• Party DIY
    • Party Crafts
    • Party Inspiration
    • Parties
    • Food + Treats
  • Crafts
  • Home Decor DIY
  • Free Printables
  • About
    • Partner
    • Policies
    • Contact

A Joyful Riot

A Large Gathering of Happy Things

DIY Mini Mini Mylar Letter Balloons

December 16, 2014 ·

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotAnd just like that we’re already at our 200th post!! We already feel like we’ve had so many awesome opportunities through this blog and learned so much! Malissa and I are still learning and growing and improving everyday and we’re so thankful that we have this platform to share that growth on and to force us to make those efforts. It takes creativity to have creativity and setting these goals for ourselves keeps us on our creative toes and makes it so much fun! Thank you for joining us here in this place that we love so much!

As a special celebration, I wanted to post this craft that I have been working on for several weeks. DIY mini foil letter balloons!

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotI thought about this a couple months ago and thought there couldn’t be anything better than teeny tiny versions of those awesome giant mylar letter balloons that have been making the rounds in just about every party this year. I have to say that when Urban Outfitters released their holiday collection featuring these mini letter balloon ornaments I was a little disappointed. Obviously I love them! But I felt like it might’ve stolen my thunder for this DIY I was planning. But then I realized, their letters are $6 each AND there is no U-Z. That makes so many words un-doable! (Um hello…yay, hooray, fun, happy, love..so many more!) And those are just the words you’d wanna use if you were making them into cake toppers! So I continued to perfect my method because you need to have access to whatever letter (or number!) you want and this version will only cost you like…10 cents a letter maybe…and you guys love DIY right!? Duh!

The title is kind of a lie because these aren’t really mylar and they aren’t really balloons either but they are mini mini (because mini versions of these balloons already exist in the world) and they are DIY and they are probably the best thing ever because they’re not pop-able, they’re not expensive, they’re reusable and personalizable and just all around fabulous! So let’s show you how it’s really done!

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot

We want these to have the puffiness look of a balloon so we’re going to fill them with cotton. The regular balloons have a visible seam around the edges so we’re going to create that look too by gluing around the cotton swabs. Look up pictures on the internet of letter balloons if you want a reference for how your letters should look.

    Materials

  • Metallic tissue wrap (can be found at the dollar store in a variety of colors) //
  • Cotton squares (found by the makeup pads and sponges in the grocery store) //
  • Hot glue and gun //
  • Scissors //
  • Sucker sticks //

1. Take your cotton squares and glue two together by dabbing some glue between them at one end. Then roll inward from the other end and glue them shut so you have a bunch of little cylinders. For some of the letters you’ll need half a cylinder or maybe even less.

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot2. Start forming your letters on the under side of your foil wrap. Sometimes drawing the outline of the letter out first is helpful. I would glue down the first cotton swab and then glue then next one to the end of that first one, wait for it to dry and then glue it around where it should go and, if applicable, attach it to the other swab it meets up with.

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot3. Use glue around all the edges so your cotton is immovable for when you’re coving it up.

Here are several pictures showing my insides of my letters so you can kind of see how I formed some of them. Most my letters were about 1 1/2 cotton swabs in height.

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot4. Use hot glue around the letters to adhere the top layer of foil to them. Start from the inside of the letter and just do small sections at a time being sure to pull your foil and tightly over your cotton as possible. Be sure to press down through the foil as well, you want your glue to be pressed as flat as possible not left to dry in a lump.

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot5. Now you can cut them out. Cut closely to the letter using scissors, xacto knives (btw I just won an awesome set from DIY Lifestyle Mag thankyouverymuch!), whatever tools or skills you have available to you to do this. Slow and steady, especially for those fragile little insides.

6. Then you can attach sucker sticks to the back bottom of them and use them as cake toppers, cupcake picks, in flower arrangements, just poking out of your pencil jars, wherever!!

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotDIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotSee it really was pretty simple right?! I think these turned out just as cute as they could have and I wouldn’t be surprised if you start seeing them in every single cake I bake and featured somewhere in every single party I throw!

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotI’m pretty sure I’ll start incorporating them in to my interior design as well. Stella needs her name in mini foil balloons sitting atop a shelf or hanging on the wall right?

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriotAnd again, Malissa and I couldn’t love this little space of ours more, thank YOU for helping keep us motivated to reach 200 posts in 9 months! Here’s to the next 200!

DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers | A Joyful Riot @ajoyfulriot

You might also like:

One Last Nod to Love Day/A Love Letter Goal + 9 Free Printable Cards DIY Mini Desk Marquee Light | Blogger Swap Mini Heart Breaker Pinatas
   

Posted by Machelle / Filed In: 2014 Favorite, Crafts, Party Crafts
Tagged: janfeatured

Sign up for our newsletter!

Comments

  1. Laurel (@abubblylife) says

    December 16, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Oh, these are the cutest things ever!!

    • Malissa says

      December 16, 2014 at 8:10 pm

      Thanks so much laurel!!

