Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Mariella's Birthday Party


Yesterday was terrific! 14 hours off the plane from Germany, and I had a show. Andra, Mariella's mom, had seen me busking in the Boston Common and asked if I would visit Mariella and her friends for her birthday party. They live in a beautiful home right next to the State House. We all had such a good time!

Andra was smart enough to request "all the big stuff." When I make balloons on the Common, I want people to see balloons they never have before. The motto I use in BNI is: "Whatever the mind can imagine, the balloon can achieve."

The children were two and three years old, so we focused on bigger, simpler balloons. I have a balloon mentor, Allen Stay, (aka Swifty the Clown), out of Novelty OH. Allen's taught me a lot about ballooning, and his motto is bigger's better, smaller's cuter. I try and keep that as a focus as well.

Yesterday we did giraffes, a four-foot monkey on a tree (Don Caldwell's recipe), ladybugs and giant flowers. Leo got a jetpack, but then explained to me that he couldn't really fly. I'd have to say the highlight were the octopi. Andra had these giant helium balloons for the party, so I borrowed a few and made a flying octopus. The weight of the 260's balances out the
helium so the sculptures bounces up and down, much to the delight of my charges. So if you can picture it, giant octopus are flying all over the party!

No comments: