d.i.y. balloon ornaments/balloon crafts

It starts with a balloon
 
You blow it up to roughly the size you hope for your ornament to be

You tie it off and gather your string

You pour a bucket-load of glue (Elmer's or the cheap stuff) into a container large enough to hold your string

soak the string

with soaked string, begin to wrap your balloon (you may need multiple strings)

when you are satisfied with the way the string looks, set it out to dry. I used a little cup to hold it up and off of the table:

 

I did have to go back and add some string to make the gaps smaller. (More about why below)

 

Once the strings are completely dry, take a sharp object, like a pair of scissors, and cut a small hole in the balloon to pop it. It should begin to peel away from the string naturally, but it also may need a little help from you. 

Once the balloon is no longer attached to the string, you will need to get it out of the string-ball. I used a pair of tweezers

Here is what your end project should look like:

 

 

Ta-Da!!

So I mentioned really small gaps, here's why:

If you look really closely, you can see that these string balls actually have smaller balls INSIDE of them!

They are the same as those you see on the bottom of the jar and in random places beside the string-balls (which I will refer to as the "ornaments" from here on out). 

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOMETHING INSIDE OF YOUR ORNAMENT,  READ ON.

When you first begin, stretch your balloon and add little goodies inside prior to blowing it up. This works well if you have hold the mouth of the balloon open with your fingers (both sets) and someone else stuffs it full of goodies. 

Some examples of fun stuffers:

*bells

*balls

*little toys

Once your balloon is filled with your goodies, continue on as the instructions shared at the beginning of this tutorial.  

*MIND YOU* I did NOT invent this craft. I learned about it from my MOPS leaders. I DID, however, decide ON MY OWN to add something festive to the inside. GO ME ;)

enjoy!-