|
|
The Guide |
Photos |
Videos |
Columns |
Calendar
|
|
The BalloonHQ challenge this month is a rocket.
Hats are always popular with the audience. This time I'll show you a patriotic hat that is just right for the 4th of July. It's an easy rocket hat. Besides Independence Day, the hat could also be used to support a sports team like the Houston Rockets.
The hat requires one blue #260 and one white #260 balloon, a red #321 Bee Body balloon, a red #160 balloon and some glue. The only difficult part is making the #160 balloon into a spiral. And I'll show you a jig that will help you form the spiral. Start by making the standard skateboard hat. That is, inflate the blue #260 balloons fully except for about 1/2" and tie off the nozzle. Twist off a 1" bubble and two 14" bubbles (depending upon the size of their head). Fold the two 14" bubbles and twist-connect them together. Twist off a 1" bubble on the nipple end of the balloon and twist-connect it between the two 14" bubbles. That completes the base for the rocket hat.
Now inflate the #321 to about 80% capacity and tie off the nozzle. Set it aside for now. Next, take the red #160 balloon and wrap it around a length of 1" PVC pipe as shown. To hold the nipple end of the balloon in place, notice that I cut a slot with a hacksaw on the end of the pipe. The slot allows me to wedge and hold the nipple end in place. Use your pump or compressor to carefully and slowly inflate the #160 into a spiral. You will have to maneuver the balloon a little so that the spiral forms properly. Once the balloon has been fully inflated, burp it well and then tie off the nozzle. Take the knot for the #160 spiral and poke it into the nozzle of the #321 and apple twist it in place. Make the apple twist about 2 or 3 inches deep. You will need to bend and shape the spiral so that it looks like a flame coming out of the end of the rocket.
To make the fins for the rocket, inflate the white #260 fully except for about 6 inches and tie off the nozzle. Twist off three soft 6" bubbles. (The way I make them soft is to squeeze the balloon with one hand, release my grip, then twist off the bubble. By squeezing the balloon in this manner before each bubble is made, the bubbles will be softer than normal.) Fold twist each of the three bubbles. Cut off and discard the excess balloon. You may want to tie the knot and the tail end of the balloon so they don't untwist accidentally. Twist-connect the center of the fins to the apple twist on the #321.
Use Elmer's Rubber Cement or Glue Dots to attach the rocket to the top of the hat. That completes the Rocket hat.
Another Patriotic Hat
Another fairly easy hat that you could wear for Independence Day would be this triangle flag hat.
Since we are speaking of rockets, here is another simple rocket that I made some time ago out of a #646 balloon. I used some 6" hearts for the fins.
