November 11 - Briar Rose

"Some people never go crazy. What truly horrible lives they must lead."

~ Charles Bukowski

This is the greatest and best balloon in all the world.

Tribute.

Today I'm thankful for Shana Sharp.

If there is one balloon design that I've used more than any others, it has to be this cutie doll princess.  For a while, I carried tiny cards that said "Take me!" - tucked them into their hands and left them hiding in hotel lobbies and elevators while traveling for tech summits.  

Shana Sharp is a Shupershtar - quick/funny and just abshurdly creative.  Her Twitch show is a proving ground for the wonderfully weird, where bizarre requests turn into balloon brilliance.

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(view other princesses)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Shana Sharp:

June 8 - Princess

Westley: “You’re that smart?”
Vizzini: “Let me put it this way, have you ever heard of Plato, Aristotle, Socrates?”
Westley: “Yes.”
Vizzini: “Morons.”

~William Goldman, The Princess Bride

I've tried copying some of Balloon Syotaro's designs in the past on this blog, I am a big fan - he was someone else who did/does daily balloon art posting and I have always been envious of his cool compositions.  You can imagine how excited I was to see he was going to release instructions for a princess design he had been showing off recently.

The instructions are available in English now (link), but I couldn't wait so I cut and paste into google translate because such is the nature of my OCD.

One thing I can say about this dress is it's sturdy - there are a lot of balloons that go into the weave.  I didn't play around too much with the dress styles, but Mr. Syotaro shows a decent variety of them as examples.

Second thing I can say, I need to spend some time working on my eyes/faces, it's been a while and it shows in my shakey un-confident lines.

(Writing the hashtag he requested here so I don't have to look it up when posting to Instagram -- it means "princess with balloon art" according to Google translate: ＃バルーンアートでプリンセス  )

(view other princesses)

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Other balloons by and inspired by the Balloon Syotaro:

August 4 - Genie

If you wanna be with me
Baby there's a price to pay
I'm a genie in a bottle (I'm a genie in a bottle)
You gotta rub me the right way

If you wanna be with me
I can make your wish come true
Just come and set me free, baby
And I'll be with you

~ Christina Aguilera Genie in a Bottle

The last of Brian Potvin's class "A Whole New World" is this Genie.  Technically, chronologically - this was the first he taught.  You'll have to excuse a little creative license because I couldn't show certain pictures before others..

This Genie was taught to a room full of people with various levels of experience.  I think some things were simplified for the audience sake, but there was a lot of down time while the class caught up so I went ahead with some embellishments and muscles.

The pig with the showercap is just simply hilarious in a classic 80's cartoon humor sort of way.  Hilarious! (A showercap?  Why would he need a showercap!?  Ha!!!)

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Other balloon designs from Bling Bling Jam 2017:

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Other balloon designs from Brian Potvin:

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August 2 - Jasmine

Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom
July is dressed up and playing her tune
And I come home from a hard day's work
And you're waitin' there
Not a care in the world

~ Seals & Crofts - Summer Breeze

Brian was booked for back to back classes.  This one called "A Whole New World", shared with the theme of the event.  This year marks the 20th Anniversary of Disney's Aladdin.  Which before you question it as an outdated theme, is arguably better than last years theme, Mt. Rushmore.

Jasmine is a quick doll to build, but I didn't bring more than black & white so I didn't attempt any face.

So that is a bit of a picture of the next 4 days of my life.  I would build things in the jam room between classes, and ferret them by the armload up to my room for a photo session before bringing them to the hotel give away piles.

There was as moment when it all felt a bit weird, taking glamour balloon pictures in the bathroom of a Las Vegas hotel room.  When I had the thought "this would be an awkward explanation if someone walked in right now."

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Other balloon designs from Bling Bling Jam 2017:

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Other balloon designs from Brian Potvin:

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May 6 - Princess Jasmine

I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?1

Aladdin: I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride

~ Aladdin - A Whole New World

I have only made it to one balloon convention with any consistence, Bling Bling Jam (link) - and A Whole New World is the theme this year.

Steve Klein's webinars were the mind expanding first glimpse of what could be done with balloons, and it was through his encouragement that I attended my first balloon convention, so I feel a certain loyalty. It's not as big of a convention as Twist & Shout (though I have never been) - but with smaller size comes the opportunity to meet everyone.

This Jasmine is derivative of what Shana Brenion teaches on her cutie dolls download, but I added a belly. The legs on Shana's version go straight up to her chest which made the proportions look a bit weird to me.  I'm thinking a smaller waist would work better to avoid front butt ...

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Other Cutie Dolls:


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December 11 - Snow Maiden

Remembering the games they used to play in their childhood, the old couple began to shape the snow into human form. By the time they had finished they were nearly frozen but the image of the young girl they had created was so beautiful, it was beyond description.

“See wife,” said the old man, “our daughter Snegurochka.” (Snow maiden.) The old woman smiled but as her husband turned away, there were tears in her eyes.

Father Frost felt pity for the old couple and, at that moment, he decided to create for them a daughter in his own spirit. He scratched his long white beard and pondered for a while before raising the great staff he carried into the air. A frizzle of magic ripped through the forest.

~ Excerpt from The Snow Maiden

Sergey Loginov is a constant contributor to the world of balloons, his YouTube channel is one of my favorites and it seems that he and Vyacheslav Andrienko have somewhat of a friendly rivalry going, oftentimes they each release their version of a topic.  This time it was for a Snow Maiden. I'm not claiming a favorite, they both do fantastic models and each in their own style - I merely lacked the right color quick link to copy Vyacheslav's design!

The Snow Maiden (Snegúrochka) is from a Russian fairy tale.  There are a few versions of the tale, but she is a child made out of snow and brought to life.  Hers is somewhat of a tragic tale as when she falls in love her heart warms and she melts. She is also said to be the granddaughter and helper of Ded Moroz, who is very similar to Father Christmas.

What I really like about this design by Sergey is the hair. The long braid going down the side not only looks fantastic for as simple as it is, but the design is such that it holds in place and doesn't untwist. It's one of those brilliant things that seem obvious once you're shown it.
I tried using the design to make a Mrs. Claus, but when I got to the hair it didn't seem right to give her the same long braid.  I also took advantage of the chance to practice princess eyes.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

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Other posts with Sergey's designs:


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November 13 - Boma Princesses

“Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning.”

― William Goldman The Princess Bride

Mr. Boma came up with a wonderful new way to attach a neck to a balloon.

Princess necks are notoriously bad, something so elegant as the nape of the neck is oftentimes attached to big awkward pinch twists. Mr. Boma experimented with a few ideas and came up with this.

One of the things I really enjoy about this is the way it shapes the head as well. Heads are not typically round.

I need to make better arms or have them hold something though, now that I've thought they look handcuffed I can't unsee it...

Three arrested at a protest of Disney's unfair portrayal of women...	Make fun of my hands and be prepared for an Ariel attack.
If you've gathered your things - our carriage is right over here.

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Other posts with Mr Boma's designs:


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July 27 - Princess Aurora

For night's swift dragons cut the clouds full fast,
And yonder shines Aurora's harbinger;
At whose approach ghosts,
wandering here and there,
Troop home to churchyards.
   ~ William Shakespeare
    A Midsummer Night's Dream

Princess Aurora is Briar Rose's evolved form.  Shown here as another cutie doll and wrist wearable by the amazing Shana Brenion.

Princess Aurora is probably the least known of the Disney princesses.  Everyone knows her by the name of the movie, Sleeping Beauty.  That must get frustrating ... like George Takei being called "Sulu" everywhere he goes.  It also must be tough to get a good night's sleep without someone trying to wake you with a sloppy kiss (again, much like George Takei.).

The doll and disembodied head were again built earlier in a flurry of cutie doll practice earlier.  I tried recreating Aurora using a basic princess design for this post.  The skirt area is based on a quick princess design Dustin Query showed in a webinar - I toyed around with a couple different ways of putting the chest area together using my notes from that webinar, but ended up making way too bulky of a midsection and weird skinny arms (like William Shatner).

I also tried using the cutie head style for the body, the hair looks off.  I think I prefer the vertical princess face style I used on Cinderella on a taller body like this.

My name is not Sleeping!	Going through her awkward phase...
I'm AWAKE!  Sheesh...

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Other posts with Shana's designs:	Other Disney designs:
Show all	All Disney

July 23 - Cinderella

Salaga-doola, menchika-boola, Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
Put them together, and what have you got?
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
Salaga-doola, menchika-boola, Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
It will do magic, believe it or not,
Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo.
Now, "Salagadoola" means, "A-Menchika-boola-roo,"
but the the thingamabob, that does the job,
is "Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo."

~ Fairy Godmother

This time I did some proper research.  Cinderella is the princess that saved Disney.

The company was millions of dollars in debt, if this movie had been a flop they would have gone out of business and how different would the world be today?! It was their biggest hit in 13 years.  It allowed them to create their own distribution company instead of using RKO, finance their next several films, launch a successful television production and build the Disneyland theme park.

No wonder her castle is the iconic symbol of Disney!

Some other interested facts I discovered when reading about her history -- Cinderella has a bunch of European versions, but the one Walt chose originates as a French fable, which is why you can see her topiary at the Epcot French Pavillion. Her name is based on the French word Centrillon, or "little ash girl" - and at 19 she is the oldest Disney princess.  ... wait what?  ..

Once again, the doll and the wrist wearable are from the Cutie Doll series from Shana Brenion. Truthfully those two were built much earlier this year, but I'm trying to make up some time since I'll be out of town to the Bling Bling Jam for a number of days.  I rebuilt a princess version for this post using the princess design that Nathalie, Miss Ballooniverse, shows us on Tony Twists Real World WOW DVD #1.  I went a little wild with the hair, but I think it ended up nicely messy.

After midnight I turn into a rubber band	"A dream is a wish your heart makes." Apparently my heart wishes I at school about about to take a test I haven't studied for, and I've forgotten to wear pants.
Me and the fellas are auditioning for the bibbidy crew.

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Other posts with Shana's designs:	Other Tony designs:

March 1 - Princess Lily

"Take up your china doll it's only fractured - and just a little nervous from the fall" ~ Garcia/Hunter

This design is by Lily Tan and was featured in Balloon Magic magazine #80 along with a link to a video on how to create her life-sized doll as well. This form uses a geo for the skirt and is a quick build given the simple body. Although this design is fairly simple, there are a lot of good elements to pay attention to. The shoes give a nice flat surface to position things on, or you could use them as a point to tie the model onto things, the hair bangs create an interesting frame for the face and could be used for many styles.

Smooch!

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Other posts with Lily's designs:




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February 11 - Princess FuDD

Why can't you give Elsa a balloon?
... she'll let it go. 

The fourth and final design that Daniel Ravia shared with us last Saturday was a princess.

There are a million princess designs out there, I never know which or what to build - but typically the faces/hair are similar and the variants are in the dress.  I believe this will be my new 'go to' design.  In true FuDD form, this dress is almost modular, a "Mrs. Potato Head" - to add to or accessorize however you like.

What do you get when you cross a frog and a pig?
... kicked off The Muppet Show.