Triceratops by Pieter van Engen

Ingredients

4 Caribbean Blue 350Q
3 Dark Blue 321Q
2 Caribbean Blue 260Q
1 Onyx Black 260Q

The Artist

Pieter van Engen, CBA
Magic Balloon Art
Heino, Netherlands

STEP 1
Inflate a Caribbean Blue 350Q, leaving 6” uninflated, and tie. Make two 2” pinch twists, a 3½” bubble, and two 2” pinch twists.

STEP 2
Make another 3½” bubble, connect back to the first two pinch twists and a 4½” bubble, and connect back to the other set of pinch twists.

STEP 3
Make a 2½” bubble and a 6” body bubble. (You may need to deflate the remaining balloon slightly to get the 6” bubble.)

STEP 4
Inflate a Caribbean Blue 350Q, leaving 6” uninflated, and tie. Tie the balloon to the end of the 350Q from STEP 1, and remove the excess nozzle. Make a 2” pinch twist and another 6” bubble and wrap back to the 2½” bubble from STEP 3.

STEP 5
Make a 9” loop twist and another 6” bubble, and wrap back to the tail pinch twist. Break, tie, and remove the remainder.

STEP 6
Inflate a Caribbean Blue 350Q, leaving 4½” uninflated, and tie. Tie the balloon to the last pinch twist. Make a 5½” bubble, two 2½” bubbles, and another 5½” bubble and connect to the loop twist in the center of the body.

STEP 7
Make another 5½” bubble and a 2½” bubble and wrap through the middle of the previous 2 ½” bubbles. Make another 2½” bubble and another 5½” bubble and wrap back to the tail pinch twist. Break, tie, and discard the remainder.

STEP 8
Inflate a 10” bubble in the tip end of a Caribbean Blue 350Q and tie. Shape the tail as desired and tie around the tail pinch twist.

STEP 9
Inflate 7” bubbles in the tip ends of two Dark Blue 321Qs and tie. Tie the horns together. Inflate a Caribbean Blue 260Q, leaving 4½" uninflated, and tie. Tie the 260Q to the center of the 321Q horns. Make two 1½" pinch twists.

STEP 10
Feed the 260Q through the loop until the 260Q pinch twists line up with the 321Q pinch twists. Wrap the ends of the Dark Blue 321Q horns around the 321Q pinch twists to secure. Tightly wrap the 260Q over the back and into the tail pinch twist. Break, tie, and discard the remaining 260Q.

STEP 11
Inflate a Caribbean Blue 260Q halfway and tie. Wrap the knot into the shoulder below the big loop. Wrap the balloon around the big loop, then back under the legs and tie both ends of the balloon together. Break, tie, and discard the remainder.

STEP 12
To create the eyes, inflate a 1½” bubble in the tip of an Onyx Black 260Q, and tie. Tie the balloon again about 1½” from the bubble. Inflate a second 1½” bubble and tie. Discard the remaining balloon and trim the knot close to the bubble.

STEP 13
Insert the eyes under the top head bubble and position on either side of the head, hiding the knots. Inflate the tip end of a Dark Blue 321Q to 5” and tie. Wrap the horn into the snout pinch twist.