Birthday Party Favours: Fatih Altaf (Part 1)

Last month, my super adorable nephew turned 1!

And his mom, my cousin, asked me to do the party favours and some simple decor. 

The theme was hot air balloon and I love that theme! It is such a universal theme - you can go vintage for a chic bridal shower or colourful for a kiddo's birthday bash. 

For Altaf's party, we went with the aqua blue and orange colour combos. It's fun, boyish and chic. 

I spent most of my time focusing on the party favours. I didn't think that it was going to take that long, but constructing hot air balloons party packs aren't easy! Haha.

My idea was to use pails and balloons to make hot air balloons. So, just buy helium-filled balloon and attach to the pail, and wah-la, a hot air balloon! Sounds simple, kan? I pictured it in my head so many times, over and over again. I was confident it would work. 

Excitedly went to find pails and balloons. And that's where the first hiccup started. Where do you get not-so-small-but-not-as-big-as-normal-pails from? I went to my first point of reference - Google. Googled like crazy but couldn't find any local suppliers. Thought hard and narrowed it down to two places - Ikea and Daiso. 

Went to Daiso first because I know the price will definitely be cheaper than Ikea. Found one, but in small quantities. I needed 25, the Daiso in Publika had 8! Stayed in that Daiso for a really long time, bugging the staff to check at other outlets. One Daiso had enough stock, but I had to travelled all the way to Puchong for them. Not.Happening. 

All the while, I was thinking of other places and other alternatives. I refuse to back down. The only thought running in my head at that time? "Surely there is a place somewhere in Malaysia that stocks those small pails!" 

We moved on to the next Daiso in One Utama. (Oh, I just found out that Daiso is brought into Malaysia by different companies. For example, Daiso Publika and Daiso OU are not connected, therefore you cannot get Daiso Publika to check on the stocks available in Daiso OU and vice versa) And, turned out that the drive to OU, in the rain, was a good move! Found my pails there. With more than 25 in stock. And in such a cute lime green colour as well. After inspecting and thinking if it would work, I took them. LEGA GILA. 

So, went home all excited and looking forward to try my idea out. Reached home, said hi to my husband and  shut myself in the craft room. Took the helium balloon that I bought earlier and played with different methods to make the pail and balloon look like a hot air balloon. I used twine and ribbons, tried out four strings and six string, but I wasn't satisfied. Something was just off. And it was nearly midnight. I was out the whole day and I was working the next day. I was so tired. 

But, I wasn't satisfied. Tried resting but my head was very much at work. Thought long and hard at what went wrong, took pictures and whatsapp-ed to my sister and friends, asking opinions. One person's opinion mattered the most - my husband's. And he confirms my doubt, that there is indeed something off. My husband doesn't know much about crafts, but he's so honest that sometimes it's painful to hear. But, I know he only wants me to give my best and be the best. 

So, I went to sleep that night, with my brains working over time. The next day, even at work, my head was just trying to think of a way to make it work. I stared hard at the picture of the prototype, and thought maybe that pail is a bit too tall. It should be square-ish.

Decided to check out Daiso Pavilion to see if they have any pails that meet my criteria. Bought a balloon there. I wanted to make sure that this trip will not go to waste. I found a square-ish basket that fitted my criteria. I quickly attached the balloon to the basket and took pictures. And it still look off. *sigh*

I sat on the floor of Daiso, analysing my prototype hot air balloon. And I got it!! The problem is the balloon. They're oval, not a perfect round.

Went to Balloon Buzz to ask if they have any round balloons, but they don't. Went up to Daiso again to check if they sell lanterns. And they do. I bought one and went straight home. 

I quickly assemble the lantern and figured out ways to attached the lantern to the pail. Another headache la of course. But, after numerous trials and errors, I did it! 

And I was so happy with the results. AGAIN, LEGA GILA AND PUAS HATI GILA!!

This was the first prototype using four  strings. 

Second try. Tied the four strings together at the bottom. 

At Daiso Pavilion. Square basket wasn't the perfect size for the huge balloon. 

Still at Daiso. With a different shaped basket.  A no-go. 

Final prototype - Lantern with four strings. Looking good. 

Final prototype - Added some ribbons for colour.

Stay tuned for the final product in Part 2.

All photos belong to PinkBrolly Events. I'll be more than happy if you want to share them, but I would also appreciate very much if you could credit and link them to this blog. Thanks :)