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Football players, M&Ms, an ice cream cone, Dora the Explorer, Elmo, Winnie the Pooh, butterflies and clowns made out of balloons are only a few of the custom creations that a Glenn Dale-based balloon company has crafted.

For owner Rochelle Evering, making balloon décor full-time isn't merely a way to pay the bills.

"I like making something out of nothing that's colorful and makes people happy," she said. "It makes me feel like I contribute something to be world. I'm motivated by that—it's a boost of confidence."

In 2006, Evering, 28, a Greenbelt resident, began making balloon "sculptures" part-time. It wasn't until September 2008 that she decided to follow her passion for balloons and decorating and quit her job as an accountant to work full-time as one-woman-band for her company, Air Affairs LLC.

Evering said she watched videos, did Internet research and used trial and error to learn how to make elaborate multi-balloon sculptures and insert one balloon into another.

"It was scary leaving a consistent paycheck with benefits and leave time for an uncertain income," Evering said. "I work harder than I've ever worked in my life for half the financial payoff."

Air Affairs, which she currently operates out of the Caribbean Oriental Restaurant in Glenn Dale and her Greenbelt home, offers balloons and balloon bouquets and sculptures ranging from $25 to $1,000 for events including birthday parties, bridal showers and corporate events.

The amount of time it takes to make the bouquets or sculptures varies, depending on complexity and size. Some sculptures have taken nearly two weeks, while others take only a couple of days.

"The sculptures draw people in – the bouquets sell," Evering said.

For a September Health and Education and Active Learning Academy program launch at the Park Heights Jewish Community Center in Baltimore, Evering created a balloon arch, flower bouquets, butterflies and trees, as well as balloon figures kicking a ball, stretching and holding pompons.

"We were on a budget and needed her to decorate using balloons – it's so unusual to be that creative with a balloon," Brown said. "There were [balloon] flower bouquets on 20 tables, figures that sat three feet off the floor, daisy flowers that came off the floor and were five feet tall placed throughout the reception hall."

Evering, who said she hopes to one day have a store-front business, estimates that since September she has made balloons for 40 events, including birthday parties, corporate dinners and Sweet 16 parties.

She often does balloon bouquets and sculptures for adult birthday parties at the Crossroads Entertainment Complex in Bladensburg. She has created chandelier-shaped balloons and clear balloons with smaller guitar balloons inside them mimicking bubbles.

"She just has really great ideas and creates an atmosphere that we like," said Kellee Lockwood, business and events manager for the complex.

Valentine's Day is the busiest holiday for balloon orders, which can include inserting teddy bears into balloons, Evering said.

"People have and always will love balloons," she said. "Young and old alike, there is something about these colorful balls of air that draw people to them. What's a celebration without balloons?"

E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.