Making a Turtle From Balloons

If you have agile fingers, like to entertain people and are not afraid of popping balloons, try making turtles out of balloons at your next party. Kids are fascinated watching a turtle being created out of a few simple balloons. A great way to learn how to "twist" balloons is by watching videos on your computer. You can find several good videos showing how to do make a really cute turtle on YouTube.

People who create animals and other things out of balloons are called Twisters, Balloon Benders or Balloon Artists. In many areas you can find someone who does this professionally and you can hire them to entertain at your party. A good Web source for learning about balloon twisting and one that has a directory for local professional twisters is BalloonHQ. But there is no reason you can't "twist" turtles out of balloons yourself - with a lot of practice. Of course it is also best to have the right materials. Balloons that are good for twisting are specially made and can be ordered on the Web or purchased in party shops. You will notice in most videos that balloons are referred to by numbers. (For example, the most common size of twisting balloons is called a "260", as it is approximately two inches in diameter and 60 inches in length.) Balloon twisting as a form of entertainment has been traced back to 1939. So get some balloons and be the star of your next party. But don't forget to put in some practice time beforehand!

An Unusual Turtle

The Black-Knobbed Map Turtle is as unusual as its name. (It is also called the Black-Knobbed Saw Backed Turtle, which actually seems a better fit to me.) It came to my attention when I read about it in an article "Bizarre and Exotic Pets" on the Bukisa website. What immediately catches your attention about this small turtle are the protruding spikes along the center line of the turtle's shell. These fresh water turtles, which are listed as an endangered species by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, are found in rivers throughout the Southeast United States.

Find interesting and unusual gifts at Turtle Treasures, where you can find hundreds of turtle related gifts and read more fun facts about turtles!