How to Decorate a Balloon

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 1, 2020 References

Balloons are a great way to add a festive touch to any occasion! They're cheap, and everybody loves balloons. To make your balloons even more festive, add a personal touch. You can glue on fun things like pompoms or glitter, or you can turn balloons into things like animals or fruit. Alternatively, use paint or permanent markers to transform them into something unique.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Attaching Decorative Items

1
Glue pompoms to your balloons for a polka dot look. Turn a glue gun on the lowest setting, using a cool temperature glue gun. Once it's ready, add a bit of glue to the back of a small pompom. Press the pompom, glue side down, to the inflated balloon. Space them out across the balloon, creating any pattern you like. Try adding different colors or stick to all 1 color!^{[1]
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- Avoid using hot glue on the "hot" setting, as that's likely to pop the balloons.
2
Spell out words in vinyl letters to send messages with your balloons. Pick any color balloon you want, along with any color vinyl letters. Gold stands out well on a lot of balloon colors. Inflate your balloons, and then stick the letters on to spell out words like "joy" or "birthday."^{[2]
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- If you're using the balloons at a birthday party or a wedding, try spelling out the person's or persons' initials.
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3
Make glittery balloons for a festive effect. Inflate your balloons. Brush Mod Podge or another craft glue on the round part of the balloon with a foam brush. Work quickly because the glue dries fast. As soon as you've coated 1/3 of the balloon on the round end, sprinkle the glitter all over the glue as fast as you can. Shake off any excess.^{[3]
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- Try mixing and matching glitters for a fun effect. You can also add chunky glitter or sequins.
- Let the balloons dry before hanging. Hang them with the glitter side down, as that side will be heavier.
4
Cover balloons with tulle for a sophisticated look. Select tulle that's at least 56 inches (140 cm) wide so it's large enough to cover the whole balloon. Place a square piece of tulle over an inflated balloon and gather it at the bottom. Smooth out any wrinkles and then tie it at the bottom with a ribbon. You can also add other decorations at the bottom, such as flowers or bows.
- These balloons won't float. If you want them to float, hang them from the ceiling with fishing wire.
5
Fill the balloons with confetti for a unique surprise. Use your fingers to stretch the mouth of the balloon open. Drop in your favorite confetti or glitter, using as much as you want. You may want to use a funnel to make it easier to add the glitter. Once the glitter or confetti is inside the balloon, inflate it as normal for a fun, confetti-filled balloon.
- This technique works best with transparent balloons, not opaque ones.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Turning Your Balloons into Other Items

