Thursday, August 20, 2020

Welcome Back to School - Balloon Decòr to Bring Smiles to those Returning to School


Back to School Decor by Balloons by Paris Party
Back to School Decòr - Balloons by Paris Party in Paris, Texas, USA.

For many children returning to school, starting nursery or Kindergarten it can be an exciting time, a new era in their school life chapter. But this may not be the case for all. Due to the global pandemic, a significant number of children will have been away from the school environment for many month and there will be those children who will be feeling anxious or even frightened. 

Schools and their dedicated teachers will be working hard to ensure that the children feel confident and comfortable to return, especially with all the new procedures that they will need to follow to ensure everyone's safely. 

Back to School is a major business for many retailers - school uniforms, creative stationary and fancy lunch boxes are part of the merchandise that is important in this time.

As balloon professionals we can offer other ways to bring a little fun and excitement to a child's first day back at school, helping to make it a happy and memorable experience!

Balloons at Home

In most households, there is a mandatory first day of school photo, usually taken outside the house on the doorstep. However, this year, families are looking to make this occasion even more special! Offering 'Back to School' balloon decor and arrangements will certainly bring a smile to any child or teenager's face, and make them feel super special too! 

Amy Broadley of Balloonies Falkirk, in Scotland, has had great success offering beautifully decorated Bubbles to her customers when their children returned to school earlier this month.


Personalised Balloon by Amy Broadley of Balloonies Falkirk, in Scotland,

Personalised Balloons by Amy Broadley of Balloonies Falkirk, in Scotland,


Qualatex® Deco Bubble Balloons™️ are the perfect balloons to create magical and memorable personalised balloons. They are extremely versatile, giving you the ability to add beautiful coloured 5" balloons inside... along with many other things too! Personalising balloons make them especially meaningful to the recipient.


Qualatex Chrome 20" Star Balloons are also perfect for personalising! Available in:

Chrome Silver

Chrome Gold

Chrome Mauve

Chrome Purple

Chrome Blue

Chrome Green





To learn how to apply vinyl easily to a Bubble Balloon, watch Chris Adamo's helpful step-by-step video below.


Welcome Back to School - Balloon Decòr

A simple yet effective dècor option is greeting the children back to school with fabulous 'Welcome Back' balloon decòr. We all know that balloons create a sense of excitement and expectation when attending an event or party, so the same would definitely apply at school too! 

Luc Bertrand, CBA, of WaW Balloons in Vichte, Belgium shares some of his Back to School inspiration using a combination of Qualatex and Northstar Balloons.

Northstar Balloons A-B-C with Emoticon Winking Display by Luc Bertrand
For Northstar Balloons Product Selection, Colours and Codes Click HERE



Back to School Design by Luc Bertrand, of WaW Balloons in Vitchte, Belgium
'Back to School' Pencils and ABC Blocks by Luc Bertrand 

Check out Luc's video. Part 1. Luc demonstrates how to make the mosaic balloon box and how he spray paints the foil letter balloons.



In Part 2. Luc demonstrates how to make pencils with balloons and demonstrates 2 different distortion techniques to make the tips.


In Part 3. Luc explains how to make an ABC yard art design.



"Welcome Back"School decòr by Infante Creations Balloon Decor

"Welcome Back" School decòr by Infante Creations Balloon Decor

Making decòr to match school colours is definitely a great way to make it even more enticing to the schools! 

Balloons by Paris Party in Paris, Texas, created these fun and vibrant Balloon Columns. I'm a little bit in love with the Apple and Inchworm column - perfect for juniors and younger pupils.

Back to School Balloons by Balloons by Paris Party in Paris,

Avital & Nir Schechter of Balonir in Israel believe that there is no better way to open the school year than with joyful and colourful balloon designs that will welcome the children when they arrive at the entrance of the school institutions. They have created a fabulous range of decor (see below) that will definitely bring smiles to the children's faces.

