From: "Perry, Troy" <taperry@uswnvg.com>
To: "'Balloon Twisters List'" <balloon@fooledya.com>
Subject: Merry Christmas & Elmo New Year
Date: Tue, 24 Dec 1996 08:51:04 -0800

I, too, have been trying my hand at Elmo. Mine is a bit larger version
that would be too slow for when you have a line, but will be a great
gift for a birthday child, etc. I think one day I might even be able to
make this in two minutes or less...if I keep practicing.

I use 1 red 260 for the head. I try to get a slightly oval shape,
five-segment ball. Use your favorite method. I do it by lock twisting
two 8" inch bubbles, then another two bubbles the same size. Roll the
four together. Then, measure and lock in the last one. Tie off and
remove the remaining balloon.

Underinflate a 5" white round. Twist a 3/4" bubble. This will hold the
eyes to the head. Twist the rest of the balloon in half to form the
eyes. Tuck the 3/4 bubble into the middle of the red oval. Draw some
black dots.

For the nose, a 5" orange round is great, but if you don't have those, a
section of orange 260 will do. Make a soft loop and attach it between
the eyes. Shape it a bit.

The body is another red 260. Fully inflated and generously burped. Form
a 3" bubble for the neck. Tie the end to the twist to make a loop. Split
the loop in half to form two long parallel bubbles. Twist these in half
and double over. Roll together so you have four parallel bubbles. Attach
to the head by forming a 1" bubble in the knot end of the 3" bubble.
Wedge this into the center of the head.

For legs and arms you'll need two more red 260s. Fully inflate, soften,
and tie them off. Twist one in the center and lock the twist into the
bottom of the body. Bring two of the ends up to the bottom of the neck
and lock twist them there. Bend the rest at the middle so he has elbows.
Do the reverse for legs. Start at the bottom of the neck and finish at
the waist. Bend to form knees.

Elmo's body now has eight segments and is a little fuller than he looks
on TV, but I haven't had any complaints yet. If you do, just reduce the
amount of segments in the core of the body, or eliminate it altogether
and use a scrap of red to connect the arm/leg bones to the head bones
(ha ha).

At Thanksgiving I played around with Ron Covington's idea of using clear
260s as hand sticks to make this size figure into a muppet-type thing.
It works great. I couldn't think of a way to make a moveable mouth, but
the kids still thought it was great that Elmo waved at them. I used 1/2
of a clear 260 attached where his wrist should be. I'm percolating now
on how I could use balloons to do a traditional marionette (worked from
above). Any ideas?

Happy Holidays everyone!
Troy