Try liquid starch

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Home : 2004 : January : 12

Try liquid starch
By Marilyn B.

No need to use something as expensive as Modge Podge for this project. I have done similar projects with large groups of kids, actually classrooms, and I just used balloons, tissue paper, and liquid starch.

You need to
apply many layers to make the shape strong. Leave the knotted end of the balloon sticking out of the tissue, and when the shape is dry, hold the knot in one hand as you prick the balloon with a straight pin.
The balloon should pull away easily from the tissue, leaving a nice, relatively solid shape. Then just pull out the balloon. In fact, if you're doing this with kids, they love to

hear the neat sound the balloon makes as it's released from the tissue.

Using this method, I've even been able to remove balloons that had leaks and started to deflate, and I've inserted new ones and blew them up again. That's assuming that the form had dried sufficiently to allow this.

Some final thoughts, liquid starch may be relatively expensive, too, so you can substitute wallpaper paste and get the same effect. Also, be sure to use good, strong balloons for this-not the kind sold in a bag. Buy them singly at a party store. Finally, no need to work with strips. Tearing the tissue into large squares will go faster and it covers better.