Throwing it back with Birthday Retro Daisies!

 One of my favourite new Qualatex 18" Microfoil™ Balloons is the Birthday Retro Daisies.

Daisies were a popular floral motif in the 1960s and 70s. This flowers simple, cheerful appearance and association with innocence and purity made it a favourite among the hippie counterculture of the era. Today, daisies are still used in retro-inspired designs as a nod to the past, but they can also be incorporated in more modern designs for a fresh and playful touch.

This week, I enjoyed creating a design using this new balloon to make an air-filled arrangement that would be perfect for a delivery. It is bright, fun and relatively easy to make once you learn how to make the flowers (see video below)

In this design there are two types of twisted flowers: the larger flowers were made using 350Q balloons and the smaller flowers were made using 160Q balloons, and there is one 260Q flower (pink) in the design.

Although I did not use all of these techniques to make my flowers, you may find it helpful when recreating this design... you can add your own creative flair to it! 

How to Create Balloon Daisies 3 Ways!

To make this design, I started with a wooden centrepiece stand from Gibs On It.

I covered the base using a stretched 16" white balloon. I pre-stretch the balloon first, then cut off the neck and make a small hole at the top of the balloon. It is a little tricky to stretch it over, but with a little care it is possible to get it to cover the base.

I also covered the pole, this time with with a pre-stretched 350Q. I slipped that over the pole and secured it at the base using a scrap 160Q balloon.

Finding reliable bases and poles for designs such as this is not always easy. You could always use a PremiumConwin Deco Stick and Cup glued to a tile base, though it will not be as stable as this wooden pole and base. 

Once my base was prepared it was time to start to creating!

To support the 18" foil balloon, I used an odd sized balloon cluster, keeping the balloons on one side smaller than the other side.

I then added the 18" foil to the base of the design.

As my design was designed around the Retro Daisies balloon, I sat down and created a range of twisted flowers using the same colours that are on the foil to create unity and a sense of oneness in my design.

Birthday Retro Daisies Design by Sue Bowler
www.suebowler.com 

I secured the twisted daisy in Caribbean Blue to the wooden pole, and the remaining flowers have been secured to the design using UGlu Dashes. This type of glue dot is extremely strong and easy to apply - Uglu Dashes are available at many balloon wholesalers and suppliers! 

So now to get the perfect and most appealing shot of my design! One of my latest challenges is to to improve my photography skills. Taking that perfect shot is not my strong point, and I definitely know that sharing an appealing photograph on socials is extremely important!

I don't have a photo backdrop in my studio so I rely on tools such as CANVA to help me to make my photo a little more appealing! I also recently attended a free "How to Use Your iPhone Camera" course at my local Apple Store, which was super helpful, and was made even better because I was the only person who had signed up to the course that day so I got one-to-one tuition!

Here are a few of the photographs that I captured, which one do you think would be the most appealing for social media?

Do you think that a coloured boarder helps to bring more colour to the shot?

How about no background at all?

I introduced an Arch frame to give my design a stronger background 

And finally, I have cropped right into the photo, this brings the design closer and is a little bit more dramatic! 

I love taking the time to be creative! It is an opportunity to play around and truly enjoying doing what you love best... having fun with balloons! 

I always look forward to seeing what you create, especially with the new Qualatex balloons! 

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

'Making the Very Best Balloons,' by guest blogger Larry Moss

A bunch of years ago, my friends’ son, then still probably 6 or 7 years old, ran up to me one day to ask, “Where do they make balloons?” The question was inspired by a song with that very name by They Might be Giants. While the song never answers the question that it poses, he didn’t let that bother him at all. He knew I’d know the answer. And he was right. I immediately told him, “Hamilton, Ontario.” I could have easily given him a few different answers, but that was the one that mattered to me. The Hamilton plant is where most of the Qualatex balloons that I use come from.
After years of using the product, I was really excited when Kelly and I were invited to the plant for a tour. We’ve often found ourselves in conversations with Pioneer employees (makers of the Qualatex brand) about the abuse we put their balloons through, and also other artists about what they expect from the balloons they use. This tour would be a chance for us to get our questions answered about the product itself, while being able to share our experience and our knowledge of balloon artist needs with the people actually making our balloons. When their tour ended, we took them on our tour of what we do with their product. We had Pioneer employees, from the people making the balloons, to the people testing their strength, to the sales team, and even the COO, all twisting balloons and trying new things that they didn’t know their balloons were used for. The goal of all of this is to make an even better balloon by devising an even more rigorous quality control regimen than they already employ.

The tour begins.