Make a Floral Balloon

Balloons scream party time and a floral balloon can be a fun, interesting decoration at your next get-together. Whether you want to pretty up the string on a balloon arrangement with silk flowers or create a backdrop of balloons and fresh flowers for pictures, a floral balloon will make any event look effortlessly polished. It may take a bit of planning and patience putting all the balloons and flowers together, but they can be super easy to make.

Steps

Adding Flowers to a Balloon String

1. Decide on the look you’re going for. Do you want several single white balloons all with decorated floral stems, or do you want to tie several balloons together to make a single stem? Decide on how many balloon strings you want to decorate.
2. Tie twine to one or more inflated balloons. After you decide on how many balloons you want together, blow them up by hand or with the help of an air pump. Then, tie a single piece of twine around the balloon ends. Tie the end of the twine into a double knot by tying the end a second time or try a slip knot.
3. Trim silk flower ends to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}. Use a variety of silk flowers and green leaves that falls in line with your color scheme. Since you’ll be attaching the arrangement to the twine on the balloons with floral tape, you need to trim long stems. Trim long stems on flowers so that only {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} is left. For example:
   • You could use several different types of pale pink flowers and green leaves with a white balloon.
   • You could use similar flowers in different shades of the same color with balloons in a complementary color.
   • You could use silk violets, hibiscus and gardenia flowers for a tropical themed party.
4. Trim green-leaf stems to be between {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}. You’ll probably want some greenery on your floral balloon. Silk greenery is sold like flowers, except with leaves attached to one half of the stem. Determine how long you want leaves to hang from your balloon and trim accordingly. Trim the greenery so that between {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of leaves are left.
5. Attach leaves to the base of your balloon. Start your arrangement by attaching two pieces of greenery to the base of your balloon to hide the tied piece of twine. Attach the ends of your greenery onto the twine just under the balloon with clear, shipping tape.
6. Wrap floral tape around the greenery ends. Reinforce the tape you used to attach the greenery by wrapping floral tape around their ends.The floral tape will also make your floral balloon stem look complete after all is said and done. If you have heavier flowers or greenery, consider using a dollop of hot glue underneath the floral tape for a stronger hold.
7. Attach 2 to 3 flowers underneath the greenery. After you attach greenery to the base of your balloon, you should have a feel for how your floral balloon should look. Attach 2 to 3 flower heads right under the greenery using the same attachment methods described above.
8. Continue attaching flowers and greenery to the twine. Alternate between greenery and flowers through the length of the twine, until the end is as long as you’d like. The length should be anywhere between {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}.
9. Decorate a room with your floral balloons. Arrange and decorate your freshly made floral balloons in a reception or party space. Place three to five balloons in the corners of a room or tie stings to a weight and place them in the middle of tables.

