In this lecture you will learn about equipment for Aero Decor.

* Balloons

* Helium tank.

* For the helium tank you will need special Valve. You may start with simple one.

Here you may find a huge variety on inflators from Manufacture Conwin - www.conwinonline.com/product-category/balloon-inflators/.

*To prolong the flying time of balloons we use Ultra Hi-Float - liquid plastic which covers the balloon from the inside and slow down the the escape of helium. Hi Float goes in 3 different sizes- small (16 oz), medium (24 oz), large (96 oz).

Medium and large bottles require reusable pump kit, which contains a plastic pump dispenser, plastic extension tube), set of restriction clips. Each clip is used for a particular balloons size and controls the amount of Hi-Float to be dispensed.

* Funnel for the confetti balloons.

* Hand pump for twisting, garlands and installations for the beginning and later it’s more convenient to use Air Inflator.

* Pair of scissors or cutter to cut and curl the ribbon.

* Curling Ribbon to tie the balloon.

500 yards is enough for 250-350 balloons.

*Silk ribbon which will add more visual appeal to your balloon bouquet .

*Feathers - to fill Bubble Balloons

*Acrylic paint of different colors

*Balloon Markers - specially formulated to work perfectly on mylar balloons, Available in a variety of colors.

There are 3 main types of balloons:

Latex balloons

They come in a wide range of sizes and colors.

Major sizes are:

5 inch - the smallest balloons -they aren’t inflated with helium, only with air and normally the are used for garland and installations.

9inch, 11inch, 12inch - the most commonly used balloon size for balloon bouquets. Might be solid or with printed designs, with agate print and even chrom.

Latex balloons can be regular solid color, crystal, metallic or perl. Metallic balloons are a little bit more tough and smaller in size.

Bigger sizes - 14,16,18 inch balloons

Giant balloons - like 24, 30 inch, 36inch and bigger.

Besides the regular round balloons they might be in other shapes like:

-Twisting balloons - mainly they are used for balloon figures. They go in several sizes -160q, 260q and other.

- balloons-donuts, flowers, hearts and others .

Foil balloons

Made of thin metallic foil. These balloons have small polyethylene valve inside and when inflated with helium it will not escape even if the balloon is not tied.

Foil (Milar) balloons smaller than 18’ are not inflated with helium as they will not fly.

Foil balloons can be solid or printed and also in different sizes and shapes like hearts, stars, spheres, crescents and so on.

Printed Jumbos of different shape - cars, princesses, animals, superheroes and many other.

Numbers - big ones for helium inflating and small - air filled only . They are sold in different colors.

Airwalkers - giant inflated balloons weighted to make it appear like they are travelling along with you. Unlike regular helium filled balloons these do not rise but stay on the ground and when pulled along look like they're walking!

Bubble balloons

-perfectly clear and ellipse in shape. These balloons are often seen at big events and weddings full of confetti or feathers, they are very different from standard latex and foil balloons. The Bubble is made from stretchy, see-through plastic and stays inflated for around 1.5 – 2 weeks.

There are 2 sizes- 20" and 24".

You need:

-Latex balloon 11’, 14’ or 16’

-Hi-float

-helium tank

-ribbon

-scissors

-weigh

Normally helium inflated balloon will float 8-24 hours depending on size.

To extend the flying time of latex balloon we use Ultra Hi-Float - liquid plastic which covers the balloon from the inside and slow down the the escape of helium. Without Hi-Float 11 inch balloon will float about 8-12 hours, but with Hi-Float - several days or even weeks depending on humidity, temperature, and other factors.

Hi-Float kit contains set of restriction clips. Each clip is used for a particular balloons size and controls the amount of H-F to be dispensed. For 11 inch balloon correct clip is purple.

To fill 11 inch balloon with Hi-Float slide it up the outlet nozzle as far as it goes and press the pump plunger. Take of the balloon but keep the neck of the balloon clean.

Gently rub it for a few seconds to spread the Hi-Float all over the balloon but not to strong - otherwise it will creates soap effect - and when you will inflate the balloon, little bubbles will pop and helium will escape through the holes.

Hold the balloon with both hands, stretch the balloon opening enough to slide it onto the nozzle, pinch the balloon and press down on the nozzle. That hissing sound is the helium being released from the tank.

Inflate it until it reaches pear shape.

When the balloon reaches the proper size let up the nozzle to stop the release of helium, but do not let go of the balloon. Underinflated balloon will not float upright.

