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.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Animal Magic - some great balloon designs with an animal theme!

Jolly GIraffe by Sue Bowler CBA
This Giraffe stands  6' Tall! 

Having a Jungle or Safari party theme is very popular for all ages, my first encounter of a Safari theme party was at IBAC 15 in 2001, which was the first time that I taught at IBAC having been a competitor for the previous 2 IBACs! 

I was given the task of designing animal trophy heads for the Hunters Lodge for the Thursday night Costume Party, which I have detailed a little later in this blog.


The IBAC Jungle Party was designed by Glenna Kipp, CBA. Glenna and her amazing team transformed the ballroom into a magnificent jungle! I have just looked back at Balloon Images April/May/June 2002 and reminded myself of all the fun designs that were created from Sky Broom Tree's, Monkey Tree's, Safari Falls and Palm Tree Paradise... just to name a few!