Balloon sculpture decorating

Table Decor
Balloon Weights
Fantasy Flowers
Arches

Arches and Monofiliment
Arch (Balloon) Patterns
Condensed Arches
Outdoor Arches
Prefabricated Arches and Frames
Home-made Arches and Frames
Rentals: Arches and Frames
Lighted Arches

Drops and Releases

Indoor Balloon Drops and Rigging: Question and Answer Session
Outdoor Balloon Releases
Outdoor Non-Balloon Releases
Confetti Drops

Confetti Cannons
Exploding Balloon Effects
Long-Lasting Decor
Miscellaneous Decorating Experiments

Altering Foil Balloons

Stuffing Round Balloons

Stuffing machines

Foil Gift wrapping

• As a base for Table decor, I use mirrors, sand weights, which are decorated with ribbons and flowers, cake bases with small puff balls, sometimes boxes, etc.
• You can also cut shapes out of foam board or styrofoam for centerpieces with no balloons. Use mylar paper tuffs to cover the shapes, and stick the cut-out stuff into the styrofoam bases to give it a finished look.

• Sand balloons are a good "Downtime" (read - in front of the television) project. I have baskets of them ready. I make mine with 1/2 cup sand, which is plenty to hold 1 doz. 11" balloons. Using 14" balloons makes it easier to fill, and inflating the balloon first to stretch it out is even better.
• Don't try to 'inflate' a 5" balloon with sand. Use a larger size un-inflated balloon. It's stronger, easier to fill, and will last longer.
• To get sand into 9" mylar balloons, I use a funnel with a straw. It's just a plastic kitchen funnel with a very narrow "spout." Take a straw, make a slit about 2" long down one side starting from the top. Slip the top of the straw around the bottom of the funnel, and tape it into place. Cut the remaining straw off at the desired length at a 45 degree angle. If you can't find a narrow enough funnel, just push the straw up into the funnel, so that the top of the straw is flush with the top of the spout, and tape it in place. Instead of a funnel, you can also use a squeeze ketchup/ mustard bottle with the straw.
• We use 11" balloons (odds and ends from jobs, colors that we don't need etc.) and put a funnel directly into the neck and pour in the sand. If we need a heavier weight for a large bouquet we use a 16" balloon. We've also had a lot of luck using washers (1/2" size) and stringing the ribbon through the hole. But for that you need approx. 1 washer per balloon.
• I think you may find our sand weight balloon method easier. I cut the bottom end off of a old round shampoo bottle. Then I simply put the balloon on the neck end and scoop up the sand with the bottomless bottle. Next I blow into the bottle to assure all the sand blows into the weight, and then pinch it so the sand doesn't stick to my lipstick. These are also useful for decorative weights by covering the with 2x1/3 sheets of mylar paper criss-crossed and tied with ribbon. It should look like a Hershey's kiss when your finished. Talk about cost effective!
• I was making my sand weights with 14" latex balloons, and then covering them with cello or whatever to match the bouquet. THEN I saw a friend make hers with plastic sandwich bags full of sand, covered the same way. It was a V-8 moment. Obviously, there are drawbacks to this - the "balloon" isn't as firm, unless you do a good job of pushing the air out and tying the baggie well down on the "neck". And, if you are using clear cello, you can still see that it is sand. But, for those jobs that you are using opaque cello or mylar, these can be a real time-saver.
• I have stopped using sand weights since kids like to play with them and cause a mess. So what do I use instead? I save all my plastic balloon bags from Qualatex - they too are a great quality - and fill them with small landscaping stones. I go through a lot of balloons, but if you don't, start recycling all plastic bags. I fill with stones, tape and cut off the top, then cover with mylar paper. The cost of the landscaping stones is about the same price as sand.
• You can fill them with water as well as sand. Don't "inflate" them very much if at all. If you just put as much water as the balloon will hold without slipping the lip over the faucet, and tie a knot in it, it is virtually indestructible. You cannot pop it by slamming it as hard as you can on the ground. (of course you can puncture it with a pin)
• Imprint them!!!! When someone has a bunch of balloons on their desk or coffee table or hospital room shelf, and someone says "Where'd you get the balloons?" The answer should be "Read the weight!" Go one step further, and punch a hole in your business card and slip that onto the neck of the weight, so the first person who asks that question can be told " take the card - it's attached to the weight".

  Check out Images magazine, July/Aug 1996. There's a picture of one of my weights. It's an 11" Impress II imprint (neck up) with my logo. If you fill an un-inflated 11" Qualatex balloon with sand, all you have to do is hold the lip of the balloon and hold over a bucket and pour a big cup of sand into the balloon.

  I keep a 5 gallon bucket of sand "over in the corner" and when I need a weight I just grab a balloon and dump a ton of sand in the general vicinity of the opening of the balloon (no funnel), letting the rest fall back into the bucket. Let the sand fill all the way to the top of the neck, then shake it down a little to clear the neck and tie it. Without forcing any extra sand into the un-inflated balloon, you get a sand weight about the size of an extra large egg. It will hold down about ten 11" helium balloons.

  I like to blow just a little air in it to keep it springy. You can mold it into shapes. Cost is whatever you pay for Impress II imprinted balloons (ask your Qualatex distributor) plus the cost of half a cup of sand. So, for less than a quarter, you have a weight with your name on it. I attach them to all arrangements which don't have any other weight. I call them "the famous Balloon AffAIRs Squishy toy", and some recipients like them better than the arrangements!

  Everyone should have balloons with their name on them. It's very cheap advertising. Do 1000 with neck up and 1000 with neck down. Add a helium logo balloon to each of your deliveries.

• For foil balloons I have key chains ('the HOT ones') in the shape of a 'one'" imprinted with straight line copy with my name and number, plus they came with a stock imprint of a little bunch of balloons. They cost me about 20 or 30 cents apiece, and they will hold down an 18 inch foil.

• If you have no idea what fantasy flowers are, I suggest you look at the December '96 photos on Balloon HQ. Some information about them and a bunch of photos of very real looking flowers can be found in the March/April '91 issue of Images. They are created with balloons, but are somewhat longer lasting than sculptures with inflated balloons. Rather than inflating them, you insert a piece of wire inside the balloon to create the shape you want.

  18 gauge 18 inch floral wire is recommended. A spool of steel wire in the same gauge is somewhat cheaper and I've found it just as easy to use. As far as I can tell the differences are that floral wire is colored, treated for use in water and comes in straight 18 inch pieces. Since I want pieces in differing lengths, I'd rather use the spool and cut what I need. I don't care about the color of the wire since it will be covered. Since I'm not working with real flowers, I don't care if it can be placed in water. When working with larger balloons, you'll want a heavier gauge wire.

  In addition to the wire, you'll need a wire cutter, various types and sizes of latex balloons (start with 5 inch round since they're easy to work with), and floral tape.

  Start with a length of wire. Bend it to form a 4 inch or so loop, and insert the folded end into a balloon. Stretch the balloon over this loop and tape the base of it to the wire. When taping, start with the tape on the balloon and wrap at a 45 degree angle to the wire. Keep wrapping some distance onto the wire. Now to make it look like a petal, pull the wire loop open so that it stretches the balloon. By bending the wire in various ways, you can make different shapes. Make several of these petals and then floral tape all of the wires together the same way you taped the balloon to the wire. If each piece of wire ('stem') is a different length, the main 'stem' will narrow toward the bottom.

  Some other ideas:
  To get different shapes, put objects at the end of the wire, like pennies, super balls, pen caps - anything that will give the balloon a shape you can't get with a single piece of wire.

  A future interest will be making things other than flowers. Flowers are cool, but that's what everyone does. By using more than one loop of wire inside the balloon, you can stretch it out in multiple directions and form 3D figures out of a single balloon. I managed to make an airplane fuselage by doing this. The wings were made the way petals are.

