This is Shirley's website, http://homepage.ntlworld.com/balloonparade/

You beat me to it Graham !!!!!

You can get the princess instructions sent to you direct as a pdf file. The ost is £5.00 and you can use paypal.

And a worthy £5 investment as well. Shirley's princess can be adapted in so many different ways. Kevin, a nice impromptu piece of work there, well done.

Thanks Darren, although looking at the photo, I think she would benefit by having a neck !!!!!

Patricia Bunell has a really nice way of attaching a neck to a Princess, I must check it out

I tulip twist and reverse inflate the same 350 for head and neck, I will see if I can do a step by step sometime this week.

Thank all of you for your tips
Bye

I've been making Shirley's Princess and many variations of, for what seems years. As I make yet another princess or bride, I try out lots of different ways to improve or enhance the original design. I had to make a Bride & Groom for a gig tomorrow so I thought I would share with you some of my ideas - i hope you find them useful.

This is the Bride & Groom that I made tonight.

[attachment=0:9oe32cv8][/attachment]weddingbg.jpg[/attachment:9oe32cv8]

Tip #1 : To make the base of the princess more rigid and sturdy....

On Shirley's original design she runs a single layer of bubbles around the base of the dress. This works fine but I would sometimes fine (especially when giving a princess to a child) that the dress segments would move out of position. To stop this, I run a second ring of balloons around the base with a very small pinch twist between each one. This can be a contrasting colour or just the same colour as the dress. It really does help keep everything in place.

[attachment=0:1jg04eo9][/attachment]dress.jpg[/attachment:1jg04eo9]

On Shirley's original design, she runs additional balloons down the sides of the dress. I still do this but not tonight. The pinch twists only help keep them in place.

Tip #2 : Replace the standard crown for a hair band....

I usually use Shirley's crown for the top of the head but sometimes I prefer a headband, especially when making a Bride. You will notice that I do not include the 160Q ears. I dropped these ages ago as I don't like the look of them. This does mean that I cannot attach the pony tail anymore from the ear but as you will see I now attach it at the back for a very good reason.

The headband is easy to make. It's just a 260Q with a series of small bubbles and pinch twists. This also is a great way to hide both the lobes on top of the heart.

[attachment=1:13spvt2g][/attachment]head.jpg[/attachment:13spvt2g]

[attachment=0:13spvt2g][/attachment]crown.jpg[/attachment:13spvt2g]

Tip #3 : making a better neck.

Shirley's original neck was a 160Q and this never held the head in place. To originally solve the problem, I used to take the 160Q pony tail attached to the ear, and glue dot it to the back of the dress. This stopped the head from moving forward.

I then switched to the same design with a 260Q which was better.

But now I tulip twist the heart (face) into a 260Q blush to form the neck. This is excellent and fits snug between the shoulders and the top of the dress.

[attachment=0:jfvd5sam][/attachment]neck.JPG[/attachment:jfvd5sam]

Tip #4 : Attach the hair to the back of the head

I take a 160Q and attach a pony tail at the back of the head should you decide to have one...

[attachment=1:jt7wmeu4][/attachment]hair1.jpg[/attachment:jt7wmeu4]

[attachment=0:jt7wmeu4][/attachment]hair2.jpg[/attachment:jt7wmeu4]

I have no more tips!

Darren what about a white 11" inside the skirt part of the bride's dress?

Ah yes good idea - in the finished one I have a small 5" round full of water to add weight. Off to search balloon cupboard for an 11" round... Thanks for the tip.

I just had an Old Mother Hubbard moment... perhaps I will leave it as it is for now