I spend 14 days every year twisting balloon animals at festivals and hundreds of hours at picnics and other events. It never fails, at almost every event, somebody will share how they tried to learn balloon sculpture and failed. This is good for my business, for sure. But the reasons folks never learn the art of balloon twisting is frustrating. I have taught classes at the local library and taught 5 year olds how to twist a dog. Often, I will give someone a balloon at a restaurant or festival and in 5 minutes, they have twisted their first dog. The smiles people have when they finish that first sculpture is wonderful. It is as if the secrets of the universe have beeen opened to them. Why then, do so many people fail at learning this skill? The number two reason is bad directions. Most balloon kits sold at mega stores and dollar stores have very poor instructions. I have found some very good books on the art at the library. If you want to do balloons, go to the library. The number one reason is cheap balloons.Every balloon kitI have seen in stores is full of junk. Cheap balloons, cheap pump and poor directions. Sure failure. I once ran out of balloons at a festival and picked up a few hundred at a party store. I paid a high price, but the quality was awful. My wife and I could make simple things like dogs and swords. The more difficult sculptures, like the Tazmanian Devil, Road Runner, Motorcyle and others were just impossible. No wonder so many people quit as soon as they start. To make balloon animals, you have to start with quality materials. Qualatex balloons, a good pump and a good book. DVDs are also available.If you can, take a class. To buy quality Qualatex Balloons, go to www.mymagicrabbit.com They have all the materials you need at discount prices. Balloon twisting is fun to do and watch. Be sure to hire a twister for your next event and watch the smiles on all faces; young and old. Better yet, learn to be te smile maker yourself.