  Keep in mind that just because the balloons aren't inflated doesn't mean they'll last forever. They will degrade over time. Use a rubber treatment like Balloon Shine on them to extend their life. (See the balloon care section of the Guide for products that can be used to treat balloons. Look under "Making Inflated Balloons Last".)

• When sliding latex balloons along monofilament - wet the line directly in front of the balloon knot for lubrication. This will help prevent slicing, and will dry shortly afterwards, leaving the balloon held tightly in place by friction, which prevents unwanted slipping of balloons. Don't tie the knot too tightly onto the line if you're using: heart or mouse shaped latex, geos tied to the line (as opposed to strung through the hole), or imprints which you'd like all to face forward, and you want the balloons to line up properly. Then you can "spin" the balloon while stretching the neck ever so lightly just above the knot and then releasing the tension on the neck so that it seats itself back into the knot. Also, thicker monofilament cuts less. I rarely use anything thinner than 30 lb. test for string-of-pearl arch. It's invisible enough, and much easier to work with than thinner stuff.
• Be very careful not to slide the balloons on far away from where they are supposed to be. Even on 50 pound test monofilament line. When you slide them on the cord, you can cause friction tears.
• Your 'spread' in a string of pearl arch should be based on how you inflate the balloons, and what you feel looks best for the application. We usually space balloons for pearl arches between 12 and 14 inches. A suggestion... a gym full of people generates a lot of heat, especially 16 feet above the floor. Take care to under-inflate your balloons (9 or 10 inches for 11-inch balloons, 12 inches for 14 inch balloons, etc.) so that the heat won't expand them to the point of popping.
• After constructing our first 20 x 20 canopy last year, we can offer the following advice:
  1. 80# line should be fine, we used 100# for the two "rails" of the canopy and 50# for each arch and felt that 80# would have done the job adequately.
  2. Our poles are 7' high, and the reason for that is that we wanted the arches on the ends to be as far out of the reach of party goers as possible!
  3. Be sure that your base plates are of the 100# variety... this definitely gave us a feeling of confidence in my 7' standards!
  4. Watch that chandelier!
  5. The best piece of advice that we have heard concerning canopies is that you should string all of the arch lines between your two 'rails', but then START WITH THE CENTER ARCH, working out from there. This will eliminate the end arches looking disjointed from the rest of the canopy due to the natural pull of the balloons on the rails.

I do a race finish line every year. I do a spiral arch, and I've enjoyed playing with patterns in the arch. You can do flowers, diamonds, zig zags, dotted stripes, etc. It's just the usual spiral arch except that you work a pattern into it by varying the color sequence. Try working your regular spiral pattern for 3 clusters, and then spiral backwards for 3 clusters. That gives you a zigzag. Try a solid cluster of 1 color, then a different color, then a different color. This gives you straight perpendicular stripes, or segmented stripes. Another is a 2 color pattern, lets say red and yellow: solid cluster of red, then red/yellow, then all yellow, then red/yellow, then all red, then red/yellow... it gives you a diamond pattern. Experiment on a piece of paper. There's many patterns you can do. You can do size patterns too. Make every 3rd or 4th cluster out of 16-inch balloons instead of 11-inch. Be bold, try tapering to a 3 foot balloon cluster (11's, then 16's sized to 14, then 16's, then 3 footers sized to 20-inches or 25, then 30, then back down the sequence).

• As for non latex. You can tie microfoils together into duplet (2 balloons tied together) and then wrap those onto your metal frame You can use 4-, 9-, or 18-inch sizes, depending on the look you want. I'd recommend using Heart shapes, as they fit together better than rounds.

• How to do the 'condensed' string-of-pearls arch.
  The string-of-pearls arch is easily transportable by just 'condensing' the balloons and placing a large plastic bag over them. To 'condense' the balloons: build the arch as you normally would at your shop, so that you will have the correct length. Then, slide the balloons along the monofilament line into each other so that the knots are as close together as possible. The balloons will automatically push each other out of the way as you do this. Now you have a very UGLY, but easily transportable arch that can be 'uncondensed' in about 2-3 minutes once you get to the site.

  When you know you are going to be using this method, you might want to use a little heavier monofilament line than you would normally use to avoid any chance of "slicing" the balloons while you are condensing or uncondensing them.

  This condensing technique will work better with a short arch than it will with a long arch because our plastic bags will roughly hold a 30 balloon arch.

• In response to specific questions regarding outdoor arches filled with helium:

  Balloon Size: Use the largest balloons possible and under-inflate them by at least 2 inches, more for a 3 foot balloon. We have the best luck with 16-inch balloons down-sized to 14 inches and really prefer the 3 foot balloons when the client's budget permits them.

  Outdoor Temperature/Inflation: Try to inflate the balloons at about the same temperature they will have to withstand. If they are to be subjected to sun and heat in the display area, fill them in a sunny area - not in the shade, or they might begin popping when you put them into position in the sun.

  Second day appearance: They are going to be smaller and they will look 'suede-like' from the oxidation process. The 3 footers will definitely look better and be more buoyant.

  Balloon colors: Use light colors, not jewel tones (they're just going to oxidize anyway). The darker the balloon, the quicker it will be to pop when subjected to sun and heat. Random patterns on spiral arches will show less obvious damage than will a 4/1, 2/2 spiral; blocks of color also work better (4 clusters of 4 light blue, then 4 clusters of 4 white...) If the client insists on dark colors, bring a sample of an oxidized balloon and show them what will happen. Explain that they will be more susceptible to heat/sun damage... anything dark colored that is absorbing sunlight will be hotter than something light colored.

  Exterior treatments to retard oxidation: I don't think it's worth it unless it's an entry in a competition, or something very simple with very few balloons. Inform the client of the natural process that will occur; perhaps they will like it. On a one day event, it's never been a big problem. On longer terms I try to sell the 3 foot balloons.

  Hi-float/Super Hi-float: I don't use it on my outdoor work because I would opt for air filled designs or 3' balloons.

  Weights/anchors: I usually quadruple weight in good weather and add even more for windy situations. For 100' quad of 12" - I'd use 50 pounds on each side and tether the weights to the ground with 8-inch 'U' pegs. You can also use covered cement blocks, bricks, etc.. Remember to cover them because the wind will cause the balloons to brush back and forth against the weights.

  Cord: We use various thicknesses of braided nylon cord. For simple, short arches or columns of 16-inch balloons we use nylon cord that's made for blinds or clothesline; for 3-foot balloons and larger, or more complex structures, we use the thicker braided cords. If it's going to be windy, we use heavier cords than if it's a still day. Have several thicknesses on hand.

  Contingency plan: What will happen if it rains; if there's a rain date, who will contact you to reschedule? Can the balloon decor can be brought indoors. Because inflation is likely to occur on site on the same day, you can be somewhat flexible in what is to be created with the materials at hand. Do they want you to return and primp it each day? Who's going to remove it?

  Professionalism: Our clients have been appreciative of the information, education and contingency planning. Nobody planning a large event likes to be taken by surprise. It's good business because it shows you care about the success of the event AND the event chairperson.

  Pricing: Price outdoor jobs higher than indoor jobs. You may need more people on site, you may need someone to remain in the area if it's a really important job (whether client requests it or not), it's going to be hot and uncomfortable and your staff is accustomed to working in an air conditioned shop. Access to the area is likely to be difficult and cumbersome. Bring additional balloons, helium, cords, and weights.

  Keep your design well away from trees, bushes, bricks, stucco, wood poles, telephone wires, etc. - As the wind blows, the arches may go completely horizontal. The abrasion can cause the balloons to pop, the line to tear apart.

  If it's a mild, calm day, the event will be a cinch; if it isn't, you will have been as prepared as possible.

