Monday, December 30, 2013

Our final 2013 review - 2013 was it a good year for the balloon industry?

Wow another year almost over, and 2014 is ready to spring into action! A time to reflect on what has been and to prepare ourselves for the new year ahead!

So it gives me great pleasure to introduce our final reviewers David Mahoney, Balloons Everyday, Dallas, Texas  & Rachel Porter CBA, Balloon Splendor, Seattle.

I specifically asked David and Rachel to review their balloon businesses over the past year because they have both been huge contributors to Qualatex Facebook groups throughout 2013, offering stellar advice, support and help to fellow members and felt it appropriate that they should conclude this blog ...and I can assure you that both reviews make fantastic reading, filled with great information and advice!

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Part 2 of our review - 2013 was it a good year for the Balloon Industry?

As we know many parts of the world are still struggling with recession, so I asked two balloon companies from Europe to talk about their 2013 and whether or not the current economic climate had effected their businesses?

Elegant Shopping Mall Decor by Party Land Spain

Firstly we visit Spain and Laura Lozano CBA, of Party Land Spain.

Laura opened Party Land as the first "one stop" party supplies and balloon decor store in Madrid in February 2005 and today already has almost 20 franchised shops across Spain, where you can find everthing in order to make a party festive, whatever the theme. In its own, separate world inside Party Land, you can find all sorts of balloon bouquets for any occasion, from the simplest forms to the most elaborate designs. Only one month after opening her first shop, Laura learned the importance of training in balloon decor to set her business apart and has attended numerous industry events such as WBC, Oxford and BACI, where she became CBA in March 2009.  
 
Laura with Luc Bertrand at BACI 2011.

Friday, December 13, 2013

2013 was it a good year for the balloon industry?

It is when the year is coming to a close we look back and consider how it was for us and our business's?

With many countries in recession and others in the very early stages of recovery, it is always hard to feel optimistic during these periods, however, it has also been proven that in recession people party harder, birthdays and celebrations are still extremely important and although they may not always be on a grand scale they certainly are still looking for balloons and decor to brighten up their events!

Superstition has also played a big role this year with many wedding couples opting not to get married in 2013, some business's have seen their wedding sales drop by more than 30%! 

Helium shortages has also been very challenging, but I believe that many balloon business's have adapted really well, dug deep and found great air-filled solutions, a trend that I believe will grow and grow.

To get a better overview of how 2013 has been for balloon business's around the world, I asked a few of our Qualatex Facebook Group members to help me, I will be posting their responses over the next few days.

I would like to start with Joette's Giardina of Party People Celebration Company.

Party People Celebration Company is a family run business based in Lakeland Florida. Joette  started creating balloon decor for friends, church groups and family in 2000. In December 2003, she expanded her business and became the new owner of Party People Celebration Co., a Special Event and Balloon Decorating Company.
In August 2008 Joette became a Certified Balloon Artist, an internationally recognized certification through Qualatex.



Joette Giardina, Owner Party People Celebration Company
Lakeland, Florida
Joette & Brian Giardina

Friday, December 6, 2013

A Christmas Snowman - Step By Step by Sue Bowler - updated



Balloon Snowmen by BalloonArtbySueBowler - www.suebowler.com
Colourful Snowmen by Sue Bowler, CBA.

A few winters ago during one very snowy day, when snowed into our home, I decided to make a collection of snowmen for my garden (picture below). I expect many of you will remember the picture! They were amazing. They lasted for two weeks — long after the snow had melted. These little guys were made from 5" balloons, and with their brightly coloured hats and scarves, they looked fabulous! 



Balloon Snowmen by Sue Bowler

I have since gone on to create many different sizes and variations and have now created an easy to follow step-by-step recipe.

Material List:  All Qualatex balloons, of course!

