Balloon Art

Balloons are to parties like cake is to icing (and yes, I meant it in that order ;p).

If you're stuck in a rut of the same plain jane balloons from when poofy bangs were in style, how about busting out some balloon art.

What is balloon art? Well...I think I made it up. I've never heard the term before...but surely someone somewhere has used that term before. This is just the Parties for Pennies version.

Let's start with what you're gonna need -

You're going to need some balloons. Shocker, huh? 

- Acrylic Paint 

- Paint Brush 

- String 

- Hot Air (if you don't have any around, I'll lend you some of mine...my husband says I have plenty. ;p) 

For my balloon art, I wanted to make a banner for my sister. This is a really awesome year for her. She just got engaged & is in the middle of planning a wedding. She's also my best friend &...well...her name only has 3 letters. ;p So Meg gets a balloon art banner. :-) 

I decided to do a chevron pattern & circles. I grabbed some white acrylic paint, a brush & my canvas (a balloon). 

I thought about using tape to outline the chevron pattern but I was afraid it'd pop the balloon. So I grabbed two post-it notes from the junk drawer & those were my guide. :-) I used the post-it note technique for the first line then eye-balled the rest. 

Yeah...I eye-balled the letters too, if you couldn't tell. ;p The circles were super easy too. I started with small circles & then gradually increased their size with my brush. You could buy balloons with the polka dots on them but this way, you can customize them yourself & save a few dollars. And here at Parties for Pennies, every penny counts. 

How can balloon art add to your next party? Well, you could use string & make a banner like I did. You could also fill them with helium & paint them, like above. They could also take the place of  paper laterns for decorations. Or you could let them wander free amoung the dust bunnies on the floor. (We have a dog so there is always a dust bunny somewhere) It would be kinda fun to walk in & see these pretty chevroned/polka-dotted balloons covering the floor. 

As far as the type of balloon art you do, well that's completely up to you. I played around a little & kinda dug the swirl look below. 

It got smudged a little in the drying process so it looks a little rough. ;p 

I will say that I attempted some market/pinterest research for YOU! :-) Have you seen the tutorials floating around showing a way to inflate balloons without helium? You basically use baking soda, baking powder & vegetable oil. Mix those ingredients up in the balloon & blow it up. The problem with this method is that once it goes up, if you pull it even slightly down, it falls. With as many times as I change things around while setting up a party, that would be no bueno for me. So for what it's worth, that's my research conclusion. ;p 

Here ARE some helpful tips to get your money's worth if you do pay for helium - 

(1) Spray balloons with hair spray - this will lock in the helium & keep it from escaping. 

(2) Don't overinflate - sometimes you have to keep an eye on whoever is inflating them. 

(3) Put the balloons in a plastic bag as soon as they are filled. 

These tips will help your balloons to last longer. I've paid extra for that "balloon food" (I don't think it's called that but it serves the same purpose as flower food...so there ya go) & the balloons started deflating the NEXT morning! Ugh. ;p Hope these tips are more helpful. 

This Ain't Yo Mamma's Streamers & Balloons!

I am constantly trying to think of ways to reinvent the typical party decor. No offense to Party City or to the patrons of PC but I walk down those aisles of luau plastic tablecloths & the tissue paper fanned centerpieces...and think "no ma'm" (quote from a friend Wendy that says it so perfectly the words here do not adequately describe the feeling behind it ;p). Let's stir the margarita mix, shake up some cocktails...(I never was good with sayings any ways) and add a little NeNe Leakes attitude to it...

Old School = Streamers twisted, strung across the room & Balloons placed at the ends

New School (Parties for Pennies Way) = Cool lanterns made with streamers & balloons

I'm gonna give you the dessert before the veggies. Here's the final product:

The materials are things you probably have in your house. If you don't have them, it cost me under $5 for the whole kit & kaboodle. 

Materials:

* Streamers (color of your choice)

* Balloons (color of your choice...I did corresponding colors w/ the streamers)

* Roll on dot scotch tape

* Scissors

* I used dental floss to hang them from the chandelier but you can use whatever you have or desire

Step 1: Blow up the balloon (want me to go over that one more time or you got it? :p jk)

Step 2: Take the Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller and make a circle around the base of the balloon.

(helpful tip...blow the balloon up to where it's pretty tight. I tried to do the first balloon somewhat loose and it ended up like this..)

Poor little shriveled up ruffly thing! :-( 

Step 3: Take the streamers & along the adhesive line, pleat them.

Step 4: Once you have a circle, make another adhesive line around the original one. (Helpful hint - Make it almost in a swirl so that the transition from each circle doesn't require you to cut the streamer)

Step 5: Continue to do this all the way to the top of the balloon. 

Step 6: Once you've reached the top, cut the streamer.

Boom, Boom, Pow (hopefully that won't literally be happening to your balloons...)

Here's a little makeshift table that I set up to go along with the balloons. My white plates are already over at Mike's house, so I had to go with styrofoam plates. Oh well. 

I used the same streamers to make a plaid design on the table. For the napkin "rings", I also used the streamers to make pink flowers. Here's how you can do that...

Start with one folded end of the streamer.

Then pleat the paper, like you did with the balloons, and loosely gather it around the original "bud." Take a twist-tie & secure the base of the flower. You can also use floral wire or tape...this was just all I had. 

Use the remaining portion of the twist tie to secure to a strip of the green streamer. 

Wrap this around your napkin & tape.

Here are a few more shots of the NYMB&S...

What do you think? Do you have any creative ideas of what to do with streamers & balloons?

I don't know about you but I'm suddenly getting a huge craving for Bubble Yum Watermelon gum!!!! :-) Have a great week!