• Speaking from one very bad hot, windy, outdoor experience - here's what NOT to do:
  • Don't use 11" balloons (use 16" down-sized radically)
  • Don't use dark colors (light colors were the last to pop)
  • Don't use pearlized colors (oxidize more quickly)
  • Don't inflate in an air conditioned environment, then place into heat (more damage will be done as they hit sun and hot air)
  • Don't begin the job too early or forget to think about mid day sun (most of the our damage problems happened between 11-2:00)
  • Don't hi float
  • Don't use single arches or intricate patterns (damage will be more apparent)
  • Don't forget to run a test approximating similar conditions (you'll be more prepared for bidding and building)
  • Don't forget to bring strong cable, mono line won't do
  • Don't forget to bring HEAVY...or EXTRA HEAVY weights/anchors (wind havoc)
  • Don't forget to arrange a contingency for rain (discuss and plan with client)
  • Don't forget to prepare the client for potential problems (make sure they know how knowledgeable and prepared you are)
  • Don't forget to price the job properly!
• We did a string of pearls arch with 16-inch balloons and used Super Hi-float for a 2 day event and didn't have any trouble. They stayed up fine. Two things to consider, though. The color and type of balloon you use will have an effect on how good it will look on day two. Lighter colors and pearl balloons will look better longer and not show up as much oxidation. The second thing to consider with 16-inch balloons is the length of the arch. If it is a short arch then it might not look proportional with larger balloons. If it is longer then it would be great.
• We just finished putting up a 20 foot air filled arch at an outdoor festival in Arizona. Two pillars topped with a 16-inch balloon and decorated to look like a cowboy clown. Because of windy and hot conditions we utilized some of the previous posts regarding outdoor windy conditions. We used rebar driven into ground for each end of arch, built the arch itself out of pvc and inserted the ends into the rebar on each side. For the pillars we drove rebar into ground; covered rebar with tape (so as not to pop balloons), built the pillar onto the rebar, tied in a 16-inch 'head' and decorated with eyes, nose, mouth, (5-inch balloons and 260Q) and bandanna and cowboy hat.
• Whenever possible, I do air-filled arches on fixed frames. For instance, this weekend I have 2 arches to do for the Indy car race at Nazareth Speedway. They are arches leading into corporate tents. I will use aluminum rod, affixed to a stationary white picket fence. I also use 'standard' or 'fashion tone' colors as opposed to 'jewel tone' as the oxidation isn't _as_ noticeable. Air-filled balloons all but eliminates the popping problem caused by helium-filled balloons, which can expand with excessive temperatures.

  The arches I am doing are not too high/wide so they lend themselves well to using a frame. You could also consider the use of conduit, for better support, rather than lightweight aluminum rod??

• ¡@
• Q: OK, let's presume I have the 1/4 inch (or so) aluminum rod. How do I wrap the balloon cluster around it?? I assume 1/4 inch rod is TOO hard/brittle to wrap around the balloon (like we would do with fishing line or even a small rope for outdoors...) So how do you anchor the cluster to the rope? Paper Clips?

  A: If you are using clusters of 4, inflate and tie 2 sets of duplets. Twist them together to create a cluster of four. Then slide 2 balloons over the rod so that the rod is now in the center of the cluster, near where the 4 are twisted. The two that you have placed over the rod now get twisted together once to hold securely on the rod. If using 6 or more balloons per cluster, then you might want to use paper clips instead.

• Unless you build your arch on a rigid frame it's gonna sway in the breeze. If you ever watch the thanksgiving parade Old Bullwinkle and his friends have the lift of a few thousand 3-footers and they still sway in the breeze. It's a matter of surface area, mass, and aerodynamics. The wind IS going to take a balloon and have its way with it. For Macy's parade balloons, they have about fifty tethers - some ahead, some behind, and some to either side of the balloon. The idea is: if the wind pulls the balloon forward, the tethers on the back will keep the balloon from pulling too far forward. No matter what the vector of the wind is, there are several tethers roughly opposite the wind, and they counter the force of the wind. If the wind blows straight down, however, that balloon is going to go straight down, since there's no one above the balloon holding onto a tether. But the wind which forces an arch flat to the ground is usually not a down draft, but a cross wind, and the difference will be negligible using 3-footers to try to keep the arch up.

  If you have the rigging points, you could actually run guy wires from the arch up and out to the sides, much the same way that a tightrope is rigged. Leave a little play in all the guy wires so that when the wind was still, the arch would support itself in a smooth helium arch shape, but when the wind started to blow it could only deviate 'so much' before the guy wires stopped it. Trouble is, your arch is probably gonna lose balloons, and thus lose its color pattern. Arches like to flow in the breeze or be totally rigid. Once you try to tether a portion of an arch you make it mad.

• We often do arches outdoors that need to be 'solid', the most common of which is used as a start/finish line for walk-a-thons or small-scale races. These usually span no more than a 10-foot wide sidewalk, and we use 1/2 inch conduit pounded into the ground on either side of the 'track.' 1/4 inch aluminum rod spans the distance to complete the arch. If there is no ground, we'll drag out the 100-lb base plates, but if we can avoid that... we do! Put the balloons on monofilament line as opposed to direct-wrapping them... the wind is definitely NOT your friend! In addition to an extra twist of balloons around the pipe here and there, we will also use cable ties every few feet to attach the mono to the frame.

• You can buy a heart shaped arch from Koch or Modern Forge, they both make a lot of fine wedding equipment. You should consider constructing your own for balloon work... detailed instructions can be found in QBN training videos or many other books and videos.
• All American Balloon Supply: many frames and base plates for sale. They stock a walk-through heart which is adjustable in height from 7-10 feet. It's made from cold-pressed steel, and comes with the 45 degree flange base plates. They also sell 2', 3', 4', and 5' heart frames in 1/4", or 3/16" aluminum, or 1/4" steel. Their best frame is the Double Linked Hearts - two 4' hearts that link together, supported by one adjustable pedestal. It's a great wedding piece.
• Continental Sales in Sacramento, California has beautiful and inexpensive walk through heart frames.
• One of the best walk-through heart frames I have ever seen is designed and manufactured by Jan Steel.
• At the recent IBAC convention, I taught a seminar using a walk-through Heart frame. It is light, easy to use and breaks down into 5 pieces so the customer can dismantle it to return to your shop. If you are interested, contact the IBAC office and talk to Asli. If there is enough demand I can send frames overseas, if the shipping isn't too prohibitive.
  
• I have two of the walk-through heart frame, offered by Jan Steel:
  Main benefits to me are:
  1. I am able to make these up day or two before-hand and store in large plastic bags.
  2. The frame brakes down for transport into 5 parts, even when made up with balloons. So although it measures about 8 ft by 6/7 ft, I can transport 2 of these with everything else in the van with ease. Shape is always consistent.
  3. It only takes about 20 minutes to put up and finish off with ribbons and silk flowers. Add the last few balloons at the bottom and you have a piece of decor that looks like it took hours to construct.
  4. I am thinking of making one up with foil balloons as a piece of permanent hire equipment, then just adding tulle, etc. in different colors. They are well worth the investment.
• Miss Lily's has been manufacturing sculpture frames for balloon artists since 1987. We have a wide variety of styles, and many are free standing. Our free catalog can be ordered from our Web site.
• I have been buying stands, frames and bases from John Maier of Custome Carriage in Anderson, IN for the last couple of years. He has made hearts, stars and circles and a walk through heart for me. John made 20-inch round base plates that I can screw any length of 1-inch steel pipe into. The base plate has a oval hole cut out of it to make it easy to carry. I wouldn't recommend the round base for a canopy, but for pillars and arches it has been great.
• All American Balloons in Santa Fe Springs, California sells a great walk- through heart arch! It is easy to put together and take apart, and it sells itself over and over again... We have two, and we use them at almost every wedding. After the initial outlay for the frame, the cost is minimal for the balloons and they have a great 'perceived value' so we can charge quite a bit for them.
  

