My youngest daughter Maddie has been a prolific artist since she could hold a crayon. She loves drawing probably more than any other activity she does and so I knew a Mad About Art party would be the perfect theme for her 5th birthday.

This was our last party at our old house before we moved and her first “friends party” so I wanted to make sure it was extra special.

For decor, I went bright and big with balloons and flowers. For balloons I picked all brighter colors and put them on the donut wall, two welcome sign easels, and on an arch. For flowers I picked some special roses that naturally look “spatter painted” and also painted some foliage in some bright colors for contrast. I used lots of different textures of flowers and foliage.

The focal point of the entire party was a “cake gallery” that I planned and my talented friend Marriam Khan MK of Flour & Flowers by MK designed to perfection! Each cake represented a different art movement/artist and the museum card denoted the flavor along with other info. Every cake was a different flavor combo and we ended up doing “sample plates” for anyone that wanted to try multiple flavors.

To round out the menu (because you really shouldn’t eat just cake!) I made all of the brunch food including a brioche French toast casserole, Cracker Barrel-inspired hash brown casserole, veggie and egg bake, magnolia bakery-inspired banana pudding, and rice crispy treats. I got Home Cut Donuts and Big Apple Bagels to round out the menu. Drinks included lemonade, water and orange juice and mimosas and bloody Marys were available for the adults.

For activities, we had an awesome bounce house and of course, lots of art activities including decorating smocks, watercolor painting, monster puppet making, acrylic painting, coloring a custom coloring page, silly food face sticker pages, mixed media collage, clay time and creating edible cookie art.

For favors, we had a favor table where kids collected art supplies, aprons, candy and other fun artsy things.

The kids (and adults) had a great time and everyone went home with a bunch of art projects and full bellies! Maddie had “the best day of her life” and that makes it all worthwhile for me. I love planning my daughters’ parties and making experiences unlike anything they’ve ever seen before!

VENDORS:
Planning, Florals, Balloons, Decor: Kio
& Kompany http://kioandkompany.com/

Cakes and cookie frames: Flour & Flowers by MK http://www.flourandflowersbymk.com/

Photography: Matthew J Odom Photography https://www.mjophoto.com/

Bounce House: Bounce with the Brices https://www.facebook.com/bouncewiththebrices/

Donuts: Home Cut Donuts http://homecutdonuts.com/

Bagels: Big Apple Bagels https://bigapplebagels.com/aurora