Christmas and New Year's Deco Ideas using Qualatex Taper Balloons

I love the Qualatex Taper balloon! I believe that it is a balloon that sadly goes unnoticed, as many people are often unsure what to do with it! This is probably why the colour range has been gradually discontinued over the years. Today, I am going to share with you some ideas featuring this versatile balloon that you will hopefully enjoy making, and that will look perfect at your Christmas and New Year's events!

 

This ingenious entrance decor was created by Luc Bertrand, CBA, of WaW Balloons in Vichte, Belgium for the Qualatex Event Germany a few years ago!  It really created a sense of fun and excitement when you walked through it into the main party room! 

Please be aware that some of the colours of Taper balloons that I am showing in this article are no longer available; however, all designs are easily adapted by simply changing the colours. 

Let us start by looking at what is available in this range! 

Rose Gold, Metallic Gold & Silver
available in 13" 27" and 38"

• 38" - Suitable for helium or air filling. I like to use 38" Tapers helium-filled in my centrepiece arrangements to create long and elegant lines.
• 27" - Suitable for air filling, will not float if filled with helium. These balloons do have a valve but do not be fooled they do not float when filled with helium.
• 13" - Suitable for air filling only, great for accent detail and centrepiece designs. These balloons require heat sealing.

One of my favourite designs using Tapers is the air-filled Galaxy Ball! These can be made using all the different sizes of Tapers, giving you a small medium and large versions. When made using the 38" balloons, they are an impressively size and work extremely well in large venues where you want to fill ceiling space! One of the best things about this design is that it is very long lasting! Below is a video featuring Mark Drury of Qualatex, who demonstrates how to make the Galaxy Ball on a past episode of BMTV.

Here are a few table arrangement ideas.

The first design is a prototype of a design that I created for the Gala Ball at the World Balloon Convention (WBC) and was even featured on the Oct/Nov/Dec 2010 cover of Balloon IMAGES magazine.

If you would like to learn how to make this design, check out my post - An elegant centerpiece idea for a New Year's Gala Party! or click HERE for a direct link.

Another noteworthy piece that is worth recreation is this unique flower design, which uses 13" Tapers to extend the petals to create this impressive centrepiece! Helpful hint: use the Metallic Gold Tapers and Chrome Gold 7" latex to transform this piece into a fabulous New Years design! 

This eye-catching entrance Arch would be fantastic for either a Christmas or New Years Eve event, simply change the colours like I have done on my computer generated image (see below) to show my client how it would look in the colours of their choice! 

To create inspirational design like this, I have used Chris Adamo's Balloon Design Tools
https://balloonpro.co

And finally, I want to show you this fabulous idea of using a Galaxy Ball as a rotating mobile! 

Using a small rotating motor was a great way to bring this mobile to life! The designer used the same technique as you would use to create a Galaxy Ball (see above), but used fewer balloons so that it was not so full. This decor was created for a Christmas party that is held annually for children being treated at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, London.

If you have never worked with Taper Balloons before, you should definitely try them for your next event. You can easily make some truly impressive decor with them! 

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Elegant Flower Embellished Arch

This is a design that I originally created for the Q Tour in 2015! Today, I would like to share it with the readers of The Very Best Balloon Blog! 

This design incorporates the AeröPole System™️ and demonstrates how to create patterns within an Arch, rather than using the usual spiral pattern we regularly see. 

The design also shows great Rhythm. Rhythm is movement within a design created by repetition, transition, radiation, or variation to lead the eye along lines in a composition. In this design you can see:

• Repetition in shape, colour, and texture
• Transition in sizing of the big flower to the smaller flowers
• Radiation with movement from the focal point
• Variation with the different elements of latex and Microfoils

For the Arch you will need:

150 - 11" Onyx Black latex (or the colour of your choice)

50   - 11" Pearl Ruby Red latex (or the colour of your choice)

Inflate all of the balloons to 9"

Here is the pattern that you will need to follow to create the arch; start from the left and repeat from the beginning until you have as many balloons as you require for your Arch.

To make the 27" Taper Flower:

8   - 27" Tapers (Red Tapers are no longer available)

12 - 5" Onyx Black (or the colour of your choice)

2   - 5" Pearl Ruby Red latex (or the colour of your choice)

1   - 260Q to secure 

To make the 13" Taper Flowers (per flower):

8 - 13" Silver Tapers (or the colour of your choice)

12 - 5" Onyx Black latex (or the colour of your choice)

2 - 5" Pearl Ruby Red latex (or the colour of your choice)

1 - 260Q to secure

To make a large flower you will need:

8 x 27" Qualatex Taper balloons inflated with air (be careful not to over-inflate, and do not use a high-pressure air-inflator to inflate your balloons as this will damage the valve.) Tie these into duplets. 

12 x 5" latex balloons inflated to approx. 4.5" and made into 2 x 6-balloon clusters.

2 x 5" latex balloons inflated to approx. 3" and made into a duplet.

1 x 260Q un-inflated.

How to put the flower together:

Start with one of the 5" (inflated to 4.5") 6-balloon clusters, lay it flat, then take a 260Q and wrap it through the centre of the cluster in a figure of 8 motion. This cluster will NOT sit flat until you add your next cluster so you will need to hold it down.

Twist all the Taper duplets together and lay these flat on top of the 3 balloon cluster - DO NOT SECURE USING THE 260Q as this will pull the cluster down and the balloons will not sit flat, just bring the 260Q through the centre so you are holding it above the cluster. Nex add the second 5" (inflated to 4.5") 6-balloon cluster on top of the Taper balloons and bring the 160Q through the centre again, arranging the Tapers so that they sit correctly to represent a flower. Secure using the 260Q by wrapping this through the centre of the top cluster in a figure of 8 motion.

Design Tip:

The use of Microfoil balloons creates contrast and adds visual texture to the Arch. Use the 27" Taper flower as the focal point and the 13" Taper Flowers as accents. You can also use Taper Flowers as room decor. Suspend them from the ceiling at varying heights using the Click-Clik™️ Magmover System.

What if you want to propose this or another design idea to a client but you don't have a good photo to display:

Gathering a solid portfolio of design ideas can take many years, unless you are very lucky! However, you don't actually need a good photograph to excite your clients!

I created this graphic presentation using Chris Adamo's Balloon Design Tools program. You can test it out free for 7 days, and if you like it you can either get a monthly or yearly subscription. To find out more click HERE  - I use this software often and I've found that it makes quoting quick and professional!

Chris taught a class Digital Designs Aids to Grow Your Business during the recent Q Corner Convention, in his class he looks some of the various software (free and paid) available to create digital design aids for your business with lots of little tips on how to use digital renders to quote and up-sell- definitely worth watching! 

If you missed Chris's Q Corner Convention class, I have added the video below. Chris's class was included in part of Part 8 of the convention and starts at 4.14 if you want fast forward it to his session.

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me on Instagram #Suebowler