December 22 - Sleigh

"You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending."

~ C.S. Lewis

Eventually it grew up, like we all do.

It was given runners and responsibility, and life settled into a bit of a routine - maybe even necessarily so.

But some days, when snow is just right - Rosebud still dreams of the boy.

--

This is another great (and recent) design shared by Isopresso on their channel, just in time for the snow!

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Isopresso:

November 1 - Jet

"Better to give than to hoard; generosity never shamed a man."

~ Hávamál (The Sayings of Odin)

We started Halloween early because we have to keep moving.  Thanksgiving is on the radar, but we're moving too fast now,  and the chaos of December is encroaching like a storm.

Wheels up.

December coming at a record pace.

--

Today I'm thankful for Sam Cremeens.

I think of Sam as more than an amazing person and generously creative genius, I think of him as some sort of balloon Viking warrior, the one most likely to stand in the halls of Valhalla and await the final battle.  Sam is, quite literally, the man.

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Sam Cremeens:

September 3 - Bomacycle Elite

I dont want a pickle
I just wanna ride on my motorsickle

~ Arlo Guthrie - The Motorcycle Song

It started as an idea.   To engineer the worlds most Boma-ish cycle.  A vision that would redefine two wheels.

 

Months of research, countless drafts, healthy snacks.  Until one day, the impossible became inevitable.

Bomacycle Elite, because the world was ready - are you?

--

In the collection, this is billed as the advanced design, but Mr. Boma includes an alternate/efficient way to build the body that makes this one probably just as quick as all the rest.  

All in all, I would say the ramp between easy/normal/advanced is very slight and it was more escalating practice building similar shapes slightly differently, which arguably is a great practical lesson.

(view other motorcycles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

September 2 - Bomacycle Breeze

"A motorcycle functions entirely in accordance with the laws of reason, and a study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself."

~ Robert M. Pirsig (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance)

The Bomacycle Breeze.

Engineered for simplicity.  Styled for freedom.

With easy handling, just the right amount of power, and an engine that goes PpPPpppPppPppPppPp - it's the perfect choice for riders who want that open road, but just in theory.

Light.  Nimble.  Effortless.

Like a breeze.   Bomacycle Breeze.

--

Mr. Boma released a couple tutorial companion pieces to his original motorcycle design, this is billed as the "quick/simple" version but it feels more like a refined version of the original, more efficient and quick.  

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

September 1 - Bomacycle

"Riding a bike is everything to a biker. It's freedom, expression, and passion."

~ Jonathan Rea

Motorcycles are cool.

I picture myself riding like the Terminator - leather jacket, dark glasses, no helmet.

Which is, of course, why I should NOT own a motorcycle.
--
I've been going through a collection of videos I had set aside and these motorscooters are part of Mr. Boma's collection of videos. This design in particular is the one he shows on his channel, a pretty quick build.


(view other motorcycle)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Mr. Boma:

August 14 - Yellow Submarine

In the land where bacon's king,
Lived a purple pig, who loved to sing,
But the rent was far too steep,
So he sailed away into the deep.

We all live in a purple submarine!
A purple submarine! A purple submarine!
We all live in a purple submarine!
A purple submarine! A purple submarine!

So now he leaves that life behind,
The dead-end days, the broken grind,
Purple peace in ocean's glow,
He sings his song now, down below.

 

There is always a bunch of random stuff strewn around a balloon convention jam room, but occasionally you'll see a cluster of similar somethings.  The experienced conventioneer knows that's like finding balloon scat, someone's been teaching something off menu. 

This was something Darren Mortiboy had showed some people, I was able to assemble from the scat..tered pieces the next morning.

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Darren Mortiboy:

August 9 - Micro Machines

"Measure twice, cut once."

~ Proverb

Miniature construction vehicles were one of the classes that Twistin' Sam taught at Bling Bling Jam 2025 this year.  

It was a great class, but after cranking out a bunch of jojo cuties in preparation for Bling Bling Jam, I confess that I went with more of a "mmkay" rather than an "o-kay!" attitude.  Like finishing a marathon only to realize you parked kind of far away.

But this was an interesting variation of micro to explore, vehicles - and the kind of idea that makes perfect sense after you hear it and makes you feel foolish for not having thought of it yourself.  Smart.  That's the kind. 

 

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Twistin' Sam:

June 3 - World Bicycle Day

"The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win."

~ António Guterres

Honestly there is a day for practically everything now - pickles, pencils, emotional support three-legged animal rescues (guessing).  World Bicycle Day is one I can really get behind though. Established in 2018 by the United Nations to celebrate the vehicle's role as a simple, affordable and environmentally sustainable means of transportation.

What better day than today - the BMX bike in today's post is one that I've been meaning to build since Twist & Shout earlier this year when I snagged an extra class pack after Jackie Ochitwa's session.  (it was the second class so I wasn't depriving anyone.)   I actually was planning on being in a separate session altogether until I saw people walking around with these and shuffled my plans to attend.

Jackie was fantastic and made sure no one was left behind, her instructions were precise, she even passed out rulers - making sure people did not distract themselves by working ahead.  I wrote all the measurements on the balloons to be as precise for when I used the class pack.

I wish I had remembered that before just now.  Green bike had sizing info ... *dramatic sigh*.

(view other vehicles)

---

Other balloons by and inspired by Jackie Ochitwa:

May 4 - Purple Nurple

Always remember the last words of my grandfather, who said: 'A truck!'

~ Emo Philips

Balloon Adventures in Isololation! is your weekly descent into madness, or into the brain of Rupert "Phileas Flash" Appleyard. 

To keep grip on that narrow thread of sanity he is challenging viewers to send suggestions of places and adventures he can go on in classic "bigger than you ever expected" Phileas fashion - and this challenge was from his son Tatum who loves monster trucks.

This design he quickly showed before running to make Tatum some spaghetti.

Even though the main picture below is out of focus, it's my favorite action shot of the set and really gives a sense of motion.


(view other trucks, vehicles)

---

Other balloons inspired by Phileas:

April 14 - Fire Truck

"Give a man a fire and he's warm for the day. But set fire to him and he's warm for the rest of his life."

~ Terry Pratchett

Another one of the designs Stephanie Morace taught at the Q Corner Convention was this fire truck.  Apparently vehicles are a big thing in the places where she works.

Her class was for quick things that could could build in under 3 minutes so she provided a good number of time saving shortcuts you could use in to making these.

Just recently she posted a really cool image one of her little guys with the fire truck as tribute some of our heroes.  It was too perfect, I had to try and copy it.

---

Other Stephanie Morace inspired balloons:

September 17 - Smoosh Thomas

Now I've been crying lately,
Thinkin' about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
Why can't we live in bliss

'Cause out on the edge of darkness,
There rides a Peace Train
Oh Peace Train take this country,
Come take me home again

~ Cat Stevens Peace Train

Let me tell you something about Scott Tripp. He's far too humble for as brilliant as he is.

He constantly challenges himself to be next level creative, and as the intro to his Balloon Blast Video Show says, to "improve our art form". He thinks outside the box, I don't even think he's aware of the box - and he invites us on his journey into the off beat mechanisms of his brain. Dracula in a bathtub, pizza surfer, a ghost wheeling a grandfather clock ... I think his favorite game must be "stump the balloon guy". (No intended reference to Stump, the balloon guy.)

This is the second of his Smoosh! series (link). Thomas the Tank Engine was not a big part of my childhood or my childrens, but it's certainly a force of nature - having been around since 1946. I changed around the colors a little bit and then added Percy. Then for good measure added Piggy.

---

Other Smoosh:

---

Other balloon designs by Scott Tripp:

Show All

August 22 - Car Babies

I hooked up my accelerator pedal in my car to my brake lights. I hit the gas, people behind me stop, and I'm gone.

~ Steven Wright

Another good use of this and other printed round heads is to mount them in a vehicle, and you can do this with pretty much any head and any type of vehicle - planes, tanks, boats, cars, spaceships, etc.  Here are some very young drivers in their cars.

The car design is a rough version of something Stephanie Moratz taught in a webinar ages ago.  I built the pink car first - thinking "Pink Cadillac" - and I think I like it better than my second attempt.  Using the larger balloons on top give it a cleaner/straighter body.

---

Other babyface designs:

Show all

August 16 - Pips Plane

~ Ninja Pop

Pip Milford-Hughes, perhaps better known as Pippity Pop, just released her balloon tutorials! (link)

I have had the great fortune of learning from Pip in person at Bling Bling Jam last year, and earlier in a webinar - so I knew it was destined to be something great. Pip is the balloon artist who works on the wildly popular Zoo Moo TV show providing the balloon art for "Ninja Pop", the balloon twisting gorilla.

This is the only video that I've looked at so far in the set so far. It was made in haste late at night when I realized I hadn't made a balloon for the office yet - and I think it fit the bill perfectly.  I made a quick prototype in orange and then made the desktop model in green.

---

Other balloon designs by Pip: