Things You'll Need:
- Ingredients: 1. 11 or 12 inch helium quality balloons. Usually available at party supply stores. The cheap drug store balloons won't work because they’re made of a flimsier material. And pearli
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Step 1
Using the funnel, or fist acting as such, fill one balloon as far as you can with birdseed. This will be the inner most layer so the color doesn’t matter so much. You will notice that you won’t be able to make it very plump or heavy. It will still be way too small and too light even when you fill it all the way up the “neck” of the balloon.
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Step 2
In order to add more birdseed to the balloon you must follow this tricky step: The goal is to take the birdseed that’s in the “neck” of the balloon and stuff it down into the “body” of the balloon so the body plumps up. Remove the funnel from the fully filled balloon. Then pinch the open end of the neck closed so birdseed cannot fall out. Then stuff the filled neck down into the body so that the birdseed is forced into the body of the balloon. The result should be a balloon body which is slightly more filled up and an empty balloon neck.
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Step 3
Continue filling the neck and stuffing the birdseed into the body until your juggling ball is at a comfortable size and weight. Fill the neck, pinch the top, stuff the birdseed into the body, and repeat. Perhaps six to eight times. There is no perfect size. Anywhere between a handball and a baseball should be fine.
If you are extremely impatient you could tape it up here with some cloth or electrical tape and you’ve got yourself one pitiful looking, but functional juggling ball! …However, if you keep going you‘re likely to be happy with the result. -
Step 4
After the neck is emptied for the last time, snip the top off with a pair of scissors. You want to snip the neck off approximately ¼ of the way from the top. Then, remove as much air from the neck as you can, twist the neck slightly, and carefully stuff the neck into the body of the balloon with your smallest finger. Pull your finger out gentyly while lightly squeezing the balloon. The result should look like an “innie belly button.” This is the inner most layer of your juggling ball.
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Step 5
Carefully set this inner layer down and snip the neck off another balloon to be used as the second layer. This time you want to snip the neck about 3/4ths of the way down.
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Step 6
Okay, here’s your next challenge. The goal is to get this second balloon around the stuffed balloon without the belly button of your inner layer coming undone. You want to wrap the second balloon around the first. This takes practice, and it may take teamwork. Turn to your neighbor and ask for help if you want. One person holds and the other wraps. Or hold the ball between your knees and wrap it yourself. In order to wrap, try to get all or most of your fingers into the neck of the second layer balloon, stretching it quite wide in the process. With as little stuffing and squishing as possible, wrap the second layer balloon around the ball. Put the emphasis on wrapping, because if you do too much stuffing the inner layer may loosen up too much.
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Step 7
Stretch the neck of the second layer up a couple inches, and then snip it off low. It should turn into a nice circle shape. If you’ve made it this far, you should have some sort of roundish juggling device. Congratulations!
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Step 8
Add one final layer in the same fashion as the second layer. To add some color, you can make little holes in the outermost layer. You do this by pinching it up a bit and then snipping off the piece that you are pinching. Once again, enlist the help of a neighbor or hold between your knees. Very important: Make sure you’re just pinching the outermost layer.
