Unique Crafts Made with Balloons
Updated on November 21, 2018
Whether we’re preparing for a special occasion or just looking for something fun to do, balloons have always been a hit in our house. That’s probably because they make both great décor and awesome toys. We love the way balloons (and things made with balloons) look and our kids love the way they stretch, expand, bounce, and do all kinds of other cool thing! Have you ever considered, though, how many other cool things you can do with balloons besides just blowing them up and putting them on a string? We hadn’t either until recently, but once we started looking into balloon crafting ideas, we were totally blown away.
Just in case you’re equally excited about the idea of making neat things with balloons as we were, here are 15 of our very favourite cool balloon crafts to make with our kids!
1. Rainbow balloon birthday wreath
We’ve called this awesome craft a birthday wreath because it’s the perfect colourful piece to welcome guests to a fun party, but if we’re being fully honest with you, we’d probably happily make this any time of year! It’s just too cheerful looking to resist with all those colours in one place, plus we’re always fans of cool texture and crafting with unconventional materials. Six Sisters Stuff guides you through the process of fasting deflated balloons all over a wicker wreath or premade wreath ring to make sure you get that nice rounded shape even in the kookiest of designs.
2. String Easter eggs
Crafting with balloons doesn’t always have to mean that the balloon itself becomes a primary part of the finished craft. Sometimes it’s actually more of a tool for making your project than it is a part of the project! These adorable little string wrapped Easter eggs are a perfect example of what we mean. Jubilee Reviews guides you through the process of popping a chocolate or two into a balloon, blowing it up just a little bit, and wrapping string dipped in glue around it to create an Easter egg shape. Wait until the glue dries, pop the balloon and pull the deflated rubber out, and voila! Chocolates in a cool art deco style egg.
3. Cut and paste balloon hens
Are your kids absolute balloon lovers, but you find that the more colourful, unique, and novelty the balloon looks, the more they love it? Well, novelty balloons are often more expensive, so instead of spending extra money, why not use the simple crafting supplies you already have at home to transform a bag of regular, affordable balloons from the dollar store? Then you get some funny décor, something fun to play with, and a whole afternoon of crafting, all out of one project! We love the way Fun Family Crafts used construction paper, scissors, and tape to transform their balloons into chickens and hens.
4. Lentil fruit bowl
Were you intrigued by the idea of using an inflated balloon as a tool for crafting rather than the craft itself, but if you’re going to go to the trouble of spending your day making something, you’d rather have it be something you can reuse and set out for all to see? In that case, we have a feeling you’ll love this awesome lentil bowl from Saranyajo. Their tutorial guides you through the process of making a glue mixture with your lentils, spreading them across the widest, roundest end of a big inflated balloon, and letting them dry in that shape. Pop the balloon, clear the inside of your new bowl of leftover rubber, and voila! An all natural place to store your fruit or whatever else you please.
5. Funky balloon flip flops
Honestly, novelty footwear could be a crafting category all on its own, particularly if you’re a big fan of sandals and flip flops. There are just so many awesomely crafty sandal designs out there and, to tell you the truth, we’ve made most of them either for ourselves or our kids. You can imagine, then, how excited we were when we stumbled across these hilarious balloon flip flops from Time For All Things! Their tutorial shows you how to fasten miniature water balloons to sandal straps in fun, colourful combinations.
6. Rainbow tissue paper balloons
When it comes to crafting with your kids, do you generally operate on the rule that the messier the craft is, the more fun they’ll have? Then here’s one they’re going to absolutely love! This tissue paper balloon project from The Chocolate Muffin Tree is just like doing paper mache, but with lots of bright colours for a lot more fun. It makes for cool, crafty décor, but it’s also just a great excuse to have fun with cut and pasting techniques on a lazy afternoon.
7. Balloon, cup, and straw hot air balloon
If you’re going to start crafting with balloons, why not actually make a balloon themed craft? We love the way Espresso Yourself Creatively made these kitschy little toy hot air balloons by using drinking straws to transform a plastic up into a basket, just like a real hot air balloon would have. If you make it using helium balloons at a birthday party, the cup and straws are light enough that it’ll actually float!
8. Pretty string and glue hot air balloons
Are you kind of obsessed with these balloon wrapping crafts like we are? Inflated balloons just made such awesome moulds for rounded things and making 3D shapes! We already talked about string wrapping like this in miniature when we showed you the chocolate Easter eggs idea, but this tutorial from Think Crafts gives you some tips for making a full sized version! Try adding little cardboard hot air balloon baskets with some string or just leaving like to look like awesome orb-like décor!
9. Balloon painting
Our kids adore painting. It’s one of the few crafting techniques that will hold their attention for an almost unlimited time, occupying them for hours on cold days or lazy afternoons. We always find that they have more fun, however, when they get to paint with some kind of unconventional tool rather than just a brush. That’s why we were so excited to discover this balloon painting tutorial from Glued to My Crafts! Partially inflate a balloon and let your kids dip it in paint and press it on a page or canvas.
10. Hot air balloons with woven baskets
We’ve shown you a few cute hot air balloon designs already, but here’s another adorable idea that we just couldn’t resist including! If your kids are a little bit older and don’t mind paying attention to detail, we have a feeling they’ll enjoy weaving their own basket to attach to their balloon rather than using something premade to act as a basket. Then they get to decorate the balloon on top of that for some extra fun! Check the whole idea out on Semi-Crafty Mom!
11. Balloon hover craft
We already mentioned that making a miniature hot air balloon with an actual helium balloon can be fun because it will float a little bit, but if you choose a plastic cup or other “basket” that’s a little too heavy, it might not work quite as well as you’d hoped. Instead, try making this awesome little “hover craft” by Make, Film, Play to help your kids enjoy the floating power of balloons and learn a bit about physics at the same time!
12. Balloon party barrette
When your kids get to go to parties, are they the kind of spirited kids who go all out any time they get a chance to celebrate and have fun with their friends? Then they probably like to dress up for special occasions just as much as ours do! We’ve made more than one of these awesome balloon hair clips by A Thrifty Mom over the years because they’re absolutely perfect for birthday parties.
13. Love tulle balloons
Are you throwing a party for a special occasion and you love the idea of including balloons in your décor scheme because you think they’re fun, but you’d rather class them up a little so the place doesn’t look like a kids’ birthday party? Then we think we’ve found the perfect idea for you! Share Your Crafts suggests wrapping your balloons in white or coloured tulle, gathering the fabric around the bottom where you’d tie a string and fasting it in place with a cute bunch of flowers.
14. Paper mache hot air balloon
Are you still totally enamoured with the idea of making a DIY hot air balloon, but you’d rather made a true décor piece that might be a more permanent part of your room, with perhaps a bit more design and attention to detail? Then this absolutely stunning paper mache hot air balloon with an actual woven twig basket might be a little more up your alley! Kate’s Creative Space guides you through the process of adding little characters and embellishments to really set a vintage aesthetic traveling scene, all made from scratch by you.
15. Woven paper hot air balloons
Did the woven basket idea we mentioned earlier on our list catch your attention, but it wasn’t the basket that your mind wandered to when you started thinking about woven crafts and hot air balloons? Then we have a feeling you’ll be a huge fan of these simple dual colour woven construction paper balloons by Home Esthetics. Try your hand at weaving the balloon portion of the project instead and keep the basket simple!
Have you made other awesome kinds of DIY crafts with balloons that you don’t see on our list but that you had a lot of fun creating? Tell us all about how you made them or link us to pictures of your work in the comments section!