How to personalize a balloon with Cricut

This post may contain affiliate links (if you buy through them I get a small amount of money at no extra cost to yourself). Please see my privacy policy for details

MAKE A PERSONALIZED BALLOON USING CRICUT

I think this is probably the most ridiculous project I’ve done to date. Considering it took quite a few attempts to get right (I should upload a bloopers version with all the burst balloons!!) Anyways, this tutorial with show you step-by-step how to personalize a balloon with Cricut! This project is so versatile and can be adapted to ANY occasion…anniversaries, weddings, new year, baby showers…you name it! Why not add a name to make it all the more special?

The key to this project is to take your time and be gentle. Balloons are sensitive little soles and one sharp prod and…well… *BANG*.

Don’t worry though! We have a few clever tips and tricks to make this project a breeze! So let’s get started.

This design comes with a personal and commercial license to use up to 250 made items, but please do not re-sell or re-distribute the files. To download the free ‘5th Birthday Girl’ SVG click here

Materials

Birthday Girl SVG
A Mylar balloon (lasts longer than plastic party balloons)
Removable vinyl (assortment of colors) –> for this design black, pink, purple, white, gold.
Transfer tape
Isopropyl alcohol
Lint-free cloth
Scotch tape
A tea towel

Tools

Cutting machine (Cricut maker, Silhouette, Explore or Joy)
A green standard grip mat
Weeding tool
A fine-point blade (for vinyl)

Instructions

Upload my Birthday girl design into Design Space. Resize your design to fit nicely onto the balloon. Due to the nature of the design and the number of colors, I would suggest loading multiple colors onto one mat and cutting this way (it’s quicker!). For more information on how to do this, see our tutorial here (LINK)

2. Click make it and select ‘vinyl’ as the base material. Load your vinyl on to your mat. I would reccomend using removable vinyl if possible but if you only have permanent vinyl then this will work.

3. Weed your designs and then inflate your balloon.

4. You will now need to secure the balloon to the table to keep it still while you adhere the vinyl to it. Take a long strip of scotch tape and a tea towel and press the middle of the tape onto the tea towel 3-4 times to remove the excess stickiness. Leave the ends as is so that it adheres well to the table. If you don’t have a tea towel, press the tape against your hands a few times so that it picks up your skin’s natural oils. Do not stick the scotch tape on as it is, as removing it will cause the balloon to pop.

5. Next, I recommend you clean your blank with isopropyl alcohol (90% or higher) using a lint-free towel. This will rid the balloon of any dirt and allow the vinyl to stick better. This is particularly important if your balloon is covered in ‘ultra hi-float coating’ (that chalky powder you find on the outside of latex balloons).

6. Cut your transfer tape to size, peel it from its backing and then place it on your tea towel. Rip it off and repeat 3-4 times. As with the tape, each time you do this your transfer paper will pick up small fibers making it less sticky and less likely to pop the balloon during removal.

7. Place the transfer on the bottom layer of your design (the number 5). Use your scraper to rub the transfer paper to get the SVG to stick. Place the layer onto your balloon and *carefully* remove your transfer paper. You can reuse the transfer paper again for other parts of your design. I would recommend using transfer paper for the larger parts of your design or layers that contain separated elements (i.e. the spots filling in the holes on the number 5). Where possible (to prevent your balloon from popping!) I would use your hands to lift the design and place them. This will work well for the hearts.

8. Continue to place one layer on top of the next until the design is complete

9. Very carefully remove the tape

10. Enjoy!

Please help us by sharing it before downloading the design. If you like these free designs, please take a moment to share on your favorite social media or pin it on Pinterest. That helps our site continue to grow so that we can continue to provide free content. Thank you! 💜