The Springling Brothers over in US have developed an attachment for the MAC Lite floor pump. They call it the 'Dumbo' as it looks a little like elephant ears and goes over the body of the Mac to act like a handle/balloon holder.

They've just reduced the price for pre-orders from $49 to $29 until the 15th Feb, but no price for shipping to the UK, which is a bit disappointing. They'll be at Twist and Shout where they're launching it - anyone going from the UK?

Liz

My granddaughter's birthday balloon.

I need to make quite a few models and want to get a head start the day before by making certain parts before putting them together. Is there a way of storing the elements so they don't get that faded 'bloom' look?

Liz

Received a text today from a promotions company asking for a balloon modeller and a face painter this weekend. Working both Saturday and Sunday, 10-4 and they're offering £216 for the face painter and £240 for the balloon modeller. That's for the two days, not one.

I didn't even bother to answer as it was just insulting.

Liz

I've been practicing my people (after seeing Thelma and Graham's pictures) and I've managed the head, but how do you attach it to the body? I'm doing a retirement model of a chap I work with and I don't want the head falling off when he takes it home.

Do you just wedge a larger bubble up inside? At the moment I'm using a 260 - pinch twist for the ear, 8 finger bubble, pinch twist for other ear, 8 finger bubble, small bubble, pinch twist for nose, small bubble twisted into ear, then another 8 finger bubble so there are 3 8 finger bubbles making the main part of the head. A scrap of white for the eyes and that's the head finished. Help?

Liz

A while ago someone posted up a picture of an alien in a spaceship he'd made while on a slow job. It looked fantastic and I'd really like to attempt it. I've searched for 'Alien' and 'spaceship' but can't seem to find it.

Can anyone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

Liz

I can do a one-balloon parrot, but wondered if anyone had any pics/instructions for a multicoloured one. A girl at work has asked me if I can make 3 for a pirate themed night out and she'd like to put one on her shoulder.

Thanks

Liz

Can I ask how long you twist before taking a break? I did a face painting/twisting job today, and started twisting towards the end of the party (I asked the client how many children were there as I seemed to have a never-ending queue, and she said 22 girls and 7 boys!) and found that my hand really cramped up after 20 minutes and found it really difficult to tie the knots.

Maybe it's because I'm fairly new to twisting and don't do it very often, but I'd appreciate some advice about this.

Liz

Hi

A fellow face painter is having a jam at her house on 11th May and asked me to put it up here if anyone's interested.

Date: Sunday 11th May
Time: from 10am onwards
Food: Bring your own (we usually all pitch in and share - I'll be providing a selection of cakes)
Place: Luton

We're all complete amateurs but we do have a laugh when we get together.

Liz

This is something I did yesterday for a chap at works' 60th birthday.





Credit for it goes to Michael Floyd of balloon-animals.com. I didn't get it completely right according to his video, but it worked anyway. Took me about 5 goes to get it right (still struggling with how much to leave uninflated) which is why he ended up with a peach coloured bike instead of a blue one!

Liz

Hi

Hope this works! This is the balloon bride I created for one of the girls at work. Picture quality isn't brilliant as I had to take it on my camera phone, but you can get the general idea.



Liz

Hi

My name is Liz, known as Lizzy B. I only started twisting properly after Graham's care and share day in Mildenhall last year (I only dabbled before). Mainly a face painter, I use balloons as an 'add on' for a party; I'm nowhere near any of your standards!

I've been asked to produce a 'bride' for one of the girls at work, so I'll take a picture and post it up on Monday after it's completed. I had a practice run and it looked quite good.

Thanks for letting me ramble on a bit!

Liz
(based in Cambridge)