Before making the decision as to what company you should purchase your balloons, party supplies and gifts from  take a look at what various companies have to offer. Different businesses have different needs that not all balloon distributors can meet. Balloon Wholesalers International (BWI) has a variety of products and services that make shopping with them easy and convenient no matter what business you are in.

Selection

Does your business offer everyday balloons such as happy birthday get well, congratulations and baby as well as seasonal items? If your business needs both everyday and seasonal foil and latex balloons make sure the distributor you select can meet your needs. In addition to balloons many stores also carry gift items, plush animals, cello bags or totes, enclosure cards and other add on items. Make sure the distributor you select can fill these additional needs too.

Shipping

There are several factors that can affect shipping time including location of the distributor, how long it takes them to process your order and delivery methods available. If you need to have your order shipped same day make sure your supplier will be able to do that with out additional processing fees. At Balloon Wholesalers International (BWI) same day shipping is available at no extra charge. Orders placed by 2:30 PM Monday – Thursday and Noon (Pacific Time) on Fridays will ship the same day. Also if your order is over $225 of in stock products BWI will pay the UPS Ground Shipping for your order.

Service

With so many different balloon wholesale suppliers to choose from service can play a key part in your decision making. When you call will you get to speak to a live representative right away or will you have to first navigate though various automated selections? Once you do get to speak with a service representative will they be knowledgeable about the products and services they offer. Will the staff be able to understand your unique business needs and make suggestions accordingly? When you call BWI you will get a live representative every time you call. Not only that, with 17 CBA’s (Certified Balloon Artists) on staff you are sure to be working with someone who understands your needs as well as how to use the products they sell. BWI has been providing excellent service to customers throughout the US for over 25 years http://www.bwi-balloons.com

You’re an airhead, not a bimbo.

You have a helium-filled mind
connected by a breakable string
to a clown that keeps it down

until the coming of the Scissors
to set it frightfully free.

    Among the dangers of human trash which harm wildlife,  are the tree big ones. Plastic shopping and garbage bags, plastic six-pack can holders and balloons which can be lethal to animals.

This is the holiday season and people tend to shop more, buying groceries and other items that are put in plastic shopping bags and convenient six-packs of pop and beer are purchased. Also, balloons are sold at Fairs and Holiday Parades, probably more than other times of the year.

What happens to those plastic shopping bags and six-pack holders after they’re use? Well, hopefully they’re put in recycle bins, but is there any thought of wildlife getting a hold of these plastics? Recycle bins get knocked over by wind and some recycling  falls out of the can as the truck is loading the recycling.

Besides being a conscience recycler, one more step is needed before plastic bags and six-pack holders can enter the recycling bin in order to ensure more safety for wildlife and neighborhood animals.

It’s an old story, really, but needs to be retold once in a while, because animals are still found suffocated in plastic bags that they find themselves in and ducks, birds, reptiles and other animals are being harmed by uncut six-pack holders by getting them stuck around their necks and around their legs. Two web sites to look into on these issues are www.weaweb.com and www.ecogeek.com .

You must cut the bottom and one side of ANY plastic bag that is being thrown in bins so there is no chance for an animal to become stuck or suffocated inside, because the bag is now totally flat. ALL the holes of each six-pack holder MUST be cut open, even the smaller ones near the center. Think of the animal’s neck and leg size which might fit into these holes. After all cutting is done to the six-packs holders, they’re now ready to be recycled.

As for those lovely colored balloons, if you must purchase some balloons for your holiday party or for your child, NEVER, NEVER release the balloons to soar in the ski or heavens, because the higher atmosphere WILL pop those balloons with loads of string attached and eventually return to our planet as trash were they will most definitely kill an animal.   It is illegal to release balloons into the atmosphere in most states which  is an uncommonly known law. For more information on this law visit www.arizonawildlifeconservationcomission/balloons.org  .                                                                                                                                

So, after enjoying your balloons, deflate them, cut them in half (same concept as plastic shopping bags), cut all the string off the balloons and then recycle them. That’s much better than risking the thought that somewhere on this planet, some animal has met its doom from that balloon.

“Make not our trash be the lethal weapon to wildlife animals and neighborhood animals.”

 Lisa Racz – For the environment and wildlife

LIsa Racz - Environmental Writer for Arizona

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Let the thousands of people passing your location, find out about your sales and promotions in a timely way! The inflatable advertising reinforces current advertising, while targeting a population that other ads miss completely – the thousands of people who walk, shop, and drive within 2 miles of your location.

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A little 5AM foolishness with a bunch of stray balloons, left behind at Mehanata by festive misfits of an unknown origin. Everything was going well until the resident DJs got a helium craving. Some favored a diner breakfast over atomic no. 2, so the story continued further down the street.

The saga continues…

xx

"Balloon Patterns III", Oil on Canvas.

Nancy Todd Roberts
Balloon Patterns Series

10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Images Gallery
7320 West 80th St.
Overland Park, KS
913.232.7113

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.

Artist’s site: http://www.nancytoddroberts.com
Gallery site: http://www.imagesgallery.org

The new year is still more than a month away, but Nancy Todd Roberts has already broken out the balloons.

Okay, so the balloons she paints are of a different sort — hot air, rather than helium — but her Balloon Patterns Series, part of the opening group show at Images Gallery’s new location, is most definitely festive.

The center front of Images is given over to bold patterns in bright primary and secondary colors, all on the bag-and-gondola theme.

It’s a departure from much of Roberts’ other work in oils. She has long favored a chiaroscuro style, playing light and dark against each other to deepen her paintings, but these are all about sunlight illuminating ripstop nylon.

Roberts has retained her trademark realism, though, and there is still plenty of depth in the balloon pieces because she has continued her practice of adding layer upon layer of color, each showing through the layers above it.

Some canvases depict groups of balloons. Others — like Balloon Patterns III, today’s featured piece — take a close-up view. Whatever its scope, though, each work is marked not only by an attention to pattern but by a glow partly physical and partly emotional.

The former is due to Roberts’ skill at painting light. The latter stems from humanity’s long fascination with flight.

Whether or not one has ever been in the gondola of a hot air balloon, there’s something in the human spirit that resonates with the idea of soaring above the earth, carried along by the winds, and enjoying a panoramic view stretching to distant horizons.

Roberts’ balloons might not mark any holiday … but the freedom to soar, even vicariously, is certainly reason to celebrate.

Spider-Man led off the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York on Thursday, followed by a steady stream of other big balloons that remained easy to maneuver on a morning of little or no wind. The parade route changed and lengthened slightly this year with more turns, which resulted in several viewing points from which you could see each balloon from different perspectives.   Click here for a 2:50 picture show set to music.

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving Day 2009. I wanted to post these pics right after parade but you know… family obligations can keep you from doing personal stuff on the computer. I know not everyone can make it into the city to experience The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade so I’m hoping that my photos can give those of you who have never been to the parade an idea of what it’s like to be there. Obviously crowds of people, blocked off streets, and policemen are all staples during the parade. My personal favorite balloon is “Hello Kitty”.  Some new ballons this year-The “Pillsbury Doughboy” an “Sailor Mickey Mouse”.  The photo of The Pillsbury Doughboy reminds me of a scene in “Ghostbusters” for some reason.

I have memories of buying a toy for my kids and having it break because of poor quality or discovering that it had small parts and we had a baby brother in the house. Back in “the day” we didn’t think about lead or pthalates in the toys. There are many things to consider when buying toys these days.

ConnPIRG has just released their annual toy safety report, and they’ve launched a new mobile phone website that allows toy shoppers to look up and report dangerous toys as they shop. Check out their new resources, and help make sure kids’ toys are safe this holiday season. Make your list then check it with CT-toy-report-2009.

This document reminds us of all the hazards we might consider including loudness. Almost 15 percent of children ages 6 to 17 show signs of hearing loss. In March 2007, the American Society for Testing and Materials adopted a voluntary acoustics standard for toys, setting the loudness threshold for most toys at 85 decibels but there are still exceedingly louc (and I might add annoying) toys on the toy store shelves.

In addition, think through and avoid toys that have possible choking hazards, while considering age appropriateness, “almost” small parts, balloons, marbles, pthalates and PVC products. What is left for kids to play with? We’ve eliminated dolls (plastic), legos (plastic), toy cars (lead paint). OKAY- wooden blocks it is. Actually one of my kids favorites!

So what can be more exciting than a Friday, Balloons I hear you say! Oh yes it takes nothing more than a simple balloon to bring a smile to a child’s face. It must be the pretty colours or the fact that it floats up into the sky eager to escape. Maybe it brings back the happiness of childhood that balloons still have the power to make me smile or perhaps it’s their long association with celebrations from birthdays to anniversaries. So here’s a few quotes to get you in the mood. And of course Pooh Bear said it best when he said, “Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon”.

“My definition [of a philosopher] is of a man up in a balloon, with his family and friends holding the ropes which confine him to earth and trying to haul him down.” [Louisa May Alcott]

“Imagination is like a lofty building reared to meet the sky – fancy is a balloon that soars at the wind’s will” [Frank Gelett Burgess]

“What is success? It is a toy balloon among children armed with pins” [Gene Fowler]

“The balloon seems to stand still in the air while the earth flies past underneath.” [Alberto Santos Dumont]

“who knows if the moon’s / a balloon, coming out of a keen city / in the sky – filled with pretty people?” [E. E. Cummings]

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a national holiday tradition, and has been so for the past 83 years, and this year the tradition continued.

This year, the parade route returns to its roots with it ending at 34th street right in front of the Macy’s store. This is different than it has been in recent years.

 There is a list of performers that include Katharine McPhee, Jane Krakowski, and we have Spiderman, Kermit and Spongebob floating down the parade route. Ziggy Marley, the son of the legendary Reggae singer Bob Marley, performed a song with his daughter on a float decorated as a pirate ship.

Ziggy Marley and Daughter awaiting performance at Macy Thanksgiving Day Parade today

 Ziggy performed his new song ”It’s Family Time” while holding his daughter in his arms so she could reach the mike…very cute.

