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The DIY Guide: Keys to Success for DIY Confetti Poppers

The hardest part of the planning process for our gender reveal was deciding the HOW for the actual reveal. If you do any surfing on the web, you know there are TONS of ideas out there for gender reveals. Seriously, just search “Gender Reveal” on Pinterest, and you will be overwhelmed with photos. As a creative in the event industry, I always feel pressure to be original with concepts and ideas – like it is expected of me. That’s really hard sometimes! I thought to myself, what can we do that hasn’t been done a thousand times over? That too is a tough question to answer.

After days of brainstorming, my heart was sold on confetti poppers for our reveal. I just love the childish happiness that every person feels when standing under confetti falling from the sky. There are plenty of great sources online to purchase pre-made confetti poppers, but I decided to take the DIY approach. I just wasn’t confident in purchasing the product online and not knowing if they would actually “pop” for the big moment. There are several DIY how-to guides on blogs, and I think Lauren Conrad’s Guide is the most accurate to follow. An important note – none of the DIY guides online actually show the activation [launching] of the confetti popper. This can be very misleading for expectations.

Come with me for this pretty vision {wishful thinking} in my head:
On a beautiful sunny day, all my family members hover around anxiously waiting on a 3,2,1 countdown as the confetti launches from the confetti poppers. A major cloud of confetti explodes into the air and encompasses us all as we giggle, squeal, and dance in circles at the revelation of pink or blue.

Whoa, ye larger than life imagination! Whoa! I’ll be candid with you — It doesn’t happen that way (whomp, whomp). This was MUCH more of a DIY project than I had anticipated in order to get the desired confetti effect. This turned into an aerodynamics middle school science project all week leading up to our reveal. I probably held at least 15 trials with my prototype popper in the evenings when my husband. I just wanted a little wow factor! That’s not too much to ask, right? I made many different confetti mixes and tried many different launching methods in order to finally reach a semi-impressive confetti pop.

Therefore, I’d like to share my KEYS to DIY Confetti Poppers success. If you plan to make confetti poppers, bookmark this page now! You won’t get these specifics on any how-to guides online.

Confetti size – If using tissue paper to make your confetti, the size of the piece plays a big role in the power out of the shoot. I started with very thin, small pieces, cut with Martha Stewart fringe scissors. While these scissors are a great tool, this confetti didn’t launch very far from the end of the popper. The confetti mix that worked the best was a mix of tissue paper squares, metallic tinsel squares, and small pieces of a heavy cardstock (use the fringe scissors to cut this). The confetti squares were about 1/2 inch wide. I think the mix of the heavy cardstock pieces and larger tissue paper squares gave the confetti enough weight to fly further.
Tightly tape the cover – I first thought that a loose tape job on the tissue cover on top of the popper would be best. That’s not the case. Be sure to tape the tissue paper cover to the popper tube all the way around – creating a good seal. Do not use the plastic cover that comes with the popper tube – it will not work.
Put some force into it! – These things aren’t going to launch themselves, although that would be awesome! If you give your popper a “sissy” push, you will be highly disappointed with the results. Hold the tube in one hand out in front of your body. Using the palm of your other hand, in one swift motion, force the push stick up into the popper tube. If you put some force into it, you will watch the confetti fly. Be advised – your plastic push sticks will also fly through the air with the confetti. It’s okay – they don’t have enough weight to hurt anyone. Just don’t launch your popper straight at someone’s face.
Utilize Mother Nature – For more of a “flying” confetti effect, launch your confetti poppers outside in a breeze (or turn on the ceiling fan) in order to enhance the flight of your confetti. Still air means still confetti.
Group your guests together closely – There’s always power in numbers, and the more confetti in one area, the more impressive the visual effect will be. Get your guests close for the big launch.
Lastly, don’t set your expectations for a Super Bowl Confetti Shower – unless you put someone on your roof with a blower and a few tons of confetti. I guess this was my biggest mistake with my high expectations. No matter the special effects [or lack thereof] of the confetti poppers, this will be a very exciting and fun time with your special people who just can’t wait to celebrate your little human’s future. I seriously loved this experience with our families!

So there you have it! I hope this guide spares you from a week long of testing since I’ve already put in the time for you. If you’ve used confetti poppers or do so in the future, I want to hear from you! Leave me a comment on what you found to work the best or just about your experience in general.

It’s hard to capture a confetti reveal with still photography, so I would suggest someone video record on their phone. But, either way, you can feel all the feels that we did that day through these candids! It was a really fun day!