pARTy

How is it possible that I have been planning and creating for my son's FOURTH birthday. This is unreal. He is 4, well in just a few days he will be. Today was such a huge success though. Maddox and all of his friends really enjoyed painting their own masterpieces. I have been planning for this party for about the past month. I am not one to procrastinate when it comes to his birthday. I want them to be memorable and exciting for him; it was just that.

 

I had invitations the made on Etsy. I found the paint trays at Oriental Trading for super cheap. When I got the invitations in I simply taped the invitation to the inside of the tray. Some were hand delivered and others were shipped. For folks with out kids I mailed an invitation that I created using picmonkey, awesome site.

The cake was made by Mrs. Landry, that lady I always brag on and say she is my grandmother even though we aren't blood related at all. Is it not fabulous? She did an amazing job! This was her gift to Maddox this year.

  

The canvases are from Wal-Mart; three came in a pack for 7.97. They were perfect. I couldn't see spending money on easels for each kid. This looks would have really set off the appearance of the party but it just wasn't reasonable to me. As I am setting up for the party I am laying the canvases flat on the table and see a stack of bricks that are left over from the previous owners. DING-That was it!! I used two bricks to support each canvas and went to town. It was perfect!

Each kid had their own paint pallet and paint brushes that were also purchased from Wal-Mart in the craft section.

 I have had 10 avengers cups sitting in my pantry for the past year. Why not use them as rinse cups? I ended up two (two!) short so I used a couple mason jars where needed.

  

PAINT! Every parent thought I was nuts for having a paint party with approx. 15 kids running around ready to make a mess. I bought non-toxic, washable tempura  paint. It truly was washable, such an easy clean up.

 

Burger Bar. This was the easiest yet cute food station. I bought premade patties that I seasoned and threw on the grill (well the men did the grilling). I made a trip to Sam's to purchase all the burger necessities. I found this bacon (I can assure your it's processed and not healthy) that it already cooked and was not in the cold section-seems crazy to me. It was perfect though. I am not a fan of cooking bacon; it stinks up my house and burns the heck out of me! I sautéed onions and mushrooms, cut up tomatoes, spooned out jalapeños and pickles and all went into serving dishes. I found an image that looked like splatter paint I copied it and used it in Microsoft Word to create labels for all the food and condiments. Nick has GREAT handwriting, I don't. He did all the writing for me. Thanks, love!

Buy these here! I used the spoons for ice-cream that was served with the cake. 

I ordered a cookie cutter online that was shaped into a splatter. I baked them on Saturday night and set them out for the kids to ice and decorate at the party. I bought several different colored sprinkles that I poured into clear plastic cups and placed on a wooden paint pallet.

Photo Booth. My lovely mom and I twisted streamers along the wall in our garage creating a simple yet colorful backdrop. I borrowed a frame from my friend and spent 3 bucks on the photo props that I can use in the future. My MIL had the easel at her house so I borrowed that too. The painting you see was painted by my talented cousin, Shelly. She freehanded this! As kids came in they were to put there thumb print on the painting that's a keepsake sign in book. I thought it was too cute. Several kids didn't put their thumb prints, stinkers!

the painted picture on the right is from the art pictures we had taken on Thursday.

Maddox and his presents. Goodness, this kid is spoiled. I created the backdrop using large coloring sheets that I bought for one dollar. I used Washi tape to hold each page on the wall. The red chalk board my mom found on clearance at Hobby Lobby. The chalk really wouldn't write on it too great but chalk markers sure did!

Coloring Station. I set up the extra coloring sheets one a table covered in the same brown paper. I covered soup cans with scrapbook paper and labeled them accordingly. Easy!

 Maddox painted this one night in February. We used it as décor at his party. Nick and I used painters tape to shape the M, let Maddox go to town with washable pant and then let it dry.

Since we are remodeling our home I am in and out of home stores. Every time I (or nick) ran in one we made sure to grab several paint samples to create the banners like the one below. I grabbed a few different sizes and colors allowing me to make different looks.

Everything we used I was able to wash and store upstairs in my storage room. Ever want to host a paint party? You know who to contact!

I went through and opened all the gifts so he could start playing with everything that night. Maddox wanted to take a picture with all the gifts before putting them away.

 The weather is the same every year for the birthday. It is windy as can be. The wind left me shoving tables and chairs inside the garage, cramming stuff here and there. There was no rain and for that I am thankful! Maddox had so many friends and a lot of family come to celebrate with him. Thank you all so much!

Mindy, thank you for capturing this day so I could just enjoy the party. You are the best!