• We make our own frames for everything that we do. We also require that they be brought back to us. Clients have the option of us picking them up for an extra charge or bringing them back themselves. Most of our clients prefer to pay the extra fee.
• We construct our candy cane frames several ways. Whichever method you choose (especially #4), start practicing now!
  1. Make the 'stem' out of emt (conduit) and use aluminum rod for the curve.
  2. Use PVC for the 'stem' (a bit scary since PVC isn't real steady) and rod for the curve.
  3. Use PVC or EMT for the 'stem' and add monofilament to the top of the stem, continue on with your garland and pull the garland over to create a curve and secure back at the stem.
  4. Use PVC and a heat gun (the type used for shrink wrapping) and gently heat and bend the PVC. When you get it where you want it, cool the PVC with damp rags.
• To make your PVC supports stronger, you can drill a hole through the pipe and joint and run a large paper clip through it. Then just tape down. I also use half-inch conduit from a hardware store and use a conduit bender also use half-inch conduit from a hardware store and use a conduit bender from the same to get the desired shape. I get them in 10 foot lengths. I liked the suggestion to use wood bases with screwed in flanges. I bought nice 1-inch thick, 18-24 inch wide circular cut pieces of oak). For heavier bases strapping on round stone 'stepping stones' from your local garden stores. I also made some boxes with treaded lumber and took these to my local concrete company. They have trucks returning with concrete in them that would only be thrown out, so I did not have to pay for it. Before they poured it into my box, I nailed in a little metal box with the half inch conduit pipe coming about a foot above the box. These are VERY heavy and good for the outdoors.
• For an arch, bend conduit to the needed size and shape, and wrap the top of the frame in microfoils, and the straight sides in fabric (which costs less).
• We make the bases for our arches and other various sculptures. We invested in some white plastic planters in the shape of urns. We fill these half-way with plaster Before pouring the plaster, insert a piece of 1/2 pvc pipe into the center. (tape the top end the pipe does not fill up with plaster). These work very nicely for an arch or sculpture using 5-inch balloons. They look nice, are heavy, and are reuseable. Once the plaster separated from the base so we used drywall screws up through the bottom and painted them white... they have stayed in place ever since.
• I use plywood bases. I buy plywood 3/4 inch or 1 inch thick and cut it into 12 x 12 inch pieces. In the middle, I screw in a 1/2 inch FLOOR FLANGE. Get this in the plumbing department of the hardware store. (Approximately. $2 ea.) Then screw in a 1/2 inch conduit connector. This comes from the electrical department of the hardware store. Tell them you want the piece that will connect a piece of 1/2 inch conduit pipe to an outlet box. Then add a piece of connect a piece of 1/2 inch conduit pipe to an outlet box. Then add a piece of 1/2 inch conduit, cut to the right length. (COST: $1.50 or less for a 10 foot piece).

  Buy a simple conduit cutter for $10-$15.(It's as easy to use as a can opener). Be careful. There are confusingly similar pieces that connect two pieces of 1/2 inch conduit together. These WILL NOT fit into the 1/2 inch floor flange.

  Instead of the FLOOR FLANGE from the plumbing department, you can also try a light fixture holder. They are shaped like a small Frisbee, 3 to 4 inches in diameter with a 1/2 inch hole in the middle. These are already painted (white or gray). They are a little cheaper than the cast iron floor flanges, but not as strong.

  With either Floor Flanges or the other, you'll need to buy wood screws with heads big enough to not go through the holes. Be careful, get the longest ones possible that won't stick through the base. Also ask the plumbing guy to show you some nipples. A nipple is a plastic or metal pipe the plumbing guy to show you some nipples. A nipple is a plastic or metal pipe that is threaded at both ends. These will screw directly into a floor flange or a light fixture thing without a connector piece. They are available 1-, 2, 3, and 4 feet long. They cost a couple of dollars each.

  Whenever I need a HEAVIER BASE, I use strong nylon cord (aka parachute cord) to strap the 12-inch plywood square base to the top of a 12 inch square concrete stepping stone from the hardware store. Cost is $3 or $4 each. They work great and are versatile, reusable, but cheap enough so they could be left behind if I decided to. (Of course, cover it with tissue paper or something).

  There are a variety of ways to create columns. Most of the time, if we know they are at entrances or walls where they won't be bumped, we use a 16 inch topper filled with helium... then just wrap the clusters around monofiliment. At the base we hang a duplet filled with sand to keep the column in place. We just ordered bases and 1-inch thick poles for dance floor decor. They are going to have 20 pound weights that can be slipped onto the base if they need a going to have 20 pound weights that can be slipped onto the base if they need a lot of weight. If we are working outside and need a wider pole we can slip a 2-inch pole over the 1-inch to give extra support.

• 1/4-inch aluminum rod is bent into whatever shape you wish (a heart, numbers or Stars of David). For the heart or star, I complete the two ends by conecting them together with plastic tubing or duct tape. Wrap the balloons around the frame the same way you wrap around a monofiliment (fishing) line. For most shapes, I start at the top and wrap going down one side clockwise and the other side counter-clockwise. That way the shape looks equally balanced from both sides. For most shapes, I hang the balloon wrapped frame from the ceiling. It you need it free-standing, you need to bend your rod so that the bottom of your design has both ends bent at a 90 degree angle. These ends of rod can then be put into a piece of pipe or conduit that you have screwed into a base. (see diagrams below)

  For the following ASCII diagrams:

  1. The top is a foil balloon-wrapped arch. The i's are fabric covered columns the "-" are the plates that the columns fit onto.
  2. The heart is just a frame, wrap it with balloons like you would your mono line, suspend it from the top two peaks of the heart. Tie one end of a single piece of mono line to the 'humps' of the heart, and hang it from the center point of the line.
  3. The last heart is the one with the 90 degree angles at the bottom (to fit into another rod or conduit)

  #1
               * * *
             *        *
           *            *
         *                *
         *                *
         I                I
         I                I
         I                I
         _                _
  
  
  
  #2
          **           **
        *      *    *     * 
          *       *       *
           *            *
             *        *
               *    *
                  *
  
  
  
  #3
          **           **
        *     *    *     *
         *       *       *
           *            *
             *        *
               *    *
                *   *
                *   *
                -   -
  

• Contact either Merrill or John at ACP for aluminum tubing. They now carry it in coils that are 50 feet. Sizes are 1/2-, 3/8- and 1/4-inch. 

• We are adding more frames to our selections, do you charge a security deposit on each frame or a basic fee for the whole thing? The columns cost me $50 each, I would hate to lose them, but $200+ security seems a lot.
• It's easy to do security. If anyone ever objects, I say it's just like renting a car.
• We have a standard rental contract that's part of the decorating contract. If there are no rentals, I zap it out before printing the contract. (Look to friends in the party rental business for contract ideas.) At the end of the contract we have a security deposit amount. We request either a credit card # with signature, or cash. We do not accept checks for security.

  If any damage or losses occur, then we run the credit card or don't return the cash. This is rare! Most clients are very good about their rentals if their money is on the line. As far as an amount, I usually estimate what the total will be and put that on the contract. We don't run the credit card, unless we suspect it isn't any good, then we run a test sale and reverse it.

• Believe me, we get our rentals back!! The other thing we do is charge a high fee to go out after hours (especially after midnight) to retrieve rentals, if a facility is unwilling to store them overnight. Most facilities are very cooperative, but some are snippy. If we know in advance, it's to everyone's advantage to pick up rentals right away. A clean-up, or striking, fee can also be included.
• It sounds silly to me to say 'That will cost $30... and that's a rental price... so...you Hafta return the frames ... cause I said so... or else I'll bill you.'

