FAN-tastic Balloon Decor - Perfect for New Year's Celebrations and Elegant Black-Tie Affairs!

I don't know about you, but I am a little bit in love with gorgeous decorative paper fans! They easily add an incredible visual texture and a touch of elegance to your balloon decor.






With New Year's Eve not too far away, you might be looking for a little "FANcifal" inspiration! So, I have selected a few design ideas that you could present to your clients.

Balloon walls are always an exciting addition to any party. They make a fabulous dramatic backdrop that can be used as entrance, stage decor, or as a superb photo opportunity! 

The balloon wall above was created with Onyx Black Qualatex^® 12" QuickLink™️ balloons inflated to 9" using the Grid technique. The gaps are filled with a selection of  7" & 11" Chrome balloons, 11" plain & prints and Microfoil^® balloons as shown below. The addition of the stars and the Happy New Year foils to the wall adds another level of depth and dimension.

18" "New Year Black & Gold Fans" Microfoil Balloon
20" "Glittergraphic" Silver & Gold Stars
11" "Star Patterns" Onyx Black & White with Gold print
11" Chrome Gold & Chrome Silver

Below is another balloon wall that I recently made for a client's "Great Gatsby" theme party. Using the same Grid technique, this time I used just Chrome Gold and Chrome Silver 7" & 11" balloons to fill the spaces. The end result was perfect, it looked perfectly elegant and classy! Despite the Roaring 20's vibe, this wall would work perfectly well for a New Year's Eve party!

Centrepiece design ideas can always be a little tricky. Here's one that I made recently that would work perfectly for this style of decor! 

This elegant organic style design was made using a Plexipoles base and pole. I added two beautiful paper fans that complemented the "New Year Black & Gold Fan" Microfoil balloon perfectly! 

I recently designed a new style of balloon column that I named the "Artistic Sculptured Column". Only a few days after making this design for a client I was teaching at the Qualatex Event Mexico 2019 and decided to show my design to the delegates with a few small tweaks and changes from the original design. And the extra additions of the fan's paid off, as they worked perfectly with this design! 

To give you some idea of the scale of this column, I added a photograph with me standing next to it. 

All the designs shown above are air-filled, which is beneficial during this uncertain time of helium availability!

Don't forget - you can find more inspiring ideas by visiting the Qualatex website - click on INSPIRATION and then BALLOON DECOR, use the OCCASIONS tab to select New Year.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler

The Seven Wonders of the 7" Chrome Balloon

Artistic Gold Sculptured Column design by Sue Bowler, CBA.

What isn't there not to love about the mighty 7" balloons! I have absolutely loved working with them! They inflate to a beautifully rounded shape, which is perfect for the popular organic trend! With size options ranging from 3.5" to 7", you get an exquisitely shaped balloon every time.


Now that we have had a few months to play with these remarkable balloons, I thought that it would be a good time to share some of the reasons why we love these balloons so much! 

When Jackie Ochitwa, CBA, of With A Twist Balloon Creations, Alberta, Canada made her beautiful Princess design using Qualatex® Chrome™️ 260Qs and the Chrome 7", she was completely blown away by the transformation of her original design. She knew instantly that these extra-special princesses would be a hit with her clients! 







"The versatility of the 7” chrome is amazing. It’s one of those balloons that I wonder how I got by without it.  It’s the perfect accent to any decor piece. They add the perfect amount of sparkle and shine and I love that you can get so many different sizes from one little balloon."




If you have had the opportunity to play with Chrome balloons, you know that they are much softer than regular latex, which makes them easier to manipulate. Check out the video below in which Jackie demonstrates how to make a beautiful distorted balloon heart using a 7" Purple Chrome balloon.

Rainbow Design by Sue Bowler CBA

I recently used these fabulous balloons to make this beautiful rainbow, or as I have renamed it - the #Chromebow Arch 

Everything rainbow will continue to be a hot trend for 2020 - which makes this elegant, yet joyful decor perfect for a birthday party or other special occasions!













As someone who absolutely adores colour, I love that we have the ability to create unique custom colours when we place a 7" Chrome balloon inside a 5" balloon. Although the fit is not perfect, it still works well!

70th Birthday Surprise Arrangement by Sue Bowler

Chrome balloons inside Jewel Tones is probably one of my favourite custom combinations. However, I have recently been using Chrome inside Pastel Pearls and that effect is striking too!  


The design on the left is an arrangement that I made for my brother-in-laws 70th birthday. I covered a round base with a Jewel Ombre Microfoil™️ balloon. I added a box, filled the box with lots of chocolate treats, then attached an assortment of Jewel-Chrome (another made up name) balloons, that spilled over from the box onto the base! To complete the design, I added Jelli balloons to make the number 70 and a few tiny gold bubbles!



If you would like to learn how to cover a base-board, check out my recent blog post: 

Fabulous NEW Jelli Balloons Design Inspiration - With Step-By-Step Design Instructions

Zoe Adam-Jones, CBA, of Jazz Training, Queensland, Australia, has really enjoyed developing designs and techniques with the new 7" Chrome size.

"I really like the versatility of 7” chrome. 

The introduction of this size is what inspired me to try the lace trim technique around foil balloons. I have always loved to pre-stretch 11” chrome and twist into organic bubbles, however the 7” size allowed me to create perfectly round bubbles to achieve a new level of detail on the trim. 

I also use this size inside Deco Bubbles. Chrome adds elements of class and sophistication to designs and the 7” size works really well in Bubbles."

Here are a few of Zoe's fabulous Bubble designs:

Happy Birthday Bubble Gold and Black by Zoe Adam-Jones

Father's Day Gift Hot Air Balloon Design by Zoe Adam-Jones

Alex Ventura, CBA, & Elle Ventura, CBA of Pacha Balloon Creations, Ontario, Canada are also passionate about the 7" Chrome balloons! 

"We love the wonderful 7" Chrome. It is just the perfect in-between size to make the impact required for the trends our industry currently creates. They are perfect for sculptures, classic decor, and organic style decor, they truly add that wow factor, and finishing touch to all of our designs!"

Here are some of Alex and Ellie's designs using their favourite balloons:  

The 7" Chrome balloon is proving to be the must-have balloon to accessories your designs! The more I work with them, the more excited I get! They truly transform my designs to a whole new level. If you have yet to use them I recommend that you give yourself time to play soon, especially as Christmas and New Year's Eve events are the next big ballooning events! 

A huge thank you to Jackie, Zoe, Alex and Ellie for sharing their ideas and beautiful creativity! 

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler