Bend, stretch, twist, turn, knot…
No, this is not about John and Dave struggling through their regular lunchtime Pilates class. It’s about balloons.
Being a bunch of kiddies at heart, we just love a really silly challenge. So here’s a good one we’ve just decided to set both ourselves and a few prospective clients in the animal health arena… making balloon animals! Orange ones of course.
It’s not as easy as it looks and can result in the discovery of hilarious new animal species. Which is why we’ve been encouraging everyone in the Swordfish offices to have a blast just so we can post their efforts on our blog. So here they are…
Below you’ll find a few sets of simple instructions that will allow you to make your own balloon animals too. Go on. All you need are the right kind of modelling balloons (they do come in other colours) and a special pump. Don’t fret, it’s a pretty small outset for a whole lot of crazy fun. Ready, steady, blow…
If any one can make an Orange-utang, we’ll be most impressed.
Making a Giraffe:
Pump up a modelling balloon leaving 2 inches at the end with no air inside. Tie a knot to seal the balloon.
The Giraffe’s head: Twist the balloon at around 2 inches from the top. Then, keeping hold of the first section, twist 4 small balls as shown. It’s easier if you fold each ball down before twisting the next one. Once you have 4 balls, hold them in a square formation and twist the bottom two around each other. Then, hold the top two balls and use your thumb to push the ‘nose’ through the hole.
The Giraffe’s body/legs: It’s meant to be an elegant Giraffe, so to leave yourself with a long slender neck select a point at roughly halfway along what balloon you have left and twist into two equal sized legs. Fold them next to each other and twist round to lock them in. Then, leaving approx 2 inches in between for the body, repeat to create the back legs.
Making a Rabbit:
Pump up a modelling balloon leaving 4 inches at the end with no air inside. Tie a knot to seal the balloon.
The Rabbit’s head: Pinch and twist the balloon around 1.5 inches down from the knot. Move about 4.5 inches down the balloon and twist again, then repeat so you have created a chain of 3 ‘sausages’. Fold and twist the first and last sausages around each other to lock the head in place.
The Rabbit’s front legs: Create 3 more ‘sausages’. The first of 1.5 inches, followed by two 3 inch long ‘sausages’. Fold and twist together the first and third sausages.
The Rabbit’s back legs: Twist a 3 inch ‘sausage’. Squish the air toward the end of the balloon so that it appears fully inflated. Then make a twist about 1.5 inches from the end. Twist the long ‘sausage’ in the middle to create four ‘sausages’ in total. Then twist the first and third together as shown before tucking the front legs between the back legs.
Making a Dinosaur:
Pump up a modelling balloon leaving 2 inches at the end with no air inside. Tie a knot to seal the balloon.
The Dino’s tail and rear legs: Pinch and twist a knot 2 inches from the tail end of the balloon to make a tail. After that, twist two further, slightly smaller, ‘sausage’ shapes to make the legs, taking care to keep hold of the tail so it doesn’t unravel. Then fold the two legs together and twist them around the tail to lock it all in place.
The Dino’s body: Twist two knots about 2.5 inches apart, fold them together and twist to lock in place. Twist five small 0.5 inch knots, ensuring to keep hold of them all. Then carefully push these through the gap between the two ‘halves’ of the body.
The Dino’s front legs and head: Twist two 1 inch knots, fold together and twist to lock in place. Then bend the remaining length of balloon so it has a kink in it that resembles a dinosaur head. Take care not to burst your balloon and render you Dino extinct!
Making a Sausage Dog:
The easiest of the bunch by far.
So let’s make it more interesting by forgetting to post any written instructions for you!
