Showing posts with label Qualatex. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Qualatex. Show all posts

Thursday, July 13, 2017

From Traditional to Contemporary Jungle Party Decor Ideas.

Black & White African Party Theme.
Designer unknown 

When it comes to designing a theme party, this event designer has ticked many boxes for me! I love how the balloon stylist has created this fabulous African-themed children's party using black and white balloons, with helium balloons on the ceiling and a few air-filled balloons scattered on the floor mixed in with paper honeycomb balls. I love the addition of the Qualatex® Black & White SuperAgate® balloons mixed within the clusters that sit neatly below the awesome 3' Giant confetti-filled balloons! Some might say that this is not very representative of a toddler's second birthday. However, it's not uncommon for a parent to throw a trendy, lavish children's party, especially for first and second birthdays.  Unfortunately having discovered this photo on Pinterest, I cannot find the original designers name. If you know who created this beautiful decor, please let me know as I would love to give them full credit.

When it comes to creating fabulous decor, here is another wonderful designer - Tope Abulude, CBA, of Balloon Inspirations Design Studio, Brentwood, UK. Tope recently designed and decorated this stunning "Tropical Jungle"-themed party for a baby's first birthday in Lagos, Nigeria. 


Tope really nailed it with this fabulous organic style entrance decor!
The purpose of entrance decor is to set the scene and welcome guests to the party.
This entrance looks simply stunning, exciting, and very memorable!




Once inside the venue, Tope continues to thrill the guests with his fabulous designs. 















Tope blends all the shades of green Qualatex Quick Link and round balloons to create great variety and contrast with his fabulous trees.












The organic ceiling filled with greenery and lighting looks awesome!






Here are some more fabulous examples of "Jungle Party" ideas. 





I love this fantastic entrance Arch created by M & M Balloon Co. of Seattle, U.S.A. The monkeys and the giraffe add so much fun and life to this fabulous design. This design will create a fun and exciting welcome for party guests and a great photo opportunity, too!

Lily Tan, CBA, of Myairtitude, in Singapore, shows her wonderful design skills creating another awesome jungle-themed entrance design. I love how Lily builds much of the detail into the base of her Arches. The design flows throughout the whole Arch, making it exciting and fun to look at.



When it comes to adding animals to our jungle designs, we have a great selection of Qualatex animal shape balloon heads to work with!




39" "Ellie the Elephant" #16987 — #16136 (pkgd.)

30" "Tickled Tiger" #31041 — #16189 (pkgd.)
14" Air-filled #41808


35" "Mischievous Monkey" #40194 — #16097 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41793

32" "Zany Zebra" #35404 — #16166 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41805


32" "Jolly Giraffe" #31035 — #16095 (pkgd.)
14" Air-Filled #41790

29" "Lovable Lion" #16860 — #16154 (pkgd.)






Have you checked out the Inspiration page at Qualatex.com? It is perfect when you are looking for ideas and inspiration! There are articles, videos, bouquets, and decor ideas, too! The search feature is awesome; simply search either the bouquet or decor page using a search term and filter your results by occasion and theme. You can download the design image for future reference, and if you are a QBN member, you will find that many of the designs have downloadable recipes!


Here are a few of the design ideas that I found in the new inspiration pages. The Mischievous Monkey is super cute and is always a number one favourite when made into these lovely little balloon sculptures. For QBN members, there is a downloadable recipe once you log into the member's area on Qualatex.com.

















I recently showed this design in a post about Balloon Arches, but it deserves to be shown again! This is another fantastic use of the small animal heads. Keith Stirman, CBA, and Dominic Cassidy, CBA, of All Things Fun in Country Durham, U.K., have created a design that is fun and full of excitement and visual energy. It's not a huge Arch, but it would be perfect for a children's party and, once again, would make an ideal photo opportunity.





Lily Tan has used both sizes of the Zany Zebra balloon to create these fabulous centrepiece designs. She also uses the Zebra Stripes from the 5" Safari Assortment balloons #87144 to complement her design. 











Mike Harris, CBA, of Every Occasion Balloon Artists Ltd. in Rhyl, U.K., puts a contemporary twist on the jungle theme with this Quick Link Zebra Stripes Balloon Wall. The addition of the Starpoint balloons adds a new dimension to this style of wall.

