
liquid. Inflate the 350Q, leaving a 4" uninflated tail. Let the air out, and
re-inflate (this will make the balloon slightly wider and easier to get over the glass).
Squeeze the body of the balloon to soften it. You should now have a 2" tail left.
With the glass resting on a solid surface, put the end of the balloon with the tail into
the rim of the glass, with the "tail" hanging into the drink. The balloon will
curve into the glass, to the fluid level. If there is too much liquid in the glass, the
balloon will force some out, over the rim.
Slowly press the balloon down onto the glass, working the balloon around the sides of the glass. When you get to the bottom, keep pushing, so the balloon wraps under the glass. Notice how the inner wrap has skinned around the glass, trapping the liquid inside. Notice also how the uninflated tail section is poking down into the glass. At this point, when the balloon has covered the bottom of the glass, you can very carefully turn/ rotate the glass inside the balloon, closing the bottom, kind of like a tulip twist. If you are brave, you can now set the balloon down (on end), and the weight of the glass will keep the twist from unwinding. Ta - Dah !!!
You now have several options:
Here's the cool part: If you have used carbonated soda, holding the balloon, where it covers the sides of the glass, gently shake the glass. The resulting pressurization (fizz) should make the balloon tail pop up, out of the top! Use the scissors to cut the very tip off, insert the straw and hand the spill proof drink to a amazed audience member, or drink it yourself, to thunderous applause.
My kids loved this one. Caution: It's tempting to use the "glass cover" like a baby bottle, and suck on the balloon, but again, we don't want kids to think it's okay to put balloons in your mouth. Use the straw.
Hope you like the Glass Wrap. Have Fun!
Refer to the One-liners section of the Guide for One-liners for Balls in Balloons.
It is often desirable to get more limbs on an animal than there are ends of the balloon. The basic dog works out OK, but legs need to be grouped in twos. The pop twist will allow two legs or arms to be separated. When you are at a point where you want to make a Pop Twist, twist two medium bubbles, three small bubbles, then another medium bubble. Do a lock twist with the medium bubbles so nothing untwists. Ear twist the first one.
in out \ \ / / \ V / \|/ _( )_ <--- 1 medium bubble (ear twist and tuck between "in" and "out") ( )^( ) <--- 2 medium bubbles (become separate legs) (a)_(b) (c) <--- 3 small bubbles (a, b, c)
Ear twist bubbles a and b. Twist them about 5 times each (completely around). Now pop c. The air should not come out of any of the other bubbles which now represent paws or hands..
ET ET ______()________ @ O______)(________) side view with end view _(_)_ ((_) perspective attempted (_) (_) oo o o
Pop twists - good for pop-apart arms and legs on beasts, but the twists can easily come undone. Usually I try to put animals and other creations with this kind of pre-popped balloon twist on hats or leashes so they're more likely to "live" longer.
A "pinch & pop series" is a 5 bubble series. Bubbles 1 & 5 are the same size and bubbles 2 & 4 are the same size. The series is twist locked to form and loop (almost diamond shaped). To pinch bubbles 2 & 4 you take one bubble and bring it's own ends together by pulling on it's middle and pinching the ends together. Twist it at least 5 times if you're going to pop bubble number 3. Do this to both bubbles. This is exactly how you would make the outer part of a Teddy Bear head. I believe some books call this a bean or ear twist. Be sure to support the pinched bubbles while popping bubble no. 3 so they do not untwist. Hint - if you twist the pinch in 2 it makes good claws for your T-Rex or Eagle.
The easiest way to pop an inflated unwanted balloon is to pinch the balloon between your thumb and middle finger and simply snap your fingers. If you can snap your fingers normally you should be able to do this easily. I've even used this technique to make the fully inflated 260 'disappear' instantly. The kids like it and always ask how I did it, I tell them it was 'magic.' That's the way I do it too (though I'd mention that my thumb NAIL and middle finger NAIL pop the balloon with a scissor-like action when I snap. I never tried just snapping the fleshy parts of my fingers to pop a balloon though I expect that would work if you pushed hard enough and your hands were clean and dry). Makes pop-twists extra impressive.
I used to use my teeth, but I thought better of it when I saw a child doing the exact same thing to a balloon after seeing me do it. That's when I went to the small knife. I don't think we should set an example of putting an inflated balloon in our mouth to do anything to it.
I've found that the best way to pop a balloon is to try twisting it into an animal shape right after telling a friend, "Let me show you this new design I've come up with."
I'm not sure what anyone else calls this one so for now I'll call it a toe twist since that's what I like using it for. Make an ear twist, with only a little air in it. The softer the better. Twist the bubble in half now to form two toes.
twist along this line | v ___ (_v_) existing ear twist / ^ \ / / \ \ in out ^ |
The Dewey method for pop-twists requires "toe-twisting" each ear-twist in the pop twist series.
Mike Decker has new technique. After you make the 2 ear twists, & before you try splitting them in half with your fingers, try moving the ear from on top to under, then pushing the ear up, causing the ear to be split by the balloon (2 chambers next to it) creating 2 little bubbles from the ear. Now twist these little bubbles around a time or 2 and your ear-twist is set. Repeat w/ other ear & pop. I lose almost no pops this way and can't remember the last time a kid came back for repairs.
There is definitely a difference in the two methods of pop twisting. In the Dewey method, you twist the existing ear twist in half. In the Mike Decker method, you squeeze the two bubbles on either side of the ear twist towards each other, then push the ear twist up through the bubbles, using the bottom half of the bubble to separate it into two halves. then you twist the two halves around. When I was first starting out, I had a terrible time twisting the bubble in half and broke a lot of bubbles learning the technique. I saw Mike Decker's Video, and his technique is easier for a beginner. I could use his method immediately with little or no poppage. There is less control of the size bubbles with Mike's method. Now, I can do either, and really don't know which is better. Hope this helps
To attach one Geo, heart, or round balloon to another, save the knots from broken balloons, and drop them into the balloon before inflating, then after inflating, grab the knot in a little piece of the balloon where you want to tie on, and twist it to make a little nub to tie on to. (Otherwise, if you drop a BB or a small hex-nut into the balloon before you inflate it, the BB will fall to the lowest point. Grab the BB through the wall of the balloon and twist to form a nub that you could attach a balloon to.) The Balloon Dude in California makes an awesome elephant with a geo, using this technique, the nose comes out of the hole and the ears are attached as described.
We named the twist a raisin twist and it goes like this: tie a square knot in a scrap and break off the knot, drop this into an un-inflated balloon and then inflate and tie, grasp the "raisin" between the index and thumb, pull out slightly and twist, lock it by attaching another balloon to it. Using this twist, I was able to take home the First Place trophy in the advanced multi-balloon comp. (I made a momma sow suckling a piglet ). Brit Anders
I read in a book (about camping) how to tie a rope to a tarp without putting a hole in it. Find a suitable rock, hold it through the tarp, and tie the rope around the lump. I just applied the principal to a balloon surface.
I purchased the book by George Sands and the twist listed in there are all a modification of the apple twist. In the Sands book, he is discussing how to use a match head or piece of paper to create a knot-like effect on the nipple end of the balloon in order to create an apple twist. He does not discuss putting something in the balloon.
If you've tried the raisin twist with no luck (the balloon breaks or develops a leak), try 11 inch rounds inflated to about 8 or 9 inches maximum to practice. I've had no problem this way.
Use a raisin twist to connect some bug food to a geo for the frog sitting on the flower. Fun.
One day, I thought about the fact that out of all the different shapes I did and have seen others do, I never saw anyone twist a balloon from the side. So, I made a claw out of my hand and pinched a bubble out of the side. I've only been able to get a small bubble that way and I couldn't think of how to lock it. Yea, I invented the "twist a bubble in the side of a balloon" trick too, but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it also was first done a long time ago. None of the twisters I met at the 1995 IBAC had done a side bubble, so I demonstrated the concept at the 260Q Jam Session, and then provided an application with my jet plane sculpture. Within a few hours of his seeing it, Sean Rooney (one of the most amazing balloon artists I have ever had the chance to meet) was already twisting 2 side bubbles in a 260, _in_the_same_cross_sectional_plane_!!!! I wouldn't have thought of that. (Wow, what dexterous fingers he has... he eventually got 3 in the same c-s plane! Sean is a fan of "Pure Sculpture" (balloon sculpture without any non-latex support structure) and thought the technique would open up a lot of attachment possibilities.
I'm not sure that any one brand is better or worse for balloons. The kind that I use is Elmers. Before I brush any of the cement on the balloons I take off the cap and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes. Letting rubber cement sit for 15 minutes helps to prevent the balloon popping; the "rubber" in rubber cement is in a solvent. The drying process allows the solvent to evaporate, leaving the rubber. This solvent can dissolve balloons. Vaseline will dissolve a condom Gasoline will dissolve a Styrofoam cup. In short, petroleum based substances (gasoline, paint thinner, kerosene, etc.) will often dissolve polymers (rubber, balloons, Styrofoam, plastics).
When applying the cement to the balloon, make sure you keep it away from your fingers. It's difficult to handle the balloon when it keeps sticking to your fingers. Use the brush that comes with the bottle to apply the adhesive, but be careful not to POKE the balloon. Also, only use a minimal amount to get the job done. Too much makes the sculpture look messy, other things (dust, particles etc.) can get stuck to it, and people can see where the glue has been applied.
Wait a few seconds until the glue loses it's clear look and becomes whitish. Now just connect the two balloons together. Make sure the balloons to be connected touch in the right place, because it's hard to take the balloons apart with out breaking them.
Oasis floral glue is the best balloon-glue made! Oasis floral glue works unbeli evably well on balloons. A small amount holds well, a large amount will not pop the balloon (as rubber cement will) and it stretches enough to take a lot of ab use. This is one of my favorite tools when building large sculptures for event decor. It doesn't need to be plugged in, you can't burn yourself on it and it d rys quickly.
Now, what can we do with the use of rubber cement?? Instructions for making a rabbit, a three layered cake and a gumball machine can be found in Steve Hattan's Mon, 25 Apr 94 email entitled "Sculptures".
For balloon sculptures, cold-glue guns are used. These are similar to hot-glue guns, but they operate at a much lower temperature and use an adhesive that does not dissolve latex as rubber cement does.