Paper Hot Air Balloon -Easy, colorful summer kids craft!

Are you ready make the cutest paper craft ever? You are going to want to hurry and add this paper hot air balloon craft to the top of your to-do list because it is absolutely gorgeous! Our printable template makes creating your hot air balloons especially easy for preschoolers and kids of all ages to make.

The 3D effect of the hot air balloon popping off the page combined with the variety of colors makes it a beautiful craft to display at home or school for others to admire. You can even make several different colored balloons and hang them up as party décor for a summer party.

Don’t let the amazing 3D effect of this colorful summer craft intimidate you because you won’t believe how simple it is to make.

Grab our printable template below, read through these instructions and then watch the video tutorial near the end of this post. Afterwards you’ll be ready to make your own colorful hot air balloon craft. Without a doubt it is the ultimate colorful summer craft for kids.

Use our free template to create this gorgeous paper hot air balloon craft. Fun 3D paper craft and summer craft for preschoolers and kids of all ages.

How to Make a Paper Hot Air Balloon Craft

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Supplies needed for this paper craft

*We received these products from Orientaltrading.com. All opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Instructions for making a hot air balloon craft

Step 1: Begin by downloading the 3D hot air balloon craft template. To make your paper hot air balloon you’ll need five of the hot air balloon shapes. You can either print the template directly on to the colored paper of your choice, or you can print it on white paper and use it as a pattern to trace on colored paper. Cut out each of the five hot air balloon shapes.

Note: To achieve the colorful effect like we did when making our hot air balloon, you will want to make sure to choose several different colors for your balloons. We layered three different colors together. For extra colorful fun, you could even get out some markers and add extra designs and details to each of your hot air balloon shapes.

Step 2: The template also includes a square shape for the balloon basket. Use this as a pattern to cut out the square from brown cardstock, construction paper or a brown paper lunch bag. Set it aside for a later step.

Step 3: Gather and fold each balloon shape in half along the dashed line in the center of the template.

Related: 3D Paper Butterfly Craft

Step 4: Use your glue stick to add glue to one of the folded balloon shapes. Then line up and glue another balloon onto it. Continue adding glue and adding a paper balloon until all five have been glued together, creating a 3D hot air balloon.

Love Coloring? Look at these Peppa Pig coloring pages

Step 5: Cut out a few white clouds from white cardstock or paper and glue them onto your 12-inch by 12-inch light blue cardstock.

Related: 3D Paper Apple Tree

Step 6: Add glue to one of the outside halves of the 3D hot air balloon and glue it at the top of your light blue cardstock. Don’t worry if it overlaps some of your hearts. This just gives extra dimension to your craft.

Add glue on the opposite balloon half and glue it down onto your light blue cardstock.

Step 7: Squeeze a line of glue about 1-2 inches long coming down from each end of your hot air balloon for the basket strings. Cut two pieces of baker’s twine the same length and glue them down on your lines of glue.

Step 8: Add glue to the back of your brown balloon basket and glue it at the bottom of your balloon strings.

Related: Beautiful 3D Flower Crafts

Your Paper Hot Air Balloon Craft is complete

Once your glue has dried completely, you can pick up your colorful summer craft to to see it’s gorgeous 3D dimension. From both the top, bottom and all sides of the balloon, it is absolutely stunning.

Video Tutorial: How to Make a Hot Air Balloon Craft

Watch the video below for a step by step guide on how to make these simple paper hot air balloon with our template.


Find more summer craft ideas and paper crafts for kids by browsing the categories at the top menu bar of our website.


Want more colorful paper craft inspiration for summer?

We recently created a 3D kite craft over at Fun365.com for Oriental Trading that makes a perfect compliment to our hot air balloons. If you love flying kites in the summer, you are going to adore making one of these gorgeous kite paper crafts.

We have a template available for download over at Fun365.com for the 3D kite craft. This helps to makes prep time such a breeze. Don’t you love how the kite pops off the page?!

Head over to Fun365 for the full tutorial, download and supplies list.


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