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This is a great video demonstration of how to make a balloon column – I only wish it was in English! However, the videos I could find in English were played at super speed and at least with this video you can follow the steps fairly easily. Watch the video and then read the directions I’ve helped outline below:
Directions for making a balloon column:
- Build a stand. In the first part of this video, the decorator is using a square piece of wood as his base and is taping a metal insert into a hole placed in the wood. You can use wood and a tall dowel and drill a hole in the wood in which to place the dowel. You could also use a good sized block of florists’ foam, hot glue it to the wood as the base and insert a dowel or rod into the foam.
- Choose two colors of balloons for your column. You’ll need 16 12″ balloons of each color for a total of 32 balloons.
- Blow the balloons up in pairs of the same color. Let’s say your column is also red and blue. Inflate one red balloon to about 8″ and hold the end – do not tie it off. While still holding the first balloon, inflate another red balloon to the same size as the first and then tie the ends of the two balloons together. You now have one pair of red balloons. Make pairs out of the rest of the red balloons until you have 16 pairs of red balloons. Repeat the process with the blue balloons.
- Take one pair of red balloons and one pair of blue balloons and twist them together to form a cluster of four balloons. Repeat this process with the remaining balloons so you have 8 clusters of four balloons.
- Attach one cluster of four balloons to the bottom of your base by wrapping them around your stand and twisting one balloon over another to keep them secure. Continue layering your balloon clusters, making sure to place each layer so that the colors spiral around the balloon column.
- Attach a column topper – either a large stuffed balloon or a mylar balloon.
Some party stores sell Balloon Column Kits like these, which include a post, the balloons and assembly instructions.
