Hello from Melbourne Australia,  I am originally from the UK but been over here 4 years and here is now home.  I have recently taken up balloon twisting just for fun to entertain my two little ones, and various other little ones at playgroup etc.  I really love it because I live in small apartment and you don't need much equipment and also I can give my two (3 years and 9 months) a new balloon toy everyday that I don't need to store, sell etc etc.  Really they are the best thing if you live in a small space (and it sort of fits with my whole upcycling, recycling not filling the world with more unnecessary items, ethos   ). I feel like Father Christmas every day, making a creation in front of TV at night and leaving it out for my daughter to discover in the morning. (9 month old is more of a balloon popping monster and I have to be quite diligent in picking up all popped pieces)

I have been reading the tutorial section already and seems like an excellent, friendly forum, and has opened my eyes to how much is possible with balloons and a little vision - look forward to learning more from you all.

Cheers - Vic

Hi Vic, welcome to the forum and it was nice to read your little intro.

Thanks for the welcome - just a quick query, is there a section where a beginner might find a troubleshooting section or similar - I have done a search but maybe it has some other name?  With answers to things like:

When I try to do an ear twist the bubble keeps deflating - is there a technique to use to reduce this occurring currently I have a 75% success rate.

Often despite measuring and leaving specified portion of balloon uninflated I seem to not have enough air in balloon to complete the model - what are the possible reasons for this?

I have googled this also and maybe am not phrasing right but can't seem to find any troubleshooting tips and hints for beginners.  

I have already learnt so much from this site.

An ear twist not staying in place is generally down to the pressure inside the balloon, I would suggest not burping the balloon. I know everyone else does this after it is inflated but I prefer the balloon to be very tight which will help with the twists staying in place and then the model will also stay up longer looking better. Try stretching the balloon before you inflate, not just from both ends but hold the balloon nipple end between thumb and forefinger and pull the balloon through your fingers, this will increase the length by 3/4 inches. You can also stretch the balloon after you have inflated it as well to give you some more balloon to play with.

Danny used to do a topic of the month section, there may be some related points in there?

Make sure you give at least 3-4 complete twists to the balloon at either side of the pinch twist. I find by doing the pinch twist I am untwisting one side, depending on which way I go, that's when this happens to me.

it may be friction tears as well, which can cause slow leaks - make sure you are lifting the bubble as you twist it into the pinch.

As for the running out of balloon - is it that there is too much air at the end making the final twist impossible - or is it simply that the balloon is not long enough?  If it's the first issue try blowing the balloon up a little less than you think it should be and stretching the balloon.  if it's the second issue stretch the balloon both before and after inflating to get the extra length you are looking for, also twisting the bubbles just slightly smaller than you think they should be might help as well

Thanks for all the tips,  with the running out of air was that I was ending up with a long Un-inflated bit and not enough air to complete model e.g with the basic one balloon swan for example - so was wondering if balloons just not long enough e.g balloon only 47 inches fully inflated so leaving 8 inches Un-inflated didn't give enough inflated balloon.  I think the stretching suggested is the answer as have had some more success with fully inflating then deflating required amount.  I will post some pics soon but a bit embarrassed because my stuff is all still very basic - but you have to start somewhere right and FB friends are getting bored of my balloon pics.
(Balloons are Q260's)

Thanks everyone