Whether it’s a bridal shower, bachelorette party, or grand opening, if you’re having a big event, you gotta have a balloon garland. And while they look like they could be difficult to make, you’ll be happy to learn that they aren’t as bad as you may think. We’ve got the how-to and some tips and tricks to help you out! Let’s take a look.
Materials needed:
- Electric balloon pump (this isn’t necessary, but it will make the process much faster)
- Balloons
- Balloon decorating strip
- Artificial flowers and/or greenery
- Glue dots or tape
- Balloon ribbon
Instructions
First things first, design your balloon garland. This way, you’ll know how many big balloons you need, how many small balloons you need, what colors, what accent balloons, and if/where you want to include flowers and/or greenery. You can find a ton of ideas on Pinterest or you can get super creative and design your own.
Next, you’ll want to start blowing up your balloons and tying them at the end. This is where that electric balloon pump comes in handy. If you plan on blowing up all of your balloons in one sitting, we recommend keeping them in a trash bag so they don’t start flying away on you.
Now it’s time to start forming your garland by using your balloon decorating strip. You’ll simply slip a knotted balloon into one slit, then go up a few, and you can slip the next balloon in on the opposite side. Keep doing this until your balloon arch is as long as you need it to be. Make sure that you’re following your design when it comes to size and colors. Pro-tip, you can always add smaller balloons in where the arch feels and/or looks a little skimpy.
Once your arch is as long as you need it to be, you can cut the excess balloon strip off. Next, give your garland a good once over and decide if and where you want to fill in with any artificial flowers and/or greenery. Artificial stems can be added just by sticking the stems into areas of dense balloons, or you can tape them to the balloon decorating strip.
Tips and Tricks
- To hang your balloon arch, we recommend using command strips because they’re durable and easy to use.
- Balloon arches do take some time, so we totally get wanting to make yours the day before, but we only recommend doing this only if you plan on hanging your arch indoors, if you plan on hanging it outdoors, it’s best to make it the day of.
- If you plan to use glue dots, but they start to fail, you can use a cool glue gun or double-sided tape.
- Before you begin adding your balloons, you may want to hang the empty decorating strip for a few days to allow it to uncurl.