8 x 5" White (double stuffed for the water weight base)
1 x 16" White
1 x 12" White QuickLink™ Balloon
1 x 11" Printed balloon for the hat
1 x 260Q or 350Q for the hat
1 x 260Q for the scarf 
1 x 5" Orange for the nose - or you can draw the nose.
1 x 5" for the pompom if you want to add a pompom to the hat!

Method:

1. To give this design stability, I use four water-weights at the base. You could use sand weights if you prefer. I size the balloons to measure approximately 3" or 7cm's.
2. I recommend that you use a White 16" balloon for the body and use an Apple Twist to give it a more donut-like shape. Add 260Qs at each end of the donut-twisted balloon to allow you to connect the body to the base and the head to the body. 
3. Inflate the 12" White QuickLink balloon for the head. Make sure that it is in proportion to the body! Connect the head to the body.
4. For the nose, you can either under-inflated a 5" orange balloon and connect this to the face using a r
Raisin Twist, glue dot, or draw on a carrot-style nose.
5. The eyes, mouth, and cheeks have been added using a pen (see below for detail). If you have a die-cutter, such as a Silhouette Cameo, you could cut out the eyes and mouth.
6. To make the hat, use an 11" balloon. I like using polka dots as they look really fun. Create an Apple Twist in the hat balloon and secure this to the head using the link.
7. Inflate either a 260Q or a 350Q to wrap around the hat to create the brim. Connect using a pinch twist and remove any excess balloon.
8. Use a 260Q to create a scarf to wrap around the snowman's neck.

Pens for face - the Pink pen that I use for the cheeks is a ZIG Art & Graphic Twin. It has a double end with one end almost like a paintbrush.
The other pens are Sharpies and edding markers, for the eyes and mouth.


Snowmen faces, hand-drawn by Sue Bowler


If you have never made a snowman before, you will love making this design! 


Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com
#suebowler


Friday, November 29, 2013

QuickLinks Santa Mural - a Christmas gift from Luc Bertrand CBA

Each year the lovely Luc Bertrand very kindly creates and gives a new design to the Very Best Balloon Blog to share with the 'balloon community', and this year he has designed this wonderful 'super easy' Santa mural that is so quick to make using Qualatex Quick Link balloons!

This 225 cm high Santa could be used in so many ways to decorate parties, shops & stores, showrooms, shopping malls and more, they can be used as backdrops or suspended from ceiling, their use is endless and look at how few balloons it takes to make!
Luc Bertrand CBA
Qualatex Quick Link Santa Mural by Luc Bertrand CBA

These step by step instructions are very easy to follow, all the Qualatex Quick Link balloons have been inflated to 10", and all the other balloons used within the designs each size is stated in each of the instruction sheets below, Luc has also shown how to create each of the chains required to make each of these wonderful designs!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Is working with balloons a hobby or a career worth investing in?

Attending a convention is a huge investment, and I suppose if you have never been to one it is hard to understand why you even should consider going? 

Taking classes from some of the best instructors, teaching their latest and greatest designs and techniques is just awesome and such a huge learning curve and having the opportunity to learn skills that would take me years to master without the hands-on tuition!


This is a selection of classes from JBAN earlier this year. Classes are action packed with like minded balloon artists having the opportunity to learn different skills such as making balloon dress's, how to create amazing Quick Link designs and decor for Halloween and all in a just a few hours, think what else you can learn in 3 days!











It is easy for us to think that we have gained enough knowledge by going on a variety of one day courses, buying a DVD or that everything is available on the internet through You Tube or Facebook, all of which are great and very very helpful resources!

So I would like to tell you from my own experience how by attending those first few conventions change my balloon career path to where it is today!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

A Balloon Wall backdrop perfect for Christmas!

Balloon Walls make the perfect backdrop! Great for entrance decor, window displays and as a photo opportunity at events! The great thing about balloon walls is that they can be made to any size subject to the size of balloons and inflation size that you decide to work with!


Sue Bowler
You may have already secured your Christmas decor designs with your clients, but maybe you are still looking for inspiration?










