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Cindi McCulley
Cindi McCulley, partnering with her brother David Laughlin owns and operates Crimson Creek, a novelty and party supply store. Cindi grew up helping her grandparents run a novelty, and party supply store in Wichita. Between her, and her brother, they have a combined total of over 35 years experience in planning a wide variety of events, such as birthday parties, weddings, graduations, and youth group dinners at church. Cindi was born in Wichita, but now resides in Peck, Kansas. While in Wichita Cindi attended Butler County Community College, and now oversees the daily operations at Crimson Creek Novelties. She can be reached at (316) 264-2533 or visit them @ 222 N. Washington
Specialty Gifts
2004-12-01 10:02:00
Is it hard to make a balloon arch?
ANSWER: It's not difficult to make a balloon arch, but it can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 or 5 hours depending on what kind you make; there are two basic kinds of balloon arches, air filled and helium filled.Helium arches are great for filling large spaces and require less support. Helium arches are made by attaching clusters of balloons to a nylon line that is tied down to either ground supports railings, tables, or heavier weights such as cinder blocks, bricks, rocks, or bags of sand. The helium holds the balloons up, so all you need is the balloons, helium, heavy nylon thread, and something to tie the ends to. Fishing line works well for this. However, helium is more expensive than air and will only float the arch for about 10 to 12 hours, unless you use hi-float with them. With hi-float they can last 2-3 days. Air filled arches are made by attaching clusters of balloons to a frame made out of aluminum or plastic rod, conduit, PVC pipe or a combination of these. They will last for days or even months, but require either a sturdy base or a handy wall or ceiling to wire the arch to for support.Single color arches are easiest to make, but two or more colors in spiral patterns are not much more difficult. The size of arch will determine the size of balloon to use; the larger the arch, the larger the balloons. It is important that all the balloons are blown up to the same size. An easy way to size the balloons is to make a template. Cut a round hole in a piece of poster of foam board the size you want the balloons to be, and when inflating pass the balloon through the hole.Making a four-balloon clusterBlow up two balloons and tie the necks of them together, sealing the balloons and attaching them together at the same time. Do this again to make a second pair of balloons, and then simply cross the two pairs in the middle and twist them together.For Helium Arches, first attach one end of your nylon string to whatever will be holding it in place. Do not cut the string to the length you need yet, it's easier to adjust the length of the arch when making it and then tie it, and cut the string. Attach the clusters as you go, by placing the center of the cluster on the string and then wrap the string around one of the balloons. Attach each cluster in the same way, nesting the clusters together before wrapping the string around them.For Air Filled Arches, make a frame for your arch using a heavy base with conduit or 1" PVC pipe, for the main support and PVC pipe for the arch across the top. This works fine for smaller freestanding arches (about 8 ft. high and 6-8 ft. wide), but larger arches will require support from above. Aluminum rod by itself can also be used as a frame but does require support at the base and from above. PVC pipe can easily be bent slightly to make an arch. Put your cluster on the rod and twisting two balloons around each other, lock the cluster on the rod. Slide the clusters up against each other, nesting them together. To create a spiral pattern, make each cluster in the same color order and nest them in the same direction. Two colors: use two of each color balloon in each cluster. You can also use three and four colors for this. The number of balloons needed depends on the size of the arch or design, but you will need approximately four to six balloons per foot of frame. A standard size arch about 8 ft. tall x 6 ft. wide uses about 150 9" balloons. Smaller arches can use 5" balloons.You will need to use an air pump of some kind to blow up all the balloons, a hand pump, or small electric air pump. If you are just putting up one arch, a hand pump will work nicely. It is recommended that you start with 2 colors for your arch if you are new to this. Then, recruit as many people as you can to help you tie the balloons to clusters. It's quicker and keeps you from getting sore fingers.
 
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