I love to design theme parties and the jungle theme is a great one to work with. It can be traditional, or as both Tope and Mike have shown, they can have a more contemporary look, too!

To conclude this post, I am adding a couple of fun animal design recipes that you could use for this party theme. You can download these by visiting the RECIPE section at the top of this blog page.



Tiger Design by Sue Bowler, CBA.

For more great ideas on this theme, check out an early post - Animal Magic - some great balloon designs with an animal theme.

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com




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Thursday, February 6, 2014

An opportunity to take a 5 minute tour around the Qualatex Stand at the 2014 Spring Fair.

I cannot exactly remember how many years I have been part of the Qualatex Spring Fair crew, but it is quite a few now and I have enjoyed each and every one of them!

www.SPRINGFAIR.com

For a number of years I have been invited to create the designs for the window displays, which is a huge honour for me as well as a massive challenge... what can I make to show off the new range of Qualatex balloons at their Very Best? I was pretty lucky this year as most of the theme's were totally 'up my street', very feminine, I even think that my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle was a pretty version!


Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How To Make A Simple Air-Filled Balloon Character

I would like to share with you an easy and very cute character design, and how to make it step by step...

A great alternative idea to a helium foil filled balloon?

This is the first of a 'HOW TO' collection of clips, that will progress through a series of skills and techniques, this first one being a very easy design with no twisting skills required.

Sue Bowler



Product List - using Qualatex balloons
  • 18 x 5" Rose Pink balloons
  • 1 x 646Q Pink balloon
  • 2 x 350Q Rose balloons
  • 1 x Sweet Smile Face - Pink # 99573

How to:






Job Cost:

Now it time to work out how much you should sell your design for? Below I have shared two Job Cost forms using the QBN (Qualatex Balloon Network) Job Cost form. I have listed all the products and quantities for each of these designs, all you need to do is add your balloon costs and your hourly rate. I suggest that it should not take more than 10 minutes to make up these little guys!


Sue Bowler
Smile Face Guy 1 - Designed by Sue Bowler CBA


Sue Bowler
Smile Face Guy 2 - Designed by Sue Bowler




I hope you enjoy making this design? Let me know how you get on... I am sure that your customers are going to love these little guys!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

A little inspiration for Air-Filled Table Arrangements

Creating arrangements and centrepiece designs working with air rather than helium can appear to be a little more challenging. 

However, there are a number of different idea's that we can successfully use to create great designs every time!

Here are a few inspiring idea's that I have spotted on the Qualatex Facebook Group page!

Anne Cahill McGovern
Design by Anne Cahill McGovern

This first design is by Anne Cahill McGovern, and is absolutely beautiful. I love the use of the Birthday Elegant Damask #30986 complimented with the Black Damask 11" latex balloons #33503 (assorted), with 5" Wild Berry. Anne has used a black feather boa for visual texture and movement within the design, along with some added pink feathers and 'pearl' beads. This design for me is fun, elegant, feminine, trendy, fashionable and charming, truly perfect for a birthday celebration!


Nadia   Azar
Design by Nadia Azar
Another truly inspiring design from Nadia Azar. Nadia has very cleverly created this design with a great combinations of balloons. The focal balloon is the Princess Tiara #82027 and complimented with Rose Pink 5, Rose Pink 160Q's and 5" Zebra Prints! The visual lines and movement are very elegant, but this design also evokes a sense of fun and fashion with the use of the animal print, once again perfect for a birthday celebration!


Soo Wheeler
Design by Soo Wheeler

Topiary designs (topiary meaning - ball like shape) also make perfect air-filled centrepiece designs. Above is a beautiful example of a delicate 'Double Bubble' topiary centrepiece made by Soo Wheeler. Soo's topiary creates a feeling of romance, elegance and gentleness, perfect for a wedding or with a slight change of balloons, this same design could be used for a Christening or Baptism celebration. I love the use of the 5" Just Married Flowers-A-Round latex print #39286.

The Topiary technique can be so very versatile, and can be adapted to suit almost any occasion. I have included a few of more of my favourite idea's below.


Laura Serrano
Design by Laura Serrano
 This stunning Magenta 4" Hearts Topiary is so beautiful and elegant, the organza ribbon and cellophane 'picks' compliment this design perfectly. I can visualise this design in many different colours and being used for many different occasions! 






