My little niece turned one in July. It was hot. So we had a Splash Pad birthday party for her!
There weren’t any covered areas available for us to use so we set up a couple tents and brought out some tables and chairs and made our own little party area.
*Check out the full photo gallery for more inspiration!*
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The Cake Table
For the backdrop, I went with a simple fringe in 3 colors, white, light blue, and dark blue. Then I made a popsicle garland to hang at the top.
I had originally planned on having a “Happy Birthday” banner here as well, but the wind was blowing too much and the fringe was not cooperating. I ended up putting the banner on the shade tent instead. The popsicle garland was perfect though!
Since I had more pool noodles, I made a cake stand with them as well. It was perfect for holding the smash cake and cake pops.
For the party favors, I got some zipper treat bags, beach balls, and chalk from Hobby Lobby.
They gave the kids something to do when they didn’t want to play in the water.
I put a sticker on the front and a Thank You tag was tied to the handle to finish it off.
I also made some oreo treats for party favors!
They are super simple to make! I just grabbed some white, pink, and blue melting chocolate, dipped the oreos in one color, and then made a cute striped design with the other two colors on half of the cookie.
Easy peasy!
They were put in cellophane bags and topped with one of my editable treat bag toppers.
My sister decided she wanted to have hamburgers and hotdogs as her main food items, so my brother-in-law brought his grill and got to work!
Along with all the necessary hamburger and hotdog toppings, we had “Pool Float” chips, “Pool Noodle” pretzels, “Melon-sicle” watermelon, “Beach Ball” fruit, and “Ocean Water” lemonade.
While these are all girl themed party decorations, I do have them available in boy colors as well!
Other Awesome Ideas
You can use fun cups for the kids which would double as party favors! Amazon has many different shapes like sharks, flamingos, pineapples, and coconuts.
There are many fun ideas for making your own backyard water park! The Thrifty Couple has a list of 16 ideas.
Bubbles would be another awesome idea to entertain kids when they don’t want to be in the water!
Planning an Art Party? Here is a list of 35 amazing Art Party treats, cookies, candies, and cake ideas that would be perfect for any Art, Paint, or Rainbow Party!
Art Party Treats
When I was planning my daughter’s Art Party, I was on a budget. Of course, Pinterest was my go-to for inspiration (the next picture down on this page).
I did not want to buy 6 different colored chocolates to match her treats, so I only bought white and made them a little differently.
Using white almond bark, I dipped my rice crispy treats until they were fully covered. Then, I used gel food coloring with some of the almond bark to make my paint colors on top. I only used about a tablespoon or two of each of the colored chocolates and applied it with a small spoon.
It was a little difficult to make the paint oval shaped, but they still turned out pretty awesome!
Check out my page explaining how I threw her Art party while on a budget! (I also have the treat bag toppers available in my shop!)
Treat Ideas From Others
Paint Palette Treats – This recipe from My Joy Filled Life was the inspiration I used when I made the treats for my daughter’s Art Party.
Here are some cute paint brush rice crispy treats made by The SITS Girls that would also be very easy to make!
Catch My Party shows how you can dip marshmallows for a similar treat!
There are many Art Party treats you can make with melted colored chocolate or almond bark! Here is another example by Oh My Creative of an awesome rainbow pretzel treat!
These chocolate covered pretzels are pretty awesome! The Patriologist made a fun and unique Art Party treat with these crayon themed treats!
This Jello treat is a fun way to incorporate color while adding another sensory element to your party! Intimate Weddings has the full recipe.
If you want something a little sour for your little ones, try these grape treats from Dinner Then Dessert!
Cookies
If we are talking about sweets, we can’t forget about cookies! These cookies are also perfect for adding to your Art Party treat list when planning your party!
So speaking of dipping… You can dip oreos in colored melted chocolate or vanilla almond bark and place them in a rainbow just like on Kara’s Party Ideas.
Another wafer cookie idea by Hoosier Homemade: Dipping them in white chocolate/almond bark and then covering that in sprinkles!
These cookies look like they would be a lot of fun to make! I know my kids would really enjoy splattering the icing on.
You can even have the kids decorate their own cookies! Amy Latta Creations has this fabulous idea for making mosaic cookies which would be a perfect Art Party treat! What kid would not love to decorate their food?!
Similarly, Buzzfeed has a tutorial on making and decorating cookies. This would be a great idea for kids of all ages!
Alternatively, you can have the kids paint toast with edible marshmallow paints like The Tip Toe Fairy.
These rainbow pudding pops would be perfect if the Art Party was outdoors in the Summertime! Thanks for the awesome idea, Random Thoughts Of A Supermom!
Candies
This would be a very simple Art Party treat to make! Just throw some rainbow colored Twizzlers in an empty paint can and sit it on it’s side with the candy flowing out.
