Beaded Balloon Weights

I just wanted to blog about this quick little tip I discovered today, mostly for selfish reasons. You see I just want to pin it so I don't forget about it. I have vaulted ceilings in my home, and while I love the added space and open feeling, I admit it isn't the best place for kids to play with helium filled Mylar balloons. Typically when we get a Mylar balloon we tie a toy or weight to it. This works for about 15 minutes until my kids start to use them as weapons. Then I untie the toys leaving the balloons unanchored to float to the utmost tippy top of my ceiling, where they stay until they are either sucked in to our air return vent or when they fall down on their own about two weeks later. Today, I discovered that by stringing beads on to the ribbon of the balloon, not only could I weigh it down, but I could make it float in mid air. Whenever my daughter breaks a necklace or bracelet I always save the beads in a little plastic bag. You simply thread the beads on to the balloon and tie a knot at the end. You can place the beads anywhere in the strand. Count how many it takes to bring the ballon to the floor, and then remove one at a time until the balloon floats in the desired position. Now over the next few hours they may fall a bit more, but unlike anchoring them down with something heavy, the balloons can still move freely throughout your home without being stuck on the ceiling, and for a party this could certainly be made to look incredibly cute. I will be using this for my son's birthday party. I'd like to have balloons floating all through the house at different levels. That isn't until next month, so if you do it first, let me know how it turns out.