Hi, I am fairly new to balloon designs etc and have also just joined this forum which hopefully will be a godsend for me.

Could I please ask your advice?  I have been practicing a spiral column with single balloon arch for a table display I am doing soon for a friend.  The table isn't very big so I don't want the columns on either side to be too bulky.  I started off with 10 inch balloons and they looked far too big so I started again with 7 inch which look like a good size.  I then did a 6 inch layer as the top quad and finished off with a full 11 inch in the centre on top to start off the arch.  However, I noticed after a few hours that a few balloons had shrunk already (even more so with the 6 inch balloons) and then by this morning (I did it late last night) even more balloons have shrunk.  I have used 11 inch balloons throughout and don't really want to have to buy 5 inch ones so I hope this is not the answer but is there anything I can do to stop them shrinking too soon.  I have seen a couple of tips re inflating with helium which include inflating too large, then deflating then inflating again to correct size and also a tip re using hairspray which I have now tried on a section of the balloons to see if they still shrink.

Any guaranteed problem solving tips which will work would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

I'm not a decorator so cant offer too much advise but are the knots really tied down towards the large part of the balloon so making it look more round than oval shape so the 11" balloon blown up to 7" is not too squishy.

Hi Graham

Thanks for your response.  No I didn't tie them that tight actually, it never occurred to me.  I'm going to try a couple of balloons now that way and see if they stay the same size for at least a day, maybe it could be the answer ...     If anyone else has any ideas too though I'd love to hear them.  Thanks again Graham