Another very simple candy treat! Rainbow candies in a container make one of the easiest ideas on this page, but it still packs a nice visual punch on your party table! This would also be easy to customize in different colors, shapes, and sizes of candies.
Cakes And Cupcakes
We can’t forget the cakes!
There are many different kinds of cakes you can make to fit an Art Party theme. From cupcakes, to layered cakes, to cake pops, and cake rolls! You are only limited by your imagination!
Here are some ideas to help spark your creativity:
Healthy Art Party Treats
If you’re looking for ideas for something to fit the Art Party theme, but you don’t want the extra sugars or artificial coloring, maybe these ideas will work better for you!
Ready To Eat Art Party Treats
If you want to throw an Art Party, but don’t have a lot of time (or you just don’t really want to make ALL the things) , there are many treats available for purchase online that can be delivered right to your door!
TSCookies makes some cute personalized paint palette cookies!
DoodlePopsCo has fun paint palette themed dipped oreos!
These paint brush candy sticks from 1PixiePlace are unique and fun!
Here are some Fruity Pebble and chocolate dipped pretzels by ShuppeeSugarShop
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When I was planning my daughter’s 4th birthday party (Art Party themed), I knew I wanted to make a statement with a backdrop.
I wasn’t sure what kind of backdrop at first, but I knew I wanted balloons and rainbows! Starting with that in mind I searched Pinterest until I decided on making a fringe backdrop with a balloon garland.
Now, I had never made a balloon garland before, so I didn’t really know how many balloons I would need or how many of each size.
I ended up getting a basic rainbow balloon kit off of Amazon. It was a good price for number of balloons I would get. It was also perfect since it came with all the colors of the rainbow and 3 different sizes of balloons!
Since I was making a rainbow balloon garland, I wanted the rest of the backdrop to be plain, but not TOO plain.
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The White Fringe Backdrop
I made a white fringe backdrop with shimmery metallic strands mixed in to give it a little extra pop. You can easily leave out the shimmery strands, but my 3-year-old was all about glitter, so it worked perfectly for us!
The fringe was made with 6 plain white rectangle plastic tablecloths that I got from the Dollar Tree and 1 holographic door curtain from Hobby Lobby. You can also get the tablecloths and door curtain from Amazon if you don’t want to go to the store. (If you want a large balloon garland like what mine ended up being, I would recommend doubling this)
The way I did mine was 5-7 strips of white, and then 3-4 strands of the tinsel tied together. I did 2 strings of fringe and used 6 tablecloths all together. One strand was on the top half of my backdrop stand, and one on the bottom.
When I put the strips on, I put them at varying lengths to give it a more random look. It took about 4 hours to get done (while dealing with 3 little ones).
I love how it turned out!
The Rainbow Balloon Garland
After I attached them to my backdrop stand (You can get one here if you need one!) I got to work on my rainbow balloon garland.
A couple of my little ones were having a rough day so I completely forgot to get pictures of building my garland. I’ll do a full tutorial on my next garland with pictures (and hopefully video!)
First, I blew up all of my balloons with my balloon pump (so easy and quick!!!)
Then, starting with my 12″ balloons, I combined each color together two at a time. Next, I stuck them all together with a fishing line.
After that, I put the rainbow balloon garland of 12″ balloons on the backdrop stand where I liked it, and secured it with more fishing line.
The 18″ balloons came next. I attached each to a piece of fishing line and stuck them on the garland where I judged them to look best. I did try to have more visual weight at the bottom, but since I was concentrating on keeping the colors each in their own color block, I was limited on how to make that happen.
Finally, I put the 5″ balloons in clusters of 4. Then, combined 2 clusters with a bit of string, and placed them in any holes that I saw in the design.
I finalized the whole look with one of my printable banners. I made these specifically for my daughter’s Art Party (You can read more about it here)
All in all, I think I did pretty good for it being my first time!
Leave a comment and let me know what you think!
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When my daughter, a very social, creative, and rainbow loving kid, was about to turn 4, I automatically knew what kind of party I wanted to put together for her… An art party! The main drawback I had was that we weren’t making a lot at the time which meant I’d have to throw the Art Party while on a budget.
We were also living in a small, dark apartment, but I wasn’t letting that hold me back!
I knew I would have to DIY most of the party, so I started getting things together over a month early.
There are many things I knew I wanted for the party, balloon garland backdrop, food table, and a craft project. I started researching different options and ideas and was able to put together a pretty awesome party for around $160. (You can easily go cheaper if you cut out some projects)
*Check out my photo gallery for more inspiring ideas!*
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This post may contain affiliate links. Feel free to read my full disclosure if you want to learn more!
The Rainbow Backdrop
My first (and most important in my mind) priority was finding the right backdrop for my art party theme. I knew I wanted balloons. And rainbows.
