Balloon Review 049 : More Rounds & Hearts DVD by David Brenion

Available from http://www.balloonartwholesale.co.uk

This DVD is a sequel to David's excellent first volume and primarily looks at wristbands and other wearable small designs. As we have come to expect from these DVDs, the quality of the production is fantastic, the instructions very clear and easy to follow. This DVD is also exceptional value for money.

So let's see what we have here....

PENGUIN

KIT LIST : 5" ROUND WHITE / 260Q PALE BLUE / 160Q BLACK / 160Q ORANGE

On David's first DVD there was a very nice penguin wearable. This penguin is equally impressive and is cute and cuddly. This design is quick and easy to make although making the hands and feet with an uninflated length of balloon between each one may prove challenging to some. Shana provides some great artwork tips so if you are unsure how to draw the artwork you won't have a problem. Very nice.

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ELEPHANT

KIT LIST : 260Q GREY / 5" ROUND RED

I first saw this elephant design when David came to the UK to lecture for TBAG and absolutely fell in love with it. The photo below is my original attempt and so it is not sitting on the usual wristband. This is a stunning design. The trunk uses my favourite deep s-twist / tulip twist which I have now perfected! If you haven't done one before it will take some practice. The addition of a feather adds that little something. You will use this one.

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PONY/UNICORN

KIT LIST : 260Q ROSE / 260Q SPRING LILAC / 160Q GOLD / 260Q WHITE / 6" ROSE HEART

There are three variations of this model, a pony, unicorn and pegasus. The unicorn is shown here. This is a lovely design and the girls will love it. This smaller wearable version is easier to make than David's ride-in body as the lobes on the smaller heart are easier to twist. The variable design is excellent so gives you three animals in one. Shana's artwork tutorial is simply brilliant and so much time is taken to put the finishing touches on this design. I am rubbish at drawing, but Shana's step-by-step guide is almost as long as making the balloon itself. It is excellent to see so much attention to detail. Brilliant!

[attachment=0:cwvj7ini][/attachment]unicorn.jpg[/attachment:cwvj7ini]

T-REX

KIT LIST : 6" GREEN HEART / 260Q GREEN / 260Q MOCHA BROWN

Soft bubbles and accurate sizing is required here to make the T-Rex body from a single balloon and to the correct proportions. The squeezing of the chest into the front legs and overlapping the rear legs can be tricky if the bubbles are too tight. I really love this one and again Shana's step by step artwork instructions are idiot-proof and amazing. An interesting design that looks impressive.

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AERIAL HEADBAND

KIT LIST : 260Q SPRING LILAC / 160Q WHITE / 6" PINK AERIAL HEART

This design uses a special Qualatex printed heart with Aerial's face on it - funnily enough this is one of the balloons I do not stock and so I have made the same design with a plain heart. The shell design is great. Careful bubble sizing is needed to get a nice symmetrical shape. It looks like I haven't quite pulled the segments of my shell tight enough and the smaller white 160Q bubbles do not sit well on top. A nice headband design and even with a plain heart it looks OK. This shell structure will be handy for future designs.

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GIRAFFE

KIT LIST : 6" YELLOW HEART / 260Q YELLOW / 160Q YELLOW / 260Q MOCHA / 260Q LIME GREEN

A small variation on the previous Unicorn design and you have a Giraffe. This one is very nice and easy to make. I added my own brown spots on the body as my wife couldn't guess it was supposed to be a Giraffe!

As before, great artwork instruction from Shana

[attachment=1:2dokt56n][/attachment]giraffe.jpg[/attachment:2dokt56n]

[attachment=0:2dokt56n][/attachment]giraffe2.jpg[/attachment:2dokt56n]

MINNIE MOUSE HAT

KIT LIST : 5" BLACK ROUND / 5" RED ROUND / 160Q WHITE / 260Q YELLOW

A very quick and easy design incorporating a headband. The round ears are effective and the vintage Minnie Mouse hat adds a nice variation. If you want something really fast just leave off the hat!

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LION

KIT LIST : 5" YELLOW ROUND / 260Q ORANGE / 160Q YELLOW / 160Q WHITE / 160Q BLACK / 260Q GREEN

A very similar design to the Panda and Tiger on this DVD. A little challenging having to attach the nose/mouth via a marriage twist into a 5" round and then add a side wall bubble onto the same 5" round balloon for joining to the base. A cute design which can be easily adapted to many other animals.

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BELLE HEADBAND

KIT LIST : 160Q GREEN / 260Q RED / 5" YELLOW PRINCESS HEART / 350Q GOLD

This design uses a special princess Belle printed yellow heart. I have used a plain heart instead. A stylish headband design that is just as effective without the Belle print heart balloon and is very quick to make. I especially like the way the 160Q green balloon hugs the headband. A small change to the colours and this would be perfect for a cocktail party.

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LION

KIT LIST : 6" YELLOW HEART / 260Q ORANGE / 260Q YELLOW / 260Q PALE BLUE

The body design for this lion, based on an original Patrick Van de Ven idea, is extremely useful and is the perfect single balloon body for many different designs. The lion's head is OK but reminds me more of a teddy bear shape than a lion. A cute cuddly character but I prefer the other lion design on this DVD.

[attachment=0:3mba8kpp][/attachment]lion.jpg[/attachment:3mba8kpp]

PANDA

KIT LIST : 5" WHITE ROUND / 260Q PALE BLUE / 160Q BLACK / 160Q WHITE

This is an adorable Panda - the photo doesn't do it justice. This has to be one of my favourite designs from the collection and Shana's helpful artwork just adds the finishing touch. The only difficulty here is marriage twisting into a round balloon but it gets easier after a while. I will certainly be using this one.

[attachment=0:2jhkztwn][/attachment]panda.jpg[/attachment:2jhkztwn]

TIGER

KIT LIST : 5" ORANGE / 160Q ORANGE / 260Q ORANGE / 260Q GREEN / 160Q WHITE / 160Q BLACK

Based on the same design as the Panda this one makes a very effective Tiger. Really cute looking, simple artwork and impressive. David's original design uses the tiger stripe print balloons but I have drawn on my own stripes!

[attachment=0:polstht5][/attachment]tiger.jpg[/attachment:polstht5]

CAT IN THE HAT HEADBAND

KIT LIST : 5" RED ROUND / 260Q WHITE / 350Q WHITE / 160Q RED

An instantly recognizable character hat which is perfect for a fancy dress party or other event. Everyone I have shown it to all know it as Cat in the Hat. It is a little challenging marriage twisting a serious of rounds but just make sure you don't over inflate them and you should be fine. From the back it looks a little messy as the white rings are simply tied together. I have tried with small pinch twists and even a marriage twist and it looks better. But this clearly takes more time so maybe I am being overly fussy.

[attachment=0:38y9dgm1][/attachment]catinhat.jpg[/attachment:38y9dgm1]

PIRATE HAT

KIT LIST : 160Q BLACK / 5" PIRATE PRINT / 160Q WHITE

A fairly quick and easy pirate hat. It takes a while to get the 5" round in the right position so that the white 160s stay in position. The boys will love this one.

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