  Instead, all of my proposals say 'The rental price for the item is $30 and the purchase price is $200. Which would you prefer?' Make the purchase price high. You don't want them going to K-mart and buying balloons next year and trying to refill the frame.

• Lighted arches almost always make a better impression, especially if the room lights will be low or off during the event. We try to twinkle every 4th or 5th light.

  Almost all UL approved lights have a fuse built into the plug for safety. If you're aren't UL approved, or don't have the fuse, I'd advise you not to use them.

  Many lights come with a flasher bulb, so you can choose whether they light continuously, flash on or off, or twinkle. The better ones have an electronic switch box built onto the line, so you can choose different patterns or vary the rate of twinkling... very nice!!!!! (very fragile!)

  Strings of Lights

• One of the easiest places to get these white lights with white cord is from Floral Supply Syndicate In Los Angeles. The 35-50 light strings run somewhere in the neighborhood of $5/string (non-twinkling) and $8 per string (twinkling). We usually buy a couple of cases in early November. White cords are hard to find the rest of the year, and then they are VERY expensive. There are many other places you can get the white-corded lights in bulk. However, you generally need to buy a minimum of $500 worth. With FSS, you can buy 1 box or you can buy by the case.
• American Lighting, Inc., is a wholesale lighting source out of Aurora, Colorado. They have a catalog that gave me many great ideas to incorporate in our designs.

Q: Questions using a traditional bag/net on the ceiling.

• Is the bag/net tethered on the ceiling, or false ceiling?
• I presume the bag/net is attached in all 4 corners of the ceiling.
• Where do you usually have the balloons drop from? The center or sides?)
• Where do you usually have the drop (pull) line?
• How do you stitch the bag up?
• Where do you usually have the drop (pull) line?
• How do you stitch the bag up?
• Is it usually a bag that is put in the ceiling?
• How long/what size balloons are usually in them?
• Is there a formula for how many balloons to drop for a specific sized room?

Q: Questions, using the Bruce Walden 3D Heart Sculpture drop:

• Stitching. How do I stitch it closed, so that it can be pulled by the release line?
• Does the release line HAVE to go right under the heart bag? Or can it go in a corner of the room?
• Rigging. Do I simply rig it to the false ceiling, with a clip, or do I ABSOLUTELY need to attach it to a stronger point? (because of the pulling on the line to release the balloons.)

A: Answers to these questions...

With all the tech-trouble of doing shape drops (hearts/stars) I'd suggest NOT going that route for your FIRST drop.

Get Balloon Pro, or Balloons Away, created by L. Daniels... one is double the size of the other. The Balloon Pro net have their capacities listed on the package. The netting makes a 'tube' that is around 30 feet long or so (that's conservative) and about 9-14 feet wide. And that's the SMALL one. Get two if you need more coverage. With 600 nine inch balloons the norm, you should have plenty for a 20 foot dance floor.

Just follow the directions (EXACTLY), they answer most of your questions. I did, and the first drop I ever did went without a hitch. The rigging is not 'that' hard (no you don't do all four corners of the room unless you're into some weird tent effects that I've done on rare occasions). It's so easy to deploy (pull down) that I've let bartenders do it, as well as DJ's. If you're confident (but tell them EXACTLY how to do it - it's like raising a flag in terms of pull) let club owners do it, it's a pretty good ego trip for them and is great (word of mouth) PR for you.

Remember, it's stitch, stuff, and rig... not stuff stitch and rig. Don't try to move it anywhere but up a ladder. It's a BIG sausage.

Balloons Away has all the clips and secure ties plus the line. I don't recall the Pro having all the accessories (which aren't much to get yourself... but are a big breather to have the first time around).

You can rig to a wall but the whole length of the Away and Pro systems are for ceiling rigging. The only drops I've seen that use anything smaller than 9 inch balloons are those from exploding 3 foot balloons.

Q: Is the inference that 'it's usually easy to deploy' a statement meaning that I should stay, and pull the cord myself??

A: You can pull he cord yourself if you wish, it's obviously easier than trusting someone else, but the cord isn't rocket science. The stitching is just an interweave every 3 inches or so between the ends of the netting. It's even depicted with illustrations on the bag, so I wouldn't worry about it being that complex. The hearts and star drops - now THOSE are a bit more complex.

Q: Has anyone had much experience with the star shaped drop bags? We constructed two (7 foot) for a corporate client last week. I stitched the bags the way the instructions called for. BOTH bags jammed and did not fall. What an embarrassment. After checking them closely, I found some of the loose ends of the drop bag got caught up in the stitching.

A: I have not used the drop bags you speak of... but I have done several chain stitch bags. You have to be very careful when stitching the bag, (did I mention VERY CAREFUL) to make sure that no pointy bits can get caught in the dissolving stitch. This means you have to trim your bag so that no partial holes or catchy bits are left on the edges. Also (and especially if you already did that) it might be a good idea to use more than one release stitch perhaps one on each side, the fewer corners your stitching has to make, the better. When going around corners fiddle them a bit so that you minimize the risk of catching your net in the knot

A 7 foot star drop seems a bit small anyway, get yourself some round bailer netting and make a bigger one. this way the corners are not so tight.

Low ceilings releases with drop nets.

If you hang a decoration low enough for people to jump up and grab it, to take it home... (and they will!), hang it with 20 lb. mono line so the line will snap before the ceiling comes down!

This is not easy to do, but it can be done. Make the nets 2 feet wide and very long (I use agricultural netting for this and make my own bags). After the balloons are dropped, take the nets down immediately, so they are not hanging in peoples faces. If the ceiling is 8 feet high, the nets will hang down to 6 feet... and should only bother the tall men!

Bruce Walden taught the 'dissolving balloon garland.' There was no net involved, it was just chain stitching that held the balloons in place. It is really easy to do and a great alternative for a balloon drop on low ceiling. They really add an element of surprise. Once they are in place, they look like a garland swag! Until to pull the 'String.'

In a nutshell, the dissolving garland technique is simply a chain stitch that has balloons attached to it. If you follow the chain stitch instructions included with every Balloon Net kit, you'll get the idea. Simply place a single balloon (for a pearl arch-like dissolving garland), or place duplets (for a herringbone type dissolving garland).

Start by tying your line (dacron is easier to work with than mono, and pulls apart more reliably) onto something solid, and start making your chain stitches, while keeping tension on the line. Have a second person (sorry, can't do this alone!) place the balloons between the line you're holding, and the loop you've just pulled through the previous stitch.

I suggest that you practice this first with something solid (6-inch floral picks, dog bones, pens, etc.), rather than balloons. Do about 5 or 10 stitches. Then slowly pull the line, and watch closely as they come apart, and the solid items fall to the floor as they become 'unstitched.' If they don't fall out, you placed them incorrectly.

You build a garland using duplets (or single balloons), each time you add a set to the line you use a chain stitch -- same as you do in needlework , etc. Start with duplets - (as always, sized properly), it is best to trim off the necks. Anchor your line and start with a slip stitch. Bring the 'loop' of the chain stitch over one side of the duplet knot, grabbing the 'straight line' of the chain and pulling it through the loop to create the next--- add your next duplet and continue. It is a little difficult to explain, but it's very easy to master and build once you see it.

