With the feathers on their green balloon hats bobbing on their heads, 16 pairs of young hands gently twisted and pinched their last balloons to create an array of sizes and colors of dogs.
Squeaking their way to the end of the hourlong balloon sculpting workshop recently at West Chicago Public Library, their fingers deftly executed “lock twists” with ease.
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Smiles came easily with their first project of pinching several balloon bubbles into the ears and nose of a mouse, then propelling them into the air by pulling their tails.
But giggles really erupted when they transformed a roly-poly little red balloon from a simple apple into a huge bulbous red nose on their faces.
“Because you can make all this weird stuff with it” earned the apple/nose the top vote of Travis Stauffer, 9, of West Chicago.
Early attempts to blow up their own balloons didn’t quite work, but luckily workshop leader Cheryl Gleason had brought an ample supply.
A group of girls, surrounded by their new creations, quickly created a story.
“We have Indian hats and an apple to feed our pets and a sword for people who try to steal our apples, ” was the final version by Susan Lincoln, 9, Amanda Morrison, 9, and her sister, Jessica, 8, all of West Chicago.