Michael Philo's
balloon basement

January 2007

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646 Pirate

This is a big one, but little boys will love to see this at their birthday or Halloween parties.

You're going to need:

5 Black 646s

3 White 646s

2 Mocha 646s  ( I used one Mocha and one Chocolate 646 for effect)

1 Red 646   (Maybe 2)

1 Red 350

1 Blush 350

1 Silver 260

1 11" Smile Face or other imprint or you can make a head (Instructions Below).

The measurements are all guesses and approximate, use what works best for you.

Fully inflate the 11" Smile Face balloon and draw on an Eye Patch. Set this aside.

Inflate all of the Black 646s and one White 646 leaving a 2" tail. Tie Two of the Black 646 knots together and then tie the tails together. Repeat. Roll the four 646s around each other so you have a four bubble body. Tie the last Black 646 to the White 646 and roll them onto the body cluster so you have this. A Giant Penguin Body.

Inflate the other two White 646s leaving a 2" tail and tie them together at the knots, now make a pinch twist in each one.

Roll one of the pinch twists through the six bubble cluster to form a neck and vest. Starting to see last month's pirate?

Inflate the Blush 350 to about 10" and tie off. Make a 2" bubble, a 4" Loop twist and a 2" ear twist. Pop and tie off any leftover. Make a small bubble in the white 646 and attach the hand to it.

Repeat or take a Silver 260 and make a meduim sized hook. When I make the small bubble in the white 646 I spilt it into two ear twists for the hook.

Tie the 11" Smile face to the Neck or the two ear twists.

Inflate the Red 646 leaving a 2" tail and split it into two equal bubbles. Run this through the bottom of the six bubble cluster for legs. If you are having trouble with this step use two 646s. His sash is made from the red 350, inflate it leaving a 6" tail. Make a 5" bubble and a 2" pinch twist. Wrap the balloon around the pirates waist and lock it to the pinch twist.

Inflate the Chocolate 646 leaving a 5" tail and tie it to the knot of the Red 646. Make two ear twists followed by a 10" bubble and a 5" loop for a foot.

Take the Mocha 646 and repeat or squeeze the air to the bottom, make three ear twists and tie to the Red 646 for a peg leg.

Completed Pirate

If you prefer to make a head for the pirate instead of using an imprinted face here's instructions for making a head:

You will need:

2 Blush 350s

1 Black 350

1 Gold 160

1 Black 160

1 White or Black 260   (scrap)

1 5" Happy Eye

1 Black 5" Round

Inflate one Blush 350 leaving a 2" tail and tie it off. Make a 2" ear twist and a 7" bubble, a 2" ear twist and another 7" bubble, lock this to the first ear twist. Make 2 more 7" bubbles and roll them over the first two so you have a football head.

Inflate the other Blush 350 to about 10" and tie it off. Tie it to one of the ear twists and make a 9" bubble attaching it to the other ear twist. Cut off the leftover but save it.

Fully inflate the leftover, make a 2" pinch twist and run it between one of the head bubbles and the rest of the head like so. The Pinch twist is the nose and the rest is his neck.

This is a basic head,  you can decorate it as you see fit. I inflated a black 350 leaving a 1" tail, made a 5" bubble and twisted it to one of the ears. Then I made a bubble big enough to go over the head and attached it to the other ear. I brought it back over the top and again attached it to the ear leaving the rest as part of his bandanna. The eye and black 5" round (eye patch) are blown up to 2" and tied together then wedged into place. I like to tie them to the nose. If you inflate the gold 160 to 6" and tie it in a circle, then tie it around one of his ears you can make an earring. The white 260 is just blown up about 3" and stretched between the ears then wedged in between the mouth bubbles. Draw a few black and gold teeth or use a black 260 and draw white teeth and gold teeth. The white makes it looks like he has most of his teeth except a few, and the black gives the illusion of him not having many teeth.

Twist a bubble in the neck and tuck it into the ear twist on the shirt. Tuck any leftover in the 646 shirt.

Come back next month for ideas with the 5" Spider eyes

Questions, comments and request can be sent to

Magicalballoonmichael@balloonhq.com

Come back to the basement next month but watch the stairs on the way out.
Michael Philo
Magical Balloon Michael

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