2020 - On-Trend Bright, Beautiful and Very Colourful Rainbow Decor

Rainbows are the symbol of hope in many cultures, and during this pandemic, they have taken on that same meaningfulness. I don't think there has ever been a time when I have seen so many beautiful rainbow arches and other creative rainbow-themed decor displayed on social media.

The rainbow theme continues to trend, and now seems like the perfect time to share some inspiring decor! 

Qualatex^® Chrome™️ Rainbow Arch by Sue Bowler

Balloon Arches are the obvious choice when it comes to making rainbow dècor, and the best part is there is an abundance of different styles of arches that you can make! 

Sunshine Smile Face Rainbow Arch by Cam Woody, CBA,
Pioneer Balloon Company

If you would like to learn how to make this 6-balloon Spiral Arch - click HERE to download the full instructions.

Here is another very artistic Rainbow Balloon Arch. Karoline Massey of Bewitched Parties, in Lancashire, UK, made this display.

Have you been watching Happy Hour with Cam & Eve? This is a weekly Facebook Live show that is hosted on Mr Q's Facebook Page on TUESDAY's at 1 pm (CST)?

Here is a selection of rainbow theme designs that Cam Woody & Eve Antonello have made during one of their shows. To see this episode and learn how to make these designs, check out the video below.

Eve displays the NEW "Rainbow" Microfoil as the Column topper for her 

Luc Bertrand, CBA, of WaW Balloons, in Vichte, Belgium shows us a simple, yet effective QuickLink® Rainbow Arch with a Bubble Balloon® focal feature. This would be a prefect display to decorate a table.

How about a Rainbow Column? Dominic Cassidy, CBA and Keith Stirman, CBA, The Boys from Q Corner, Durham, UK, have created this pretty pastel Rainbow Column that compliments the "Radiant Rainbow" Microfoil balloon perfectly! 

Here is another idea using the "Radiant Rainbow' Microfoil balloon, with an added smile face on this appealing 646Q Column.

Carolynn Haymen, of POP! Designs and Creations LLC, creates her trendy Rainbow Column using a combination of QuickLinks and 260Q's! 

How about this gorgeous 30th birthday display? Zahraa Jaward, CBA, of Forever Balloon Boutique, Beirut, Lebanon, shares her truly beautiful Rainbow Hoop, another truly inspiring way to incorporate the rainbow theme into a design.

Did you know that Qualatex has even launched some fabulous new rainbow theme balloons? 

24" "Rainbow Clouds"
#13036
Front View

24" "Rainbow Clouds"
#13036
Side View

22" Birthday Bright Rainbow
Stripes
#13037

And finally, if you are looking for a little bit of a boost in your social media posts, check out the fabulous FREE resources in the Marketing Materials section on the Qualatex website.

Here is an example of one of the ready-made rainbow theme posts and images available for you to use.

I hope this has provided you a with some fun new ideas for this exciting and colourful theme! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me on Instagram @suebowler

Hoops, Beautiful Hoops! - Inspiring Design Ideas

White with Greenery Wedding Wreath by Sue Bowler

From tiny to giant, hoop and wreath designs have become increasingly more popular within both balloon and floral markets. As they continue to pop up on the wedding and party scene, these impressive works of art can act as stunning ceremony backdrops, as reception decor, or as unique staging for photos.

This very pretty Pink, White and printed
Diamond Clear hoop is perfect for weddings
and baby showers. 

I have actually been creating hoop designs for a while now, long before the organic style became the hottest trend! My first hoop designs were primarily constructed using the precision of Classic Decor style, which I still enjoy using quite a bit. And while I do also like building organic style decor, I still consider the basic elements and principles of design. For example, the balloons should be in  proportion to the size of the frame. How we use colour and space is also important, as getting this wrong can result in a haphazard-looking mess.







If you want to make a smaller hoop design, this can be done using hoola-hoops. Another option for smaller hoop designs is actually a recent discovery of mine, using wire hoops. You can find wire hoops like the white wire hoops that I used for the "White with Greenery Wedding" featured at the start of this blog post from Oasis Floral Products . The Ivy Garland and Peony flowers are also from Oasis Floral Products.

I occasionally will use the Structured Organic style to create hoop and wreath designs. Structured Organic style is done using a combination of the classic technique to create the hoop, then adding an organic element to the design afterwards. I really like this style as it adds a level of formality to the design without it looking too structured. 

To make larger hoops, you can purchase pre-made metal hoops, which are perfect for balloons, flowers and greenery. There are some truly inspirational designs on Instagram, just look under the hashtag #balloonhoops shown below.

One of my favourite hoop designers is #balloonilicious

Another alternative to metal hoops is to use round, heavy duty PVC conduit that is available in hardware stores. You can usually buy it in 12ft (3m) lengths, and easily connect them together using compression joints. I recommend making hoops that use approximately 14.5ft (4.5m) of conduit. However, it should be noted that these are not as strong as the metal hoops, and therefore cannot support too much additional weight such as flowers and greenery, without distorting the roundness of the hoop. The rainbow hoop below was made using PVC conduit.

This fabulous "Rainbow Hoop" design was made by a group of student's
during a Simply Organic's class that I recently
taught in Paduva, Italy.

Here are a few more examples of hoop designs that use florals and greenery to add accents.

Photo credit: Alisha Crossley Photography

To find even more inspiration check out this great article: How to Create and Display Circular Wedding Arches. The designs shown are all floral, but with some creative thinking they could easily be adapted for balloons or balloons with floral accent details.



"Wedding gates. Moon gates. Infinity arches. Circular wedding wreaths. Circular wedding arches...

Whatever you call them, large circular floral arrangements are topping the wedding charts this year..."

I love creating hoop designs, and I truly look forward to seeing some of your amazing creations! Don't forget to hashtag #suebowler so I get to see your fabulous creations! 

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebower