Hot Air Balloon Prop In Less Than 10 Steps!

A Super Cute (and Simple) Photo Prop

This was literally one of the easiest DIY prop projects I've ever done. When I saw the idea and decided to replicate it for my son's First Birthday Photo Shoot, I figured it would take me a few hours and lots of mess ups. It actually only took me 45 minutes, and that was simply because it was my first time making it and I had no idea what I was actually doing. I remade the entire project in order to take step-by-step pictures and it took me under half an hour! Not only was the assembly part pretty easy (only tape involved), I literally got EVERYTHING on sale at Hobby Lobby (just dumb luck that everything I needed was 50% off that week), so this project cost less than $25!

What You'll Need:

-basket: Measure your child from the waist down and make sure that the basket you choose will accommodate their height. I bought my basket in the basket section of Hobby Lobby.

-two wooden poles from the wooden craft section. I have two different sizes shown to give you a sense of what thickness you prefer. The one on the left is 1/2 and the one on the right is 1/4.

-one large latex balloon (found in the party section of Hobby Lobby)

-3/4 - 1 yard of decorative ribbon

-white ribbon for two bows on the side

-two pieces of paper towel or white cloth

-hemp string

-masking tape

-two safety pins

How To Assemble:

1. Cut a small hole on the side of the basket's inner cloth for the wooden pole.

2. Use the masking tape to adhere the pole to the basket.

Side note* Make sure that the pole is attached towards the top so you get the most height, if you attach it lower down the balloon will end up sitting on top of your child's head for most of the photos. I had to rip the poles off of mine and raise/tape them higher when we got to the park... lesson learned!

3. Bunch up paper towels and tie off with hemp string at the top. You can also sew little "sand bags" out of white cloth, but I didn't have any scraps and was feeling a little lazy that night...

4. Tie to side of basket in line with the wooden poles.

5. Take the decorative ribbon and safety pin it to one side of the basket and then to the other. You can either make it straight across the top (suggested IF you are going to have a sign in front of the balloon as well), or slightly draping like I did mine.

6. Blow up the latex balloon.

7. Make sure it is firmly wedged between the two wooden poles and then tape it in place.

8. Attach the rest of the decorative ribbon to one side of the pole and then to the other, making sure that it drapes loosely on the balloon. My ribbon had holes throughout, so I attached the ribbon to the poles that way. If your ribbon doesn't have holes already, you can cut them or just knot the ribbon around the poles.

9. Take the white ribbon and make a large bow at the top of the pole. This gives it a finished look and hides the tape and the "messy" attachment of the decorative ribbon.

And YES! you are already done...

Just a Little Advice:

When you take your little one to where you want to take the pictures, have someone standing close by, because the basket is able to tip over if the child leans too much on one side of it.

Try to deter those little fingers from pulling at the balloon, as I found out at the end of our photo shoot, those little nails will pop the balloon faster than you can say, "Nooooooo!" Maybe buy a couple extra giant latex balloons just in case...

If you are looking for the same back drop as I had in my picture, go to a park near you that has a few bends in the road. It will add dimension and a great focal point to your picture!

If you don't have an aviator hat already, you can find the one in my pictures here. Make sure you allow time for shipping.

Check out two more of my photos below for a little more inspiration...