| Up, up & away... I have always loved hot air balloons. When I was little, they were launched at dusk almost every day from the park by our house. One brisk morning, I was awoken by a wayward balloonist peering through the second-story window of our house. He managed to land in our front yard, just missing the rooftop. Check out the instructions + more pics below--- |
Luckily, my current household loves ballooning just as much! We sometimes attend Hot Air Balloon festivals, hopefully hitting up the one in Albuquerque in the future, but have had the chance to catch the local festivals in Colorado Springs and Howell. But since the trips are few and far between, what could be better than making your own hot air balloon! This is an awesome costume for Halloween; it was the talk of the neighborhood when we went trick-or-treating last year.
It is very simple to make. The only downfall is that the balloons should be purchased as close to the big day as possible or they may deflate. We have a few Halloween events to go to that call for dressing up, so I opted for mylar [they last longer] to remedy that inconvenience.
| Ingredients: A cardboard box, similar in shape to a hot air balloon basket A cardboard crate, usually the ones that ship fruits work awesome, ask a local grocer Paint + Markers, preferably dark and light brown Some kind of pole, [4] Hot Glue A serated knife Ribbon or string Ruler |
Push the top flaps of the box inward, then "disassemble to bottom of the box and do the same with bottom flaps. This is easier than cutting and reinforces the box, making it sturdier for extended galavanting through lawns...
Cut out some small holes on the side. These will be useful for stringing ribbon through later. Use markers to draw the pattern. A ruler is helpful. If I were to do this project again, I wouldn't make the pattern so wide. Paint the box to resemble a basket-weave pattern. Let it dry.
Move on to the fruit box. Turn it upside down- voila, you are in business. Paint it to match the basket. Let it dry.
Ok- up next is the only semi-tricky part, which I of course solved with hot glue. Grab the poles. Here's a tip: use those poles you have from the kids pop-up tents, they work like a charm! Fashion those to hold up the fruit box and attach it the the basket base. I kept messing around with it until it looked decent, then headed for the hot glue gun. I just kept gluing. And gluing. And gluing. I'm sure there are alternatives, but this worked awesome and held up for a long evening of hardcore candy collecting.
Cut out some small holes on the side. These will be useful for stringing ribbon through later. Use markers to draw the pattern. A ruler is helpful. If I were to do this project again, I wouldn't make the pattern so wide. Paint the box to resemble a basket-weave pattern. Let it dry.
Move on to the fruit box. Turn it upside down- voila, you are in business. Paint it to match the basket. Let it dry.
Ok- up next is the only semi-tricky part, which I of course solved with hot glue. Grab the poles. Here's a tip: use those poles you have from the kids pop-up tents, they work like a charm! Fashion those to hold up the fruit box and attach it the the basket base. I kept messing around with it until it looked decent, then headed for the hot glue gun. I just kept gluing. And gluing. And gluing. I'm sure there are alternatives, but this worked awesome and held up for a long evening of hardcore candy collecting.
Have your child step into the contraption. Get the ribbon and measure it against your child. These will be used like a pair of suspenders to hold the balloon up. String them through the box and adjust accordingly.
Now go buy your balloons and tie them on to create a staggered effect. The balloons should be at all different levels to create a full "Up" look. After you have finished tying up the last balloon you are all set to launch.
One word of caution: Do explain to your children that they will not actually float into the sky. After my daughter did not ascend into the air, she confided that the ENTIRE reason she wanted to be a hot air balloonist was so she could sail through the air to her grandmother's house. Talk about a major disappointment.
Now go buy your balloons and tie them on to create a staggered effect. The balloons should be at all different levels to create a full "Up" look. After you have finished tying up the last balloon you are all set to launch.
One word of caution: Do explain to your children that they will not actually float into the sky. After my daughter did not ascend into the air, she confided that the ENTIRE reason she wanted to be a hot air balloonist was so she could sail through the air to her grandmother's house. Talk about a major disappointment.
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