Welcome to BMTV 210! This week we welcome back Mike Hurst from Reds to show us ways to add value to retail designs. He shows us how to create two different designs and goes through some techniques you can use to increase the selling price of your designs.

The first piece he creates is all air-filled, using the popular 24-inch Pink Confetti Dots Deco bubble as the centrepiece of the design. As a starting point you need to make a cluster of five 11” wild berry latex balloons (inflated to approx. 7 inches) and then a smaller cluster of five 5” standard pink (inflated to just under 5”) and then attach these so one is on top of the other one (learn how to make them here). To tightly secure these together he takes an uninflated wild berry latex balloon and ties it in between the clusters, going around the balloons in different directions. Another cluster of five 5” standard pink latex balloons is also created for a later stage of the design.

He then takes a clear 646Q latex balloon to create a confetti filled column. To create this, he takes a balloon stretching tool to open the neck of the balloon. Greg then gives him a helping hand with stuffing the balloon with some 25mm Fuchsia circle tissue paper confetti. He then takes the balloon and fills it with air, holding the top of the balloon as it inflates. All the confetti will settle at the bottom of the balloon but to make it stick around the balloon he uses an inflated 5” white latex to rub the 646Q, creating static to make the confetti stick to the balloon.

The inflated 646Q is then attached to the Pink Confetti Dots Deco bubble using a 260Q and the excess of this is chopped off. He then attaches the cluster of five 5” standard pink latex around where the 646Q and confetti Deco bubble meet. This is then attached to the cluster ‘base’ that was made up of 11” wild berry and 5” standard pink latex which finishes off the design.

The second design is helium filled and great as a fun alternative design for a birthday. In this design he uses the Qualatex 30-inch puffy cloud foil along with an 18-inch Happy Birthday pastel rainbow foil. He takes the inflated puffy cloud and attaches a 260Q to one side of the balloon using some stretchy balloon tape, making sure it is secure. Another 260Q is also attached to the other side of the cloud foil which are to attach other parts to the design later.

He attaches the Happy Birthday foil to one of the 260Q’s and then wraps around a cluster of four 5” white latex between the two foils. To add to the cluster, he then creates some duplets and wraps them around. He then creates a balloon tail using 6” white Quicklinks, inflating each and attaching them to each other creating a chain of 6 balloons. He then attaches the chain to the other 260Q that’s attached to the cloud foil and then feeds the other end into a base made up of a cluster of 5” white latex.

Anna-Jayne

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