Earlier this year I attended JBAN, and taught a Christmas decor class, where I showed a number of different designs including how to create balloons walls featuring a 'Santa Face'.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Thinking outside of the box, some great ideas!

To find my inspiration I rarely look at a balloon design or decor to get my inspiration, in fact I prefer not to! There are many things that I see on a daily basis that I think "that could be made with balloons"!

To show you what I mean - a few years ago I made these lovely little snowmen, they were actually the result of being snowed in a home for a few days!


Snowmen by Sue Bowler CBA

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

The 'Noodle' Balloon - balloons inside a balloon!

The art of putting balloons inside balloons is something that has evolved over the years, many balloon artists have found their own preferred ways to do this, there is no right or wrong way!

Sue Bowler
'Noodle Balloon' by Sue Bowler CBA

I have been spending a little time recently 'exploring' Pinterest and all the wonders that it holds and came across a picture (pinned on someones board) of a design that I created a number of years ago... The Noodle Balloon!



I was working for Conwin when I designed the 'noodle' balloon to demonstrate the use of the Conwin 'Insider Tool', the end result proved to be fun and very visual, with the 'how did they do that' factor!


When I found the picture I posted it onto my own Facebook page and it had a great reaction, it looks like a few people have not seen this design and have asked me how it was made.






Thursday, October 31, 2013

Tapertastic! A few ideas to create beautiful balloon decor working with Qualatex Taper balloons!


Sue Bowler
Taper Flowers created by Sue Bowler & friends
 at the Slovenia Event
With Christmas and New Year fast approaching, it's time to start thinking about the exciting decor you can offer your clients for their events!




Recently I attended the Slovenia Event and was asked if I could create decor for the 'opening' festivities. I had very limited time and was a little unsure how many 'helpers' I would have, so I decided to make decor that would have great visual impact but quick and easy at the same time!
(Just to note, I had a great team in Slovenia who helped me to make these awesome flowers... thank you!)












Friday, October 18, 2013

How to make a simple Quick Link Heart... for the uninitiated Quick Link users!

Like with anything new it takes a little time before it becomes second nature, like tying a balloon for the first time... and what about creating an 'apple twist' and other balloon art techniques?







Working with the new Qualatex Quick Link balloons is for me a whole new world, different design ideas and concepts and the construction methods are again new, but great once you get the hang of it... and most importantly it's SO QUICK!

So before I show you how I made my very first Quick Link Heart, in fact my very first Quick Link anything, I will share with you some of the great tips, hints and terminology that Lisa Swiger CBA (my Quick Link guru) shared with me. Lisa will be teaching a Quick Link Class at WBC along with Alberto Falcone, who you know will use these balloons in a completely new way... I think both classes will be awesome!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

How to create a simple Logo & Watermark... in a few simple steps!

It would appear that to ensure that we do not lose the identity of our original designs, we need to add a watermark to our photographs before posting them on the internet.

www.suebowler.com
Giant Tropical Flowers by Sue Bowler


In a recent blog that I wrote:  'Someone is using my photographs on their website, what can I do'? I talk about how Lily Tan uses her own very distinctive logo on all of the pictures that she posts and shares,  and in my opinion it really does not interfere with the beauty of the original design but I always know immediately who's work it is.




If like me you are not very computer savvy, I have found a really simple way to firstly create your own unique logo and then how to create a really easy way to watermark all your pictures! There are many ways to do both and I looked at a number of different options, but found these to be so easy... even for me!

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Slovenia Event 2013 - Tropical Gala Party Decor

I have just returned home from The Slovenia Event which was held in Therme Catez, Slovenia, I am sure that many of you have seen some great pictures already posted on Facebook!

The Slovenia Event 5th, 6th & 7th October 2013 was organised by Renata and Niko Fric from Magic d.o.o. Slovenia, with support from Nikolett Forray, Balloon World Hungary and an awesome team of staff and helpers!

