Balloon Resource Center

Home

Jan's Journal

Manufacturers

Instructions for Qualatex®
"646Q Dapper Dracula Stand-up"
By Linda Bruce, CBA

Labor: About 30 Minutes
Helium: About 1.5 cu. ft. (.042m3)

Materials:
1 36" (91cm) Onyx Black Microfoil® Balloon 12672
1 16" (41cm) “Smile Face Dracula” Latex Balloon 74854
4 11" (28cm) Lime Green Latex Balloons 48955
4 11" Onyx Black Latex Balloons 43737
1 6" (15cm) Ruby Red Latex Heart 43647
8 646Q Giant Airship Onyx Black Latex Balloons 75452
3 260Q Onyx Black Latex Balloons 43937
Blinkee the Balloon Weight
(Optional; available from Advance Creative Products,
1-800-572-1227 or 847-215-8700.)

Instructions:
1. Air inflate two 646Q balloons, leaving 1½" (3.8cm) uninflated on each, and tie the necks together to make a pair. (NOTE: Each 646Q must be the same length to prevent Dracula from leaning.) Make a second pair. Twist two balloons together, one from each pair, to make a cluster.

2. Lay the cluster down on a flat surface to make an “X.”

3. For the “feet,” make a cluster of four 11" Lime Green balloons inflated to 11". Place this cluster on top of the 646Q cluster and pull the 646Qs up between the 11" balloons.

4. Make a second 646Q cluster like the first and lay it on top of the first 646Q cluster, rotating it 45 degrees.

5. Tie two, opposing tips of the first cluster together, then tie the two remaining tips from the first cluster. Repeat with the second cluster to complete the “body.”

6. Helium inflate the 16" balloon and tie. Tie an uninflated 260Q to the neck of the 16" balloon, leaving two equal lengths.

7. For the “shoulders,” make a cluster of two 11" Onyx Black inflated to 9" (23cm) and two 11" Onyx Black inflated to 7" (18cm). Attach the cluster to the neck of the 16" balloon, with the two 7" balloons directly across from each other at the front and back.

8. Using the uninflated 260Q, tie the 16" balloon to the “body,” pulling tightly for a secure fit.

9. To make the “collar” for the cape, air inflate one 260Q, leaving 1" (2.5cm) uninflated. Starting at the knot end, make a 13" (33cm) bubble, a 1" pinch twist, a 14" (36cm) bubble, then a 1" pinch twist, leaving a 13" bubble. Tie the two ends of the 260Q together. Push the collar, knot end down, over one of the 9" balloons in the “shoulders” and tuck into the shoulders. Repeat for the second side of the collar.

10. Air inflate the 6" Heart and tie into the top of the first 646Q cluster. (Optional: Before inflating, place a blinking balloon light inside the Heart.)

11. Tuck the uninflated 36" balloon up underneath the shoulders for the “cape.”

TIP: Create your own custom characters for holidays and everyday! Build the same basic body, then use a different balloon for the “head,” and add personalized embellishments.

TIP: Dapper Dracula is self-supported. If needed, add a weight for extra stability.

Linda Bruce is no stranger to the balloon industry! Her extensive background as owner-operator of a successful balloon company, combined with her experience as Retail Education Manager for Pioneer Balloon Company, provide her with a broad industry perspective! As a world-class instructor and competitor, Linda shares her love of balloons at seminars around the globe, and is very happy to represent The Very Best Balloons, Qualatex!

Instructions for the Betallic
"Halloween Pedestal Column"

The Pedestal Column topped with a foil shape can stand anywhere from 2.5 - 3 m (8’-10’) tall depending on the size of the foil. This makes an ideal “stand alone” feature piece for any themed occasion whether it be a birthday, wedding, luau or casino night. The possibilities are endless when you top your column with a foil shape!

Materials and Equipment:
16 x 46cm (18”) round balloons
20 x 28cm (11”) round balloons
1 x Dracula with Bat helium shape
1 x 1m (39”) length metal rod
1 x sand weight [approx 2-3 cups of sand]
2.5m (8’) length of 50lb Dacron Archline or similar
Sizing template for 23cm (9”) & 35cm (13”) balloon
Air inflator
Helium
Cello Tape

PRO TIP: Because the ends of the cut rod may be sharp enough to puncture a balloon it is essential that a clear piece of cello tape or a color matching the rod is wrapped on either end.

Step By Step:

Inflating the 28cm (11”) Balloons
1. Inflate 2 x 28cm (11”) round balloons to 23cm (9”) and join at the neck to form a duplet. As shown in Diagram 1.
2. Repeat the process to make a second duplet.
3. Wrap the two duplets together to form a cluster of four as shown in Diagram 2.
4. Repeat steps: 1-3 four more times until you have five clusters of four in total.

Inflating the 46cm (18”) Balloons
5. Inflate 2 x 46cm (18”) round balloons to 35cm (13”) and join at the neck to form a duplet. As shown in Diagram 1.
6. Repeat the process to make a second duplet.
7. Wrap the two duplets together to form a cluster of four as shown in Diagram 2.
8. Repeat steps: 5-7 three more times until you have four clusters of four in total.

Constructing the Pedestal Column
9. Begin by tying the sand weight to the end of the 2.5m (8’) line.
10. Using the same construction method for any conventional balloon garland wrap the first 46cm (18”) cluster to the line pushing it firmly against the sand weight.
11. Add another 46cm (18”) cluster to the line placing it snugly against the first cluster as shown in Diagram 3.
12. Repeat the process using the five clusters of 28cm (11”) balloons ensuring that each is firmly interlocked into the one before.
13. Finish the column by adding the two remaining clusters of 46cm (18”) balloons.
14. Tie off the line to the last cluster. As shown in Diagram 4.

Inflating the Helium Shape
15. Using an automatic cut off regulator carefully infl ate the helium shape with helium.
16. Once the helium shape is inflated bend the securing tabs at the bottom of the balloon over the metal rod and tape [using clear cello tape] the tabs to the balloon. The balloon should be able to slide back and forth freely on
the rod. The rod should be heavy enough to prevent the helium shape from floating away

PRO TIP
Filled with helium and attached to the rod, the helium shape will stand upright making an impressive piece of décor even when placed on the floor of a stage or on top of a speaker box.

Assembly
17. Place the helium shape on top of the pedestal column so that it sits in the space between two balloons.
18. If you are concerned about the helium shape separating from the pedestal column attach the rod to the column with a line.

PRO TIP
For an extended display time it may be better to wrap the pedestal column onto a pole and secure into a base.

Conclusion
A variety of helium shapes and latex balloons can be used along with different garland packing techniques to obtain a completely different appearance.

Instructions for the Betallic
"The Spider & The Redback"

Large or small, real or made from balloons, a spider can make many people shiver with fear. Instantly identifiable, the spider is made up of three main components with its set of eight ugly, hairy legs, its bulbous head and creepy, bulging lower body. Because of these characteristics the spider sculpture can be easily constructed in a variety of sizes to suit a number of locations from ceiling corners to dance floors, climbing walls to table center-pieces.

Materials and Equipment:
The following instructions describe the method for making a spider approx. 1m (40”) in diameter.

2 x Black 28cm (11”) round balloons
8 x Black 260s
4 x Black 12cm (5”) round balloons
A required length of kg. (12lb) fishing line
Eyes and fangs are added, when required, at decorator discretion.

Step By Step:

Inflating the Head and Body
1. Inflate the two 28cm (11”) black balloons to 20cm (8”) & 24 cm (9½”) and join at the necks to form a duplet as shown in Diagram 1.
2. Inflate two 12cm (5”) black balloons to 8cm (3¼”) and join together to form a duplet.
3. Repeat Step 2.
4. Wrap the two 12cm (5”) duplets together to form a cluster of four.
5. Wrap the cluster of 4 x 12cm (5”) balloons between the duplet of 28cm (11”) balloons to form a collar as shown in Diagram 2.

Inflating the Legs
6. Inflate the black 260s to an approx. length of 1m (40”) which will leave an un-inflated tail of approx. 8 cm (3¼”).

PRO TIP Before tying balloon off, ‘burp’ the 260s by allowing a smallportion of air to escape. This will allow the balloon to bemore pliable.

7. Starting at the 'knot' end of the balloon choose a position at approx. the 28cm (11”) point and twist the balloon to seal and create an appx. 2.5cm (1”) "bubble" as shown in Diagram 3. Hold firmly toprevent it from unravelling.
8. Hold the two long portions of the balloon firmly in one hand and grip hold of the 2.5cm (1”) bubble (which should be at the top) and twist the two 'twisted' ends of the (small) bubble together to form a pinch twist, which will prevent the bubble from unwrapping as shown in Diagram 4.

	Making the Feet 9. This time beginning from the 'tail' end of the balloon twist the balloon several times at approx. 5cm point to seal off the balloon.Hold firmly to prevent it from unravelling. 10. Again move along the balloon and twist at approx. the 2.5cm (1”) point to form another bubble as shown in Diagram 5. 11. Repeat the action in Step 9 to form another pinch twist to secure the bubble in place as shown in Diagram 6.6. 12. Grab hold of the 5cm (2”) bubble at the bottom of the leg and 'squeeze'. Take hold of the remainder of the tail, wrap and secure it around the 2.5cm (1”) bubble. This will allow the last bubble {5cm (2”)} to resemble a 'U' shape and form a foot at the end of the spider's leg as shown in Diagram 7. PRO TIP Obviously spiders don't actually have feet. The process described in Step 13 is developed to represent an animated character and can be easily modified to suit the species being created. 13. Repeat Steps 6 - 13 with the remaining 7 x black 260s.

	Attaching the Legs 14. Tie a set of two legs together at the 'knot' end as shown in Diagram 8. 15. Repeat this process three more time to make a total of 4 sets of two legs. 16. Using one set of legs at a time 'pull' all four sets of legs between the 12cm (5”) balloons and position them similar to as shown in Diagram 9a & Diagram 9b. 17. Repeat the process with the remaining three sets of legs. 18. Position the legs to best suit the location and the desired appearance. Additions There are several additions that can be added to the spider to give it extra character such as eyes, teeth and fangs and spider webs. These additions are included to best suit the location and desired appearance.

Colors
Although black is the generally excepted color for spiders, any deep colors such as midnight blue and silver can be used for the body and head to give a difference in appearance. In nature, spiders are often colored to camouflage their presence in particular surroundings.

Measurements
Obviously, the measurements will depend on the size of spider being constructed. The example given in Step 7 uses approx. 28cm (11”) as the first measurement for the leg. For my own convenience
this is also the inside length between my elbow and my palm. Using this standard measurement allows me to duplicate the same sizing for each of the eight legs.

Slight alterations in design give each spider its unique characteristics. Retaining the same head and body measurements and reducing the leg measurements offers a completely different type of spider. Bigger balloons allow for bigger spiders. To create a monster spider the head and body can also be formed by utilizing two different size (12 balloon) ball topiaries. Longer legs can be achieved by joining two 260s together.

A Creepy Variation:
Table Spider: The Redback
The deadliest Australian spider is the Redback so aptly named because of the red marking on it’s back. Songs have been sung about it, stories have been written, but nothing will prepare you for the shock of realizing that your have been bitten by the notorious 'redback spider on the toilet seat'.

Advertise