Maddie's Mad About Art Birthday

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

SUMMARY:

My daughter Maddie loves to draw and can do it for hours and hours. She loves markers and paint and colored pencils so much so that she gets in trouble for drawing on the walls and furniture! She really is "Mad About Art" so we decided that should be the perfect theme of her 5th birthday party.

This was going to be the last party at our house before we move, 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!

• What People Ate

  To round out the brunch menu (because you really shouldn't eat just cake!) I made a brioche French toast casserole, Cracker Barrel-inspired hash brown casserole, veggie and egg bake, magnolia bakery-inspired banana pudding, and rice crispy treats. We also had quiches, cheese and crackers and some more kid-friendly items like Danimals, fruit snacks, and mini muffins. Home Cut Donuts and Big Apple Bagels were also featured. The donuts were featured on a donut wall as part of the decor!

• What People Drank

  Drinks included lemonade, water and orange juice and mimosas and bloody Marys were available for the adults.

• Desserts

  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.

• Party Favors

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

• Activities / Games

  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.

• Kio Kreations

  Party Planner, Florist, Balloons, Stationer

  http://kioandkompany.com/ designed invitations, signs, balloons, flowers and did the planning of the event.

• Flour & Flowers by MK

  Cake designer, Cookie maker

  http://www.flourandflowersbymk.com/ made the cakes for the "cake gallery" and also the cookies and frames for the cookie art project. She is AMAZING.

• Matthew J Odom Photography

  Photographer

  https://www.mjophoto.com/ took beautiful colorful shots of our decor!

• Bounce with the Brices

  Bounce House

  https://www.facebook.com/bouncewiththebrices/ provided an awesome bounce house for our event