I’m so excited to share this fun balloon DIY with you… especially since Fat Tuesday is exactly one week from TODAY! These Mardi Gras Balloons are playful and festive – just like anything Mardi-related should be – but they’re also surprisingly quick and simple to create.

My initial idea was to focus on a bouquet of gold “paint-dipped” balloons with colorful feather tassels, but I couldn’t resist the idea of getting some Mardi Gras masks in there too… so I ended up with 2 versions of balloons: one with printable masks and one with the “gold-dipped” effect + glittery gold words. I think the design variety makes the balloon bunch feel even more festive, and they ALL have the feather tassels to help tie everything together. ;)

Read on to see the full DIY and download the printable Mardi Gras masks!

FESTIVE MARDI GRAS PARTY BALLOONS

***

Materials:

For the Masked Balloons and the Feather Tassels, you’ll need:

• 12″ Balloons
• Balloon Time Helium Tank
• Printable Mardi Gras Masks
• Craft feathers
• Gold craft beads (plastic)
• Thin ribbon or string
• Glue gun
• Double-sided tape
• Scissors and/or craft cutting knife + mat

Instructions:

1. Fill 12″ balloons with helium and tie off with ribbon/string. Use tape to secure the balloon strings to a table or chair so that they stay eye-level while you decorate them.

2. Make the feather tassels by sliding the tips of 1-3 feathers into the center of a craft bead. The fit should be snug enough for the feathers to stay secure on their own.

3. Place a tiny dab of hot glue onto the back of the bead, then press it onto the balloon ribbon/string to attach the feather tassel.

4. Print your masks on a nice, yet lightweight paper. I used this matte photo paper, which is lighter than card stock. (If your paper is too heavy it will weigh down the balloon.) Cut the masks out using a craft cutting knife and/or scissors. I like to use a craft knife for the inside eye holes and scissors for the outer edge.

5. Use double-sided tape to attach the masks to your balloons!

And now for the Gold-Dipped + Glitter Word Balloons…

You’ll need Gold Letter Stickers and Liquid Gold Gilding for these balloons:

As a side note – I tried painting the balloons with regular metallic gold acrylic paint at first, and the liquid gold gilding is SO much quicker to use and WAY more vibrant. It also costs more than acrylic paint, but the aesthetic difference and time saved is well worth the extra cost IMHO. The paint dries almost instantly and you only need one coat (vs. 2 coats wieth acrylic paint).

To “dip the balloons”, just paint a thin coat of the liquid gilding onto the bottom portion of the balloon, then let it float back up to dry. Don’t try to be perfect with it… brush “streaks” and messy edges are part of the fun here. ;)

Once the paint is dry it’s time for these balloons to make a statement… literally! ;) Use the stickers to spell out whatever words or phrases you’d like:

Happy Mardi Gras!

*****

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Balloon Time. As always, all thoughts and designs are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the companies that make it possible for me to keep the creative content coming your way.