Linda Bruce
Design by Linda Bruce 







Here is another topiary centrepiece, this one was created by Linda Bruce. The design is simple yet elegant, the ribbon creates the perfect link between the base and the top, and the raffia ribbon add's a visual texture to the design.





Balloontime Roma
Design by Balloontime Roma.



Here is another beautiful example of a topiary design by Balloontime, Roma. Set in a flower pot, it creates the appearance of a flower or tree. The soft colours would indicate this design is for a Christening or a new baby!











Nadia Azar
Design by Nadia Azar




Nadia Azar gives us another great take on the topiary technique. Nadia has used 'puffed' Geo Blossoms... the visual texture is great along with the fresh colours of Lime & Pinks!





Below is another great air-filled design created by Anne Cahill McGovern... It's so simple but so very effective! The 6" Qualatex GEO Blossoms look great in these arrangements... just 3 on each of the tables and they look amazing!


Anne Cahill mcGovern
Design by Anne Cahill McGovern
Colin Myles
Design by Colin Myles




I had to include this fantastic design by Colin Myles! It is packed with visual movement and line!
The 6-balloon cluster base gives perfect visual stability, the 13" Taper balloons add a sense of 'spotlight' to the dancer on the platform along with the 'woven' line guiding light and movement up the column and finally the 'music' guy, dancing on his platform... such a fun and clever design Colin!








Jose Lutman
Design by Jose Lutman


Jose Lutman has a really modern artistic flair when it comes to balloons, I always love to see his ideas and inspirations. I really like his idea of the 'Queen of Hearts' 30" Playing card at the top of this elegant garland of greenery and the simple addition of carefully placed red balloons!

There is a great 'Designer Showcase' of Jose work in APR/MAY/Jun 2012 balloon Images  magazine. 
Images article featuring Jose Lutman

Finally, I cannot complete this blog without mentioning Idit & Hagai Schwartz from Israel, their business is based round centrepiece designs, there is a great article in Images APR/MAY/JUN 2011 called 'Center of Attention'. Idit and Hagai's work is creative, elegant and inspiring, all the designs featured in the article are air-filled... and very beautiful!

Images article featuring Idit & Hagai Schwartz
I have really enjoyed gathering designs for this blog, it has been wonderful re-visiting many of the photographs that have been generously posted and shared on the Qualatex Facebook Group page. I would like to say a huge thank you to all those I have featured in this blog, your continuous idea's and techniques are a great inspiration to us all!

Happy Ballooning!

Sue
www.suebowler.com




Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Ho Ho Ho and all things Santa!

Well, it's that time of year and Christmas is coming... only 26 days away!

11" Santa & Christmas Tree 31012



I thought that this would be the perfect time to give you a little bit of Christmas inspiration! Fill your shops and stores with Santa designs READY TO GO! Let everyone know that you are taking orders for Christmas and that they need to book their Santa today to avoid disappointment! 
Sue Bowler

Here is a Santa that I made a few years ago. He pretty  tall standing about 8' high, so not really a good retail design, but perfect for decor. Make 2 of these and add a Christmas arch in between, great for an entrance or over a stage!

Sue Bowler
I have now created a new version that is shorter, standing approx.5' tall and therefore much easier for someone to get in to their car! Perfect for homes, offices, restaurants, hotels... inexpensive to make but with BIG perceived value! Click on the DVD below to get the step by step instructions.


 



Step-By Step recipe for 5' Santa. It can be made in about 30-45 minutes depending on what equipment you are working with!


 Here are some other ideas for Christmas...

Sue Bowler
Contemporary Santa 18" 99799

Create these 350Q Santa's, these really do add value to an 18" foil!


Remember... almost anyone can inflate a helium filled balloon and attach it to a ribbon and weight, let's face it, that's what most of our competitors do!
But making up a design like this takes skill and know-how... watch these flying out of your stores!


Don't forget to visit www.qualatex.com for some great idea's, sales tips and for QBN members a little bit more in the  Christmas Business Booster section!








Premier Balloons Manchester
How about making one of these fantastic Santa Arches made by Kevin Proctor CBA of Premier Balloons, Manchester, UK. His arch uses a very similar technique that I used in my design above, but Kevin has turned it into an arch... I love it, it's fun and it has so much personality!


