Christopher Horne, CBA

Janunary 2003

Sheer Sophistication.
Do you still hear from people that they don't want balloons because they are "tacky"? Well, here are a few designs that you can offer them to show them how wrong they are………….

Sheer Sophistication. Using glass, mirrors, acrylic rods and crystal balloons, create a design that is both sheer - and sophisticated for those elegant events. A glass "bubble bowl" as the container is placed on a mirror base and filled with an elegant arrangement of silver, and acrylic elements. Crystal balloons are added for height and impact.

Oriental Influence. On a simple black container, create a basket weave of red and gold wired 260Q balloons inspired by the embroidery on a Japanese Samurai's tunic. Place within this woven cage a "pearl" with subtle marbled patterns created from a Black and white superagate balloon inside a ruby red balloon, and surround it with a golden collar. Add helium filled latex balloons in a stepped pattern if required.

Spiralled stars. Make circles of aluminium tubing, and pull it out into a shape. Cover with a #40 ribbon tied on with curl. Make a 10" Masterbow of gold and Ivory ribbon, and attach it to the centre of a ceramic tile. Tie into this a 9" Gold foil star and aluminum tubing. Add long tails to extend the deign outwards across the tabletop. Attach 4 or 5 4" Gold stars to the spiral at intervals, securing them with a "mini cluster" of 5" ivory balloons. These are made by taking two 5" balloons, each inflated to about 2", and twisting them in half to make 2 bubbles. Twist these two sets of 2 bubbles together to make what looks like a cluster of 4 tiny balloons. Add small bows of ribbon and tails of curling ribbon to the bases of the 4" stars. Attach helium filled stars above.

Three in One. Insert inflated 160Q balloons into two Lomey Columns of different lengths and attach these to a circular Mirror base. Add a piece of dry floral foam to the top of each column, and a third piece to the mirror at the base. Create three separate arrangements - one in each piece of foam - using 4" stars on premium stems, "bubbles on wire", Ting ting, onion crass, ribbons etc so that each arrangement links to the next forming a continuous line from top to bottom.

Wonderfully Wrapped. Using fine tulle, wrap individual 5" balloons inflated to about 3" and mount them on wired 260Q balloons. Arrange these in a simple cylindrical container. Wrap more balloons in a single length of tulle, tying between the balloons with curling ribbon to create a string of "pearls", and place this around the base of the container. Fly a bouquet of helium filled 11" balloons above the design, attaching a tulle bow to the neck of each.

Wedding Designs.
The constant demand from our bridal clients for new ideas and designs can be a little difficult to cope with, so here are a few ideas for you to take a way and develop in new ranges to keep both you, and your clients, interested!

Puffed Heart. Everyone knows the "apple twist" technique for latex balloons, but not many realise that you can do the same thing with foil balloons. Take a small ball of paper, and place it close to, but slightly away from, the centre of a foil heart shaped balloon. Tie around the paper ball to securely "wrap" it in the balloon, and then carefully inflate the balloon with air. The resulting shape, when weighted, makes a wonderful and unique table centrepiece base. Decorate this "puffed heart" with balloon markers, bows, bubbles and other elements, and fly a bouquet of co-ordinating foil and latex balloons above it for a truly unique and romantic look.

Graduated Column. Simple, square packed columns are, perhaps, becoming a little commonplace. And topping them with a foil heart balloon doesn't work too well proportionately, unless the balloons are small. But by graduating the balloons from larger at the bottom to smaller at the top of the column, a more elegant look can be achieved with little or no extra effort. On a 6' piece of conduit secured to a baseplate, build a column of balloons in clusters of four, inflated to the following sizes, from the bottom up: 10½", 10½", 10", 9½", 9", 8½", 8" 7½", 7", 6½", 6", 5½". This column now has perfect proportions for an 18" foil balloon to be placed on top. Inflating on balloon in each of the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th and 11th clusters to half the size shown above, and placing this smaller balloon at the front of the column can further enhance the design. An air inflated 9" foil heart can then be glued into the resulting spaces for added texture. Cascades of ribbon complete the design.

Spiralled Hearts Make a 10" Masterbow of gold and Ivory ribbon, and attach it to the centre of a ceramic tile. Tie into this a 9" Gold foil heart. Add long tails to extend the design outwards across the tabletop. Make a spiral of aluminium tubing, and pull it up into a cone shape. Cover with an uniflated 260Q balloon or a slip cover. Attach 4 or 5 4" Gold Hearts to the spiral at intervals, securing them with a "mini cluster" of 5" ivory balloons. These are made by taking two 5" balloons, each inflated to about 2", and twisting them in half to make 2 bubbles. Twist these two sets of 2 bubbles together to make what looks like a cluster of 4 tiny balloons. Add small bows of ribbon and tails of curling ribbon to the bases of the 4" hearts. Place this whole assembly over the large bow in centre of the table and spread the tails of the large bow across the table.

of Pearls Column. Take several 5" Balloons inflated to about 4", and wrap them in a long line in a single piece of fine tulle, tying between each balloon with curling ribbon to make a "String of pearls." Add 4-balloon clusters of 5" balloon inflated to 3" between each of the Pearls. Add a weight to one end, and a 36" helium filled balloon to the other, add a cluster of 8" balloons at the base, and 6" balloons below the large balloon. Cascades of ribbon complete the design.

Wonderfully Wrapped. Using fine tulle, wrap individual 5" balloons inflated to about 3" and mount them on wired 260Q balloons. Arrange these in a simple cylindrical container. Wrap more balloons in a single length of tulle, tying between the balloons with curling ribbon to create a string of "pearls", and place this around the base of the container. Fly a bouquet of helium filled 11" balloons or 16" double bubbles above the design, attaching a tulle bow to the neck of each.

String of Pearls Swags. Using the same method as that used to create the column above, create a long enough string of pearls to drape across the front of the head table. This time, do not add the clusters between the pearls, just leave the curling ribbon ties a little longer, and curl them. Attach the swag to the front of the table with large bows of tulle or suitable ribbon.

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