• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Collaborate
  • Blog
  • Parties
    • Children’s Parties Ideas
    • Holiday Parties
    • Adult Party Ideas
  • Holiday Ideas
    • Christmas
    • Easter
    • Fourth of July
    • Spring
    • Thanksgiving
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Seasons
    • Winter
    • Spring
    • Summer
    • Autumn
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Beverages
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Soups
  • Project Gallery
    • Crafts
    • Decorating
    • DIY
    • Good Ideas
    • Tutorials
  • Shop My Home
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Bloglovin
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

Where Ideas for your Home Meet Inspiration for your Heart

  • Book
  • Speaking
  • Meet Vanessa
    • Featured

August 18, 2015

A Painting Themed Birthday Party

Hello At the Picket Fence friends! I’m so excited to be back with you today sharing one of my all-time favorite birthday parties we hosted for our son.

There is so much about raising a boy that completely mystifies me, but a few basics that I’ve learned so far are that they have a very unique way of channeling creativity, they love to make messes and they love to destroy.

Painting Birthday Party from At the Picket Fence

In fact our furniture, floors & baseboards have achieved an authentic distressed look thanks to my son’s expertise in the above categories. What better way to celebrate that unique creativity and talent for mess-making than at a Painting Party.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

This party was for my son’s 2nd birthday and with only a few guests invited, we kept it pretty simple. I scanned one of my son’s paintings to create the invitations, found a quote from Picasso that celebrates the boyish propensity towards destructive art, and used the painting’s colors to create the color palette for our party.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

We featured a gallery of his artwork as the birthday bunting and framed the piece that inspired the party on the dessert table.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

After a few visits to the paint department, I had amassed enough chips to create a large 2 for the front door and used the extras for cupcake toppers and dessert table décor.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

Our tablecloth was a painter’s cloth and my plan had been to buy actual paint palettes to display the food but budget trumped creativity.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

What I love most about this theme is that it is cheap, (our decorations were mostly free), it’s re-usable (all of the favors were art supplies for guests to use at home), and it’s fun for any age or gender.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

The art stations were all age-appropriate with mini canvases to design, large easel painting, do-a-dot art stamps, salad spinner spin art, and face painting.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

 

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

The favors were smocks, paint chip bookmarks, watercolors, and mini easels to display their canvases at home.

Painting Themed Birthday Party Ideas from At The Picket Fence

My son has already declared that his next birthday will be a “building birthday” and has been hoarding recycling from around the house as materials for his future party.  Judging from the “laser gun” that he made in Sunday school instead of the lamb ears that he was supposed to make, I’m pretty sure he will interpret this birthday theme in his own unique way.

And I will learn to embrace all of the messes & creative destruction along the way!

Thanks so much for joining me at the Fence today,

Julie Signature

Did you like this party? Check out some of my other celebrations!

Pioneer Party

pioneer party

Narnia Party

narnia party

7 Comments Filed Under: Children's Parties Ideas, Parties Tagged With: birthday parties, kids parties, parties

Subscribe

Get the latest goodness straight to your inbox!

Previous Post: « The Peace-Filled Home Part Two
Next Post: When You Want a Wood Watch »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Amy says

    August 18, 2015 at 5:21 AM

    I LOVED this post today! How cute is your son? The party looked like so much fun and the story about Sunday school made me laugh right out loud!

    Reply
  2. Lisa Mothersead says

    August 18, 2015 at 5:48 AM

    I love that! Everything was so well thought out. Your son and the furniture comment was funny! I grew up with three bro’s and I get it. At my home, I just sold a sofa, coffee, and end table that we’d had since my youngest (22) was lil’. She teethed on the edge of the sofa table and the coffee table had marks where she had learned to write her name and done her Valentine’s cards. Now we can afford nicer (Restoration Hardware) furniture but it’ll never mean as much to me.

    Reply
  3. Katy says

    August 18, 2015 at 10:05 AM

    This is such a perfect party for a 2-3 year old! I don’t have a little one yet but I’m filing this away to use for when I do!

    Katy
    https://www.alittledailyhappiness.com

    Reply
  4. Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life says

    August 19, 2015 at 4:49 PM

    I love this idea! My boys would definitely love this and they are a little older. I’ve had art/painting playdates at my house where I just rolled out long pieces of butcher paper down our farmhouse dining room table and then let the kids just spread out and have fun.

    As far as a building party goes, we had a tool party for my oldest son’s third birthday. The biggest part of the party was having all the kids build birdhouses. It was a great party.

    Reply
  5. Barbara says

    August 21, 2015 at 4:39 AM

    I love this! What a ingenious, creative way to have fun at a birthday party. Kids love displaying their artwork and receiving praise so this is just a perfect way to spend 30-60 minutes! I love the tee shirts and the take home kits (or are they place markers? – the little paint kits with the paint chip cards attached with raffia? So clever.

    Keep the good ideas coming!

    Reply
  6. sara says

    August 31, 2015 at 3:58 AM

    Great ! I really like it! sulekha dyacre!

    Reply
  7. Georgia | Rutan Poly says

    September 10, 2015 at 11:07 AM

    A painting theme for a birthday party? I really like the idea. My daughter loves to paint also and she’s attending art workshop. He’s turning 8-years-old next month and I’m planning special for her birthday party and these are awesome ideas! Thank you.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

Search This Blog

Get the book!

Invite Vanessa to speak at your event!

Stay updated!

  • A New Look for the Family Room

    A New Look for the Family Room
  • Honey Tea Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze

    Honey Tea Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze
  • The Slow Exit

    The Slow Exit
  • Honed Quartzite Kitchen Counters Reveal

    Honed Quartzite Kitchen Counters Reveal

Sign Up and Never Miss A Post!

Must Reads

Latest Recipes

Strawberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

Honey Tea Cake Loaf with Lemon Glaze

Apple Bread Pudding

view more recent recipes

Recent Posts

  • Decorating a Sofa Table May 31, 2023
  • Strawberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze April 19, 2023
  • Console Table Refresh March 24, 2023
  • Laundry Room Makeover February 23, 2023
  • Winter Decorating Ideas January 27, 2023

Footer

Stay Connected!

Instagram

There’s nothing quite like enjoying the rewards There’s nothing quite like enjoying the rewards of your labor! The whole family pitched in to get our bark spread around the yard (I’m the master at raking it until it’s nice and even) and by the end of the day we were all done. Now we can head into summer with our big yard projects completed! 🙌🏻 Do you put in fresh bark every year?
Welcome June! I’m so glad you’re here! What’ Welcome June! I’m so glad you’re here! What’s your favorite thing about this month? Mind can be summed up in this quote…

“In early June the world of leaf and blade and flowers explodes, and every sunset is different.” John Steinbeck
“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom “No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation.”
General Douglas MacArthur

Grateful today and every day for those who were vigilant to the point of death in the preservation of our freedom and the principles upon which our country was founded. May we honor their sacrifice by being vigilant too. #memorialday
I’ve been on the lookout for small side tables t I’ve been on the lookout for small side tables to pit next to our outdoor couch and when I spotted these plant stands at @walmart from their @betterhomesandgardens line I knew they would be perfect…and they are!! 👏🏻 This is not a sponsored post. I’m just happily sharing this great find and why we should always be open to thinking outside of the box when it comes finding solutions for our decorating dilemmas.

Now we’re ready to head into this beautiful weekend! ☀️
What do you do when you want to use a bunch of boo What do you do when you want to use a bunch of books in your decorating but it can cost $50 or more for just ONE brand new book? Head to the secondhand bookstore of course! I’m so excited about this new look in my family room and this easy, inexpensive decorating tip I’m bringing to you for this #tiptuesday
Today feels like one of those days that is worthy Today feels like one of those days that is worthy of a chef’s kiss. Blue sky with nary a cloud in sight, perfect mid-70’s temps, a gentle breeze blowing through my hair as I walk around my yard to see the status of my flowering plants.

This morning I was running errands and the weight of hard things that are happening in the world, the culture, my own community and even in our circle of friends just felt so heavy.

But, as I was exiting a store, I passed a couple who were in their late 60’s/early 70’s and holding hands as they walked through the parking lot. I happened to glance over just as the husband lifted his wife’s hand up and planted a kiss right on it. It was a moment that reflected such love and tenderness and it was made sweeter by the fact that they weren’t spring chickens. I felt honored that I had been the one to observe and appreciate that moment.

What an incredible thing it is that as humans we are able to hold so many emotions in our souls all at once. To feel sorrow for the pain a friend is enduring, grieve the decline of a culture drifting further from the Lord, ponder how to navigate a challenging school situation, marvel at and enjoy the beauty of creation right outside my door and feel joy at getting to see a tangible example of lasting love while walking through a parking lot.

I truly believe that as we mature in our lives and in our faith, we learn to embrace the tension that comes with the collision of different emotions and recognize that they can all coexist at the same time without one taking something away from another. Simple joys make the hard stuff a bit easier and hard stuff makes us appreciate those simple joys even more.

What’s a simple joy that you are thankful for today?
Oh what an absolutely lovely weekend we had!! Here Oh what an absolutely lovely weekend we had!! Here are some highlights…

*Friday night I joined some wonderful ladies at church for a time of fellowship and yummy desserts. I made a strawberry lemon coffee cake and it was amazing if I do say so myself. ☺️ We are new-ish to this church and have just felt so warmly welcomed and folded in which has been very healing.

*Saturday was filled with getting our outdoor spaces spiffed up and my guys got our new table put together!

*Sitting outside for lunch with a yummy salad and iced tea felt like a little slice of heaven.

*Sunday we went to the iris gardens with my in-laws and then came home for naps and the most mouth watering ribs that my sweet husband had on the smoker all day.

*This glorious weekend ended with some ferocious rounds of UNO-corn (a hilarious version of UNO) and brownies my sweet daughter made for our dessert.

How was your weekend sweet friends? 🌸
I am absolutely and completely a better version of I am absolutely and completely a better version of myself when the sun is shining! Raise your hand if this is true for you too.

And, not only do I feel myself seeming to physically rise up from a slumbered state to greet the sunshine we've been longing for, I find that it seems like my house is rising up too. Every room, every nook and cranny (even though I now see dust bunnies that I missed during my cleaning on the dreary days), every leaf and flower outside...it's all coming to life and breathing fresh hope into my spirit. What a gift it is to be able to enjoy this home in all of the seasons of the year and of our lives. Now, I'm going to head outside and clean our deck and maybe there will be some time leftover for those dust bunnies!
I’m slightly obsessed with these glass dispenser I’m slightly obsessed with these glass dispensers! They come with pre-made labels for SO many different options and would make a great Mother’s Day gift! I love how they add a bit of pizzazz to my kitchen. And they go perfectly with some of my antique accessories like the little dish my mother in law gave me for salt and pepper and the tiny toothpick holder which belonged to my great grandmother. 

If you’d like the link to order them, just leave a comment with the word ‘bottles’ and I’ll send it your way. They’re even on sale right now! 🙌🏻
The lilacs are coming! The lilacs are coming! This The lilacs are coming! The lilacs are coming! This is what I’m thinking (and sometimes saying out loud) every time I pass my dining room window and see my lilac tree bursting forth. I should probably just go full Paul Revere and ring a bell while I shout the news for all to hear. I’m sure my family would love that!

Lilac season is so bittersweet because it’s over way too soon but, fortunately, I’ve figured out how to capture the deliciousness of the fragrance by making my own lilac scented room spray. It’s SO simple!

Directions: Fill spray bottle with 50/50 ratio of water to vodka.

Add 12 drops of lilac oil. Give it a shake, spray and if the scent isn’t strong enough, simply add a few more drops of lilac oil.

This sweet little project was first featured in my book Life in Season and is definitely one of my favorites.

Have the lilacs started blooming where you live?
Load More... Follow
Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Divine theme by Restored 316

Copyright © 2023 At The Picket Fence