Air-Filled Design idea using PremiumConwin DecoCup™ + DecoStick™

With the continually soaring cost of helium and its lack of availability, finding air-filled solutions is extremely important to the ballooning community.

Creating designs using the PremiumConwin DecoCup™ + DecoCup™ is definitely the way forward, and today, I would like to share two videos with you featuring those accessories.

It's all about the Base! 

In the first video, I will demonstrate how to create the central support for your designs. I have two methods:

1. Using a tile base with 2x DecoCups and 1x DecoCup

2. Using a sand-weight with 2x DecoCups and 1 x DecoCup

I show two different glue options to secure the DecoCups to the tile base.

If like me, you have unused Lomey Adhesive in your toolbox. 

 This works very well for sticking a DecoCup to a ceramic tile base, 

but it can take up to 24 hours to dry! I recommend using packing tape to hold the cup in place on the tile during the drying process.

Gorilla Glue works extremely well when you need to stick two items together that are made from different material. The down-side is the drying time as it can take up to 24 hours for the glue to bond successfully.

Sand-Weights - using kiln-dried sand

A sand-weight makes the perfect weight for a base, unlike a water-weight, a sand-weight can be moulded into shape and flattened and is very stable, it is also quick and inexpensive to make. 

Check out the video below to see how easy it is to make the base element for our air-filled designs.

"With Love" - air-filled Hat Box Valentine's arrangement 

In the second video, I show you how to create this relatively easy design that would be perfect for Valentine's Day or by simply changing the balloons and colours it would be suitable for any occasion!

For this design I have used:

• Hat Box
• 7" Qualatex Gold Chrome
• 5" Wild Berry
• 260Q Gold Chrome
• 260Q Wild Berry
• 260Q Rose
• 18" Love Gold #16766
• Pink Organza Ribbon
• Uglu Dashes 

Check out the video below to find out step-by-step how to make this great design.

I have been creating air-filled balloon designs for many years now, and I have come to have a preference to air-filled over helium-filled designs. I feel that an air-filled design allows for more creativity and detail, and I prefer the end results!

Here are a few more of my air-filled arrangements, some using Deco Cups and Sticks.

The Happy Birthday foil in this design is actually helium-filled, but it could easily be replaced with an air-filled version on a Deco Cup & Stick

I hope that this post has been helpful and given you a little inspiration!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.Suebowler.com

Follow me @Suebowler

Say it with Love... Who Remembers Love Hearts Sweets?

This is a little bit of a throwback to my youth! I designed these little balloon characters holding the 6" Qualatex^®  "Love Expression" Hearts as a homage to the Love Heart sweets (candy) that we had when I was a child!  As soon as I saw these lovely printed heart shaped, latex balloons, I was reminded of the sherbet sweets that we used to love - calling out the little message that each sweet shared as we ate them!

Be Mine Valentine's Guys by Sue Bowler

Love Hearts sweets were initially launched back in 1954. Since then they’ve been used to send romantic messages and been used for art, clothes, weddings and tonnes of other idea's including these little balloon guys for Valentine's Day! 

Swizzles Love Hearts

Recently I taught a Valentine's webinar where I demonstrated a little character similar to the designs shown in this post. Characters like this are quick and easy to make and are very sellable too! Someone asked if we could add sweets/candy into the body of the character, and yes, this design would be absolutely perfect for that! Instead of using a coloured QuickLink™️ for the body, simply replace this with a Diamond Clear QuickLink. If you want to add sweets, then I recommend that you make the design a little bigger than the ones that I have made here, and use 11" QuickLinks and 11" Printed Faces, that will give you more space within the 'body' of the design to add additional rolls of sweets.

Tip: The easiest way to open up an 11" balloon to allow you to add confetti or small items is to use a stretching device such as a Castration Tool/ Pliers like the one shown below. Some balloon wholesales now sell these but if you struggle to find one, try Amazon or a farming store as the tools original purpose is to castrate small farm animals 🤓

Note: Regulations around the storage and handling of food items, including sweets (candy) vary depending on where you are in the world, but most countries have stringent regulations to prevent outbreaks of food poisoning. I recommend that you read this post by Sonia Payne of Balloon Biz Academy who covers this topic extremely well. 

Thinking of Adding Sweets, and Drinks To Your Balloon Designs – Make Sure You Read This First!

Castration Tool perfect for stretching open the necks of a 5", 11" and 16" Balloons

Love Expression Assortment

Size and shape: 06" Heart 

Colour: Assortment of Pink, White, Rose Package item #: 97275 

Package Count: 100

These Qualatex balloons are not available in all territories.

If you missed my recent Valentine's webinar - Expressions of Love- it is now available to view at Vimeo On-Demand - Click HERE for a direct link.

If would like to learn how to make this adorable design check out my post Valentine's "Love You" Guy - that has step-by-step instructions! Click HERE for a direct link! 

Happy Ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Creative Air-Filled Valentine's Day Inspiration

It is never too early to start working on your Valentine's marketing, and planning the designs that you are going to sell!  Valentine's has always been one of the balloon industries biggest selling opportunities for balloon gifts and deliveries, so it is important that you are ready! What we need to remember is that Valentine's means different things to different people; maybe a person has been in a long-term relationship and the word 'love' is a familiar saying, however, there are those whose relationships are nowhere near using that word (LOVE) and they certainly don't want to send or give anything that is remotely soppy!

Over the next few weeks, I will be posting a few Valentine's posts packed with ideas and inspiration! 

Last year I filmed a class where I demonstrate a selection of air-filled Valentine's Designs - the class is called Expressions of Love and is part of the Qualatex Online Education on Vimeo on demand. In this class, I demonstrate a wide-range of designs from fun and appealing characters to trendy creative air-filled balloon gifts. All these designs will highlight your love and affection for your loved ones! Using Qualatex® The Very Best™ balloons, these air-filled creations are designed for easy delivery or pickup!

Don't miss out on this great class, you may learn some great new ideas for this years Valentine's Day! Click HERE for a direct link! The class runs for over 2 hours and 40 minutes! 

Here is a sneaky peak at some of the designs that I will be teaching during the class! 

Valentine's - Expressions of Love Designs by Sue Bowler 

Let me remind you that the Qualatex website is packed with so many great design ideas and inspiration. Here are a few air-filled designs that I have selected for this post! 

You make me feel bubbly!

"Pop the cork and celebrate your loved one with this fun decor!"

If you are a QBN Member, you can download the instruction sheet to make this design - Click HERE

Designer name: Federico Onida, CBA, Balloon Express Shop - Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

Some Hearts Just Belong Together

"Here’s a piece chock full of love!"

This is a great way to create a simple Mosaic style frame. You could use a large box lid or make a simple box frame using foam board! 

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

Be My Love Now and Always

"An elegant gift to say I love you on any occasion."

I love this design by Cam Woody! Containers are a great way to make a beautiful balloon gift! Cam has combined the 22" Red Hearts & Filigree Bubble, with the 14" Red Kissey Lips shape and 11" Red & White SuperAgates that have been under-inflated to sit neatly into this design.

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA.

Will You BEE My Valentine?

"Not just today, but always!"       

Designer name: Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA

I Knew You'd Be Impressed!

Here’s a statement piece full of cuteness and love.

Designer name: Kerry Ferguson, CBA, Pioneer® Europe Ltd., UK

To see the full selection of Valentine's balloons available for 2021, click HERE to view the Valentines and Early Spring catalogue.

Keep safe and happy ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Get Ready for the Big 14 Day Countdown to Valentine's Day!

There is no long lead up to Valentine's Day sales, most people buy last minute, usually less than a week before the 14th! So what can you do leading up to Valentine's' Day to promote sales?

1. When posting on Social Media, think about the headings you use. Try something a little catchy like: 

• Need some help this Valentine’s? 5 perfect gift ideas for her/him
• ❤️ 5 perfect Valentine’s gift ideas for her/him (all under £30) ❤️ - the heart emoji will attract more attention!
• “Valentine’s Day treats for you and yours."
• "Bring a little Smiley Love this Valentine's Day."

or how about using a Valentine's quote

• “Where there is love, there is life.” – Mahatma Ghandi, Civil Rights Lead

• "They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything." - Bil Keane

Next, make sure the content of your post is appealing enough to drive customers to your store, web-shop, or to start a conversion.

2. Run a Valentine's Day poll or ask a question. This will get your customers interacting on your Facebook or Instagram pages. You can run a different poll every day leading up to the 14th! Interaction is really important to grow your following and it's not a one-way street. Make sure to respond to any comments. Remember, every comment you get means someone took the time to stop, look at your post and share their thoughts. After all that, why wouldn’t you respond?

How do you celebrate Valentine's Day?

What would be your perfect Valentine's Day gift?

Which balloon reflects your Valentine's personality?

This is an idea that you could use to post on one of your social media channels - you are
welcome to use this example, just right click to save the image. Make sure that you either start a poll, or simply ask a question - "Which balloon reflects your Valentine's personality?" or whatever comment you think will get your followers talking.

3. Add romantic flair to your social media covers and profile images. Help your online audience get into the spirit of Valentine’s Day by updating your social media covers and profile images with a bit of romantic flair. Ideally the flair should still be visible when your profile image is resized, but be careful not to obscure your original branding too much – you still want your audience to be able to recognise it. Did you know that you can download some great Valentine's images from the Qualatex website! Click HERE for a direct link to the Organic Heart Decor article.

