Eight months ago Ernie Garner, a longtime local entertainer, gave Amber Burkey a bag of balloons, a pump and a book on twisting balloons into a variety of shapes.

Garner thought Burkey of Winthrop Harbor might try it and see where it went. He never expected it to go as far as it has, though.

The 25-year-old mom now has gigs pinching and twisting balloons into animals and princesses at five local farmers markets. She also gets booked for birthday parties.

“She caught on pretty quick,” said Garner, her mother’s boyfriend. “She’s basically on par with guys who have been doing it for years.”

Burkey didn’t like the book Garner gave her, thinking it a bit old school so instead, she watched balloon twisting tutorials on YouTube.

“I just kept playing the same video over and over, watching every move until I could do it myself,” Burkey said.

Burkey’s mom, Cindy Pocklington, said she knew her daughter discovered a new passion when she watched her practicing for hours in the kitchen and everywhere else in the house. “Lots of pop pop noises were involved,” she said. “She took to this like a fish to water.”

Her first balloon animal was a monkey. It took her almost a day to learn to make, Burkey said. Her favorite now is a popular request at the farmers markets. It’s an octopus or a squid, depending on what child you ask.

For this sea creature, Burkey uses balloons with polka dots for its head. She’s fairly certain the colorful polka dots are what gives it its allure.

For Hunter, her 5-year-old son’s birthday party, Burkey said she made an under the sea world complete with fish, sea weed and algae made out of what else, but green and gold balloons.

Dad gets involved

The balloon creations Burkey makes have proved to be so successful for Burkey and her family that now her husband, Mike Burkey is accompanying her to the markets to watch her and learn her techniques, so he, too, can take balloon-twisting jobs.

That’s fine with Amber. The lines of children waiting their turn at the farmers markets can sometimes get a little longer than she’d like it to be.

They were so long at times that she use to get nervous and try to go fast.

That only made her pop balloons faster and have to start all over, so “I learned to take my time. The kids are watching and it’s important for them to see this balloon turn into what they want. I can’t rush it,” Amber said.

The couple is saving to buy a house, and hopes the balloon-twisting venture will provide the money they need. After Amber lost her job a year and a half ago, the family moved in with her mom. Mike works a seasonal job at Six Flags Great America theme park in Gurnee. The couple wants to make balloon twisting a full-time, family business.

Amber says she’s happy she’s found something to do that makes children happy.

“This is the first time I can say I love my job,” she said.

Amber Burkey is known as the balloon lady at the farmers markets.

She has a booth at the farmers markets in Wadsworth, Grayslake, Zion, Mundelein and Lake Forest. For now, she works for donations at all of the markets except for Mundelein’s. For more information, call 847-746-3975