1
Form numbers or letters on the wall with balloons. Blow up small balloons. Make your own double-sided tape by wrapping strong tape around itself with the sticky side out, making a loop. Start in the middle of the wall and the middle of the number or letter. Work your way out, adding each balloon to the wall with the double-sided tape you've made until you spell out your letter or number.^{[4]
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- Don't use regular double-sided tape, as it's not strong enough.
2
Tie balloons together to make balloon flowers bloom for a floral surprise. Blow up 5 balloons to the same size. Tie 2 balloons together at the knot with fishing wire. Do the same with the other 3 balloons. Wrap the 2 balloons around the center of the 3 balloons once, then smooth them out to form a flower circle. Blow up 2 balloons in another color and tie them together with fishing wire. Wrap them around the center of the other balloons once and arrange them on each side of the flower. Attach them to the ceiling with fishing wire.^{[5]
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- To make sure you're blowing up your balloons to the same size, blow one up. Trace around it on a piece of cardboard and cut out the circle. When you're blowing up the other balloons, make sure they fit in the hole before tying them off.
3
Make a balloon arch with PVC pipe, string, and umbrella stands. Cut pieces of string about as tall as you are, and then start tying inflated balloons onto the string. Continue to cut pieces and work through all the balloons you have; you'll need about 115 balloons. Use a PVC coupler to join 2 10 ft (3.0 m) pieces of 0.5 in (1.3 cm) PVC pipe.^{[6]
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- Tape or tie one end of the first balloon string to an end of the PVC pipe, and wrap the balloons around the pipe. Tie the next string to the previous one and keep wrapping the balloons around, gathering them up together as you go.
- Keep working until you have all the balloons on the PVC and tape off the ends. Place the ends in umbrella stands to create the arch and use bricks or rocks to weight them down.
4
Make flying bumblebees for a fun spring party. Inflate a yellow balloon and then set it in a bowl so it sits upright with the knot in the air. Paint 2 thick lines around the balloon by turning it in the bowl while you hold a foam brush on the side of the balloon. Cut out eyes and a mouth in black paper and wings in white paper. Glue the eyes and mouth on with a glue stick on the round end of the balloon. Use double-sided tape to attach the wings to the sides.^{[7]
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- To make the balloons look like they're floating, tape a piece of fishing line to the bottom of the bee and attach it to a weight. Make sure you're using helium to inflate the balloons.
5
Glue on cutouts to make farm animals. Cut shapes out of paper or crepe streamers, and glue them onto balloons to create different animals. For instance, glue a round pink snout and 2 black eyes on the round part of a pink balloon then add 2 pink ears at the top to make a pig. You can also use tape to attach the cutouts.^{[8]
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- Try pipe cleaners for whiskers, round paper eyes, a pink triangle nose, and triangle ears on an orange or black balloon for a kitty, a yellow triangle beak, round black eyes, and a red comb on a white balloon for a rooster, or a small black nose, miscellaneous black spots, 2 white and black eyes, and round ears on a white balloon for a dog.
6
Add confetti and a cone to make ice cream cones. Make a cone out of a piece of paper and tape it together. Glue a small balloon into the top of the cone, knot side down. Make paper sprinkles by cutting out small rectangles of crepe paper in different colors and glue or tape them to the top to complete your cone.^{[9]
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- You can also create a ruffle of crepe paper around the top of the cone. Take a crepe paper streamer and gather it lightly as you glue it into place to make it ruffle.
- Cut holes in the top of a box to create a stand for your ice cream cones.
7
Form floating arrangements and centerpieces out of balloons, flowers, and leaves. Tie balloons together at the knot end and then glue them to big silk leaves to create a colorful arrangement. Alternatively, attach balloons to each other before adding fake flowers in the open spaces. Tape them onto your balloons. You can create table runners, centerpieces, or even floating arrangements.^{[10]
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- For instance, use yellow balloons and large green fronds for a lemon-type arrangement.
- Create an autumn arrangement with purple balloons and mums in orange, red, and yellow glued in various places.
- You can gather balloons by gluing or taping them together, but you can also use thread and a needle, as long as you just go through the end sticking out of the knot and not the balloon itself.
8
Make a cactus with permanent markers and small balloons. Blow up one big, green balloon. Draw small "V" shapes all over it with the marker to make the needles. Blow up 2 smaller balloons and do the same. Glue or tape the smaller balloons onto the larger one near the round side to create branches off the cactus.^{[11]
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- Glue small pink pompoms onto the ends of the "branches" to complete the effect. They'll act as flowers.
9
Create strawberries with a permanent marker and crepe paper. Blow up pink or red balloons and draw seeds on them with a black permanent marker. Cut leaves out of a green crepe paper streamer. Glue them in a circle at the top to create the strawberry crown.^{[12]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Decorating with Paint and Markers

1
Write fun messages with a permanent marker for special occasions. Use a permanent marker to write things about the occasion. Get as crazy or as simple as you'd like. For instance, you could just write "Happy Birthday" on your balloons or you could write short memories of the birthday person on them.^{[13]
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- Try writing song lyrics for a wedding or baby shower.
- Use significant dates to memorialize the occasion.
2
Add marble coloring to your balloons to create unique colors. Inflate your balloons and fill a large bowl with room-temperature water. Pour in 5-10 drops of 1 nail polish color and let it expand across the surface. Do the same with 1-2 other colors. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl the colors around to create a marble effect and then dip the balloon in, turning the balloon to collect as much color as you can. The balloon will pick up the colors. Let it dry before hanging it up!^{[14]
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- You will likely need to dip each balloon more than once.
- This effect works best on white or light-colored balloons.
3
Splatter paint on balloons for a fun and festive effect. Blow up your balloons and gather them together. If you used helium, tie them together above an area you don't mind getting paint on. Use a paintbrush to gather slightly watered down paint, then flick the paintbrush over the balloons, which will create a splattering effect. Let the paint dry on the balloons.^{[15]
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- Use 3 parts paint to 1 part water. Try an acrylic or multi-purpose paint.
- Try gold or silver for a glittery effect.
- Do a rainbow of colors for a bright effect.
4
Make shapes with a marker or paint to create unique designs. Try drawing little Vs all over the balloons with a small paintbrush and acrylic paint or make Xs and Os. Use a marker to make zigzag patterns across the balloon and then paint in colors or paint stripes all the way around with a large brush. Add small hearts or draw stars around the balloon. Use your imagination!