A fantastic group of delegates from 17 countries attended the 3 days that was filled with great classes, competitions, parties and a 24 hour Jam room!

Luc Bertrand veery best balloon blog
Slovenia Event 2013 Gala Party Decor

I wanted to write a blog that specifically related to the Gala Party, the amazing designs and decor was just truly magical, so inspiring and definitely worth sharing!

So before I post the pictures I would like to congratulate the instructors who work so very hard to create new and exciting designs to share with delegates at events such as this! This was a great opportunity for many of us to work with the new Qualatex Quick LInk balloons and see many different ways to work with it!

Monday, September 30, 2013

Someone's using my photographs on their website... help what can I do?

How many times have I read that comment on Facebook or in a private message... sadly, too many!

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and it is truly a great compliment for anyone when people see a design that they like and re-create it themselves, maybe adding in a little bit of their own personal flair! But when someone knowingly takes a photograph from your Facebook page or website and publishes it on their website or Facebook page as their own work it's more than a little annoying! 

If this is something that has happened to you and you are unsure what you can do then here are a few simple steps that you can take:
  • Firstly, check to make sure that it is without doubt your photograph, this is very important before you take any actions. You can check if someone is using an image of yours by adding one of your own pictures into Google Images. http://images.google.com, this will highlight everywhere that this image is being used on the internet!
To test this out, I used one of the images that is part of a Qualatex Wedding course that I teach on behalf of Pioneer Europe. Those who attend  and learn how to create the designs are permitted to use all the images freely and are given a image disc as part of the course for this purpose, but this helps me to illustrate how Google Image search works, I simply uploaded one of my pictures on the search bar, you can see the camera on the right hand side, just click on that and it will guide you through adding your image... as you can see, it gave me 70 results  showing me what websites are using this picture.


Or you can right click on any of your pictures that you have on your website or Facebook page, click on 'Copy Image Address', this will give you the URL of the image, you can then  paste this into the Google Image search.
  • Contact the offending website or Facebook page. Write a polite note or letter informing them that the photograph is your property and that you require them to remove it/them from their website/Facebook page. Keep your tone calm and professional, you will get better results. This is a very effective method and in most cases the person will remove any pictures.
  • Sadly on occasions, you may find that your request provokes a negative response or that the owner of the website/Facebook page believe's that as is it's on the internet that it's 'free to use' and may try and threaten to sue you! Again, try to remain professional and follow the next step.
  • Fill out a DMCA form (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) and submit it to the websites web host, they will remove the content quickly. However if it's not one of the bigger hosting companies you will need to find the hosting ISP, you can do this through http://whois.domaintools.com. I tested this tools with my own website and it gave me all the information that I needed!
  • You can report a 'stolen' photograph to Facebook, by clicking report on the OPTIONs button, however, Facebook do recommend that you contact the person directly before taking any other actions.
  • If you have registered your photographs with the copyright office you can sue for damages, if you feel that this is something that you want to do? This is something a photographer who sells their photographs would do to protect them from theft or misuse.
  • You can seek legal advice, but ensure that you have records of all the steps that you have taken and copies of all the correspondence from both parties.
  • To prevent this happening again... it's impossible, however there are a few things that you can do to help to prevent it!

Use Watermarks on all of your photographs - try the free editing tool on PicMonkey 

With permission from Lily Tan, I have 'borrowed' one of her pictures from her Facebook page, Lily always adds her very distinctive company logo on all of her pictures making them very easily identifiable making it very hard for someone to pass off Lily's work as their own. All image companies do the same thing, just check out ISTOCKPHOTO's, they all have a huge white X across their images with ISTOCKphoto written across the centre. Adding your logo really does not ruin the look of your picture but will hopefully prevent others from using it as their own.