• Once we did this in such a large room that we decided to use 16-inch balloons for better effect. A quick word of advice... NEVER do the dissolving garland using anything larger than 11-inch balloons. Even after you cut off the ends of the knots (which is an absolute MUST when you do dissolving garland), the chain stitch will get hung up on the actual knot itself. Other than that little glitch, the dissolving garland technique is fantastic and works really well.
• We have used 5-inch and 9-inch balloons on dissolving balloon garlands and we've never had a problem. Make sure to use a quality sash cord, that does not fray or split. I've heard 'waxed' cord, even better to use.
• The new dissolving garland technique.
  You can decorate with swags, garland, etc. and have some or all of the decor dissolve into a balloon drop at midnight! If you're proficient at making the chain stitch for balloon drop nets, you can use the same stitch to create a pearl, alternate square pack, or quad garland (arch) which will dissolve at the pull of the cord.
• I recommend Bruce Walden's new balloon drop device in the shape of a heart! It looks like a puff heart before midnight, and is virtually invisible after the drop! I'm pretty sure that Conwin has them...
• I was fortunate enough to see Bruce's new drops, and I and watched Bruce 'load' them. To get the perfect looking heart as seen in the advertising, it takes a bit of extra time in adjusting the balloons after they are in the net, but the finished look is well worth the effort. I saw a properly loaded drop and it was BEAUTIFUL. The nice thing about these nets is that they are re-usable and therefore 'rentable'. The price is definitely right even if you don't re-use them.
• I just did two balloon releases/sculpture drops for a Stage show finale. We used the 4' star drop nets and they worked like a charm. We had 18' ceilings in the mall and the maintenance crew rigged the line. Each 4' star held just under 2 gross of 5" balloons and they were blown, stuffed and sewed up the night before. Again, all worked well and I can't wait to try the heart shapes for a wedding.

Some tips for dissolving balloon garlands:

Lindy Bell says that this doesn't work with 16-inch balloons, although I don't know why it wouldn't...

This technique takes a lot of line, and any garland of length requires a steady but fast pull to get the balloons to drop together, and not one at a time across the length of the arch.

Do not use this technique unless you practice first! It's easy for the tails of the balloons to get tangled in the line, and ruin the whole effect! Nothing is worse than facing a customer who didn't get what you promised!!!

Use air-filled balloons, of course, for drops. I suppose you could use this technique for a decor-release with helium somehow! It requires a little practice, but the surprise is worth it, if your customer will pay for the additional work involved here.

Pricing: do you include the cost of the drop bag/ net itself?

You can go either way on the cost of the net. I would bill for it, since it's not an item that I would use over and over again, since the netting can get damaged during set-up/tear down. (Although I do reuse nets sometimes for casual/private functions).

• How do you figure pricing for a release? With helium, balloons, and with other costs, I'm guessing that it might come to around 25-30 cents per balloon.
• I assume 10 - 20c for the latex balloon, 8-10c for the helium, my bags are $10.00 per release, plus the labor to inflate 100 balloons, set up time, waiting time until I release the balloons.... thus, my cost is more than 30c.
• The release. As balloon decorators, we face a lot of opposition about balloons and balloon releases being bad for the environment. It is NOT YET the law ,but encouraged, that released balloons be hand-tied, with no tails (ribbon, string, etc.). The balloon is biodegradable, but most often the tail is not. Plus, it can easily become tangled in trees and power lines.
• The ZIBI-company has developed an environment safe disc called 'eco-fix'. It is a carton-disc with a cotton string. Ten pieces are packed together, so you can put them all over the nose of your fill-station.
• String is the thing! Perhaps there is one that is colored with vegetable dye. Disks and quick clips don't hold air as well as a tight knot, from our experience. Get a select group and teach them how to tie, then let them teach their crew members.
• A release WITHOUT RIBBONS can be accomplished using biodegradable cotton string. Latex balloons are BIODEGRADABLE. Hand tie them to avoid the plastic clips.
• I will not do a hand held/ string release because of environmental issues. The balloons will biodegrade, ribbon don't. Plus, the added weight of ribbons and cards can prevent the balloon from reaching the necessary altitude to burst, so the whole balloon come back down to Earth.
• If your client insists on a hand held release, there are a few options. Use very short pieces of ribbon, or use a natural fiber, like cotton or raffia, use an inflated 260 as the handle - this will also burst.
• At a balloon release for a funeral, and the client wanted it hand held. We inflated the balloons and put them in bags. As the guests exited the service into the parking lot, we pulled a balloon out of the bag, and the service into the parking lot, we pulled a balloon out of the bag, and handed it to the guests with no ribbon. They held it until the minister said the prayer, and the balloons were released.
• My customer wanted to give her guests a balloon on a string and have them release the balloons individually. I convinced them that our 'formal' balloon release will be more dramatic and spectacular and would allow the photographer/videographer a definitive time frame for photos.
• At weddings, I do a balloon release from a giant gift box (was in Images Private Inflator a few years back) where I have a 4' x4' gift box made of thick (1/2") foam core. There is no bottom to the box and the top is closed with a large bow of the bridal colors on top. We put about 100+ helium filled 11" balloons into the box from underneath. When the guests go into the church, that's when we go into action and place the box outside the church doors. When the bride and groom come out, they get to open the box and release the balloons in front of all the guests. Then everyone proceeds to the reception and we take our box back to use again and again.
• A popular and not unsightly balloon release I have been doing is one Patty Sorell told me about... and it gives the bride and groom more participation and a great photo op. You create a 4 foot square gift box from foamboard. Leave it bottomless and split the top down the middle, creating 2 flaps. Fill from the bottom with approximately 70-90 9-inch balloons and place a huge bow on top (in the brides' colors of course). Once the guests have entered the church, put the *gift* in place on the sidewalk near where they will emerge from the church. The wedding guests will be surprised as the couple opens the box and the balloons are released. When the balloons first start to come out, the photographer should be snapping away.
• Balloon Innovations Catalog has drop boxes.
• Balloon Boxes: One Balloon Place in Atlanta. I have a catalog of theirs that is a few years old, but they do list a 10 x 10 x 4 Drop Box and a 5 x 5 x 4 Drop Box. From the picture, it looks like a box made from a tarp with a 3 sided bottom flap opening (I'm assuming it's Velcro.)
• You can also use a clear, king sized mattress bag with Velcro sewn or glued across the top. This will hold about 100 11-inch latex.
• Released balloons, will they have enough oomph to rise 5 miles up in the atmosphere to burst, thus fluttering down to earth and accelerating the biodegration process? At release time I'm sure you will get the visual effect you are looking for... pretty pearl balloons rising into the sky but what you won't see is some of them wrapped in power lines 8 blocks away.
• Treb says that when he is doing a release of over 50,000 balloons, he will NOTIFY (not ask) the FAA at the local airport of the date and time of release. If you ask permission, you will wind up in months of red tape over something they have no control. Treb assured me that there were no laws that would prohibit me from doing a release.
• Just saw a news feed about a company in Florida, Eternal Ascent. They offer an ingenious way to spread the ashes of a deceased pet... the ashes are placed in a 3 foot latex balloon and after a long, tearful adieu, the pet owner reluctantly releases the balloon, where, according to the reporter, it climbs to 5000 feet, at which time the balloon freezes and bursts, spreading crystallized ashes over the tear laden land below! Hmmmmmmmm...... if it works for pets... why not Aunt Bessie, too!!

• I hope everyone will take a minute to visit the Web site: www.mgfx.con/butterflywish/. This is a company that offers Monarch butterflies for releases at weddings and other events. What has us concerned is that in promoting their own business they denigrate balloon people by saying that balloons are damaging to the environment.
• Thanks for posting that information about the butterfly release company. The owner of the company was featured in an article in People Magazine last year. He made the same types of comments then as he does on his web page. When the article came out, I posted it to this list, and asked everyone to write in to People Magazine with the facts. Fortunately, the magazine chose to run my letter in the next issue. I received a few calls from that... one of them from a local Girl Scout Leader who's own troop had been 'learning' about how bad balloons were for the environment. I was able to go to a troop meeting and set them straight.

  I have also written several very nice letters to the company directly, and asked them to pull the incorrect information off of their web site. My first letter was greeted with a thinly veiled 'up yours', and my subsequent letters have been ignored.

  It is very sad to me that one Bridal industry feels it necessary to give themselves a leg up by denigrating another industry - especially when they resort to misinformation and outright lies in order to do it.

