Alright, let’s talk about this “tea cup balloon” thing I tried out. Sounds fancy, right? Well, it kind of is, but also pretty simple once you get into it.
So, I saw this idea online and thought, “Why not give it a go?” The basic idea is to make a hot air balloon but mini-sized, using a tea bag as the balloon part. Cool, huh? I grabbed some stuff from around the house – a tea bag, some thread, a bit of wire, and a candle. You know, the usual weekend project supplies.
First off, I emptied out the tea bag. This was a bit messy, but I managed. I used a small pair of scissors to snip the tea bag open at the top and poured out the tea into a separate dish. You have to be careful not to rip the bag too much because you will need it intact.
Then, I took some thin wire and made a little circle that would fit around the opening of the tea bag. This was a bit tricky, but after a few tries, I got it. I poked some small holes in the tea bag near the edge with a needle and attached the wire to the tea bag with the thread. The goal here is to have the tea bag sit upright.
- Empty the tea bag: Carefully cut it open and pour out the tea.
- Make a wire circle: Shape some thin wire into a circle, a bit wider than the tea bag’s opening.
- Attach the wire: Sew or tie the wire to the bottom of the tea bag to hold it open.
- Set up the base: I just used a small candle, nothing fancy.
- Light it up: Carefully light the tea bag from the top.
Here’s a quick rundown of the steps:
Next up, I set up a little base with a candle. I made sure everything was stable because, you know, fire and all that. I placed the candle inside a wide-mouthed jar to keep it secure and provide a stable base.
The moment of truth – I lit the top of the tea bag. It took a few seconds, but then it started to burn evenly. I held my breath, not gonna lie. As the air inside the bag heated up, the whole thing slowly started to lift off! It was pretty awesome to watch. It floated up for a few seconds before it burned out and drifted back down.
It wasn’t perfect, mind you. It took a couple of tries to get it right. Sometimes the bag burned too quickly, sometimes it didn’t lift at all. But hey, that’s part of the fun, right? Experimenting and seeing what works.
I did this a few times, tweaking things here and there. Like, I tried different types of tea bags, and some worked better than others. The lighter, more papery ones seemed to do the trick best.
In the end, it was a fun little project. Didn’t cost much, didn’t take too long, and I got to see a mini hot air balloon in my living room. Plus, I learned a bit about how hot air balloons actually work. Not bad for a Saturday afternoon, I’d say!
