These are from the October 2001 issue of Martha Stewart Living. In that project they are made as small jack’o’lanterns, skulls, or small orange candy containers. I figured they’d work well as an interesting gift container for anything small. These work perfectly for my you-have-to-destroy-it-to-open-it thing I’m always looking for. I also plan on using these for easter eggs.

a few tips from my experience:

• I used straight laundry starch because I had some lying around the house, and it worked great, created a nice hard shell. I’m sure the same thing can be done with white glue mixed with water or homemade wheat paste. For a more permanent decoration I’m sure modge podge would be perfect, although I don’t know for sure as I’ve never actually used it. Anyone know? The project in the magazine calls for wheat paste powder from a hardware store (I’m assuming for wallpaper?) but that’s going a bit far.
• I used the instructions for the skull project – which is to tear petal-sized pieces of tissue paper, so the rough edges will form a seamless look.
• When starting I didn’t brush any starch on the balloon itself, I just put the tissue paper down and brushed over it, and over the edges to the balloon. For the subsequent layers I went crazy with the starch. This seemed to allow the balloon to pull itself free more easily. I had no troubles with the shell collapsing.
• I hung mine to dry by hanging it from a loop of string. They hung from my overhead light, off the bike in the hallway, and on my drying rack, very cheerful!
• They took a few hours to dry. I left mine to hang overnight and they were dry all the way through.
• I tested how different numbers of layers worked. The magazine project called for four, which seems very sturdy. Two hold up nicely and is very delicate feeling. One layer collapsed when I deflated the balloon, but I was able to push it back into shape from the inside. It’s too delicate to hold anything, but it’s so lightweight it’s like a bubble! Three layers is what I ended up using to hold candies.
• Popping the balloon calls for grasping it tightly just above the knot, cutting a tiny hole and allowing the air to flow out slowly (as if you are trying to make balloon sound effects). Hold the shell loosely in your other hand and let the balloon pullitself free. In my experience the balloons pulled away from the inside without and trouble and came right out.
• I’m planning on putting small presents, small candies and large tissue paper confetti inside of these. But I think they would be great as easter eggs, romantic notes, to hold battery powered lights. And I’m planning on experimenting with colors and patterns. The magazine project cuts holes in the skull form, and glues a single layer of tissue paper to the inside, making translucent holes. I like the way the colors show through and overlap each other. I’m also interested in what a few layers of transparent paper or vellum would look like with stuff inside.
• For Valentine’s Day I made little balloons, pasted on two layers of yellow and one layer of red. I left the opening as a long thin gash rather than a round hole, this helped create a seamless look at the end, instead of a flat papered over area. The first ones I gave as gifts were just sealed and were hard to start to rip open. So I added a pull string which will start the hole. After I stuffed them, I put a loop of string halfway into the shell and papered around it. It works pretty well.
• They were a lot of messy fun to make. Oh, and warning: the dye will work itself onto your fingers, but it comes right off, almost.

here are the ones I made for Valentine’s Day, the string worked out really well, it rips the top open when pulled: