24th May - Yoda

As promised its film Friday and today I visit the Star Wars Universe, this Yoda is another Dylan Gelinas design, I made a few changes to Dylans design as I wanted him to have a lightsaber and I didnt actually know how Dylan made his version, you can check out Dylan's Yoda on the Slightly Twisted Facebook page here - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Slightly-Twisted-Balloons/133645573385261?fref=ts

My Yoda sculpture is currently in HMV in Gunwharf Quays, you can see my sculptures in store every weekend so always keep a look out for them. I am currently away for a few days so My Daily Balloon has become fully automated (I hope), if anything goes wrong then I will be uploading some photos on Sunday evening to catch up.

Coming up on June 2nd, I will be doing a live balloon sculpture at the Aspex Gallery in Gunwharf Quays, Portsmouth, it is to help celebrate the Camp Bestival Around the World Tour, between the hours of 11am and 2pm I will be creating my biggest sculpture of the year so far (at nearly 6 feet across and 5 feet tall, eeek) there will be lots of other activities taking place in the gallery and I will update you on those nearer the time.

You can keep up to date with all the latest news and sculptures by heading over to Facebook -www.facebook.com/mydailyballoon and hitting the 'like' button.

You can also follow me on Twitter - @magirob

23rd May - Monkey

I cant believe I have nearly made it to June and this is my first Monkey, I made a gorilla a few weeks ago but this is my first Monkey, he is based on a monkey made by Dylan Gelinas so thanks for that Dylan, your designs are just so awesome, I just had to add in a banana for him to nibble on.

I think there are 10 balloons in use here, 2 for the banana and then the rest in the monkey, I probably spent as long making the banana as I did making the monkey. There are a mixture of balloons in use here including 260s, 160s, 350s and a 5" round.

Tomorrow is Film Friday and I am quite excited about the sculpture I have in mind, it will be on display in HMV Gunwharf over the weekend. Also coming up on June 2nd, I will be doing a live balloon sculpture at the Aspex Gallery in Gunwharf Quays in Portsmouth, it is to help celebrate the Camp Bestival Around the World Tour, between the hours of 11am and 2pm I will be creating my biggest sculpture of the year so far, there will be lots of other activities going on in the gallery and I will update you on those nearer the time.

You can keep up to date with all the latest news and sculptures by heading over to Facebook -www.facebook.com/mydailyballoon and hitting the 'like' button.

You can also follow me on Twitter - @magirob

16th May - Turtle

I have been wanting to make a turtle for a while, I have had a play around with a few designs and came up with this, its made from 7 balloons but might be able to get away with only using 5 next time.

This one has 2 blush 260s and 2 mocha 260s in the shell, then I added the head and back flippers with a green 260 and the eyes are a white 260, finally the front flippers are another green 260.

You can follow My Daily Balloon several other ways Facebook -www.facebook.com/mydailyballoon and hit the 'like' button or Twitter - @magirob

15th May - Fantasia Mickey

Here is another one designed by Dylan Gelinas, its Mickey mouse from Disney's Fantasia, I purchased the plans to make this not too long ago and yesterday I finally got around to having a go, this was my first attempt at making him and I if I made him again I know I would get him looking even better. 

I am not going to tell you too much about how to make this one as you can purchase the plans from Dylan Gelinas by visiting his website at http://www.slightlytwistedballoons.com/

Thanks Dylan for creating this amazing balloon sculpture. You can follow My Daily Balloon several other ways Facebook -www.facebook.com/mydailyballoon and hit the 'like' button 
or 
Twitter - @magirob

12th May - Gondolier

Last night was the 75th anniversary Portsmouth and District Magic Circle Annual Dinner and the theme of the event was Venetian Masquerade Ball, I help to organise the event and for the table centres I made these gondoliers, each one a different colour. It total there were 11 of these men, each one was made from 10 balloons so in total (including a few deflations) I used well over 110 balloons.

First I made the bases from an 11" round balloon, then I added on a 260 sized balloon for the feet and legs (which are also the core of the body) next thing I made was the stripey top, sleeves and arms from another 260 and then I added in the gondoliers pole from a 160, finally the head and hat are made from 2 x 260s and a 5" round balloon.

2nd May - Sea Lion

Last week I had an email from Nick, Nick is from Indonesia and is an expert balloon modeller, he does some wonderful creations, his sunflowers are awesome and so are his endangered species balloons, the most amazing thing about Nick is the fact that he is 10, wow I wish I had his talent when I was 10. You can check Nick and his balloons out at his website - http://www.nicorner.com.

I asked Nick if I could replicate some of his balloons and he was kind enough to say yes, so here is the first, a Sea Lion. This sea lion is made from 4 balloons, I used 1 grey 260 balloons for the body and head, the rest of the balloons I managed to use scraps of white, beige and black 260s. Thanks Nick.

You can follow My Daily Balloon several other ways
Facebook - www.facebook.com/mydailyballoon and hit the 'like' button
Twitter - @magirob

26th April - Chicken

My niece is 14 years old today, her name is Hester and she is my oldest niece, earlier in the year she requested that I make a black chicken, she has her own real live black chicken called Blackie so here is her balloon Blackie the Chicken.

This Chicken is made from 10 balloons, It is based on a photo of a balloon chicken I recently saw which was made by Graham Lee (another balloon man), I changed it a little to give her a nest to sit in and some different eyes, I started with the body from 2 x 260 balloons and added an another one for the top of the head, then I added the red bits from another 260 and the beak from yet another 260, the tail came next and then I added the eyes, The nest is a plait of 160 balloons.

Happy Birthday Hester

25th April - Frog

Here is my first frog of the year, I don't expect you will see to many frogs from me, it maybe because I am too fussy but I have seen a lot of frogs made from balloons but I rarely think they look like frogs, I think this is one of the best I have seen and he does actually look froggish. I made him from one of the youtube videos of Dylan Gelinas (thanks Dylan).

14th April - Dolly

I have made a few of these recently when I have worked in a few local hospitals for the kids on the wards. It started when one girl asked for a Barbie, so I made this and the little girl was over the moon.

This Dolly is made from 6 balloons, although I am often able to use up some scraps with this one. I start with the skirt which is a 160 and then add a bit of a 260 for the body, Next I add the legs from half a 160 and then a scrap makes the shoes, now I use the other half of the 160 for the arms and use some scraps for the face and hair.

12th April - Gorilla

I really like this gorilla, I made him today after seeing a YouTube video tutorial on how to make him online, the video was from Mr Boma's Balloons and is well worth a watch if you want to have a go as making him.

I will not say too much as you can all go and watch the video but I will tell you he is made from just 4 balloons, all of them are 260s and there are 2 browns, 1 blush and a tiny bit of white.

Thanks Mr Boma - http://mrbomasballoons.com

10th April - Strong Man

Its day 100 today and My Daily Balloon is still going strong, so I made a strong man to celebrate.

He is made from 13 balloons, mostly 260s, I started with his body which is made from 2 x 260s then added his arms from another 2 x 260s, his hands came next from a 160 and then I added in the pole from another 160. His face and hair is made from 2 x 260s and his shorts came next which is another 2 blue 260s, then I added in his legs which are another 260, the last thing to add was the weights which are 2 round 5" balloons.

My Daily Balloon is now on Facebook so head on over there and click like for all the latest sculptures - https://www.facebook.com/MyDailyBalloon

23rd March - Snow White

A couple of weeks ago I had a request from Ava to make Snow White, today Ava is being a bridesmaid so thought this would be the perfect opportunity. It has taken me a few weeks to work out a design I actually like with this Snow White, I am still not sure about her face but its not too bad.

This Snow White is made from 11 balloons, first I made her face and hair from 2 x 260 balloons, then I added the bow out of 1 x 160 balloons, her body came next, this was a 260. I next made her arms and sleeves from a 350 and a 160, I then added this to the body and used a little bit of left over arm to make her nose. The next step was her yellow dress from 3 x 260 balloons, the final thing to do was make her apple, this was from a 350 and a little bit of 260 for the stalk.

For those who are interested, here is the shopping list

260 balloons
1 x Black, 1 Blush, 1 Blue, 3 Yellow, 1 Brown,

160 Balloons
1 x Red, 1 x Blush

350 Balloons
1 x Tropical Teal, 1 Red

14th March - Adventurer Chris

Its Chris's 30th birthday today and I had to think long and hard as to what balloon to make for him so in the end I just decided to make  . . . . him.      A few years ago Chris went to Africa to work with school kids and to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, so here is what I imagined he looked like on his travels with his backpack on.

Adventurer Chris is made from 16 balloons, I started with his body and sleeves out of 2 x 260 balloons, then I added his shorts and legs from another 260 balloon with a belt from a 160, next step was to attach his arms and the straps to the backpack, both from 160s.

Now it was time to make the backpack, this was made out of a large 646 balloon with a green 340 balloon for the sleeping bag, this was then all held together with the straps made from 160s, I now attached the backpack to the straps fixing it to adventurer Chris's back.

The final steps were to make Chris's head from a 260 with a 160 for the hair and then a tiny bit of 160 for his nose, finally I added a pair of legs and a pair of shoes.

Adventurer Chris took me a couple of house to make and photograph, all that leaves me to do is to wish the real Chris a happy birthday.

Children's Party Entertainments

4th March - Columbo

I thought about making this a few weeks ago, along with my friend Phil I am an avid Columbo fan so it seemed like a good idea for me to make a balloon version of Peter Falk in his rain coat, I hope Phil approves as he is a Columbo expert.

This Columbo is made from about 12 balloons (maybe 13), I started with his white shirt which was a 350, then built the rain coat around it with 260s, Next I added his trousers and arms with more 260s. Next I added in some shoes with a 260 and then added his hands which were a 160. the next step was his head, a 260 plus a 160 for the hair, the final details added were the cigar (a 160) and his tie from a deflated 260.

24th February - Squirrel

I was asked to make a squirrel by Nikki and Martin today so what do you think of this little chap? he is made from 6 balloons, I started with a blush coloured 260 for his cheeks, then added the nose, next came the head, legs and body, followed by arms. Finally I added the nut, ears and tail. he took me about 20 minutes to make.

18th February - James Bond

On the day that Skyfall is released on DVD I have made a James Bond for my friend Jamie, this James Bond is definitely not Daniel Craig, I think he is more of a Timothy Dalton or George Lazenby, maybe even a Roger Moore.

I usually start with the head on these types of balloons and work downwards but with this one I made the upper body first and did the head last. James Bond is made of 9 balloons, I made his shirt with a 350 first and then his jacket and sleeves with 2 x 260, then I added in the legs and feet with a 260 and his belt with a bit of left over from his sleeves.

Next I made his hand and gun, both from 160s, and fixed his other sleeve in his pocket with a bit of dead un-inflated balloon. Finally I made his head from a 260 and added the hair with a 160. In all he took me about an hour, I had to have 2 attempts at the body because the first version didn't look like a jacket.

14th February - Cupid

Its Valentines day so here is my Valentines themed balloon, its cupid with his bow and arrow. This is made up of 9 balloons. The first thing I did was to make his face and ears from a 260, then I added the hair (260), next I made the body out of a 350 and added a 260 for the arms, the legs were another 260 and the nappy/diaper was a 350. Finally I made a cloud from a 350, a bow from a 260 and an arrow from a 160.

I cant remember how long he took, probably about 30-40 mins, the hardest thing was to position him correctly and then make him float in mid air for the photo.

10th February - Dennis the Menace

Stu Monroe recently gave my blog a plug and so this balloon is dedicated to him, Stu is an cartoonist, he has a brilliant cartoon strip called Ray the Otter and has drawn various cartoon strips for the Dandy (including Beryl the Peril) and currently draws for my favourite childhood comic, the Beano.

So as a thank you and congratulations for your achievements, here is Dennis the Menace, He is made from roughly 1 million balloons (well it seemes like it), actually its 15 balloons, firstly his face is a 260, then his hair is in 2 layers, a first flat layer of black and then the spikes added on top, this took 4 x 160s.

Next came his body, 1 red and 1 black 260, his shorts are another 260 and then his legs and shoes are 2 more 260s. Now I added his arms (another 260). finally I made a catapult from a 160, 2 hands from a 160, socks from another 160 and a nose from a last 160.

Denis the Menace took me about 90 mins, this was mainly because I didnt really know what I was doing and was making it up as I went, next time I make him I think I would make his body broader (he is too skinny),