Creative solutions: a finger-saving balloon knotting tool

Earlier this year I finally learned to make balloon animals. I say finally because I've always wanted to, but I assumed it was difficult.  I first learned in order to teach a balloon team for a local street fair. Yes, I taught myself in order to teach the rest of the group. That should be proof enough that it's not a terribly difficult thing to do. 

This week a new team will represent our church at another community event serving over 500 low income families and help make their Christmas special. My balloon team is part of the crew that will keep the kids entertained (distracted) while their parents choose and wrap gifts. At our training earlier this week, it was the knotting of the balloons that make my team a bit wary about the day, especially those who had agreed to come and inflate and knot balloons for the rest of the team. 

Hoping for inspiration I headed to Home Depot. I didn't ask for assistance, since I've found they don't always do a great job with outside-the-box requests. "Hello, I'm trying to make a gadget that will save my fingers from agony when I tie balloons for a bazillion balloon animals this Saturday. Do you have any suggestions?"

As I walked through the store looking for inspriation, I saw a box of the hooks used to hang tools on peg boards. That looked like it had potential so I brought one home and tried it. Score! It made a great balloon knot tying tool.

As well as it worked straight out of the box, I wanted to make it the best tool possible for my team, so I went back to the hardware store again today to pick up a few refining elements. If you decide to make balloon knotting tools, here's the shopping list:

1. Double prong hooks that are used on pegboards for storage in garages or workshops. You'll need one of these for each knotting tool.
   
2. 1/4" air hose (or any tubing that will fit on the outside of the three prongs). You only need about 1/2" for each knotting tool.
   
3. 3/16 in fuel line hose (or any tubing that will fit on the "handle"). I chose one with a bit of a texture to help with the grip. You need enough of this to cover the entire "handle" of each knotting tool.
   
4. Vinyl end caps (used on the rough ends of wire shelving) to fit the middle prong. You'll need one of these for each knotting tool.

I personally recommend going to a small hardware store instead of a chain store. At a local store I could buy the tubing by the foot and the end caps by the piece. At Home Depot I would have had to buy a huge roll of the tubing and couple hundred end caps. Yikes!!

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Click on the first picture for a slideshow with instructions.

So how does this knotting tool work? Watch and learn.