  •  Use low resolution images on your website, if the image is in a low resolution it is hard for the person taking the picture to do anything 'professional' with it. Did you know that when you upload photographs to Facebook and Twitter, they automatically reduce the size of the image that you upload.

There are a number of different technical ways to alter your images so that when someone does right click it and save it to their computer it changes on re-opening, I found a couple known as 'shrink wrapping an image' or 'slicing and dicing'... but only you can decide if it is worth the effort?

For me personally, I think that I will take a leaf out of Lily's book and create my own unique logo that I will add to all my images, I think that it looks professional and ensures that the original artist does not lose the credit for their amazing work.


Happy Ballooning!

Sue 
www.suebowler.com






 




Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Mustache or Moustache ... it's a 'growing' trend!



For the past few years we have seen a growing trend... literally!


very best balloon blog
Harry, Monty & Big Tom! - by Sue Bowler CBA



 The Mustache, love it or loath it, it's a trend that look set to stay!

How did this more recent trend start... well doing a little bit of research, I would suggest that it might have something to do with 2 'mates' in Melbourne, Australia, who together in 2003 talked their mates into growing a 'Mo' with them, they called their event Movember after the month of November, the month they chose for their challenge! 

This started out as a bit of fun, but today 'Movember' is an amazing charity that has raised almost £100m to date with an aim to support world class men's health programs that combat prostrate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges. To find out more about Movember you can visit their website by simply click here!

As with any trend, holiday or celebration the Mustache craze has created an opportunity to design and sell mustache decor and balloons... along with many other mustache accessories!

Here are a few great idea's to help kick off your Movember decor!

Monday, September 16, 2013

Trick or Treat ... great balloon design ideas and more for Halloween!


Sue Bowler CBA
Funny Face Taper Jack
by Sue Bowler CBA
As a child I remember Halloween as a time when we played fun games like 'dooking' for apples or apple bobbing which is probably a more familiar term for most, but that was more than a few years ago...

Halloween I am excited to say is still on an upward trend, with overall sales in the balloon and party sector increasing year on year! 

So what will you be doing to make this a successful Halloween for you?

(See below for the design recipe to create Funny Face Taper Jack on the left).

Monday, September 9, 2013

From professional tennis player to professional balloon artist.... Fiona Fisher 's incredible journey!

very best balloon blog
Fiona Fisher CBA



Well known for her amazing balloon sculptures Fiona Fisher's balloon career has grown from strength to strength since she first discovered balloons in 1999!
Fiona has very kindly shared her 'balloon adventure' with the Very Best Balloon Blog...





I have had a very varied working life over the past 36 years:  professional tennis player, antique furniture restorer and cabinet maker, cafe owner and finally, a balloon artist. 

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Thinking of competing at the World Balloon Convention 2014, here are some great reason why you should!

Registration for the World Balloon Convention has now opened, so if your thinking of going to WBC then why not enter a competition too!
"To all of you who have doubts about whether or not to participate in the competitions , I say try , no matter be good or not , the important thing is to try and never stop to learn and always improve" . - Alessandro Patanè CBA
I can remember the very first competitions that I entered, it was at the Qualatex - European Balloon Symposium in Paris in 1996! I entered everything that I could, large sculpture, delivery arrangement and table centrepiece, what a huge learning curve and the start of what I can only really describe as a passion for entering competitions! 

So what motivated me? 


Monday, August 26, 2013

Helium - A little bit of what you need to know as a balloon professional Part 2.

In Part 1 of this 2 part blog we looked at helium, and a little bit of what you need to know as a balloon professional, plus a brief introduction into costing.
However, for those of you who want to really understand how to calculate your helium costs for all balloon sizes then please read on, I hope that I have managed to explain this well?

Helium cylinders vary depending on it's size and the pressure (bar or PSI) that it is filled to, so knowing what you use is very important, without this information you wont be able to calculate your costs.

