How many of you guys twist as well?

I know a lot of twisters learn to paint, but wondering how many painters learn to twist.

I know a few basics and will offer them, but it isn't something I push unless the parent needs something to fill the required two hour booking.

If you twist, do you offer the basics, or do you have a whole bag of tricks?

Metina

I learned to twist first, but much prefer face painting. In fact, my balloon skills are stagnating because I have so much more fun painting. I'm only a beginner when it comes to balloons.

I have been learning to twist just in case it comes in handy. I practiced so much I don't even have one balloon left. I can do about 8 things so far - mostly simple and definitely not fast yet with still frequent popping!!!

I can't stand the sound of balloons rubbing together.

I LOVE twisting! I started both at the same time, and usually do both twisting and painting at birthdays, while events sometimes want both, and other times want only painting or only twisting.

What I twist depends on how many kids there are (for birthdays) and essentially what the client wants. I do very few one balloon pieces anymore - I'd much rather do multi-balloon creations! I'd much rather twist a princess or fish on a fishing pole, in lieu of a one balloon dog/giraffe/squirrel.

Wyndy - what brand of balloons are you using? Qualatex and Betallatex are definitely superior to other brands. Re: popping - make sure there's enough uninflated balloon left, so when you twist, the air has somewhere to go!

I just ordered a GIANT box of balloons (they're the same price in Alberta as BC, but there's one less tax in Alberta!) and I am so excited to get home and sort through them...!

I twist and find a get a lot of people asking for balloons. My kids love all the practise models I make. I need to speed up doing the more complex models but I can do one balloon ones pretty quick.
I use Sempertex (don't know if you have them over there but they are made in Colombia) and Qualatex.
I'm still a novice but I'm getting better. My husband complains at how many I use up practising!
I do enjoy twisting. Boys seem to like it more than the girls here. I keep trying to find excuses to buy colours I don't have.

A great tip I got from a twister was if you are starting out, to buy asssorted colour packs and split all the colours up. Then you can see what colours are the most popular and what aren't. This stopped me buying colours that I like not what everyone else wanted.

Glenda

I've never heard of Sempertex! Still 100% latex? How do you find them compared to Qualatex?

Tip: I almost never throw away used balloons from my practice ones. If I can I'll untwist and undo the knot. If I can't, I'll cut and save as much as I can (unless they're too small, sticky etc), and use them as horse bridles or candle flames or to fill in a section of a weave that's popped.

Good idea with the asst packs to see what colours you like - I only buy single bags now, though - I'd buy a bag of a traditional assortment, and end up with 23 purples and 2 blacks, or something like that. Assts are great to see at first, and then buy the singles of the colours you need.

Haha, I am SUCH a sucker for different colours...I figure why buy one shade of blue when there are 5 I like? After all, whether I buy 5 bags of the same colour, or 5 bags of different colours, they'll all be used...that's my justification, anyway!

I added twisting to the services we offer and it seems to be a pretty popular add on to our face painting. I'm a beginner and can only do pretty simple designs. The problem is that I don't really enjoy it, like I do face painting. So I only find myself practicing when I have a specific event coming up.

Kristal wrote:Haha, I am SUCH a sucker for different colours...I figure why buy one shade of blue when there are 5 I like? After all, whether I buy 5 bags of the same colour, or 5 bags of different colours, they'll all be used...that's my justification, anyway!

I like the Sempertex as they are a bit longer than the Qualatex 260 balloons. They are pretty strong too and take a bit of bashing but I have found the fushia pink and goldenrods ALWAYS burst on me! They don't do all the colours or shapes that I'd like so that's why I still use some Qualatex.
They are 100% latex.
Oh and they are MUCH cheaper here than the Qualatex.

I'm getting a bit obsessive about keeping all my scraps too. Even the burst ones
I have a little blue bag for all these and my husband despairs of this too. He just doesn't get face painting or twisting!!!!!

I have been twisting since when I first started out clowning. I do the simple one to two balloon designs. I do like making the balloon hats. When I do parties where I am face painting and balloons I just do very simple balloons so that I can spend more time doing the faces.

I did some twisting as an add-on for birthday parties only but it was not fun for me - it hurt. I did basic stuff and my opus major which was a guitar a super twister showed me how to do at the Fringe Festival one year - it always impresses. I ran out of balloons, gave away the left over yukky colours to a friend and don't do them anymore.

Angie I'm with you. I don't like the sound of them rubbing together either. I've always had a dislike for balloons since I was a little girl. I'm constantly afraid they'll pop or float off, which just makes me sad to see. I think I must have balloonaphobia. I love watching balloon twisting from a distance though!

Thanks Linzicat, I feel a bit better knowing there are others out there! I've considered adding that skill to my party packages because I know it would really be popular, but the sound is like nails on a chalkboard for me. Doing a party with twisting would probably send me into a panic attack.

I am envious however! There was a twister at an adult mardi gras party I did a while back that was making the most amazing and gorgeous hats for the guests. They were graceful and whimsical looking, and I was so impressed!

I can do some basic designs and will be twising for money for the first time this coming weekend. I need to practice a bit.

I can't say that I get a charge out of twisting like face painting, but in my area, so many of the painters twist. I feel like I need to to compete.

Metina, I got it...I wish I could twist. My husband does the twisting I do the painting...I have to practice more with my painting and speed. twisting is quicker..The kids jump to him as they wait for me..it's nice..

[quote="Kristal
I just ordered a GIANT box of balloons (they're the same price in Alberta as BC, but there's one less tax in Alberta!) and I am so excited to get home and sort through them...![/quote]

Where in Alberta did you get them Kristal?

I have just started learning how to twist.

Jo: Canuck Amusements - I can't for the life of me remember where it is, but it's totally Google-able. Give them your business info and you're set for the wholesale prices!

...and check your PM's in a minute

I've always thought it looked awesomely fun but I've never really tried to learn. Maybe I'll give it a whirl one of these days.

I much enjoy face painting more than twisting. Got requests for twisting and don't want to turn down business so I learned to twist. I'm like Sherry and usually only practice twisting when I get a job for it. I do quick one or two balloon sculptures so I could spend more time face painting.

I do both too. I am only in the basic field with both arts.

My soon to be plans are to be a clown too. I was thinking of using the name "Happy".

I always perform my 1 hour magic shows first. Next I face paint cheeks for 30 minutes. The last 30 minutes I do the twisting. The reason I do the balloons last is because I want to finish my gig before the balloons pop.

I always do balloons last, as well, for that very reason. If I was to do balloons first, I just know I'd spend way longer fixing/replacing balloons that have popped/unravelled/been lost/stolen/misplaced. Gongshow? I think yes.

Plus, my balloons are on flash cards, so I can always take a peek through those quickly, and adjust which stay on the ring, depending on how much time I have left.

I learned balloons before face painting because my mentor clown said she needed more twisters and didn't really want to train another painter at the time. (she still hasn't trained me on face painting... I trained myself)

I always do balloons LAST for parties or you'll spend the whole party fixing them when they come undone or repairing pops.

You can reduce the sound of them rubbing by pulling them apart a little as you twist. Also, some people find that you can add some baby powder to them to reduce the noise.