Looks Great...

... What's the catch?

You've probably seen these pictures advertising the kits to make the balloon garland in the photos. The picture looks great, and the price is very low, especially compared to a professional balloon decorator. 

I never paid much attention to them, but recently they've popped up in some of my closed balloon decorator's Facebook groups I'm a member of. Usually, the conversations start like this, "They're using my work in their photo..." The trail of comments oscillates between the misuse of the photo, the quality of the balloons sold, and how surprised the buyer will be with the amount of time the kit assembly will take. I see a post like this about once every two weeks.

This morning while dicing the onions, chopping the mushrooms, and scrambling my eggs, I came across a YouTube video, "Expectation VS Reality Balloon Garland" by Anastasia Onishchenko. Anastasia does an excellent non-bias review of a DIY balloon garland kit purchased from Amazon. She doesn't go into the details about the differences between DIY techniques and professional techniques. She assembles the kit precisely as the kit manufacturer suggests. 

Anastasia discusses the amount, color, and quality of the balloons in the kit. She shows you how the kit's manufacturer directs the assembly using a plastic strip with holes and glue dots. I found her patients with this method quite admirable, as these are DIY methods. While she doesn't come right out and say how long it took, she does mention the early morning hour she went to bed; this 'should' be a tipoff indicating the amount of time it took for the assembly.

The other variable Anastasia doesn't mention is her experience with balloon decorating. She is not a person that just picked up a balloon and an inflator but a professional balloon decorator. Unfortunately, the novice balloon decorator will encounter pitfalls that Anastasia has overcome by experience.

The big two takeaway tips before you purchase that DIY balloon garland kit. First, understand you might not be looking at the manufactures photo but some other balloon designer's image. Secondly, it is well worth 20 minutes to watch Anastasia's video.