Remove the balloon by pinching it at the tip of the nozzle and sliding it off the nozzle shaft.

Tie a knot in the balloon neck to secure helium from escaping. Then attach nice ribbon where you knotted the balloon.

Hi-Float treated balloons do not like humid environment, air conditioning.

Finally, the Hi-Float needs to have some time to dry - for about 1 hour.

We need:

-foil balloon 18 inch or bigger

-helium tank

-foil inflator

-ribbon

-scissors

-weight

Tip

If you don’t have special foil inflator you can make one yourself.

1. Take a straw, a balloon and clear adhesive tape.

2. Cut the neck of the balloon

3. Place it on the straw and fixate it with the tape.

The neck of the balloon will be placed on the helium tank, and on the other side of the straw you’ll place the foil balloon.

Insert the foil nozzle carefully into the valve opening of your balloon and start the inflation.

Always hold the balloon straight when inflating. If the valve is bent, it might become damaged.

Foil balloons smaller than 18 inch are not inflated with helium as they will not fly.

Foil are made of thin metallic foil and have small polyethylene valve inside and when they are inflated with helium it will not escape even if the balloon is not tied.

Remove if from the nozzle and tie the balloon. Place a ribbon on the neck of the balloon,

Roll it down and tie but be gentle and don’t damage the valve.

Important note!

When you move your helium inflated balloon to a colder place outside it will immediately shrink. But it’s not because it deflated. Actually, your balloon didn’t lose any helium. temperature affects the density of gases. The volume inside the balloon is decreased..

Once it is brought back indoors, the helium will warm up and re-expand, making the balloon look full again.

Also keep it in mind when you inflate balloons outside or in a cold place. If the balloon is fully inflated, it might drop when you move it to a warmer place.

When your foil balloon is deflating, you can untie it and fill it with helium. So the balloon will look full again.

You need:

-Orbz balloon or diamond / cube

-helium tank

-inflater for latex balloons

-ribbon

-scissors

-weight

ORBZ balloon by Anagram is 16’’.

When fully inflated the balloon will have a perfectly spherical shape.

Orbz, cubes and diamonds are made of 4 panels of foil, although we can see only 2 of them.

Once we start the inflation the hidden sides will appear.

Orbz balloon goes with mini-instruction - remove the inflation gauge from the stem of the balloon, peel it from its backing and stick right in the center of the balloon.

Pay attention to the inflation gauge - inflate the balloon until the black line reaches the middle of the green bar.

Gently and slowly start the inflation. DO NOT use Foil nozzle for ORBZ balloons. Only use Latex nozzle.

Don’t worry if you will hear a popping sound - that is absolutely normal for this type of balloons.

First the balloon will become squarish with wrinkled seams.

If you do not have the instruction - don’t worry - continue to inflate the balloon until your seams are flat -that means that balloon is fully inflated.

We can see that black line is just in the middle of the green bar and we can Remove the gauge and tie the balloon.

Orbz balloon contains 1.13cu ft of helium and it requires weight of 30g.

Tie Orbz balloon like the regular foil balloon.

You need:

-Super quality clear latex balloon 12’, 14’ or 16’.

-pack of confetti or glitter

-funnel

-Hi-float

-helium tank

-ribbon

-scissors

-weight

These balloons look incredible and we highly recommend you to add them to your balloon bouquet to make it look fancy.

To fill the balloon with Hi-Float slide it up the outlet nozzle as far as it go and press the pump plunger.

Take of the balloon but keep the neck of the balloon clean.

Gently Rub it for a few seconds to spread the Hi-Float all over the balloon but not to strong

Attach the balloon to the end of the funnel so that all the balloon’s neck is placed on the funnel. this way the confetti will not stick inside the balloon’s neck and will be placed evenly inside.

Don’t use too much confetti otherwise your balloon will be too heavy and might hot fly. Perfect amount is 2-3 grams and preferably to use small-sized confetti as it will cover the balloon more evenly.

Tip

If you don’t have a funnel you can simply make one yourself - just cut the neck of any plastic bottle and simple funnel is done.

While Inflating the balloon slightly shake it to spread the confetti all over it.

You need:

-3’’ balloon

-Hi-float

-helium tank

-Ribbon

-Scissors

-Weight

In this video we are’re going to inflate Giant balloon. This balloon has different names - Jumbo balloon, 3feet balloon, 36inch balloon.