  I hope that everyone will go to see that web site, and that you all send in your own comments.

• Flutter Fetti manufactures a variety of confetti and streamer products.

• There are a lot of variables that go into a confetti/streamer shot... one is distance, another is what to shoot. As a general rule, streamers go about twice as far as confetti (and can be easier to clean up) and if you're shooting around lighting or open flames of any sort, it's obviously best to use flame resistant confetti/streamers.

  Room size is a variable, but having access to a mezzanine certainly helps; being up higher should provide better results as far as coverage and overall effect goes.

  There are quite a few different types and sizes of cannons. If you're looking at confetti, and the room is fairly big, I'd go with the larger diameter cannons. This would allow you to use more and larger confetti (1 1/2" squares that we call Aerofetti would probably work great. You could also add in some of the rectangular Turbofetti it spins and hangs as it falls.

  For the cannon, you could use a handheld device like our Sky cannon, a floor device like the Stage Mortar or an electrically fired device like the Jumbo Air Cannon, Electric Stage Mortar, or the Confetti Volcano (a device that we premiered in public at last years IBAC Mardi Gras Banquet, to keep a steady stream of confetti going) Except the Volcano, all these have the same size barrel, so it's mostly a matter of how they are fired.

  Sky Cannon and Stage Mortar are manually fired and use a CO2 cartridge for each shot.

  Electric Stage Mortar also uses a CO2 cartridge, but it's fired as soon as an electric solenoid gets power. It can be plugged into a switch and fired remotely; just flip the switch sending power to it and it'll go.

  Jumbo Air cannon uses an air tank that can be filled from an air compressor or Gas station air hose. It holds enough air for at least 2 shots. It's also fired electrically. All of these devices would hold approx. 1/3 to 1/2 pound of confetti (which is a lot as it spreads out..)

• Make a column and top it off with a large 3 foot balloon filled with 5-inch balloons. A great way to surprise your guests is to explode the 3 foot balloons during the party!
• 3 foot balloons can be filled with lots of great things... smaller balloons, confetti, or whatever you think would look great at the party when this 3 foot (or 4 -or 5-foot) balloon is exploded.
• At a recent wedding, the bride wanted an exploding balloon during their first dance. Since I don't feel comfortable with any of the exploding devises out on the market, we opted to fill 36-inch balloons with 5-inch balloons. The parents of the couple all came out on the dance floor to congratulate them, and the mother of the bride carried the wand and broke the 36 inch balloon. This was a total surprise to everyone except the bride and her mother. Who knows . . . we many just start a tradition.
• Conwin's Pneumatic Exploder
  Here are my initial observations on Conwin's starter kit (Price --- $ 128.00).
  It contains:

  1 special regulator/switch with an outlet for 3 tubes
  1 gross of adhesive balloon tabs
  1 roll of clear tubing (250')
  1 roll of dacron line
  4 inline exploders (blue)
  2 end of run exploders (yellow)
  Absolutely no instructions (!)

  As usual, Conwin has done a quality job. The regulator is just what you'd expect from them, and the exploders (about 2.95 each) are of high quality plastic, with large tabs for easy fastening to the balloon.

  I used a small piece of tubing to seal off the 2 extra outlets on the regulator, and attached about 5' of tubing between the regulator and an end of run exploder. The demo worked flawlessly. Push the switch, and a little gust of gas pushes the pin through the balloon.

  Unfortunately, I also found that on this very short run, the air pressure blew the tubing out of the exploder, because the fit isn't very secure. The tubing fits INSIDE the exploder rather than outside. Please note that the neither the tubing or the exploder were secured to the balloon for this demonstration

  This raises two questions:

  1. How does one secure this tubing into the exploder so that ' blowout' doesn't cause a partial failure to occur on a long run of, 10 or 20 balloons?
  2. On a 'standard' run of 50, to 250 ft, would the reduction in line pressure be sufficient to prevent this blowout from being a significant problem?

  All in all, this looks very promising as a simple, cost effect way to provide exploding balloon effects. Someone with experience in SFX felt that shock tube might be a more reliable solution, but I feel that for those of us who chose to let our customers 'push the button', leaving a small tank with the regulator is a safer, more assured method!

• Conwin's new Pneumatic Balloon Exploders are now available. Non-electric system is powered by any size helium or nitrogen cylinder. Easy installation requires only a pair of scissors, adhesive rigging tabs, dacron rigging line, and clear packing tape. Reliable and safe, non-pyrotechnic system is ideal for both large and small jobs. Economical system is reusable.
• How to stuff 5-inch balloons into a 3 footer
  For stuffing a 3 footer with 5 inch balloons, the method of using a pipe coupling has worked OK for us. We use 3 foot jumbo balloons, an ABS --- 4 1/2-inch pipe coupling, a pre inflated bag of 4 1/2 inch balloons, and an air inflator.

  The 3 foot balloon must start with the balloon about 1/4 to 1/2 of the balloon filled with air, and the coupling in place.... To inflate this balloon with the coupling in place we use the pipe attachment that comes with our balloon stuffing machine.

  Then using 5-inch balloons ..... SIZED to 4 1/2 inches, remove the air inflator and fill the hole with the 4 1/2 inch plug. The 4 1/2 inch coupling has an inside opening of only 4 inches. Therefore, it is a must that the balloons be sized to 4 1/2 inches to make a great seal when used as 'the plug.'

  Now, just repeat the process of pushing 'the old plug' into the 3 foot balloon and pushing 'the NEW plug' into the ABS pipe coupling. It must be noted that a little air from the 3 foot balloon will get out each time a new balloon is pushed though the coupling... therefore you might have to re-inflate the 3 foot balloon as you perform this technique.

• For designs that need to look good for a long time, I charge my usual delivery charge once per week to go out and check the design. If it's just a few balloons or adjustments, I do not charge them an additional fee; I just go ahead and make the replacements.

  The cost of those weekly visits are included in my original quote and are specified in my contract (i.e. a nearby client may get charged $10 per week to check the design and a client 30 miles away will get charged $50 per week).

  Within the contract we note that repair costs of over $5 will be billed to the client as they occur. We give them credit against future decorating work if they call us and let us know everything is OK - which is usually the case. It hammers home the fact that our structures look good a long time and that we do a good job.

• In our environment we find the need to have displays up for extended periods of time... weeks or even months! We build our displays with this in mind... and therefore we must either: Offer our customer a maintenance package (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly) which is usually 3-5% of the total sale price. Or, charge up front. Meaning bundle it into your price and explain that your price includes a weekly touchup. Or, design your display using foil balloons. This require less touch-ups.
• When I do a long term sculpture for a mall, I inquire how picky they are. If they want it perfect *all the time* I tell them I'll come by every other day and will be on call in case something is knocked over or if a few pop at the same time. I then charge accordingly, based the time required. If I feel I'll need to replace a major part in 4 weeks, I charge whatever I would charge to redo that part.

  I do NOT however, charge my customers for minor repairs. I plan well, using lots of white balloons (they fade less), under inflated 16-inch balloons, and keep the balloons out of reach as much as possible. I do tell them that I will replace balloons that deflate or even a balloon or two popped by a visitor.

  I say, 'if someone walks off with a major part of the sculpture, or goes crazy and pops lots of them, treat them like you do anybody else that destroys mall property. I will, of course, need to bill you to recreate the missing or destroyed parts.'

  One customer liked what I did for a weekend event, then asked what it would cost to keep it up for a week, then another week, then another. It started looking ratty. I have learned to tell certain customers that 'because I only want to provide balloons that reflect well on you (the client) and on me (the decorator) I will be back on _____ to remove the decor.' I make it clear they DO NOT have the option to leave the balloons up indefinitely without paying me to keep them looking good.

