How to Inflate and Tie Balloon Animals

Balloon animals and other formations are always a hit regardless of your audience's age. It's as fun to make balloon animals as it is to surprise your guests with your imaginative creations. Learning to inflate and tie a pencil balloon correctly is the single most important step to getting started.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Buy balloons made for balloon sculpture, typically known as pencil balloons. Professional-grade balloons are identified by numbers that indicate what they're made to do.

2. Stretch the balloon by hand to make inflating the balloon easier, regardless of whether you inflate it manually or by using an air pump. You can purchase a hand held pump at any party supply store.

3. Inflate the balloon to about two thirds of its capacity. Leave a tail at the end so the air has someplace to go once you start twisting. You can keep this tail from inflating by pinching off a small section of the back of the balloon.

4. Pinch an inch or so down of the neck of the balloon. Keep that pinched tightly so no air escapes during the tying process.

5. Grab the inch above the pinch and wrap it around your first two fingers. Hold the end of the balloon between your first finger and your thumb. This essentially creates one entire loop around your fingers.

6. Tuck the end of the balloon in between your fingers, then grab them again with your other hand.

7. Gently pull your fingers out of the loop without letting go of the end of the balloon. Pull the front of the balloon in one direction and the end in the opposite direction to tighten the loop and form your knot.