This balloon might be inflated up to 36inch, but when we recommend you to inflate it 30-34inch. The balloon will pretty much look the same and float for the same amount of time. But balloon inflated up to 36 will be very sensitive and it will contain much bigger amount of helium.

To fill a 36″ Balloon fully you need 15 cubic feet of helium.

To fill to 30″ requires only 8 cubic ft of helium.Also it will be less convenient for transportation - be aware of your door size! You will need to fit through the doors!

Giant balloons are sold in variety of colors - even agath giant balloons and transparent balloons.

Tip:

Giant balloon treated with Hi-Float will float for a long time - for a month or even more. If you need them for a 1-day event and you don’t need them to float for many days - you don’t need to use Hi-Float and it’s a good idea to use 60-40 air valve - inflate 60% of helium and 40% of air.

For a 36 inch balloon we make 3 pumps of H-F with purple restriction clip although the H-F manufacturer recommends to use it without restriction clip and to press the pump plunger all the way down and repeat it 3 times.

Once the H-F is inside the balloon, spread it evenly over the entire inner surface.

Make sure you prevent liquid from entering the neck of the balloon.

Gently rub it for a few seconds to spread the Hi-Float all over the balloon but not to strong - otherwise it will creates soap effect - and when you will inflate the balloon, little bubbles will pop and helium will escape through the holes.

To control the size of the balloon -Measure the space that the balloon needs to be inflated to between the backs of two chairs or two boxes and inflate within this space.

Fully inflate the balloon. It should have round shape.

Tie it like a regular 11 inch balloon.

We recommend to use silk ribbon as curling ribbon is too narrow for such a big balloon.

So we will use rose gold silk ribbon to tie the balloon and to make a nice bow.

You need:

-3’’ balloon

-Hi-float

-confetti

-funnel

-helium tank

-silk ribbon

-scissors

-weight

When not inflated 36 inch balloon looks turbid and kind of yellow. But when fully inflated it become cristale clear and looks beautiful with confetti inside.

For a 36 inch balloon we make 3 pumps of Hi-Float with purple restriction clip. Although the H-F manufacturer recommends to use it without restriction clip and to press the pump plunger all the way down and repeat it 3 times.

Once the Hi-Float is inside the balloon, spread it evenly over the entire inner surface.

Make sure you prevent liquid from entering the neck of the balloon.

For Jumbo balloon we use a tube about 1.5 inch wide.

Roll your balloon onto the funnel so the confetti will fall straight to the balloon’s body.

Gather confetti in piles to get it through the funnel. Try to touch each piece of confetti to separate them from each other before putting into balloon. Sometimes they stick together and do not spread evenly inside the balloon.

Gently shake the confetti down into the main body of the balloon.

Fill the balloon with helium.

While Inflating the balloon slightly shake it to spread the confetti all over it.

While Inflating the balloon slightly shake it to spread the confetti all over it.

Tie it like a regular giant balloon.

If you don’t have pre-cut mettallic, plastic or tissue-paper confetti, cut circles from tissue paper using a circle punch, scissors or circle cutter. Do not use heavier paper or hard metallic confetti as this may not stick to the sides of your confetti balloons.

You need:

-Deco Bubble Balloon

-feathers

-helium tank

-inflator

-260q balloon

-silk ribbon

-scissors

-weight

Bubble balloon by Qualatex is-perfectly clear and ellipse in shape. These balloons are made from stretchy, see-through plastic and stay inflated for around 1.5 – 2 weeks.

Bubbles could be in 2 sizes- 20" and 24".
These balloons are very different from standard latex and foil balloons.

We have already filled this 20 inch Deco Bubble with some feathers.

Proper weight of filling is about 10 grams - 2 packs.

The package - in addition to the bubble it contains moisturising wet pack.

It isn’t recommended to leave the package open for a while and better to inflate the balloon straightaway.

Place the seam vertically and start to inflate the balloon. It is fully inflated when the seam is even and all the creases are gone.

The bubble has ellipse shape.

To tie the bubble - twist is several times and use 160q or 260q balloon.

Make sure you do not have feathers inside the tieng area. Tie it really tight, cut of the rest of 160. And cover with a nice silk ribbon.

-Super agate balloons

11 inch balloons By Qualatex. Available in 9 colors - black and white agate, blue rainbow super agate, pink violet agate, fashion agate, traditional agate, yellow orange super agate, red orange and green rainbow agate. They are also available in 30 inch size.