The world is divided by metric and imperial calculations, which has made this blog a little more complicated to write, so I have decided to show both, starting with metric, please scroll down for the imperial calculations.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Helium and a little of what you need to know as a balloon professional Part 1


I wonder how many people who read this blog are unsure how much it costs to fill a balloon with helium?

When I first started working with balloons, I had absolutely no idea how to work out the cost of helium, along with a lack of job costing my work, everything that I ever sold was complete guess work, and very bad guesswork at that!I was asked recently if I could help someone to work out how much helium each balloon uses and how to cost it when using the job cost form, so I thought that this would be a useful blog for others too!Before we start talking about costs and prices, lets just take a few moments to review helium and a few points of safety.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

How much should I charge for that... how to price your work!


"How much would you charge", is a question that I hear and see often, posted on Facebook and other social media sites, or asked when showing a design in a class.

Being creative is fun, but working out how much to sell our work for is not quite so exciting! 


Sue Bowler
Candy Swirl Arch created by Sue Bowler CBA


I suppose it’s like anything, if it’s something that is readily available at a variety of outlets, such as carton of milk or a helium filled 18” foil balloon on a weight, then it will have a ‘market’ price, however if it’s a one off balloon sculpture, event decor or even an elaborate arrangement then pricing is not so straight forward.

Monday, August 5, 2013

17th JBAN 2013

JBAN - Japan's Balloon Artist Network with Emily's Balloons presents it's 17th Convention in Tokyo, Japan!

This is the second time that I have been invited to teach at JBAN and on each occasion I have found it to be a truly magical experience.


This years JBAN theme was 'CARNIVAL', a truly great theme used as inspiration for some of the competitions and of course the final night party!

There were 5 competitions including Large Sculpture -no theme, Photo Spot (a place to take photographs) - Carnival theme, Helium Bouquet - no theme, Hat - Carnival theme and a Twister Live... twisters showing off their skills to an audience.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

It's a Boy - how to make a 'balloon baby' fit for a Prince!

In celebration of the new baby Prince of Cambridge, I would like to share this recipe that I created to compliment the Rachel Ellen Baby Boy balloon launched earlier this year!

What a great opportunity to install a new window display to celebrate this wonderful occasion!

Sue Bowler
It's a Boy! Design created by Sue Bowler CBA



Thursday, July 18, 2013

How to inflate a Microfoil™ balloon inside a Qualatex Bubble - Part 2

Recently I posted a blog on how to inflate a Microfoil™ balloon inside a Qualatex Bubble balloon, if you missed it, click HERE, the blog also includes a short clip showing step by step how to create this great effect!
Sue Bowler
15" Qualatex Bubble with 14" Qualatex Soft Giraffe Inside! Design by Sue Bowler CBA

In the second part of this blog I would like to show you how to create the same effect but this time using a Qualatex 15" Bubble with a small Microfoil Shape balloon inside... quite a tricky process as you also have to heat seal the Microfoil balloon... now there's a challenge for you!

This technique can be used on all Qualatex Bubble balloons making them a unique and custom designed balloon!


Thursday, July 11, 2013

Turning a hobby into a career - Lily Tan's amazing journey!

Very Best Balloon Blog Lily Tan
Lily Tan - 'Giraffe and Me'
I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Lily as a 'Very Best Balloon Blog' guest artist!

If like me you are in awe of Lily's amazing designs you may be surprised that she started out working with balloons as a hobby, but I will let Lily tell you her story...


Lily Tan is a renowned artist, widely recognised for her innovation and excellence in Balloon Sculpting. She is a locally self-groomed artist, whose accidental hobby has evolved into her passion for balloon art today.
After completing her 3-year Diploma for Fine Arts course at Nanyang Academy of Fine Art (NAFA) Singapore in 1990, Lily worked as an Assistant Art Director in an Ad Agency. Her job in the Agency had allowed her to explore art beyond imagination.


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

How to inflate a Microfoil™ balloon inside a Qualatex Bubble - Part 1

I have seen a number of requests recently on the Qualatex© Facebook group asking how to put a Microfoil balloon inside a Qualatex Deco Bubble?


I am always up for a challenge and decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for me to write a blog with step-by-step instructions on how to do it!

Is it easy? No, it's not one of the easiest techniques, but the effect is pretty cool!

I suppose the first thing to decide is why are you doing this?

What are you trying to achieve, does it add value to the design that you are creating? Once you have decided that it's perfect for you then it's time to have a go!

The hardest part of the whole process is getting the pressure balance correct with both balloons, and of course, closing the Bubble so that air/helium does not escape once you have completed the inflation part!

Friday, June 28, 2013

How can we 'jazz up' our quotes?

      
In the past few weeks I have decorated two birthday parties, one to celebrate a 21st Birthday and the other an almost 'surprise' 50th birthday! 



I do not decorate very often any more, not because I don't want to, but it is not so easy when you have other commitments and cannot guarantee being available... but I was delighted to have the opportunity to go through the whole process once again from consultation to completion. 


It's funny because when I teach a class these days I try to include a small section covering 'selling techniques', as I feel this is such a vital part of our business, so this was my opportunity to put my words in to practice!



Both of the customer enquiries came via a telephone call, both informed me that they were on a budget and that they did not want to spend too much.



Firstly, I wanted to know a little about the person who's birthday it was, was there a theme, where was the party being held, favourite colours, anything and everything that could help me to decide what type of decor to propose.



One client wanted to meet up and discuss the party in greater detail, the other client was more than happy for me to send some ideas over the internet.



But not once did I ask them what their budget was!


Monday, June 24, 2013

Clik-Clik Balloon Bond saved the day! - This is a top tip for all balloon decorators!

Last week I was thrilled to be a guest instructor working with Robbie Furman in Ireland for the first stop of his UK & Ireland BAPIA Tour.

Qualatex balloons
Mr & Mrs Zebra Design created by Sue Bowler CBA using Qualatex Balloons,  Premium Balloon Accessories  and Clik Clik Balloon Bond
My allotted  time slot was after lunch, which was great as it gave me a few hours to play & prep working with some exciting products that had been supplied by the tours very generous sponsors before my demonstration! 

After unpacking all my Qualatex balloons that I had selected to use for my demonstration it suddenly dawned on me that I did not have a heat sealer for the 9" & 14" Microfoil™ balloons that I was using in my designs... now that was a very big problem as I was using these in all but one of my designs, and therefore I needed to find a solution.

Friday, June 14, 2013

Do you pin... are you a pinner... Is Pinterest good for business?




Wow, this is my 100th blog! I have enjoyed writing each and everyone of them! Some have been more challenging than others with a fair amount of research required, like this one on Pinterest! 
It is really interesting when I have talked to people about Pinterest, a lot of us really do not understand how it works or more importantly, how it can work for them?

So, here it goes, lets see if I can unravel the mystery behind Pinterest!

What is
In Pinterest's own words, 'it's a tool for collecting and organising things that you love'... a 'virtual pinboard', a place to 'pin' all the things that you like and want to look at again!

For me, it's a place to gather inspiration, check out trends, see what new and hot, to show off my own work, to collect work that I like... the list is endless, but needless to say, I love it and oh yes, I forgot to say, it's pretty addictive too!

In fact Pinterest is one of the fastest growing social media sites that we should all be aware of!

There is a 'pinning 101', the very basics on how it works and how to get started, so if this is all new to you I recommend that you take a quick visit here! just click this link PINTEREST 


Pinterest language

A Pin - an image added to Pinterest.

A Pinboard - a set of theme-based pins.

Pinning - the act of visually sharing content.

Repin - reposting someone else's pin.

Pin It Button - button that can be placed on websites to facilitate sharing on pinterest. pins added using the pin It button link back to the site they came from.

Pinner - the person who does the sharing.