One of the newer party decor trends is the balloon arch and I think it’s here to stay! … at least for awhile, anyway.
Having been an event planner before I became a SAHM, I loved dreaming up new ideas for table scapes, centerpieces and themed event decor. Some things just naturally came together and other times I took inspiration from Pinterest. With this love of attention to detail, I had so much fun planning Laney’s 1st birthday with a Winter ONEderland theme. I did all the things, most of which I made myself. It was a lot of work but totally worth it for my baby’s big milestone. I told myself the next year’s celebration would be smaller. Well, joke’s on me. Laney fell in love with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and I was set on doing an Oh TWOdles theme. Being Disney fanatics, I already owned many things I could use with the decor and my creative mind went wild. I included some pictures in my last blog post that you can find here.
So fast forward to this year and I was really going to rein it in. Laney decided on a Donut theme and I ran with it. Rather than handcrafting everything, I ordered just about all of the decor online with a couple of purchases from Hobby Lobby. I managed to keep it so low key I even texted the invites out rather than printing and mailing them. I knew I had just enough decor for the mantel and the sideboard in our kitchen, but the closer we got to Laney’s birthday, the more I wanted to do just a little something else. Like I didn’t already have enough on my plate, I guess deep down I just wanted a project. And having seen several balloon arches while scrolling my social media recently, I knew that would be the perfect final touch on Laney’s big day.
So today, I’m sharing how to make one including how far in advance to put it together, how many balloons I used, balloon sizing, the construction process, how to hang it up and thoughts on things I may try next time. Here we go!
1. Gather your supplies.
I made my life easy by just placing a Prime order on Amazon with everything I needed. All of the pictures below are linked. I was super excited to find these ‘Ice Cream Balloons’ because the fun colors went great with what decor I already had and the confetti was actually sprinkle shaped rather than the usual circular confetti. I also highly recommend getting the electric balloon pump. I probably would’ve passed out trying to blow up all of those balloons. The balloon tape makes construction quick and easy and you will need ribbon as well as metal Command hooks rather than the all plastic ones.
2. Determine the length of balloon arch.
My husband helped me hold one end of the balloon tape at my desired starting point on the wall and then I loosely draped the tape across to create the flow I desired. From there I gave myself a little extra length since I was unsure how the balloons would alter my estimation once they were on the tape.
I then simply grabbed a chip clip to clamp the remainder of the roll so that it wouldn’t unravel as it held my end point.
3. Blow up the balloons.
The balloon pump was awesome and I will definitely get plenty of use out of it in the future too! It is pretty powerful and loud so it will take a little getting used to finding the right touch when blowing up your balloons — kind of like getting used to the accelerator when you’re learning to drive a car. I probably jumped each time it turned on for the first dozen balloons or so. Ha! I used 50 balloons, which is how many came in the Ice Cream Balloons pack I ordered (and less than what I originally thought it would take, since I ordered 2 packs). The sprinkle balloons were inflated the largest as I wanted them to be the prominent feature. Then I went color by color blowing them up in various sizes to give the arch dimension. When you are finished, the pump has a side door that opens to house the cord. Super convenient for storage!
Are you wondering how early you can blow up your balloons and construct your arch? I opted to make mine the day before Laney’s party. However, here we are 4 days since I made it and it still looks great! I plan to enjoy it until the balloons really start deflating and so far so good! If you’re pressed for time, you could definitely make it a few days out, no problem!
4. Attach balloons to balloon tape.
I saw a tip from a fellow blogger who recommended alternating the side through with you pull the balloon knot. This gave the trail of balloons a bigger 3D look than I imagine it would just attaching them from the same side. I think this also allowed for the balloons to puzzle themselves together to better hide the knots. I then simply came up with the color pattern I loosely wanted to follow and just went one by one alternating the different sizes. Some balloon tape has just one hole for the balloon knot, but the one I used has the larger knot to pull through and then a small slit to slide it into a smaller hole that locks the balloon into place. This was appealing because I figured I could use the bigger hole for my Command hooks once I decided where to place them. More on that in the next step. I’ve seen where other people have thread fishing line through the balloon knots with a needle and then attached them together with hot glue. I would say the balloon tape is totally worth the $4 I paid for 50ft (and I still have at least half of it leftover) rather than risking accidentally popping balloons with the needle or the hot glue. The tape is fool-proof and sturdy.
5. Hang it up.
I started at the top left which was the highest point and the starting point of my
waterfall-esque arch. Using a small step ladder, I held up the tip of the balloon arch and made a mental note on where I wanted to place the hook. I recommend placing the hook at a slight angle opposite the direction the arch will be going so that it hooks better. I quickly realized that because of the volume of the balloons, I wasn’t simply going to be able to hook the tape directly to the Command hook like I had originally pictured in my
head. I quickly improvised and looped balloon string through a hole in the tape and tied it to the Command hook. Problem solved. I did this for each of the 3 hooks I strategically placed behind the balloon arch. I hung the arch up as soon as I finished constructing it and it is still holding strong 4 days later.
6. Admire your hard work!
Stand back, take a deep breath and admire that balloon arch in all of its glory! Even take a selfie with it if you so desire. Congrats, you did it!
I started later than planned, around 9:20pm (which is why the lighting is poor in some of these pictures). Following all of these steps, from start to finish it took me right at an hour and a half to make this balloon arch. Not too bad for my first time and having to problem solve a few times along the way!
After-thoughts.
As I mentioned before, I followed the technique of alternating which side of the tape I pulled the balloon knot through. I’d be curious to play with doing them all on one side as this may make it a little easier to hang and attach to a wall. You could also add additional items to the completed arch to give it more texture and pizazz like greenery, flowers or anything else that goes with your theme. Whatever you do, make it your own!
A balloon arch is a great way to add to your event’s decor. This past weekend when I was reflecting on Laney’s birthday, I thought to myself how happy I was that I made the last minute decision to make the balloon arch. I would have felt like it was too minimal had it not been part of the decor. I will definitely be making more balloon arches in the future!
Do you have an upcoming event for which you plan to make a balloon arch? I’d love to see it! Tag me on Instagram at @multiplyingmichie and I’ll feature it in my stories!
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