Balloon Animals
David Buckner

Get Attention:
These long twisty pieces of rubber just seem to have an attention getting ability of their own, regardless of who it is blowing them up and twisting them into shapes. Many people who felt as if they had no creative ability at all have realized the "magic" that can be experienced through balloon sculpting. Once the balloons and pumps come out (and people realize that it is all FREE), an immediate crowd will form and stay huddled around you until either you or your supply of balloons give out.

Do Something Eternal With A Moment:
A good thing to realize quickly is that there is a big responsibility that goes along with this type of crowd gathering tool. As a Christian, the goal should be to not only break down walls with this form of creative ministry, but to also plant a seed. There are people who are extremely good at incorporating parables, Bible stories, godly lessons, and so forth into their balloon making. But the vast majority of balloon users are still at the stage where they are as worried about the balloon popping as they are planting a seed (practice until you get over that by the way). SO . . . what can you do with the 15 to 30 seconds (sometimes more) that you will have a person's undivided attention as you make their balloon for them?

Have someone already "planting seeds" in the crowd.

Have someone writing "Jesus loves . . . whatever
the person's name is . . . on the balloon with a
sharpie marker.

As skills improve, try to incorporate some lessons
into the things you make.

Use Christian stickers to put on the balloon or
give to the person.

What You Need and Where To Get It:

Balloons: The best source for high quality balloons and pumps that we have found is a great place in Texas called T. Myers Magic, 1 800 648-6221. The types of balloons you want are Qualitex 260 Q.

• Get bags of assorted colors—not one color.
• They have other types of balloons (heart shape, 360, 160, etc.), if you want to experiment, feel free. But you will use the 260 size almost 100 percent of the time.

Pumps: The type of pump you will want for this (and please trust us on this and don't go get the pump that you've seen at Wal-Mart or some party store) is called a Q-Blaster. It's bright orange with a yellow tip and green trimming—a real eye catcher and extremely durable. Get this from T-Myers. too.
 
Stickers and/or Sharpie Markers: For decorating that balloons. Get them wherever you can.

Balloon Handling Tips:
Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice, practice. Honestly, the majority of the tips and tricks to handling a balloon will be learned simply by trial and error. A good idea is to bring someone who knows a little bit about what they are doing and have them teach some of the basic basics to get you kicked off. After that, it's just as easy as practicing. If you are looking for actual balloon handling and sculpting books, again try T-Myers Magic, any party store that sells balloons, and the Internet.