Hi Balloonartists  :mrgreen:

I heard from a person in germany that he saw Nikoloon inflate a 260 balloon and without twisting he had a very great heartshape.What Nikoloon does before he inflates the balloon, he was laying one strand over the other in the middle of the balloon.

@Thelma Levett : If you read my new topic , would you please explain the people what I mean ?

I think you know the heart shape and know what I mean. Thank you for your help Thelma.

Maybe someone can post a picture of the heartshape.I never saw that heartshape, I only know from it through the stories I heard from the person in germany.

Thank you very much for your help and support.

Marc

Dear Marc,

I think this is what you may have seen, and I hope it helps you.

http://www.balloon-animals.com/instruct ... heart.html

It does take a bit of time to work out the best way for you to do it, but it is such a usefull thing to be able to do.

Hi Kevin, I think Marc is on about having the centre of the balloon wrapped around your finger while inflating. Then you just put a twist in the balloon where it went around your finger and you have the best 3D heart shape available which is only achieved by mouth inflating.

Yes correct Graham ! That's what I mean.

video?

Hi Marc and Graham,

That is something I have not heard of, so would really appreciate it if you could share this with me, and lets learn together Marc

Many thanks

I just tried this, and I have found that it helps if you use two fingers in the middle instead of one.  It also helps if you "grab" the center while the balloon is making it's way around your fingers, which makes the return trip easier to accomplish.

I'll try to explain what I learned:

It's MUCH easier if you fully inflate and deflate the balloon before beginning (260, of course).

Then hold the balloon "upside down" by the nipple end in your right hand between the thumb and index finger with the nozzle end toward the floor.

Hold your left hand with the palm towards your body, thumb pointing straight up and fingers extended to the right.

Curl your index and pinky fingers towards your body, leaving the second and third fingers extended and pointing to the right.

Move the left hand towards the balloon so that the center of the balloon touches the backs of the knuckles of the curled fingers, then extend the index and pinky fingers, trapping the balloon between your fingers.  If you turn your left hand horizontal (with your thumb pointing at your face and all 4 fingers extended) the balloon will follow this "path":

It will start with the nipple end in your right hand between the thumb and index finger and travel up and over the index finger of the left hand, then under the second and third fingers, the up and over the pinky finger with the nozzle end pointing to the floor.

Now return your left hand to the "vertical" position with the thumb pointing up at the ceiling and fingers extended with the balloon trapped between them as described above.

Transfer the nipple end from between the thumb and index finger of the right hand to between the index and second finger, which will allow you to grasp the nozzle end between the thumb and index finger of your right hand.  You will now have the balloon in an "upside down" position with the nozzle end between your right thumb and index finger "below" the nipple end, which is trapped by the index and second finger of the right hand, with the center of the balloon snaking around the fingers of the left hand as described above.

Inflate the balloon with a gentle "tugging" motion to start, then keep a light tension between your two hands as the balloon inflates.  As the balloon inflates around the pinky finger of the left hand, it will continue to inflate "under" the second and third fingers of the left hand.  When the balloon begins to loop back toward the left index finger, use your pinky finger of the right hand to "grab" the center loop so you can create a bit of tension for the return trip around the index finger of your left hand.

If you do not grab the center of the balloon and provide the tension for the return trip around your left index finger, it tends to get stuck and develop a "kink" in the finished heart.

Continue to inflate until the balloon is fully inflated with just about 1/2 inch of tail, then tie the ends together and voila, you have a heart! (sort of).

I have done this 7 times, and only about 2 of them came out really nice without further manipulation.  The rest of them resembled kidney beans more than they did hearts, but a little bit of shaping helped make them into very nice hearts.

I know this is long-winded, and very complex without the aid of video, but that's all I have available right now.  I am right handed.  Obviously if you are left handed, change the directions accordingly.

I am anxious to find out if anyone finds these instructions helpful, or even useful at all.

Enjoy!