Birthday Party DIY Balloon Arch
Post by Morgan Hutchinson, founder of BURU
For my daughter’s 4th birthday, I wasn’t going to forgo a big celebration – even though I was 37 weeks pregnant (!!). As the founder of a shopping & style site curated for all phases of motherhood, I have a keen eye for design and a love of color. At my Salt Lake City, UT home, we created a rainbow-inspired party complete with a pony, a massive DIY balloon arch, and one very pregnant mama.
What You’ll Need
- Balloons (lots and lots of balloons)
- Low Heat Hot Glue Gun
- White Duck Tape or Heavy Packing Tape
- Chicken Wire
Perfection is boring and doing something identical to someone else is too! I like Pinterest for inspiration, but it’s important to put you own twist on it. For starters, this will make it easier to accept your work when it looks nothing like the Pin :)!
How to Create
- If you have an easy way to hang chicken wire, use it to form a full rainbow shape. For our arch, we didn’t have an easy way to create and hang the chicken wire in a full rainbow shape, so we went with a more abstract approach. Symmetry is TOUGH so if you can avoid it, I say go for it!
- We started the arch using a low heat glue gun to attach the first layer of the balloons. We had crazy wind that day and it was drying the glue too fast for the balloons to stick (and taking forever!!). Rather than keep trying because “that’s what Pinterest said “, I said forget it (or something like that) and starting using white duck tape and heavy packing tape that I had on hand. As I wrote above, consider a back up plan (especially if you are making the project in your robe only a few hours before guests arrive like me!)
- Give your toddler assistant a project that makes her feel important during the process (so you can actually finish!). While Brett (my fab hubby who supports all my ridiculous ideas) and I blew up all the balloons a few days ahead of time, we had Olive sort them by color and place in plastic bags. And, while I climbed up and down the ladder attaching the balloons with tape, Olive decorated the step ladder with said tape. Okay—so this wasn’t a productive task, but it kept her busy and I actually finished with enough time to throw on a dress before the first guest arrived!
Frustrated with the lack of stylish nursing wear and the time drain of finding workable ready-to-wear, founder Morgan Hutchinson created BURU—an online destination that stocks high fashion designer wares hand-selected for motherhood. She brings her talents as a former stylist to the site with seasonal look books, playtime and office appropriate attire, and a peek into her own wardrobe as a new mother.