  2. Natalie Tamara says

    December 23, 2014 at 4:25 am

    Oh how cute! These would be perfect for so many occasions :)

    • Malissa says

      December 23, 2014 at 11:25 am

      Thanks so much Natalie!

  3. Marianna says

    December 23, 2014 at 5:27 pm

    This is awesome!!!
    Thank you so much for figuring this out for all of us!!

    :D

    • Malissa says

      December 23, 2014 at 11:10 pm

      Oh my gosh you’re so nice Marianna!

  4. Tiffany says

    December 26, 2014 at 9:36 pm

    These are so adorable! I think they would be great for a New Year’s Eve party.
    Thanks for sharing.

    • Malissa says

      December 28, 2014 at 2:19 pm

      Thanks Tiffany!! They would be perfect for New Years! :)

  5. Christine | Where The Smiles Have Been says

    January 17, 2015 at 1:42 pm

    Oh my goodness…..these are just too stinking cute! Gahhhh, I love them! I know I’ll have to make some of these in my future. Thanks for the great tutorial. Definitely pinning this and sharing it on Facebook as well….bravo!

    • Malissa says

      January 17, 2015 at 3:43 pm

      Oh my you are so nice Christine!! I’m so glad you like them!!

  6. lexi says

    June 29, 2015 at 12:02 pm

    Wow! Just pinned this from Pinterest! And I have to say these are the cutest things ever!

    • Malissa says

      June 29, 2015 at 1:40 pm

      Thank you so much Lexi!!!

  7. Rach says

    August 3, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    Love this! Just wondering, is there an alternative method if you don’t have hot glue and glue gun?

    • Machelle says

      August 4, 2015 at 11:32 am

      Yes! You can sew it! I would apply some kind of glue (glue stick preferably) and stick the cotton to that, then sew around it and cut off excess. If you don’t have access to a sewing machine, you could try another glue like tacky glue maybe and just allow it to dry fully before cutting.

      Hope that helps!
      Machelle

      • Rach says

        August 5, 2015 at 6:14 am

        You’re a genius! Thanks Machelle :)

  8. Mandisa says

    August 27, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    Oh my gosh these are adorable and awesome, I can’t wait to make them! Thanks for the super detailed tutorial!

    • Malissa says

      August 28, 2015 at 12:38 pm

      Of course Mandisa!! Let us know if you do make them, would love to see how they turn out!!

  9. toni says

    October 1, 2015 at 6:53 pm

    I searched and searched and could not find mini-enough balloon letter; and then found this article. OMG! Cheap, easy, and fun.

    • Malissa says

      October 2, 2015 at 1:24 pm

      So glad you found it Toni!!

  10. Elmo says

    October 23, 2015 at 8:36 pm

    These are super cute!!! My friend found this tutorial and made some letters to celebrate my friend’s birthday. They turned out so cute!! Here’s a link to see what he made.

    https://instagram.com/p/87DcmlgfBx/

    Thanks for the tutorial~!

    • Machelle says

      October 26, 2015 at 1:28 pm

      Thanks so much for sharing that with us Elmo! I love seeing the fantastic items people make following our tutorial.

      xo

  11. Dee says

    March 5, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    Why don’t you just use the round dental cotton rolls that every dentist uses then you would not have to roll them up and they are easy to cut in half??

    • Machelle says

      March 6, 2016 at 2:00 pm

      Yes that was actually my original idea! The reason I didn’t use them is because I couldn’t find them to buy anywhere, I looked at every store I went to for like a month! I’m sure they’re online but this worked just fine, so I didn’t bother to do that extra research. Feel free to use them in your crafting!

  12. Diona says

    June 2, 2016 at 7:24 am

    Brilliant! Can’t wait to try & make these!!

Trackbacks

  1. DIY mini foil letter balloon cake toppers - The Home Decor DIY says:
    May 18, 2015 at 2:17 pm

    […] Source: ajoyfulriot.com […]

  2. 4 DIY balloon crafts for a birthday celebration - Mollie Makes says:
    May 21, 2015 at 5:58 am

    […] 4. Teeny balloon letter cake toppers? Yay indeed. A Joyful Riot. […]

  3. DIY Cake Toppers: HOORAY! magazine says:
    May 24, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    […] Left: Balloon Cake Topper, Martha Stewart | Right: Mini Mini Mylar Letter Balloons, A Joyful Riot […]

  4. 16 cake toppers you can make at home says:
    June 9, 2015 at 6:30 pm

    […] or even last day of school; whatever the celebration, if it deserves a mighty loud YAY then these DIY mini letter balloons are flippin’ fantastic. Get the tutorial here. (via A Joyful […]

  5. 5 Ways to Upgrade a Store Bought Cake says:
    June 29, 2015 at 7:31 am

    […] can bring your store bought cake to a whole other level. These Mini Mylar Letter Balloons from A Joyful Riot are hands down more effort than buying a topper, but SO […]

  6. Chic & Unique Cake Toppers for Any Event says:
    August 7, 2015 at 11:25 am

    […] Mini Mylar Letter Balloon Topper DIY: You can write any message under the sun with these little golden letters. (via A Joyful Riot) […]