I ended up getting a rainbow balloon kit off of Amazon (if you buy from my affiliate link, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you), made a shimmery white fringe backdrop (check out the full blog post here), and made a paper garland to match the Art Party theme.
Side note… This was my first time making a balloon garland, so I didn’t realize how big it was going to end up. It would have been perfect if I would have made the white fringe section bigger.
If you just LOVE the printable garland, you can find it here. It is easy to edit, print, cut out, and hang!
The whole project cost me under $30!
Food Table
I absolutely love being able to tie the menu into my party themes!
For this Art party on a budget, I went with simple sub sandwiches, chips, potato salad, fruit, veggies, and lemonade. My desserts included some homemade rice crispy treats in the shape of watercolor paint and cupcakes.
Here is the instructions for how I made my paint palette treats!
Of course I was needing to keep prices down, but I wasn’t sure at first how I could tie in cheap sub sandwiches with an Art party. Then I realized I could make some printable signs!
I made these super awesome food labels to match my theme and then researched different artists’ names to make it all work together. I ended up with “Dali’s Deli Sandwiches”, “Paint chips”, “Pollock Potatoes”, “Van Gogh Veggies”, “Fresh Coat Fruit”, “Munch-ies”, and “Creative Juice” for the lemonade. (You can easily use this same idea to fit any food theme you come up with!)
Thankfully, my mom helped buy the fruit so that cut my costs even further!
The cupcakes were made simply, with vanilla cake mix and a rainbow swirl designed frosting. (Full tutorial here). They were absolutely perfect!
Total costs (including paper/plastic items): Under $70
Our Art Party Craft Project
The next important thing on my list was finding an art project the kids could do. I had kids aged 1.5 to 9 to consider which made things a bit tricky.
While perusing Pinterest, I came across the idea of bubble paintings! Thanks Living Well Mom!)
It was easy, didn’t require a lot of time to set up or materials (I got the main items at Dollar Tree), and what kid doesn’t love bubbles!?
Plus, at the end of the day, all of the kids had a cool painting to take home with them!
Awesome, right?!
Total cost: Under $15
Party Favors
Party favors can easily cost a lot so in order for me to be able to do the Art party within my budget I went in search of items on sale.
Since the party was in August, I knew school supplies were on sale. Perfect!
I found boxes of crayons at Walmart for only $.25 each!
With these as my main focus, I decided to make little coloring books for party favors.
I bought some coloring pages from Etsy (The shop is no longer open for me to be able to link), resized the images to fit the size of book I wanted to make, and then made my own front and back pages personalized for my daughter.
It took me a little bit to figure out how to turn a picture into a coloring page (there are many different tutorials on YouTube), but I love how they turned out!
Throw them in cute cellophane bags (found at Hobby Lobby), tie them up with these awesome printable Thank You party favor tags, and …TA DA! Fun, personalized party favors to fit the Art Party theme!
This project cost me under $5!
The rest of the decor
I may have been creating an Art Party on a budget and living in a tiny apartment, but I didn’t want to stop at only a backdrop and food table.
My wall above the couch was the first thing someone would see when walking in, so I made a pretty rainbow fan display to go there. -Around $3 to make
The number 4 I made was created by simply cutting out cardboard and melting crayons on it with my heat gun! (Let me know if you want a tutorial on how you can make one too!) -Practically free!
I also made a fun hanging decoration above my counter where we were serving the desserts. These were made out of paint samples (FREE!), tissue pompoms I found at the Dollar Tree, and string. -Around $3
By reusing an aluminum can, I was able to make a utensil holder with crayons and a ribbon for around $.50!
A rainbow garland was made out of paint color samples and tape- FREE
The most expensive item for the party was my yard sign. I had it printed by Office Depot and attached a couple balloons to help the party guests find our apartment. -Under $25
Finally, I wanted my little artist to stand out and feel special so I designed an outfit for her as well! We had the awesome tie-dye skirt already, but I made the shirt by using my printable iron-on Art Party design, then added a flower crown I had previously made for her. She definitely loved it all! -Around $5
Other Art Party Printables
All of these items are the rest of the printables I made to tie the party together. It’s all a matching Art Party theme so you can easily mix and match any of the printables from this post to make your own budget friendly Art Party!
All in all, this whole party came together easily after I figured out what all I could DIY.
The biggest thing to consider when doing a party like this is time… It took quite a bit of time to do all of these projects and then get it all set up (especially with 3 little ones running around!)
If you are on more of a time crunch, you may want to cut some projects out of the plan or buy already made items from other crafty people to save you time and effort!
Either way, you can absolutely make a fun Art Party for your little one while on a budget, too!
Please leave a comment and let me know if you use any of these ideas for your own party!
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