Let's Put the Art in Party

We put the Art in Party this year for Princess 1 and 2's birthdays. They love art and all the fun and mess that comes with it. This was a really fun party to plan, and as you all know, my first thing I have to plan is the cake! We love cake around here!

 Drip cakes have really gained in popularity over the last year or so, and after I attempted my first one on the Willy Wonka cake with some success, but not quite the smooth drip look I wanted, I was bound and determined to try it again. This time I used candy melts to make my ganache drip instead of chocolate chips so I could get all the pretty colors. I filled up some squeeze bottles with them and used that to control the drips as I went around the cake instead of an angeled spatula. I also kept the ganache a little thinner this time, and with those things changed up it worked a lot better, and I just love these drips because of all the fun colors. Dripping paint never looked quite so appetizing, right?!

We kind of had a paint can theme running through the cake and decorations, so the top tier of this fellow was a six inch round cake made to look like a paint can.

I made a painters art pallet, paint brush,  and box of crayons out of fondant to display their ages and add a little more artsy charm to the whole cake. The kids all fought over who got to eat those parts first!

We also carried the whole art theme through to all of the snacks we had for the budding artists that came.

Some rainbox twizzlers hanging out of a small paint can for our paint drips, and some juice boxes for the creative juices these kids need to quench their thirst.

A bowl of paint chips was simple enough to add, and then these cute rice krispie paint brushes were a smashing success with these kids. They were so easy to do too--just dip rice krispie treats in some of the leftover candy melts used on the cake and let dry standing up. Insert a large Popsicle stick for the handle, and you are good to go.

We also glued crayons around an empty tin can to hold the silverware and had some fun paint brush napkins

 The rest of the decorations for the party were so fun to do. I hung a couple of paint cans we got at Lowes from the ceiling, and then got a couple of bright plastic tablecloths that I taped inside the cans and had flowing down onto the food table like paint spilling from the cans. The Happy Birthday garlands were simply made by cutting up paint chips from Walmart and brush painting the letters onto them with black paint.

 We also used the paint chips for a party sign on the front door, welcoming guests.

Perhaps my favorite part of the decorations was the canopy of colored streamers hung over the kids' table. I love all the colors! I loved it so much I kept it up in my house for over a month after!  Finally when it was time to decorate for Christmas, I reluctantly pulled them all down.

 Here's a behind the scenes shot of the canopy in progress. Our ceilings are much taller in our new home than our previous couple. I pulled out the ladder for this bad boy, and got it all done while my husband was at work. He was pretty impressed when he got home and found the canopy done (and I'm just glad he didn't come home to find me with a broken neck from falling off the ladder...let's just say I had a couple near falls. All's well that ends well though!). And Princess #3--she insisted on posing with the decor for the camera!

 Now the setup is complete. Time for the actual party! There are so many different crafts and activities you can do for an art party. The problem is trying to narrow them all down to just a few you can do in your time frame. When guests arrived, they each received an art smock to wear, then they picked a place at the table where a name card was waiting for them to add their name to and decorate however they pleased. We made the cute little easels for all the cards out of Popsicle sticks and hot glue.

 I knew that with art projects, some kids take longer than others to finish their project, so we needed a couple activities that those that finished early could do while others finished their art. After the name cards we played Paint-Spot Twister (i.e. "put your left foot on the green paint spot" etc.). That was a hit with the kids, and it also gave me a little time to clean up mess number one and get project number 2 all ready for the kids.

 Our second art project was our main one of the day. Each artist got a canvas and a palette of  paint to use to create whatever picture they fancied. Some did sunsets, some put painter's tape down in the shape of their initial and painted over it, some splattered paint all over, and some (like my 4 year old) added all the paint they were given and mixed it all together until their entire canvas was just gray. And the cute things is they thought their project was a total masterpiece. And you know what, to this mama it was!

While we cleaned up from that project my hubby helped the kids play a few rounds of pictionary--that seemed like a very appropriate game to play at an art party.

This is what I was getting ready for all the kids during that--time for them to let their artistic juices flowing on something edible. Some were very meticulous in decorating their cupcakes, while others just dumped every single sprinkle they were given on their edible canvas. No matter what the approach, it all tasted good in the end!

After that it was time to sing and blow candles out, eat food, and open presents. We had a masterpiece of a time with all these little artists. I think I see a few mini-Picassos and Van Goghs in the mix!