  7. 25 Stylish - and Grown Up - Birthday Party Ideas From Pinterest - Sherbrooke Golf Club says:
    August 24, 2015 at 7:18 pm

    […] Instead of boring candles on your birthday cake, use mini number or letter balloons on sticks. […]

  8. Love is All Around | syitalktoomuch says:
    August 30, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    […] This one’s fun too, mini letter mylar balloons. […]

  9. 11 ways to make your birthday the best day ever!! | A Joyful Riot says:
    September 29, 2015 at 11:16 am

    […] done, even if it sounds small, pat yourself on the back on your birthday. (hooray balloon diy […]

  10. Burned Fingertips and a Topless Cake | Weddingbee says:
    October 23, 2015 at 4:49 pm

    […] A Joyful Riot […]

  11. Simple DIY Projects for Summer Wedding Decor - My Blog says:
    October 28, 2015 at 7:56 am

    […] A Joyful Riot | Almond Leaf Studios | Carolina Charm | Caroline Tran | Fab Mood | Lola, Tangled | Green Wedding […]

  12. 50 DIY Balloon Decorating Ideas • Cool Crafts says:
    December 21, 2015 at 7:16 am

    […] you know that you can make your own mini letter balloons? A Joyful Riot will show you how it’s done, so be sure to check out the full […]

  13. 7 Last Minute New Year's Eve Party Ideas - A Mom In Training says:
    December 26, 2015 at 5:54 pm

    […] DIY Mini Mini Mylar Letter Balloons […]

  14. 25 Stylish—and Grown-Up—Birthday Party Ideas From Pinterest – New Clone Site says:
    January 21, 2016 at 1:01 am

    […] Photo: A Joyful Riot […]

  15. roundup of diy cake toppers says:
    January 23, 2016 at 9:22 am

    […] Make mini mylar balloon cake toppers at A Joyful Riot.  […]

  16. 25 Stylish—and Grown-Up—Birthday Party Ideas From Pinterest – Style Caster says:
    January 25, 2016 at 2:22 am

    […] Photo: A Joyful Riot […]

  17. Cake Toppers: 60 Festive Ways to Top Your Cake • Cool Crafts says:
    February 8, 2016 at 8:18 am

    […] mini balloon letters make the perfect cake topper, as demonstrated by A Joyful Riot! The best part is that you can also easily spell out anything you […]

  18. 23 DIY New Years ideas » Lolly Jane says:
    March 13, 2016 at 4:48 pm

    […] A Joyful Riot […]

  19. Mini Gold Foil Balloons says:
    May 10, 2016 at 8:19 am

    […] don’t forget you can also check out the full tutorial on A Joyful Riot here or just follow my […]

  20. 20 Fun and Festive DIY Cake Toppers - Lines Across says:
    May 11, 2016 at 9:57 am

    […] These adorable fake Mylar balloons are much easier and simple than you’d ever guess! Check it out at: A Joyful Riot […]

  21. 11 Stylish—and Grown-Up—Birthday Bash says:
    June 30, 2016 at 8:25 pm

    […] Photo: A Joyful Riot […]

  22. Homecoming Blog says:
    August 18, 2016 at 7:37 pm

    Gold Number 6 Mylar Balloon

    […] would glue down the first cotton swab and then glue then next one to the end of […]

  23. DIY Cupcake Topper - Sugar Bee Crafts says:
    August 25, 2016 at 6:40 pm

    […] Mini Mylar balloon words! So fun! From A Joyful Riot […]

Search

Oh Hello!

We're twin sisters Malissa & Machelle. We love parties. We love design. We love to make things! We share fresh posts about those topics right here!

Join our Mailing List!

Get Social

Instagram

  • Well these sloths know how to chill. I am not sure any of us are chilling right now (and mostly
  • This is from a few years back but it is the perfect way to dress up a drink! Citrus straw
  • In 1838 Georgetown University sold 272 slaves to help pay off debts. Last year its students voted to add a
  • Remembering the 49 lives lost 4 years ago today. #pulsenightclub #weremember
  • Do you have a favorite pool float? Any new cute ones you have seen this year? Thinking of creating another
  • @iamgiagraham makes the most stunning prints and she is now selling them! We discovered her work recently but could not
  • In the midst of everything I almost forgot it is Father’s Day in less than a week! Grab something special
  • This is an oldie (it is from 6 years ago!!) but we love these firework party men. The smoke balls
  • @officialmillennialblack has some amazing protest posters available to print for anyone who is planning on protesting! Plus their web store
  • Turns out nothing beats hunting for bugs and playing in the water. If only there was a way to do
  • This little guy sure lucked out in the daddy department. He is so gentle and loving and just the right
  • It has been years since we have done a giveaway! We love crafting so much we want to send a

Joyful Shopping

Archives

Look Around

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • Free Father’s Day Gift Boxes
  • Lounging Popsicle Stick Sloths
  • Juice Box Vases

Subscribe

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis