Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
How to Make a Balloon Puppy Dog for Your Loves
In an attempt to keep learning new things (which I love to do as a former art teacher), I decided to teach myself how to make balloon animals. I love making balloon garlands for holidays and birthdays and am excited to start adding some balloon crafts into the décor. I started with a balloon mouse which is the same as the balloon dog, only smaller. For this tutorial I’ll show you how to make the balloon puppy dog for your loves.
My pink balloon puppy dog
Why “For Your Loves”?
In this world, we often get caught up in grand gestures when really, true love moments are often found in the little things in life. I knew this at 19 years old when I had a symbol for “smallness” tattooed on my ankle. It means to pay attention to the small things in life. Making something as simple as a balloon dog for a child or anyone you love is a small gesture that creates a sweet memory can last a lifetime and that’s worth more than money can buy.
Make many balloon animals to gift!
I’ve given balloon flowers to many children (oh, how they loved them!) and they are easy to make! See my tutorial in my video below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden.
Balloon Garlands
I love a beautiful balloon garland for any occasion! It just elevates any event to make it even more fun. I made one for my niece’s “pretty in pink” style 16th birthday in 2024, one for Thanksgiving in 2024 and one for the 4th of July in 2021. My very first balloon garland was a navy and gold one for my husband’s birthday many years ago and I made a fun balloon garland necklace for his birthday in 2024.
See my 1-minute balloon necklace garland below or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
How Long Do The Balloon Animals Last?
Mine got smaller after week 1, then it was time to make more because I love seeing them sitting on my nightstand. When I wake up, it, for some reason, just makes me smile. Those little happy moments, especially when you first wake up, can make your whole day better.
My pup Johnny Cash matches my white balloon dog!
How to Make Someone’s Day Better
Try making a balloon animal and leave it on the nightstand next to your sleeping child or grandchild, husband, wife, spouse or roommate. If they like these little things, you’ll make their day get off to a great start when they wake up and see it! Or put it on a co-worker’s desk, at the breakfast table, or hide it in a tub (oh the element of comedy can be hilarious with balloon animals!). You can even use a permanent marker (my kit came with one) to add details.
Johnny Cash loves his balloon dog!
I made a white balloon puppy to match my dogs Minnie Pearl and Johnny Cash and I’d like to think it made them smile. As you can see in my photos, they look like they are smiling!
A simple gift to give: balloon animals
Now for the tutorial. Here’s what you need:
Balloon animal kit (I used this one from Amazon, by Dan&Darci, which came with instructions, balloons and the pump and it’s a really well thought out “workshop”)
Notes: I tested other balloons (some metallic ones I tried were pretty terrible and I sent them back) but the ones in my kit were really, really good. Funny thing is that not all balloons are created equal. The ones in my kit were very durable, stretchy and easy to work with.
The booklet was pretty good that came with the kit and takes you through many tutorials with codes to watch videos. Also note that practice makes perfect! The first one you create may not be exactly the way you want it, but keep trying!
There are many other kits online and in stores and here’s some to try if you want:
Learn & Climb Balloon Sculpting Kit for Beginners, Amazon, $17
Deluxe Balloon Animal Kit with Web App, Amazon, $20
How to Make Balloon Animals Kit, Walmart, $15
Way to Celebrate! Twist and Shape Party Balloon Kit, Walmart, $4
100 piece Vibrant Balloons Kit, $5, Temu (If you are a new Temu app user, use code afe55197 or my link here for 30% off)
See my 1-minute video tutorial for this project above or via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden.
How-To:
Select the balloon color and place it on the pump. I held onto the balloon at the pump tip and pumped air into the balloon. If you don’t hold it on the end, it may fly off when you start pumping.
First, pump air into your balloon
Pump up your balloon leaving about 6 inches at the end free of air, which will become the puppy dog’s tail. Knot the balloon.
The non-inflated part will be the tail
By the balloon knot, make a “sausage bubble” that is around 2 inches in length. You basically pinch the balloon where you want to make the bubble, twist it around 3 times to make a “knot” BUT HOLD THE BUBBLE in your hands while you make other bubbles. Repeat to make 2 more sausage bubbles that are around 2 inches. Hold them until you are ready for the next step.
Hold the bubbles after you make them!
Twist the last two bubbles together and you’ll see the ears and the dog head come into view.
The head of the balloon dog
Make a tiny bubble under its head for the neck. Make it about 1 inch or so. Twist it and hold it.
Making the neck of the dog
Make two more sausage bubbles that are about 4 inches in length and twist them together to form the front legs. At this point, the front of the dog will stay in place, but remember to hold the balloon sections as you go so they don’t untwist.
Making the front legs of the balloon dog
Make another sausage bubble about 4 inches in length and twist it. This is the dog’s belly. Hold it.
Making the body of the balloon dog
Make two more 4-inch bubbles and twist the ends together to form the dogs hind legs. Hold them.
Making the hind legs
Make one more small bubble (mine was about 2 inches) and twist it to form the dog’s tail.
Make many balloon dogs to make yourself smile!
If you want to make the mouse, it’s the same as the balloon puppy dog, but you will only inflate the balloon to about 10 inches in length and make each sausage slightly smaller. OR, the balloon animals will deflate about 50% in the first week, so your puppy dog will become a mouse eventually anyway!
If you loved this article, then we know you’ll love this one too: My Favorite Dollar Bill Origami Tutorials
Carolyn J. Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.