You've got to love the web - even decorating for birthday parties has become a whole lot easier. This collection of videos on how to make balloon decorations will not only give you some great party decorating ideas, but teach you the basic simple steps required to make decorations that look complicated, but really are not that difficult.

If you've got a party coming up and are torn for ideas, take a look at a few of these videos and get ready to make some notes.  Your creative juices will be flowing in no time.

Photo by: daquellamanera CC BY 2.0

Balloon decorations are made using a couple of basic techniques. The first technique is accomplished by tying a pair of balloons together at their ends. First, it's easier to tie two balloons together then it is to tie off each balloon individually. Second, this now provides you a link between the two balloons which can be used to twist around another pair of balloons to form a "layer" for balloon columns and arches.

The videos below will demonstrate the instructions on how to make columns and arches. However, I also use a book on balloon decorating that helped me master arches, columns and balloon swags.

Another balloon decorating technique is to shape the long balloons that are used to make balloon animals. These balloon animals themselves make great decorations but you can also use these balloons to make flowers, baby rattles, Halloween decorations, holiday wreaths, letters and numbers.

Even though the above video is not in English, the balloon decorator demonstrates how to take the pairs of balloons and twist pairs together to form a combination of four balloons for each layer of the above column.

In this particular video, she's strategically pairing the balloons in order for the colors to line up for the flower. If you're just starting out, you can try making the column with single color balloons to get the basic step down and then move on to alternating two colors for a swirled column.

Knowing how to make balloon decorations using the approach of balloon pairs will allow you to build all kinds of balloon sculptures.

No doubt these two are experienced professional balloon decorators.  Although the video is sped up so that you don't have to sit through the entire construction, you can learn a couple of tips on how to make a balloon arch.  First, they don't tie off each balloon by itself; they tie off two balloons together to speed up the process.  They've also developed a routine - one person inflates balloons with helium and the other places them around the fishing line for the arch.

Photo by: Jepoycamboy CC BY-SA 2.0

You can make balloon centerpieces for weddings, birthday parties, or baby showers using either regular balloons or the balloons that used to make animal shapes.  This balloon centerpiece uses both.  The twisting balloons are coiled around regular balloons or shaped into flowers to mimic a basket of flowers.

I love these balloon flower decorations for baby showers and birthday parties.  They're easy to make and last for a couple of days so you can make them ahead of your party.  You can, of course, use any colors you want to suit your particular event.

Use vases already in your house in which to gather groups of flower balloons or use another twisting balloon and make a bow to tie them together as bunches of flowers for table centerpieces.

For a little girl's birthday party, let each little girl take home a balloon flower or a bunch of flowers along with their birthday treat bag.