Hanging Hot - Air Balloons Decor

A hot air balloon is a lighter-than-air aircraft consisting of a bag, called an envelope, which contains heated air. Suspended beneath is a gondola or wicker basket, which carries passengers and a source of heat.

I would be making a Hot air Hanging basket decor for my House.

Paper Glue

Small Balloons

Acrylic Colours

Scale

Paint Brush

Scissor

News Paper

Blow up three balloons to slightly different sizes. Rip up newspaper into strips roughly 10x2.5cm (4x1inch) .

Glue the paper strips and stick on to the Balloon alternatively you can also use a mixture of flour and water by creating a thick battery, dip the strips in the paste and use them to cover the ballons with three or four layers of paper mache.

Try to avoid air bubbles and lumps forming as you go.

Leave in a warm place to dry, possibly overnight if using flour and water mixture. Here I have used Paper Glue so that I don't need to dry it overnight.

Paint the balloons with a coat of white emulsion paint and allow to dry thoroughly.

Using pencil, lightly draw designs on the balloons. Paint with poster paints.

Once the paint is dry, apply a coat of clear gloss varnish.

Once they are fully dry, burst the balloons with a pin, then gently sand down the shapes using fine- grade sandpaper. Draw a circle with a diameter of 5-7.5cm (2-3inch) on the base of each balloon and cut it out with a craft knife. Neaten up any rough edges using the sandpaper.

To make a basket, cut out a strip of coloured card about 18x5cm (7x2inch). Glue the two ends together, slightly overlapping them to form a cylinder and decorate with paint.

Place the cylinder on a peice of the same colour card, draw around it, cut this out and glue it to the base of the basket. Repeat this step for the other two baskets, but make them all different colours.

How make a small hole on top of the Balloon and insert a thread and tie a small match stick on the other side of the balloon

Place a blob of glue on each end of each hook and insert them into the holes.

Thread a needle with thread in a colour that matches the balloons. Make a knot in the end.

Piece the needle through the top edge of one of the baskets. Take the needle through the hole twice to make it secure. Now pierce the needle through the matching balloon's base at the edge of the circle.

Allow 5-7.5cm (2-3inch) of thread between the basket and the balloon, and secure it by taking the needle through the hole once more and knotting it.

Repeat this on the other side and on the two baskets and their balloons.

Cut off and discard the sharp end of a wooden kebab stick. Paint the stick in a colour to match the balloons. this will form the strut from which the mobile will hang

Attach a double-thickness of thread to the middle of the strut to hang the mobile from. Now tie one end of a length of thread to each balloon hook and the other end to the strut, attaching one balloon in the middle and one at each end. Suspend the balloons at different lengths.