I asked Kevin if he had any tips to share when making the Santa arch?
Tip 1: As the balloons decrease in size from 11” Ruby Red to 5” Ruby Red, I double stuffed the first two 5” clusters to keep the colour nice and deep for the shade to be as consistent as possible and to disguise the switch from under-inflated 11” to the fully inflated 5”.
Tip 2: The Santa hat bobble is just made from 12 x 5” white (make a mini topiary) to create a nice round bobble for where the hats meet at the top of the arch.

Other than that, I imagine the rest of the design is pretty self explanatory, obviously it can be made taller, arms and legs can be added to the Santa's as well as accessories (belt and buckle, a sack, parcels, candy canes etc etc etc) 
Merry Christmas!

Kevin - Premier Balloons



Don't forget to download all the Seasonal Bouquet Ideas from the Qualatex website to inspire your customers, make up some of the designs READY TO GO and add them  to your On-Counter Design Menu... so easy for your customers to select the arrangements that they want, and don't forget to show the price, customers like to know what they are spending!

So, it's here, the big festive countdown. I hope that you have the best Christmas trading ever!

With seasonal best wishes
Sue
22" Bubble A Visit from St. Nicholas 26979










Monday, October 3, 2011

Pinch me... am I dreaming? An amazing opportunity to decorate a party of a lifetime!

"Imagine being able to create the party decor that only dreams are made of, where the balloons are unlimited and you have a full staff to help you to bring it all to life"! ...


Final Night Gala WBC 2011 designed by Rocky Toomey CBA


I am so very lucky, I have attended balloon event gala's and parties world-wide over the past 20 years that has stimulated every emotion within me ... from that amazing WOW factor as you walk into a wonderland of awesome decor, TINGLES that have run through my whole body as special effects have created sheer magic within a room,  and TEARS of joy knowing that this is an industry that I am so very proud to be part of.


Balloon IMAGES Sept/ Oct 1996
I have had the honor to be part of a number of these magnificent gala's and parties, as a delegate at IBAC 13 (International Balloons Art Convention) 1997, I worked along side Marloes Bakker-Marsden, where she taught me how to use 260Q's to help create beautiful Grecian Urns for the 'Golden Age of Greece' final night gala. Marloes first wowed our industry in 1996 when she and Gunter Blum of Australia, used their innovative technique using 260Q to create their sculpture 'Fishing for Compliments', as featured on the front cover of Images magazine September/October 1996.

Balloon Images Nov/Dec 1998
I have also had the honor to work long side other incredible designers such as Rocky Toomey and Terry Mulryan Toomey of Future Affairs Productions in Providence, RI, USA, who are absolute Masters when it comes to creating grand gala decor and special effects. I will never forget the incredible final night gala 'Phantom of the IBAC', IBAC 14 1998. There is a great article on this fabulous gala in IMAGES November/ December 1998, it is well worth a read.
I could go on, there have been so many spectacular parties and gala's, each one special but they all have one thing in common, they are all memory makers that leave a wonderful lasting impression long after the event has gone!

Now you have the opportunity to make that dream a reality!

For the very first time, Qualatex in conjunction with the World Balloon Convention is giving you the chance to rise to balloon stardom by offering  2 opportunities at the 2012 World Balloon Convention to take the leading role in designing one of two prestigious parties : the Thursday Night Theme Party or the WBC Grand Gala.
Along with the opportunity to design and execute the winning decor, each winner will receive:
· Transportation to and from WBC 2012
· Full-package Registration for WBC 2012
· Lodging for the duration of the event
  
Where do you start? Well if you are anything like me, your mind will go into 'creative overdrive', but on a more practical note you should start by reading the How To Enter and the Eligibity section by visiting www.worldballoonconvention.com  you can then download the entry form that gives you full details of what you have to do next! But you need to get started as the closing date is 15th October 2011!
Opportunities like this are very rare, the kudos that designing and creating decor of this magnitude can bring you and your business is enormous, what better way to impress your clients and demonstrate your skills as a 'Master' event decorator.

I wish you every luck and am very much looking forward to meeting the winners at WBC 2012!

Sue







Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Wedding Fair Decor... and how my day went!

Well, I have to say that this wedding fair was so very different from my first over 20 years ago! With a few years of experience behind me and a greater knowledge of what a bride is looking for, I felt much better prepared, even mildly nervous and excited all rolled into one!