• I have done some experimenting with weaving a flat object out of 260's, like a wall hanging. The resulting object likes to curl up into a big ball, if left to it's own devices. The only big tapestry I finished had to be pinned to the wall every three inches along each side to keep it from curling, and it had to be tacked in the middle to prevent bumpiness.

• Realize that silver foils are different than colored foils. A colored foil is a silver foil that has been dyed or "painted" to look that color. Ever try to write on a colored foil with a magic marker? Depending on the type of marker, the ink on the balloon will dissolve and come off. You can use this to your benefit by inscribing a name or picture in silver onto a colored foil balloon using a Q-tip and alcohol.
• Anyone who has tried to hot-stamp a silver foil balloon has probably discovered that the "ink" doesn't stick to the silver, but does stick to the colored foil balloons.
• I have been painting on foils for a number of years. I use acrylic paints and they work very well. There are differences in the surfaces of the foils. I found that if you spray a thin coat of clear lacquer on the side that you want to paint, the paint sticks better. Then, after the acrylic has dried, spray it again. That way if it gets bumped or scratched, it will not affect the design you painted on the foil.

• Does anyone have any other ideas as to what to stuff the balloons with besides stuffed animals and flowers? They sell, but, I want to get another market, maybe hit the males and older folks?
• One nifty idea... take humorous (or otherwise) T-shirts, place in the balloon. While holding it, insert another balloon through the neck (of the shirt) and inflate until the T-shirt is sandwiched between the 2 balloons. You can gift wrap just about anything flexible enough to fit in the balloon opening, and just about anything that goes into a gift basket can go into a balloon....as long does not have pointy edges!
• A t-shirt or sweatshirt: put shirt in balloon, then put another balloon in the shirt and inflate, this will push the shirt up against the wall of the outside balloon and make sure any printing or logo on shirt is facing the right way.
• Basketball (football, etc.) deflate the ball, stuff it in the balloon then re-inflate with a sports ball pump
• A six-pack of your favorite beverage
• You can stuff anything that will fit though the opening in the stuffer. You can stuff other balloons, cups, gifts in a gift basket.
• For centerpieces, I like to inflate the balloon, fill it with about 1/3 or less water (can be colored or clear), place a fresh flower inside, and then decorate with tulle netting, ribbon, lace, or what ever. To finish the centerpiece off, place the finished balloon on a lit base.
• All I've done is put stuffed animals inside, but I can't see why a balloon animal couldn't be put inside.
• One of our most popular and easy designs for the stuffing-machine is a four-petaled flower. The great benefit is that you can coordinate the colors to match any kind of bouquet. It is simply using four air-filled 5-inch latex, tied and twisted together (a cluster) with 2 under-inflated 5-inch balloons (of a different color) to make the center bulb. I use the 260Q's for the stem and make the leaves with a few simple twists.

  The final touch would be to rotate the stuffing balloon. Pull it out of the machine and fully let the air out and then, refill it with helium. Make sure to hold a little bit of the end of the 260 stem and tie it along with the 16" stuffing balloon. This allows it to stay erect.

• I ease delicate objects into the stuffing machine by cutting the ends off of a plastic garbage bag and place the bag in the hole so that it hangs in and out of the machine. This method works great for any stuffing of latex balloons, since they will tend to stick together when a sculpture is being placed inside of them.
• To make money at fairs, we have found that a real rose inside a 6-inch heart-shaped balloon still sells the best. Even 260's and 5-inch balloons inside an 18-inch printed balloon are great. Put the balloon or sculpture on a cup N stick, and they sell very well. Stuffed animals inside balloons are extremely popular as gifts on Valentines day and Mothers day.
• You need a machine that can do the single flower in the 6-inch heart very quick and easy, because this impulse item will be your number one seller.

• Research your balloon machines. There are a number of manufacturers with various sizes and prices. Any type of stuffing machine will do fine if you just want to sell an occasional stuffed balloon to your customer. If you are tool handy, they can be made from an acrylic aquarium and a vacuum motor.
• All balloon stuffing machines use a vacuum to suck out the air to expand the balloons. They have various neck sizes to allow inserting items in the balloons. I suggest you call each company and ask for their information. They run specials and reduce the prices at times.
• I got an Ohio Art Balloon unit for close to $20. The neck opening of the balloon is extra wide, about the same as on a 36" balloon. The opening stretches over an approx. 4" circular frame, which fits on top of a hollow two-part plastic globe. The rest of the balloon hangs down into the globe. A hand-operated vacuum pump blows the balloon up (sucks the balloon in?) to fill up the globe. To seal it, you rotate the circular frame a few twists and use a plastic clip.
• Penny manufactures a toy that was out last year that emulates the big boys products.

• Buy a heat sealing machine, find a mall before Christmas and go into the business of gift wrapping presents in balloons. Special pillow shaped foil balloons with beautiful printed designs are available and are an incredibly fast way to wrap gifts. You spend seconds rather than minutes per gift and it's totally unique and novel (read "$$$"). Opaque 16" latex balloons printed with "Do not open 'till Dec. 25" are also available, as is the stuffing equipment used to fill them. A kit for home use is available from:

  In this kit, the balloons are a 2 chamber foil-balloon packaging system where the gift is lodged in the inner chamber, and surrounded by the inflated outer chamber. You place your gift inside, seal it yourself, and then inflate the outer chamber through a small straw. Christmas patterns, 2 sizes, 5 balloons for $9.95 (possibly with additional shipping charges).

• The balloon wrap and balloon stuffing business was highly profitable a few years ago, when it was still a novelty. You could charge high prices and have a high business flow. Since the balloon business is a *relatively* low starting-investment business, the competition has grown by leaps and bounds. Not only individual balloon shops, but it seems like every florist, gift shop, and even grocery store floral departments have balloons and balloon wrap machines. Even buying stuffed animals at the import wholesaler's in downtown L.A., we couldn't compete with the bulk rate discount the major grocery chains get when they buy by the millions.

• A source for good imprinted Qualatex balloons is:
  Crown Rubber
  1-800-525-3114.
  
• Call Pioneer for their booklet on custom imprinting. The "Pioneer Line" brochure shows that 418 and 524 airships can be imprinted. They are $108 and $140 per thousand, including a one color, one side imprint. The art charge is $40.00 for logos. To order, you would contact your Qualatex distributor. They are only available in standard colors. The brochure suggests using a cup and stick to support them, since they won't hold helium.
• Pioneer does not imprint on non-round balloons like the 260's and 350's because they are too small. Perhaps independent printers can do this for. I use one of the following alternatives: a rubber stamp with quick-drying ink or an address label can be used to put the imprint on the completed balloon figure.

• Many local floral supply houses carry some plush, often available in "ones" rather than carton packs of 6, 12, or 24.
• If you buy quantities, Lucky Plush has a good selection of assorted, inexpensive plush which is very typical of the low end of imported items.
• An obvious, but often overlooked choice for cheap plush is the PBC line, available from many Balloon distributors. FIB and American Balloon Factory carry this line.
• Princess Soft Toys has all kinds of stuffed bears and wildlife animals. They are a good price and the small ,7-inch animals come with a chest loop so you can tie balloons to it.

• My primary ribbon supplier has finally provided me with an extensive line of metallic, plastic based (i.e. non-conductive) gorgeous ribbons that I believe are perfect for our needs, both everyday and Holiday. This ribbon is made by Berwick, and is part of their "Flora Satin" line.

  The line is available in 40 colors, a variety of textures and prints, and a nice moir?pattern. The #3 width is perfect for tethering 16" balloons, and it can be split evenly for use with 11" balloons. The #40 makes great table garlands, and is great when hung between balloon elements for a head table or throughout a room.

• Berwick is making a neat lacquered curling ribbon that looks like mylar ribbon, but isn't.
• Sopp America makes terrific metallic-looking ribbon. Ask for samples to test conductivity.

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