Heart Dove
By Ralph Dewey
Here is a simple dove made from three 6″ white heart balloons and one
white #321 bee body balloon. Unfortunately the white Qualatex #321
balloons have been discontinued. You can still make the dove, but it will
have to be in red, yellow, pink or orange.
Inflate two 6″ hearts (the wings) to about 75% capacity then tie
their nozzles together. Of course you can tie each balloon first and then
tie them together, but that gives it too much bulk at the knots. I try to
minimize the size of the knots to keep the simplicity of the dove. Twist
off a 1-inch bubble on one of the lobes of each heart. Twist-connect them
together. Those two bubbles represent the feet of the dove.
nozzle to the two feet. Use scissors to trim off the nozzles of the two wings.
off the nozzle. Tie the knot of the #321 around the feet. Poke the nipple end up through the two wings.
The #321 is not twisted into separate bubbles, merely wedged between the two wings. Position and squeeze
the two parts of the #321 (the body and head) so that you have a head of about 2-1/2 inches and a body of
about 3-1/2 inches. You will have to experiment a little to get the proportions and shape that you
desire. You may want to curve the beak (the nipple end downward slightly) to achieve a nicer head shape.
Warning! The following two balloon ideas may make you groan. You can make a bee sculpture and print “Ray”
on it. Now you have Ray Bees (rabies). Twist a horse and print “C” on it to make a Sea Horse.