Our oldest daughter, Cecelia, requested a paint party this year for her birthday. In April, we visited a small paint cafe which offered DecoArt’s social artworking line, and she fell absolutely in love. She knew this was what she wanted to do with her friends for her birthday, so she decided on a Tacos and Cacti Theme.
Paint Party for Tweens
Now life would have been super easy if I could’ve called up the cafe and had the girls go in for the party. But that little cafe was four hours from our home, so I knew I had to do it myself. At first, I was a little intimidated, but as I familiarized myself with the Social Artworking line, I became more comfortable with my ability to host and direct the girls, because the system really does provide you with everything you need to be successful.
Before the painting could begin, however, we had to set up a little decorations. This party was supposed to take place in June, but things kept happening and pushing the party back, so it wasn’t a huge event like parties usually are around here. We kept the decor pretty minimal (or as minimal as can be when you have a giant inflatable canvas hanging from your ceiling.)
The starting point for this entire party was these napkins. Cecelia saw them at Winners and just had to have them for her party. We used the teal, lime, navy, and orange as colors for the rest of the party decor. The napkins are on top of hot dog trays from the dollar store, which by the way, are the perfect vessel for serving tacos!
I used my letterboard to create a cute message for the party, and added some paper succulents around the corners.
For party favors, we picked up some cute notebooks, holographic pencils, gum, and candy, and packed them with a paper succulent. For a little extra bling, we added the initials of the party guests to each bag.
Paint Party for Tweens – The Painting!
One thing that is great about the Social Artworking system that is different than other paint parties is that it comes with a blackline master of the painting and a piece of transfer paper, so painters have an outline to begin with. This makes it noticeably less intimidating! It also includes complete and very detailed instructions on how to work through the painting.
We ordered the design (Cactus Cloche), paint, easels, and brushes from Social Artworking. I found the paint palettes at the dollar store. I could’ve used paper plates, but the palettes were only $1 and added a nice touch and helped the girls keep their colors seperate.
We made one big mistake that I would change for next time. We held the party from 5-8 so that the girls could eat tacos for supper, and that left us with very little daylight time. If you hold a painting party when there isn’t a lot of daylight, make sure you have a lot of lighting in your room. Our overhead lights just weren’t cutting it, and the girls struggled with seeing their outlines through the wash (the wash was supposed to cover all of the area inside the cloche, but still allow the outlines to show through. Our lighting was so poor that the girls painted around all of the details, which took way longer than it should have.)
Some of the girls didn’t have a chance to finish, mainly because of the light situation. Also because we had to eat tacos, chat, and open gifts. But that was okay, because it meant another chance to hang out! They came back a few days later and finished up their cactus paintings.
I had to snap a picture of this paint palette because the colors were just so beautiful! Those corals and greens are gorgeous together.
Once completed, here was the finished product – isn’t it amazing?
Since the girls all finished at different times, I didn’t get a picture of them all with their finished painting. I really wish I did!
The Final Verdict…
I absolutely loved working with the Social Artworking system, and even though I’m far from being an artist, it gave me the confidence to work through this painting with the girls. I think anyone could host one of these fun evenings, but definitely consider the lighting and timing. If its for younger kids pick a shorter painting and remember to leave time for gifts, chatting, and eating!
If you want more info on Social Artworking, you can visit Social Artworking. We ordered a few extra designs and I can’t wait to tackle one myself once the girls go back to school!
Shopping Sources for Tacos and Cactus Paint Party for Tweens:
This list contains affiliate links.
Cactus Cloche design, paintbrushes, canvases, easels, paint: Social Artworking
Paint Palettes, hot dog trays, tissue paper flowers: Dollarama
Inflatable Cactus: Party City
Paper Succulents, notebooks: Michaels
Holographic Pencils: Target
Letterboard: Amazon
Gold Alphabet Stickers: Thickers by American Crafts
Let’s chat: Which design would you order for a party? Have you ever held a paint party for tweens? What did you find works or doesn’t work with this age group?
Social Artworking provided the painting supplies for this party, but all opinions were my own (and my daughters!)
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