Katharine McPhee, sporting her new sassy blonde ‘do, performed her new single “Had It All.” Jane Krakowski performed a Christmas tune. She may play a ditzy spoiled celeb on “30 Rock,” but in real-life Krakowski is quite the songbird.

Teen superstar Miley Cyrus made an exuberant appearance waving to her throngs of excited fans that lined the parade route waiting patiently for the international superstar. She looked great, in light of the bush crash tragedy that killed her long time tour bus driver this past friday. Today was much happier times for her.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade aired on CBS and NBC at noon ET/9 am PT.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING…NOW GO EAT….

Happy Thanksgiving.

While most of you were sleeping, I checked off another one of my life goals today and attended this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For the past however many years that I have been alive, I have never been up to see the start of the Parade (live or on tape delay). But the conviction of my heart led me to decide, this will be the year. The plan, to wake up and get to 7th Ave. at 5am. My body just cringed a bit just thinking about it; that would mean getting maybe 2 hours of sleep, then zombying my way to the subway? Not a chance.

But then, an angel from heaven descended and gave me a treat: a friend of a friend works at Carnegie Hall (7th Ave.) and has an office window overlooking the parade. Jack pot.

Oh hey, suckers on the street. “Sir, the street’s closed, they aren’t letting anyone through.” Is that right, old lady? Watch this. Boom. 7 floors up. Goodbye crying children, hello balloons.

The echoes of the marching bands, bouncing off the buildings, the wafting smell of churro carts, the clean air, unpolluted by strollers, snobby UWS (upper west side) families or shoulder to shoulder germ transmissions. Carnegie Hall, one of the most famous and beloved musical venues in New York City, and here I am, in an office upstairs watching Kermit and Company float on by.

The least I could do was bring a thermos and some hot cocoa (check).

So folks, you may be cozy in your homes watching football, stuffing yourself with loads of home cooked delectables, but just remember, I got to see the Macy’s Parade live, from an office in Carnegie Hall. Ah.

Now, let the football begin and let us consume food and drink to our heart’s content. Be merry, for we have many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for Mickey, Snoopy, Buzz Lightyear, Spongebob, and of course Spiderman.

I am thankful for all my readers, you are all dear to me. Gobble gobble, friends, gobble gobble.

Day 68 – More Lily: Today has been a hella busy day at work, dealing with a story about a shop and balloons being a safety risk.  Google it and you’ll find out more I’m sure.  So, it was nice to come home and finish editing my pics from last night – here’s one of my favourites.

From the NYDailyNews.com:

Four new giant balloons — Spiderman, The Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald and Sailor Mickey — debut at the 83rd annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Although crowds will see them for the first time on Thanksgiving morning (or at the balloon inflation event the night before), it takes months to design and launch a giant balloon.

The process starts with selection. “To get up in the sky you have to be instantly recognizable, everyone has to understand who you are,” says Amy Kule, parade producer. “The Pillsbury Doughboy is a great example. This is his first year in the parade and when we tested the balloons you just knew instinctively he belonged up there.”

Balloons start out at the Macy’s Parade Studio in Hoboken, N.J. where they are meticulously molded out of clay to be 100 percent faithful to their original character design. They are cut and sewn into balloons offsite, then tested a few weeks before the parade. It’s a painstaking process that requires an incredible amount of attention to detail to an enormous balloon.

Kule says that this time of year is both incredibly intense, but also a lot of fun, “I’m filled with anticipation and I don’t get much sleep on the eve of Thanksgiving,” she says. “But by the time I see that first balloon, with three million people watching it, instead of being uptight or nervous, I get a sense of calm.”

Even though Kule is thrilled to see so many new balloons in the parade this year, she has a special place in her heart for a returning favorite. “SpongeBob makes me laugh,” she says. “Balloons want to be round and he’s this big square body. That’s no easy feat.”

Spiderman

This year, Spiderman returns to celebrate both his second appearance in the parade and Marvel’s 70th anniversary. The first Spiderman balloon debuted back in 1987 and was a Thanksgiving regular for about a decade. The new design features far more defined muscles. Says Kule, of his time off, “Spidey’s been working out. We should all look so good in tights.”

The Pillsbury Doughboy

A total newcomer to the parade, The Pillsbury Doughboy promises to be a new favorite. The biggest problem with this balloon? Millions of people will want to poke that belly, but with the Doughboy clocking in a 46.4-feet tall, they won’t be able to reach.

Ronald McDonald

This is the iconic clown’s third parade appearance and this time he’s come back as an athlete. Ronald McDonald dons what may be the world’s largest pair of ice skates for the occasion to glide through Manhattan with ease come Thanksgiving morning.

Sailor Mickey

This will be the fourth Mickey Mouse balloon design in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and Mickey was one of the first characters to appear in the parade back in the 1930s. This new Sailor Mickey recalls the classic Steamboat Willie version of the famous mouse, but with modern styling.

Shapes in a box of lucky charms

Graph by: Kidwii via Graph Jam Builder