November 22 - Jojo Skellington

"Well done is better than well said."

~ Benjamin Franklin

Never have I ever ... Inflated a balloon by ear.

Today I'm thankful for Tobias Stengel (Tobi Twist).

Tobi, the human balloon pump, would have to drink for his signature move.  His short-form videos are fast, fun and full of those quick clever ideas that make me watch them on loop and take notes.

Tobi brings energy and joy into his builds - and he's putting in the work, it's no surprise the world is showing up to watch.

(view other Jack Skellington)

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Other balloons by and inspired by Tobi Twist:

December 8 - Bopup Nightmare

♫ And I, Jack, the Pumpkin King,
   have grown so tired
   of the same old thing. ♫

~ Jack Skellington

Few balloons have been as fun to give out as these Bopups.  Especially if I've brought balloons to them before, there is almost a look of confusion.  "But normally there are more twists.."  It's why I leave on the nozzle so there is no confusion.

It's been challenging coming up with ideas on how to use this form, but the lesson learned here is the same as it has been for every balloon concept so far -- as much as it seems that we are making it tough on ourselves by defining limits, we're also making it easy on ourselves by giving a clear set of limits to work within.

So here are Bopup versions of Jack, the Pumpkin King and his girlfriend Sally.

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Other balloon designs by and inspired by Matt Falloon:

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December 25 - Nightmare Christmas

But who here would ever understand
That the Pumpkin King with the skeleton grin
Would tire of his crown, if they only understood
He'd give it all up if he only could

Oh, there's an empty place in my bones
That calls out for something unknown
The fame and praise come year after year
Does nothing for these empty tears

~ Danny Elfman Jack's Lament

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!

The Nightmare Before Christmas straddles both one of my all time Christmas and Halloween movies.  A simply brilliant story from the twisted mind of Tim Burton -- The Pumpkin King has grown tired of the unending Halloween in his realm.  When he stumbles across and becomes infatuated with Christmastown, his attempts to bring this kind of change to his own land ends up creating a Halloween/Christmas hybrid  

This post is a bit of a jumble as I was distracted by preparing for the festivities today.  I struggled to make a full bodied Santa Jack, and decided to make one using Scott Tripp's Smoosh technique (link).  That is one of the beautiful things about making things using a balloon style or concept - you can cut some corners, and things don't have to be perfect.

Once I did that, I tried making a Patchwork Sally to match - and struggled getting a Smoosh version of her!  (her dress mainly...)  I also wanted to play with a head style that John Justice suggested when giving some hints on his Cindy Lou Who.  Ah well, they are a mismatched couple - a twisted hybrid, and I guess in that way completely appropriate.

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Other posts with Scott's designs:


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