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

With the Cost of Helium Increasing, Let's Take a Look at Air-Filled Balloon Delivery and Decor Solutions!

As we are all likely aware, helium prices are rising and availability is becoming more limited. This means it is time to start thinking about creating more air-filled designs and decor! That does not mean that we should not be using helium, but if you are, you should think of different ways to keep your helium costs down! 

Let's start with keeping helium costs down. There is a great post by Balloon Biz Academy, written by Sonia Payne where she gives 10 Great Cost Busting Tips for Helium use in your Business 

So let's look at some air-filled creativity!

Air-filled decor has been steadily increasing for a number of years now. There are many balloon businesses that do not work with helium at all, offering only air-filled dećor featured with props and backdrops to enhance their installations! When it comes to deliveries, the perfect solutions (although not my favourite to make as they are time consuming and tend to use a lot of tape and glue) are Balloon Stacks, or Balloon Marquees, as they are also known as. Check out these popular hashtags: #balloonstack and #balloonmarquee

Jackie Ochitwa, CBA of With a Twist in Alberta, Canada always creates the perfect 'Balloon Stacks'!

They are fun, exciting and packed with all those extra little details! 

Air-Filled Balloon Decor with Props

Organic balloon displays that are 100% air-filled have been trending for quite some time now, and they don't appear to be waning in popularity! There are many companies that only offer organic balloon displays, and are able to run very successful balloon businesses.

This fantastic balloon display below was created by Blow it with Bex,  based in Southampton, UK. Bex used 7" Qualatex Chrome balloons to create this stunning display on a popular wire-mesh frame with a Happy Birthday light-up neon sign and a touch of greenery... what's not to love! 

The design featured below was an installation created by myself and Nicci Gibson from Balloon Bouquets  based in London, UK. This decor was created for a Valentine's corporate event and was designed to allow guests to move around within a framed area. This design included balloons and paper accessories that gave it more visual texture.

If you would like to learn more about Organic Balloon Styling, check out my blog post - Exploring Organic Balloon Décor Styles  or visit https://theverybestballoonblog.blogspot.com/2021/07/exploring-organic-balloon-decor-styles.html

Balloon Walls

I love designing and making balloons walls! I have always found these to be very popular for events, especially for corporate clients. Balloon Walls can be made using round balloons in various different techniques, and QuickLinks for some truly amazing results!

Here are a few reasons why you might suggest a balloon wall to a client:

• Corporate logo
• Themed background
• Themed entrance
•  Photo or stage back-drop
• To enhance a trade show or exhibition stand

This fantastic QuickLink balloon wall is perfect for a child's space theme party. If you have never worked with QuickLink balloons, you should definitely try them out! As the name suggests, you can build decor very quickly using this type of balloon! 

Balloon Wall and Decor by Zoe Adam-Jones, CBA of Jazz Trading,
Queensland, Australia.
This wall was used as the stage back-drop at the Qualatex Event in Brazil, 2019.

This Balloon Wall welcomed guests into the Moscow Balloon Festival in 2019
Designed and made by Olga Baranova, CBA and Olga Samoilova, CBA.

To learn how to make this complete design visit  - even the 3' balloon is air-filled! https://vimeo.com/ondemand/bspsettingthescene1and2

Balloon Arches

When it comes to designing and building balloon Arches, you can really let your creativity go wild! Featured below is a fabulous selection of arches. I love all the different themes, and the mix of balloon types, all offering a great contrast in texture.

Jungle Theme Arch by
M & M Balloon Co. in Seattle, USA

This Football or Soccer theme arch was designed by
Cam Woody of Pioneer Balloon Company.

This Disney Theme Arch was designed and created by
Keith Stirman and Dominic Cassidy of All Things Fun in Durham, UK.

This fun Jungle theme arch design was the work of 
Keith Stirman and Dominic Cassidy of All Things Fun in Durham, UK.

There are so many opportunities to create appealing air-filled decor. If you would like even more inspiration, check out these great pages on the Qualatex website! 

Air-Filled Solutions for Retail

Air-Filled Solutions for Decorators

Many of the high street chain stores are turning away customers, as they cannot get any helium supplies. As a balloon professional, it is really important to find air-filled solutions to ensure that we can continue to grow our balloon businesses! 

Happy ballooning! 

Sue

www.suebowlercom

Follow me @suebowler

Be the Balloon Specialist and not the Balloon Seller - Inspiring Ideas for Party Shops and Retailers.

One of the most difficult things about being a balloon retailer is that almost anyone can inflate a balloon and attach it to a weight. Unfortunately, our biggest competitors do this very well, and even worse, they usually sell them for less than you ever can due to greater buying power, higher turnover, and lower profit margins.

However, many of us, including our competitors, are currently experiencing difficulty obtaining helium, and those who can find it will experience significant price increases. 

This is where we can gain an edge on competitors. We should take this opportunity to be the balloon specialist, and not just the balloon seller. It's important to understand how to take a balloon or two, add value, and make them into something really special - with or without helium! 

Balloon Arrangements and deliveries are a big part of any balloon business and will ensure the long-term success of your business - better perhaps than any other product or service. 

Tropical Toucan Birthday Luxury Design

Balloon Designs without helium

Air-filled designs can range from a relatively simple idea to something much more elaborate!

Some of the best parts about using air-filled arrangements is that they can be made in advance, the balloons will last for a long time, and they are perfect for in-store displays. Customers rarely know what they actually want or request a bespoke or customised design. 

We generally buy what looks best to us and what is within our ‘considered’ price range.

Have a range of designs always made up for a variety of occasions and ‘ready to go’. Don't forget to add a price tag - this takes away the fear of asking the price.

Using a double 4-balloon cluster base like the one shown above is an ideal base for many air-filled designs. The sizing of the base balloons will depend on the balloons that you are featuring. For example, the Toucan Microfoil is quite a large balloon, and when air-filled it becomes relatively heavy; therefore, the base would need to be large enough to allow for stability throughout the design. Based on the photograph, I would estimate that the base cluster is inflated to around 8" and the second cluster to around 6" - but don't be tempted to make the base too big, as it could become out of proportion with the rest of the design. The design will also require a double-stuffed sand or water-weight to be pulled into the centre of the base.

Here is another great example of an air-filled design - Party Narwhal Birthday Luxury Design. An 11" latex base topped with a fun 18" round Microfoil and the Party Narwhal special shape Microfoil creates an impressive, yet simple, design for that customer what wants a bit "more!"

For more design inspiration for air-filled decor using this technique visit Balloon Decor - Inspiration on www.Qualatex.com

I personally love "Balloon Buddies," they're fun, interactive and great for children and adults! 

The "Baby Boy Balloon Buddy" is a number one seller for baby showers and new baby arrivals! 

In a recent blog post I talked about the benefits of developing twisting skills and these designs show why. 

If you missed the post Develop Your Twisting Skills and add Value to you Every Day Designs click on the link HERE. It's packed with great information and a fabulous video by Jackie Ochitwa who demonstrates "Essential Twists for Balloon Artists."

Who could resist this adorable "Cute Clown Balloon Buddy" another great design perfect for children of all ages! 











If you want to take your Balloon Buddies to the next level add a helium-filled balloon or balloons, then use a Qualatex Deco Bubble for the body and fill with mini-balloons for that "How did they do that - wow factor!"

There are so many wonderful and very sellable designs using air-filled balloons which are a little bit different from the norm!

They can be as simple as these "Grab & Go" air-filled displays.

Or how about these adorable "Gentlemen with Flowers", by Vadim Shushkanov from Moscow, Russia. You can learn how to make these by simply clicking HERE.

You could also try your hand at making one of these adorable air-filled arrangements, combining a range of balloons like the "Sweets For My Sweet" design created by Cam Woody, CBA, Pioneer Balloon Company, Wichita, KS, USA.

If you haven't checked out all the amazing designs in the Inspiration Decor section on the Qualatex website, click HERE. If you are a QBN member, you can download each design as a full-sized image that you can use on your own website and social media channels. 

I hope that this blog post has given those of you who are struggling without helium supplies a little bit of inspiration! Let me know what your number one air-filled sellers are!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler.com