Up, up & away! – make paper balloons with 7gypsies

Hey everyone!!! I’m Cathy Frailey and I’d like to share my paper balloons project with you today.

I love steampunk and all that it invokes: a little grunge, some romance, Victorian meets industrial.
And the most recognizable steampunk icon you usually see is the hot air balloon!
Another great thing about steampunk is that you can upcycle some great stuff and use whatever’s in your stash.
All you need is an empty bottle and some CCB products to create your own version of this steampunk icon!

Products used:
7gypsies Gypsy Seamstress – Patterns 12×12 paper
Canvas Corp Canvas Fringe – natural
Canvas Corp Burlap Sheet – natural
Walnut Stain Distress Ink
Bottle caps, Chain necklace
Flowers, Sari silk ribbon
Metal wire,Bottle
Scissors, Hot glue gun

My bottle was approx. 7″ tall; I turned it over and used a tape measure to measure from the bottom down the side, leaving some slack so that the sides would puff out when I glued it down. I started by cutting/distressing my strips of paper and burlap to make the balloon part. I ended up with oblong-shaped strips that were approx. 6″ x 2″. This is something you’ll have to play around with depending on the size of your bottle and how far down you want to the strips to go.

Turn your bottle over, bottom side up, and start hot-gluing your strips just on the tips.
I did the 4 paper strips first, then the burlap.
It kind of looks like a helicopter!

Then you’ll hot glue the other ends down the side of your bottle, just on the tips.
Remember to glue them so that they puff out creating the balloon shape, not straight down.

And now you’re ready to embellish!
I used bottle caps with flowers inside around the balloon and on top.

I went around the bottom of the paper with the canvas fringe and Sari ribbon, then added the chain and another flower.
I also wrapped some wire around the bottom.
Gluing the bottle neck into another bottle cap makes it more sturdy for standing.

Wire between the flowers on the balloon adds a little rustic quality.

These make great decorative pieces & can be tailored to any style with CCB’s vast array of products!

Happy crafting!!!

Cathy Frailey
blog and Instagram

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