Balloon Magic Magazine #58 - Vampy Vixen
Balloon Magic #58, displaying Don Caldwell's fantastic vampy vixen on it's cover, came out just in time for Halloween. The vampy vixen reminds me of Cruella da Ville in 101 Dalmatians, and is just one more reinforcement of Don's amazing talents.
Other creative Halloween ideas in this issue include a funny pumpkin, a really cute buzzard, and a donkey hat, all by Andy McDonald.
Shirley Ray reveals a great looking witch on a broom hat, that could easily be adapted for a table decoration.
Laura Caldwell and Andrew McDonald both demonstrate variations of a quick and easy snake, that Laura went on to adapt into a cool fire-breathing dragon hat. As usual, Don didn't let us down with his unusual skull scrunchy (a hair tie).
Another featured design done by Andrew is a really fun looking bow & arrow. Andrew's 15-year-old son, Mason, altered a standard hat design to create this unique toy that's sure to provide hours of fun for everyone. I'm sure once you make it for one kid, everyone is going to want one - even the adults. The bow & arrow would be a great design to make and use during a show so you could shoot balloons into the audience.
BM #58 actually starts off with a very simple magic trick, that uses a round balloon and involves audience participation. It's so simple, you don't even have to be a magician to perform it!
The events page highlights Twist & Shout 2009. All the winners in each level of competition, along with other awards are announced. Unfortunately, not all the winning designs are pictured, but those that were published are really awesome designs. It goes to show why these pieces were winners.
The spotlight captures the Dynamic Duo of Smarty Pants and wife, Miss Dena. The article describes how they both started out, how Smarty Pants got his signature name and look; and what it takes to make their mark in the balloon entertainment business.
James Vigeant's "GEO'Metry" DVD, which has actually been out for about a year, was featured in the review with some good comments.