Balloon Display
Sue Bowler Wedding Fair Display
Deciding how to decorate your stand at a Wedding Fair takes a little bit of thought. I decided to opt for the 6' table option with a little space each side... that's how it was described when I booked my place at the Wedding Fair. The venue was made up of a series of small rooms with an easy pedestrian flow from room to room. The ceiling was a good height and pretty neutral which made it a little easier for me to add colour to my decor.

Last year I wrote and designed a Wedding Decor Course which is made up of a series of days known as Complete Wedding 1 and Complete Wedding 2, there will hopefully be a 3rd and final part to the series... yes, you've guessed Complete Wedding 3! But this has yet to be written, so maybe it will be added to the training calendar in 2012 or 2013?
There are a number of aims and objectives to these courses, not only do I teach balloon artist how to create elegant wedding decor but also how to work with different colour palettes, some subtle others bright and bold, this for me this is where I believe brides find balloons too domineering or intrusive at weddings, and subsequently decide that balloons are not for them... so I thought that I would use some of the concepts that I have been teaching and create decor using the very same rules.

My space was limited, so I needed to ensure that whatever decor I created will look elegant within the space that I had. 

Deco Bubble Scroll Filigree All Around #23593 20"
I love the Filigree pattern, it's elegant and it is perfect for wedding decor and the venue I was exhibiting in, so using the Qualatex 24" Filigree & Hearts-A-Round and the Qualatex Deco Bubble Scroll Filigree-All-Around was an easy option for me as my main focal balloons.

I like to keep a large percentage of my wedding decor neutral and worked with Qualatex Pearl White and Qualatex Diamond Clear balloons, to continue with the filigree theme, I double stuffed some of the Pearl White balloons with 11" Filigree & Hearts-A-Round, which added visual texture to my decor.

For colour, I introduced Burgundy Organza, with Burgundy and Quartz Purple satin ribbons and a selection of small silk flower heads, all of which complimented the decor beautifully. Organza is a very light and airy fabric and although the colour was dark it really does not appear heavy or overbearing within wedding decor and it swags easily which is important to create the look that I want in my work.



Sue Bowler
You will see that I have kept my decor simple, just two columns, linked with a 'Cloud 9' cluster and the swagged organza. On the table I added an air-filled centrepiece design that complimented the columns perfectly. I swagged the front of my table and added my portfolio along with a screen that showed different wedding decor idea's and concepts on a rolling presentation, and finally adding my new brochure ready and waiting for brides to pick.

I first introduced my Bride & Groom sculpture at weddings fairs over 15 years ago, I was a little apprehensive then as to the response that they would get, but discovered very quickly that they were a huge hit and very popular. So I had no hesitation to to include them this time at the wedding fair, as I could not see why they would not have the very same reaction. This time a created an updated design, something that I have not taught as I wanted something fresh and uniquely mine, I was very happy with the result... I used the Qualatex Man's Face 5' balloon for the groom, but drew a simple face for the bride as I wanted to show both options. I used the Qualatex 5" Diamond Clear Butterflies-A-Round, double stuffed with Pearl White 5" inside in the brides dress, knowing that Butterflies are very much a wedding theme for 2011/12!

Sue Bowler
Bride & Groom designed by Sue Bowler

Once I had set up my display, I was approached by venue staff and other exhibiting vendors, "Wow, these are the nicest wedding balloons I have seen", was one of the comments, along with "what a beautiful display"! I had many compliments throughout the day for my designs, brides who were not considering balloons at their wedding previously were now interested, which is exactly the response that I was looking for!

As expected the Bride & Groom sculpture proved to be extremely popular, so I am expecting to take plenty of orders for these over the coming months and years hopefully!

My very first wedding fair was such a different experience, I really did not know how to present myself or my company. I made the fatal mistake of attempting to show every colour of balloon that was available, I had not prepared good literature to hand-out along with many many other mistakes.

Wedding fairs can be expensive, making sure that you are fully prepared is the key to success. As I started by saying, I am no expert but I hope that by reporting my experiences has given maybe some of you some valuable hints and tips to make your wedding fairs a huge success!

Good luck!

Sue
If you are interested in attending the Complete Wedding Series courses visit www.thequalatexevent.com the courses are currently held in the UK and some European countries.