Making a Floral Balloon Backdrop

1. Purchase a bag of balloons and gather lots of fresh flowers. You’re going to need lots of balloons and flowers for this project. Go to your local party supply and purchase balloons in bulk that you can blow up yourself. For the flowers, check with your area discount grocery store on fresh flower prices and purchase a variety of 3 to 6 bunches.
   • If your budget doesn't allow fresh flowers, use silk ones.
2. Cut chicken wire netting with wire cutters. Obtain some chicken wire netting at your local hardware or farm-and-feed store. Measure out how large you want your floral balloon backdrop. Most chicken wire is sold rolled up very long and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} tall. Unroll anywhere between {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and cut the netting with wire cutters forming a square or rectangle.
3. Spread the wire netting out and tack it to a wall. Since chicken wire comes rolled up, you will want to flatten it by firmly pressing the wires down with your hands. Make a work-space to keep it flat by using thumb tacks on an area of wall you don’t mind having tack marks. Keeping the wire spread out will make it easier to work with.
4. Use an air pump to blow up balloons in a variety of sizes. Save your breath and blow all the balloons for this project up with a balloon pump or air compressor. Any party supply store should sell a hand held balloon pump in addition to balloons. Blow balloons up to different large, medium and small sizes to entirely cover the netting and fill in any gaps.
5. Trim flower stems to be between {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}. You will be interspersing flowers throughout the balloons attached to the wire netting, so the right flower length is important. Trim flowers stems down to {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} and {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} in length. Remove any unwanted leaves.
6. Attach balloons to the chicken wire with packing tape. Clear packing tape is durable and sticky enough to hold your balloons onto the wire easily. Place the tied ends of your balloons onto the wire and tape the balloon tails onto it. Attach the largest balloons first and fill in gaps with ones in decreasing sizes.
7. Paste the sides of balloons together with Elmer’s glue. Just in case your balloons want to flop around and not cooperate, use Elmer’s glue to hold them up. Use a drop or two on each side of the balloons you want to glue and hold the sides together for about 30 seconds.
8. Hang your balloon arrangement above eye level. Since you’ll be taking pictures in front of your floral balloon, hang it on the wall slightly above eye level using a self-adhesive disposable hook. Measure about {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} from the ground and hang the center of your balloon netting from the hook. The arrangement will be light enough to use a hook option that doesn’t damage the wall and will work great at venues where you can’t drill holes.
9. Place stemmed flowers into the arrangement. Bring the balloons to life by placing your trimmed flowers all around them. Insert the stems of flowers between the balloons and past the wire netting. Use different types of flowers and plants, like roses, baby's breath and eucalyptus.

Making a Floral Balloon Arch

1. Purchase and measure balloon decorating strip. A balloon decorating strip has perforated holes to attach the tied ends of balloons to and it will naturally arch up as you fill it up. Purchase balloon decorating strip anywhere that sells party supplies. Then, measure and cut how long you’d like your final arch to be. You will need at least {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}}
2. Hang the decorating strip on the wall. Before you start filling up the decorating strip with balloons, hang it on the wall in an arch shape. Use a staple gun to hang it and make extra curves in your arch if you want to. If you want to move the arch somewhere else, be gentle relocating it.
3. Blow up an assortment of balloons. Blow up balloons of various sizes to fill up the arch with. Use an air pump or your lungs if you have enough breath.
4. Use lightweight flowers. You don’t want to weigh your arch down with heavy flowers. Silk flowers will work great as long as they don’t have a lot of heavy plastic. Look for vines to hang from the arch and lightweight silk flowers. Use fresh flowers if you have the money to spend.
5. Fill the decorating strip up with balloons. It’s easy to attach balloons to a decorating strip. Simply pull the tied end of each balloon through the holes on the strip. Start with the largest sized balloons and work your way down to the smallest. Glue extra-small balloons to larger balloons with Elmer’s glue.
6. Attach flowers and greenery to the arch. Decorate the balloon arch with flowers and greenery by arranging greenery through the spaces between the balloons first. Space vines apart equally and pull the ends through the back so that several inches or centimeters lay over the front. Place the flowers similarly, being careful to show off the top of each flower.
7. Attach heavier flowers to the arch with the help of string. Tie {{safesubst:#invoke:convert|convert}} of twine to the base of a flower, pull the string around the decorating strip, then tie and hide the end behind a balloon.
8. Double-check the placement of flowers and balloons. Make sure your floral balloon arch is arranged nicely by double-checking the placement of the balloons and flowers. Be careful not to have too many of the same kind of flowers or too many similarly sized balloons in one spot.
9. Place your balloon arch in the desired area. Keep the arch on the wall or stand it up in a room. A balloon arch is a great place to take pictures under or in front of.

Things You'll Need

• balloons with strings
• twine
• assortment of silk flowers
• scissors
• clear shipping tape
• floral tape
• chicken wire
• fresh flowers
• wire cutters
• Elmer's glue
• self-adhesive wall hook
• balloon decorating strip
• staples and staple gun

Sources and Citations

See also

• Make a Balloon Heart With a Twist
• Make a Balloon Jet
• Tie a Balloon
• Blow Up a Balloon
• Make a Balloon Stress Ball
• Make Balloon Animals
• Make a Balloon Car
• Decorate With Balloons
• Construct a Hot Air Balloon
• Make a String Ornament

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