I'm pretty new to balloons. I can make the basic dog and stuff like that, but want to do bigger and better things. Any recommendations?

Mad Hatz and Wild Wearables by Don Caldwell is a must! Also Patricia Burnell's Twisted Critters is great too.

For twisted critters you can purchase it from her at http://www.myfriendandiproductions.com. You save $20 when you purchase all three together.

I don't think Don sells directly so you may want to check out diamond storm http://shop.diamondstorm.com/

Mark will probably chime in with his bad to the balloon series that contain some great real world stuff http://balloonguy.net/

It is always best when possible to purchase direct from the artist. Give them as much money as possible so they will create more dvds for us. If you cant find the artists LaRocks and Tmyers have huge selections.

For David Grist DVD's and a selection from Thelma Levett and myself,
http://www.qualatexballoons.co.uk
http://www.sempertexballoons.co.uk

Anything in particular you need then just ask.
There are also over 40 free instructions over on the balloon chat forum, http://www.balloonchat.co.uk
Under tutorial and model of the month

MT,

I'd steer clear of Patricia Bunnell's stuff. She's quite talented but no service after the sale. I bought four tapes from her and e-mailed her for some information about things on the DVD's and never even received the courtesy of a reply. She was also supposed to send graphics for eyes when you purchase Twisted Critters 1 thru 3, and she did not send them. When I sent an e-mail, again, she ignored it. Though her ads say that her hat shapes are fast enough to be used in line work, don't fall for it. Most of her hats are quite complicated, taking her 8 to 10 minutes in her home studio (or wherever she films her tapes) to do each one of them (sometimes longer), some of which even she has trouble with. Imagine the troubles that a newbie to twisting would experience. My advice is to stay clear of her stuff and get some books by Ralph Dewey. His twisting technique is very user friendly, just perfect for someone starting out.

Best,
Zipper

I never had a problem with patricia and I received the eye stencils. it obviously takes her 10 minutes to make them on the dvd as she is explaining how to do them, most of them once you have it down and are using a good pump take around three minutes.

In my opinion you should get at least one dvd beyond your level so you are inspired. One of the 1st dvds I got was mad hatz 1 and it got me hooked.

I HIGHLY suggest you try Tom Meyers... used him for over 20 yrs. He is great, and excellent service!!! Good pricing, good return policy, etc.
Check his site out;
http://www.tmyers.com/

Ryan,

You are fortunate to have received the eye stencils from Ms. Bunnell; I was not so lucky despite repeated attempts to contact her. I even considered filing a complaint with ebay (but decided it wasn't worth my time as I can draw eyes well enough. I just don't like getting ripped off.). I have not done all her hats in line work, but I really don't see that her spiel on the training tape as she makes each one slows her too much (and each one takes around 10 minutes). I can't imagine anyone being able to make them in three minutes. I can see it, maybe, with her bubble babies (some of them) but with her hippo, rhino, giraffe, deer, panda, owl, and most of the rest, I just don't see it. Even if it does take three minutes, that's a long time in line work when you might have 10 to 15 kids waiting for the treasure you're handing out. My advice is to steer away from her stuff if you're a line worker and find something far more practical for the real-world twister.


Keep on Puffin'
Zipper

I was in the same situation as you. Recently I purchased:
"Size Does Matter" Volume 1 and 2 by Roger Godin
"Bigger Is Better" by Mark Verge

Has anyone got a good Rabbit instruction, nothing too big. thanks. pm me please.

My favourite rabbit design is on Ed Chee's hat attack volume one. It is a hat design but can easily be made into a full body design. Making it in 160s and it can become a bracelet.

Ok in my opinion if all you can do is the basic dog and stuff like that I would check out ballon magic made easy 1 -3 or twisting with sam vol 1 - 3 before you take on don caldwells or Patricia's stuff in my opinion it is like trying to run before you can walk for easy hats you have bad to the balloon and try keep on twisting by gilbert sorry I am all of a sudden drawing a blank to his last name but really the stuff on doncaldwells mad hatz and ww is the next step. I would not try to move on to the next step until you can make a decent teddy bear and one balloon motorcycle after that then I would think about some of the harder stuff and the dvd's I mentioned already will get you there and beyond

I have two different opinions.

Opinion #1. It does not matter where a balloon twister reads first. I can understand the advanced levels are more harder because more twisting and more balloons are required. So no problem, if a person wants to put his or her time and energy into that level for the start, let it be. If that person is interested and have the desire, they will become a professional in an early amount of time. When they finished the advanced level they will be creating balloon designs on their own in a sooner manner of time. I learned this from individuals starting off with magic tricks. It usually takes time for the beginner adults to make it to the top when they start off with lots of self working magic trick books. They have a long road in front of them. The road can be so long that maybe they will not have the time to succeed. I have seen magicians start off with volumes of "Card College" or Jay Sankey's "Coin Revelation" DVD. That person is already on a faster start to getting deeper into sleight of hand. The only ones I insist on starting from the beginning with easy balloon twisting are young kids, persons with low memory, professional magicians who want to do balloon twisting only as a hobby and seniors with arthritis.

Opinion #2. Once I ordered the bigger balloons DVDs using mostly 646s, I look at them being easier. There are less twisting the balloons. A big item can be made with a few balloons rather than using a lot of 260s. They are easier to blow by mouth. The only hard part is strength is required to make certain twist. I see absolutely no problem for a person starting off with 646s if they are interested in making bigger items than the 260s.

Hello,

I just joined the forum and found this thread I take pride in my customer service so this made me very perplexed and sad. Zipper I have sent you a private message on how to contact me for anything. I realise that this issue is over 2 years ago, but would to do what ever it takes to make you happy.

There is one thing that I would like to say in my defense. I have NEVER sold anything on Ebay... ever! I am wondering if you got some pirated copies of my work? It is possible that someone sold their copies of my DVDs on Ebay. Either way I would like to help how ever I can. Second... if you tried to contact me through info(at)myfriendandiproductions.com the link was broken and I did not know. I made my own website (and I'm not a web designer) through a drag and drop program called rapid weaver. It was my first site I have ever made... so I made a few mistakes.

Lastly... I DO make the hats in my line work, BUT it depends on the line. Some events want a balloon machine and to make sure that every child gets a balloon I am limited to one balloon designs and swords like anyone else would be. I have many events where I am able to make the hats. The event coordinators know that not every child will get one of my hats but everyone will be entertained. Back when I made the DVDs

If anyone has issues with any of my DVDs send me a message and I would be happy to look into it. I'm not great at getting back on forums like this so look me up on balloonhq.com. I am able to have my email sent directly to my inbox on my computer.

Again... I apologize for any inconvenience.

Patricia

I recommend Patricia Bunnell's Twisted Critters DVDs. They are great for line work and once you learn the concept, you can use if for so many things.

Ken Stillman also has some great stuff on balloonclick.com Some of it is free and some require a paid membership, but it's worth it.

Don Caldwell's Mad Hats and Wearables are all fantastic.

You didn't really tell us what you do. Are you more interested in line work stuff? Or do you have more time, like say a birthday party?

I'm not sure if the question is directed at me but I'm going to answer just in case

I am a line twister and I must be nuts because I love it! I don't really do many birthday parties but enjoy them when I do. I do fairs, festivals, corporate events such as company picnics, grand openings, anniversaries...etc. this is where I'm most happy. I don't understand the psychology behind it...it is what it is. I would say that some of the corporate work allows me to make more elaborate creations than fairs and some festivals. I also have a restaurant that I twist for. I have been making princesses, brides and such that are exclusive for bridal showers, birthday parties, etc.

Hope this answers your questions.

Patricia

Welcome to the Café' Patricia. I'm a fan! I love your DVDs and use your material all the time. bTW, if anyone wants her material, I will sell you pirated 8 tracks of her work. PM me if interested!

LOL...funny magician 8 track? You don't look old enough to know what they are. If someone wants to buy them let me know...I have a bridge for sale maybe we can cut a deal...two for the price of one!

Thank you for the comments.

Patricia

No, I was directing at the original posting, but thanks for answering. The original question asked for intermediate DVD recommendations, but didn't really tell us what type of gigs he does. Patricia, I think your stuff is great for line work because it is fast, but still impressive. Don Caldwell's stuff is great, but some of it is a little too much for line work. Great for birthday parties and restaurants.

Photoshop is awesome for ones fountain of youth! Lol.