Back to School Balloon Wall by Avital & Nir Schechter of Balonir in Israel
'Welcome Back' Balloon Wall by Avital & Nir Schechter

Vibrant Rainbow Entrance Arch by Avital & Nir Schechter of Balonir in Israel
Avital Schechter, CBA & Nir Schechter, CBA, with one of their beautiful school entrance arches.



Welcome Back to School Balloon Wall by Avital & Nir Schechter of Balonir in Israel
'Welcome Back' Balloon Wall by Avital and Nir Schechter

Balloon Mosaic™️ & Balloon Mosaic Frames

Balloon Mosaic style of decor is very popular and definitely on-trend. These 'Back to School' frames are simply perfect. Their diversity allows them to be used as part of a display, or maybe used in a Balloon Wall or Balloon Arch design. The fabulous letters shown in the photograph below are 16" Northstar Balloons painted with Colorshot General Purpose Spray Paint, to attain these wonderful vibrant colours.

Back to School Decor by Creative Heart Studio
The Pencil Balloon Mosaic Digital Design Template is available to purchase click HERE for a direct link or visit www.creativeheartstudio.com

School Colouring Pencil Decor by Creative Heart Studio
Crayon Balloon Mosaic Digital Design Template available from
Creative Heart Studio.com

Giving a child a balloon on the day that they start or return to school is a simple way to get their year off to a happy start. It creates a fresh start for a new academic year! Even more, decorating schools with welcoming balloon decor may become a popular annual event, and one that would definitely be worth preparing for and marketing every year.

And let us not forget the teachers! It will also be a strange and challenging time for them also. So how about showing teachers thanks and appreciation for being dedicated to their job, without doubt they will love being remembered! 

Cam Woody designed this heartfelt 'Thank You' design with added messages and cool little touches all neatly presented in a little wooden crate.



While there are many schools that have already returned to school, there are still those who are still on summer breaks or in lockdown, so hopefully there will still be opportunities!

Happy ballooning everyone! 

Sue

www.suebowler.com

Follow me on Instagram @suebowler












Wednesday, August 12, 2020

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! 

Rainbow and Unicorn Decor by Sue Bowler
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
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.

Rainbow Arch

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.Rainbow Design

Rainbow Balloon Design by Cam Woody

Rainbow Column Design by Eve Antonello
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.
Rainbow Arch by Luc Bertrand

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! 

Rainbow Column by The Boys from Q Corner
Here is another idea using the "Radiant Rainbow' Microfoil balloon, with an added smile face on this appealing 646Q Column.
Qualatex Rainbow Column
Carolynn Haymen, of POP! Designs and Creations LLC, creates her trendy Rainbow Column using a combination of QuickLinks and 260Q's! 

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.
Zahraa Jaward, CBA, of Forever Balloon Boutique, Beirut, Lebanon, shares her truly beautiful Rainbow Hoop
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.

Qualatex Social Media Posts




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

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
Follow me on Instagram @suebowler


Monday, August 3, 2020

Q Corner Live Column Competition - the results!

I just wanted to take the opportunity to congratulate everyone that took part in the recent Q Corner Live Column Competition. Competing live in front of your peers is definitely not easy, but it certainly is a great and rewarding challenge! 

Fourteen balloon professionals from around the world came together during a Q Corner Show.  Through the power of the internet, and some technical know-how from Keith and Dominic - The Boys of Q Corner, they created their own unique columns during a 'live' 60 minutes window. 

The competitors were required to follow these simple rules:

Rules:
  • Only Qualatex® or Northstar balloons can be used, including latex rounds and non-rounds, Microfoil®, and Bubble balloons. 
  • The arrangement should be air-filled only, please do not include any helium-filled balloons.
  • Accessories such as flowers, greenery, ribbons and other decorative items can be used, however balloons should represent at least 70% of the design.
  • No balloons can be pre-inflated prior to the start of the competition.
  • Should you wish to add Fantasy Flowers, these may be pre-made and used within your design.
  • The design should be suitable to be displayed on a table.

Here is the winning design as voted by a judging panel made up of Cam Woody, Luc Bertrand, Eve Antonello, and Sue Bowler. Also featured is the People's Choice winner as awarded by a public vote and of course all the other fantastic entries too!

And the winner is....




Larysa created this beautiful and artistic design using Qualatex Chrome® balloons, her prize for winning first place was the fantastic Premium Twin-Air Sizer II.



The People Choice winner is...




And here are all the other wonderful entries! 





















Once again congratulations to everyone who took part, and to our fabulous winners! To watch the competition, just click on the video below!




Happy Ballooning!

Sue 
Follow me on Instagram @suebowler

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

How to Create Inspiring Instagram and Facebook Posts for the Non-Designer - Part 2

Are you ready to step it up a notch and learn a few more tips and tricks that help make great posts for Instagram and Facebook! 

By now, you might realise (if you have watched How to Create Inspiring Instagram and Facebook Posts for the Non-Designer - Part 1) that I am a little bit of a Canva enthusiast, and enjoy spending time experimenting with the fantastic features that Canva offers. So far, in my video demonstrations, I have only demonstrated the use of the free version of Canva. In this tutorial, I will show how to create designs using features from both the free and from Canva Pro which is a paid for subscription. 

It is defiantly worth trying Canva Pro - they even offer a free 28 day trial of the pro version. You will need to use a credit card to set up your account, but you can easily cancel the subscription if you decide that Canva Pro is not for you! Just make sure that you make a note to do this before the subscription kicks in. 

Let's look at a few more great features on the free version before we head off to Canva Pro.

Check out the video below to see how to add a background and text to an image and also how to add a little animation too! 


This is the adorable 'Shine Bright' image by Cam Woody, which I downloaded from the Qualatex - Inspiration - Balloon Decor section. Please note that only QBN members and CBA's have the ability to download high-resolution copies of these images. If you are not a QBN member or CBA, remember that Qualatex has some amazing and FREE marketing materials available to everyone, and all are welcome to use these resources for social media posts. Even better, you can use Canva to add your own text and create your own unique posts! 

Beautiful Reindeer design created by Cam Woody
With a little (free) Canva magic, I added a background and a little seasonal text - view the video to see how! 



Canva marketing post created by Sue Bowler

Canva also has the ability to 'animate' your post (also a free function) although there are some professional options too which you can use when you upgrade to the pro version. Posting little videos on Instagram is a great way to attract new followers! Statistically, videos are viewed even more than photographs! 


Here is another free marketing image from the Qualatex Lifestyle Photo section that I downloaded, then added my own slogan to! 

Tropical Balloon Design

How to smarten up your own photos

Check out the video to see how to remove the background from one of your photos and replace it with a new background! 



I know that many of you are very keen to know how you can turn some of your own ballooning photographs into more appealing Instagram posts. Getting the perfect photo is almost impossible without being in a professional studio. Let me show you a few tricks that will hopefully change all that! 

I will start with one of my more recent images of a Number Five frame that I made. Before taking the frame outside, which was where it was intended to go, I took a photograph with the frame on a table. The lighting was appalling, and the setting not much better!

Number Five Balloon Frame designed by Sue Bowler

Using one of the Canva Pro features, I was able to remove the background and replace it with something that helped my design to stand out better!

Number Five Balloon Frame design by Sue Bowler


Here are a few more before and after shots! 

Before

Before editing shot of Flamingo in a box design

After a little Canva Pro Makeover

Tropical Flamingo Design by Sue Bowler



Flamingo Balloon Design by Sue Bowler

Keep in mind, not all photos edit successfully using the Canva Pro Background Remover Tool, and the results can be disappointing. Something to keep in mind in this case is you don't always need to show the whole image; sometimes just showing a small section of a photo can be just as appealing! 

Elegant Balloon Frame by Sue Bowler


Beautiful Balloon Fairy Tree by Sue Bowler

I hope that you have enjoyed this tutorial and that it has been helpful! Hopefully this quick tutorial will get you started, and maybe like me, you will even get a little bit addicted and start producing some truly beneficial posts! 

Happy Designing! 

Sue
Follow me on Instagram @suebowler