4. Hashtag it! Using seasonal hashtags and keywords is a simple way to expand your reach.

#bemine, #bemine2019 #bemyvalentine, #candyhearts, #galentinesday, #hugsandkisses, #secretadmirer, #SinglesDay, #sweetheart, #thatslove, #valentine, #valentines, #valentinesday2019, #whoneedsavalentine, #willyoubemyvalentine

5. Run a Valentine's competition - ask people to post their funniest Valentine's Day stories. Once again this will create interaction on your social media channels and create something fun for your followers to read and engage in - maybe get your followers to choose their favourite stories by counting the number of likes?

6. Offer a special promotion for early orders - you could offer a free gift-wrapped heart with every order made.

Here are just a few last minute ideas that should help with your Valentine's sales! 

Good luck!

Happy Valentine's Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me @suebowler

Creative Valentine's Ideas - Part 1

Valentine's Day has a habit of creeping up on us very quickly, arriving very soon after Christmas and New Year. We don't seem to get the same lead time as we do for other key seasonal occasions. So if you have not already started your Valentine's campaign, now is the time to get started! 

This morning I thought that I would have a little play with Chris Adamo's fabulous Balloons Online Design Tool - I have added a link that will take you directly to the page. Remember to save or bookmark the link for the future!  I have designed many balloon walls, but this FREE program makes it so incredibly easy!

If you are wondering where this little gem of a program is hidden, look on the menu for the Quick Link Designer. Once you click on that, it will take you to the design page where it will open in the last model that you used. To change the model, click on ADD MODEL on the right-hand side of the page and it will open a drop-down menu where you will be able to select the type of wall that you want to design. I selected the Alternate Size Pack wall as it allows me to add greater detail to my design versus Duplet Square pack.

Alternate Size Pack Walls

I really like this style of balloon wall. It is robust, always looks good, and is probably the most widely used method of precision wall. It is made by alternating clusters of four balloons in two different sizes packed on to 50lb Dacron line. This produces a square garland (see example below).

The first and last garland in your wall starts and finishes with one size of balloon cluster. The next garland starts and finishes with the alternate size of balloon cluster. The example below shows the green balloon being the bigger of the two sizes.

Square Garlands

The difference in size between the two sets is relative to the size of balloon used.

 2" - 4½" = use a ½"differential

4½" - 7½" = use a 1" differential 

7½" - 11" = use a 2" differential

5cm - 11.5cm = use a 1.5cm differential

11.5cm - 19cm = 2.5cm differential

19cm - 28cm = 5cm differential

Practice and see which size works best for you. The garlands are laid side-by-side and interlocked when built, then joined together using the elastic band method* 

Square Garlands locked together

Accurate sizing of balloons is paramount with this style of balloon wall. When making the duplets, we must make sure that the balloons are tied as tightly together as possible, leaving no slack latex between the knot and the inflated part of the balloon.

Everyone will pack clusters on the line at a particular tension. It is typical to have only one person pack the garlands while others inflate and tie. This may not possible when working on large-scale jobs, so you will need to practice consistent sizing and packing with your crew.

This method produces quite a smooth design with a flat surface that allows for good diagonal lines and triangles. Not all balloon wall types work with different patterns!

The inspiration for this Valentine's wall was from the Qualatex^® "Love You Red Ribbon" Microfoil^® balloon. If you made a display using both, it would look stunning and very eye- catching - perfect for a window display! 

18" & 36" "Love You Red Ribbon" Microfoil Balloons

If you would like to have a go at making this wall, here is the design recipe. It even tells you how many balloons of each colour you will need! If you right-click on the instructions, you can save the file to your computer and open it in its original size!

Image 1 - Balloon Wall as it will look when completed.

 Image 2 - Balloon Wall in columns.

To secure the columns together, I use the paperclip and elastic band method that I was taught many years ago by Ian Herd, CBA.

This is such an important part of the wall construction. If done badly, the wall can distort and not look good. There are many people who use 260Qs to fix a wall, but for me, the elastic band and paperclip method is the best technique!

If you have never made a balloon wall before, this style of wall is a great one to start with. Don't forget, you do not need to make it huge; use 5" balloons and you will get exactly the same results, but on a smaller scale!

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing more Valentine's design ideas to help you with your campaign! Don't forget that there is a fabulous INSPIRATION area on the Qualatex website where you can view and download BALLOON BOUQUET and DECOR ideas, like the "Embellished Heart" designed by Luc Bertrand, CBA. If you are a QBN member or CBA, you are also able to log in and download the recipe sheet and a high-resolution photograph that you could use for marketing purposes.

Once again, my sincere thanks and gratitude goes out to Chris Adamo, CBA, of Balloons Online, Sydney, Australia, who continuously gives to the balloon industry and inspires many of us each day with his incredible ballooning skills! Thank you, Chris. Your gestures are truly helping so many!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com