- Chrome balloons

They were launched just recently - in 2018. And they are absolutely amazing with their metallic shine.

They go in 6 colors: silver, gold, purple, blue, green, mauve. Also available chrome 260q balloons for twisting.

-One of the popular trends is acrylic paint balloons.

Take a wide brush and some acrylic paint -

and make paint strokes all over the balloons bottom.

Paint will dry in less than an hour. Make sure the paint dries properly before transportation.

-Double stuffing

if you want to create some special colors matching particular colors of your event there is a way to do it.

Here we have balloon of super nude colors.

And it is a technique called double stuffing - process of combining two balloon colors together, one inside the other to create custom colors.

If you place any balloon inside the white one you’ll have super light color of balloon

With this technique you can achieve different effects.

To make this balloons treat the inner balloon with the Hi-Float, roll it and place inside another balloon.

Inflate it and tie. You may tie the inner balloon and attach the ribbon or tie both balloons together.

Take a look at Custom Balloon Color Chart, created by Qualatex, that will help you find that perfect color.

-Balloons with led lights inside

For some special occasions like wedding, romantic surprise, evening events great solution might be led balloons.

All you need - balloon (light colors like white, pink, light blue and others - are the best, cristal balloons - also fine.

don’t use metallic balloons, they are too sick and solid and and the led would be hardy seen . and LED light.

There are a variety of leds of different colors.

Here we have a white one with switch-on button and 11inch white balloon.

Turn on the LED and place it inside the balloon.

Inflate the balloon and enjoy your LED balloon for at least 8-10 hours.

In this video we will talk about personalisation of your balloons.

There are several ways to make it.

The fastest and the simplest way is to use permanent balloon marker.

You can make any message, name, date, picture you like in no time.

But make sure you use balloon marker - regular marker will be slured.

Balloon markers are sold in different colors.

We usually use black, white, silver and gold.

Another way - is to use special vinyl stickers - letters and numbers 2-3 inch. But this option is not very convenient for 18 inch balloons and more suitable for giant balloons.

Also this way you can’t make a cool picture or logo.

To make a customised sticker of a particular color, size and font the option is an electronic cutting machine.

Like a home printer, it plugs into your computer with a simple USB cable. However, instead of printing, it uses a small blade to cut paper, cardstock, vinyl, fabric, and other material. For our needs we will use vinyl ORACAL.

We have it available in a wide variety of colors.

Аpart from the balloons ORACAL works well on walls, stencil and other surfaces.

The cutter cuts the vinyl, but doesn’t cut its backing paper.

When your vinyl is cutted cover it with Oracal Transfer Tape and it will Make Transferring your Vinyl to the balloon very fast and easy.

1. Separate the vinyl from its’ backing paper.

2. Attach the sticker to the balloon,

3. And remove Transfer tape.

This Tassel Garland is easy to make, inexpensive, and add a fun, colorful, and festive touch to any party or celebration!

Also you can decorate your balloons with Confetti paper Garlands

What do we need to make Tassel Garland?

Pre-cut packs of Tassel (One pack include 5 or 10 pieces of the same color).

Tassels are shipped flat and not assembled.

There are big variety of colors so you can do any color variation to match your party colors.

Or you may use Sheets of tissue paper and cut them yourself. They are available at most craft stores.

Separate one piece from the others.

Unfold it. Begin rolling tightly down the middle crease.

Continue rolling, fold in half and then twist to create a loop for hanging.

Create More Tassels to Finish Garland

You may Hang tassels differently - you may use glue gun, or use a ribbon to tie.

Another option is to cut the top of the Tassel and to attach it to the ribbon with the stapler.

And Cover your tassel with a nice bow on top.

Normally we use 7 -9 Tassels is enough.

If you want to have a lush garland you can double the amount of tassels for the same height.

Confetti Paper Garland

We need a paper punch or circle cutter. Cutter can be round or of any other shape in different sizes.

Take a piece of craft paper and cut circles using a paper punch or circle cutter.

You can mix different patterns, sizes and colors to make your garland more festive.

Make sure your paper is double-sided because you will see both sides of garland as it will move and twist.

Make as many circles as you need. You can mix different colours.
We usually use glue gun to make such a Garland.

Another good option is Sewing machine.

Place the circles close to each other on equal distances.

Put the fishing line or a ribbon on top of the circles and stick it with the glue gun.