Posted on 16th Jan 2009 @ 5:38 PM

What a year 2008 was! We have now introduced our beautiful stuffed balloons to our shop and they are truly becoming popular. Having started on a small scale we are now doing quite well and are also providing select florists in the Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham areas. Most of us have never seen a Stuffed Balloon nevermind even heard of one and is still one of those special gift ideas which has not really been explored by many. The response from stuffed balloon recipients are always one of awe and the first thing most people ask is how do you get the teddy inside the balloon?

Well, we are not making it a trade secret! Basically you will need some sort of stuffing machine, of which there are many but we ended up going for the dearer unit called the "Superstuffer". The only reason why was because it was easier to work and had a few extra bells and whistles. One of these "whistles" is a connection which you can use to put fresh or artificial flowers inside the balloon and this is great when you use clear heart shaped latex balloons. Obviously you need to be careful with rose thorns!

We are always experimenting with different ideas when it comes to stuffed balloons and have tried quite a few things. The only downside is the size of objects that goes into the balloon as they need to fit through a 6" opening.

Our main seller is small, medium and larger soft toys which we put inside with shredded paper which is used as a base for the teddy to sit on. The teddy or the soft toy of your choice are then attached to normal fishing line and then pushed inside the giant 18" balloon. We then put smaller balloons inside around the soft toy. A few feathers from a feather boa is then stripped to add another special touch. The stuffing balloon then gets taken out of the machine and tied like any normal balloon. A special anti-oxidising liquid is then sprayed around the balloon to bring out the clarity of the balloon. Finally we tie a giant bow at the top to finish this beatiful gift. One single modelling balloon is used to form a round base for the stuffed balloon to rest on.

If you want