This has to be one of my favorite parties for this little girl – who is no longer little. She loves to craft and create so we decided on an art party this year. She invited her 3 dearest friends which made this party manageable. Once you go outside of the circle of best friends it’s hard to keep the number below 10! I’d suggest keeping the numbers small unless you’re one of those crazy moms. (I’ve don’t that and it was crazy!)
ACTIVITIES
First on the agenda - APRONS - so they can ART without fear. Well, let’s be honest, kids always create without fear; this was to save any parental fear and … clothing. These no-sew aprons were made by cutting some white t-shirts. I used adult large. I probably would have used round necklines but I already had these v-neck t’s. We did Sharpie Tie-Dye, which is awesome and easy. The girls could have spent a lot of time filling the entire thing with color but we just did and few and turned them into flowers so we could continue with the ARTing.
Onto the canvas…
It was fun to teach the kids to notice brush strokes, patterns, etc. I found examples of art online and pulled them up on the TV (enlarged) so they could see an example and then create their own. These mixed medium suns were fun and allowed for lots of personalizing.
This table cloth is about to meet it’s match. Makes sure you get something you can toss when the fun is done.
I really wanted the girls to paint something amazing. When they saw the example they were excited and doubtful. We broke it up and did a few parts at a time. I drew an outline on the canvas for them so they would have some confidence that it would turn out similar to the original. While parts were drying we opened presents and had treats. They were always excited to return to the project and loved the finished piece.
After this picture I noticed that my daughters painting needed some correcting. She probably would not have noticed or cared but the center of her flower ended up too small so she did some touchup. I love how it turned out and she can’t wait to hang it in her room.
I don’t do big goody bags at parties but I usually send a little Thank You treat. At this party it was a small frame with a picture of the girls from the party. I took a picture with their aprons and then printed them while they worked on other projects. If time would have permitted they could have painted their frames, I also had buttons and beads for gluing – as it was, the party had been going for 3 1/2 hours and I was a little done. They didn’t even know there were other options and they enjoyed decorating their frames. It was a backup project. If the other projects went quicker than planned we could have done more with this.
At the end of it all the girls went home with 4 projects and they were thrilled with each one!
FOOD
I don’t do fondant and I wasn’t in the mood for too much creativity when it came to the food – I like easy but unique… introducing Art-in-a-Jar. These colorful cupcakes in a jar were awesome. The girls loved eating down to another color. Since the cupcake was in a jar I decided to serve everything in a jar. They had a jar with ice cream and another jar of milk.
I think the girls could have spent another hour creating but we already went overtime. In fact, I’d suggest giving a start time only for the party. It’s just easier to finish when they finish all their art projects.
Tips
#1 - Plan ahead! Like a month ahead, if only to watch sales and use coupons at craft stores.
#2 - Use coupons. An art party can add up quickly. If money is an issue you can save a lot with the great store coupons, Joann’s and Michael’s for my neck of the woods.
#3 - Scour your own art/craft stash. I found the frames in a box of craft things. I also had most of the paint colors and brushes already along with scrapbook paper, nick-nacks for the frames, etc. The small canvases were another item I had around with a print on them. I painted them white for repurposing. The shirts for the aprons was also something I happened to have from my HB’s business trip. The materials I had around the house definitely helped me decide what kind of projects we would do. But splurging for the big canvases was totally worth it.
#4 - Have a “filler” project. Kids seem to work at different speeds. You’ll also find that something needs to dry and it’s time for a filler.
#5 - Don’t be afraid to expect them to do their best. I really pushed a few of them to “straighten their lines” and such. These were not a rush-through-school-project. Some kids took their time, some were naturally good at art and others, well, others needed more guidance. I wanted their best effort so they would be proud of the outcome and they were.
Invitations
You can download an invite for your own use below. I also separate the wordart if you’d like to grab things in pieces. Hopefully you can use them for your own art party.
