DIY Paint Party For Kids Or Adults

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Looking for a great get together idea? Paint parties, paint and sip nights, coffee and canvas brunches are everywhere these days. After seeing friends’ pictures for years I finally got on board last Mother’s Day and took my daughter for a Mommy & Me canvas painting class at a local shop. It was so much fun and my daughter couldn’t stop talking about doing it with her friends. After multiple attempts to get the girl squad together and make it happen, I realized it would be so much easier to schedule if I just hosted it at home! Thus I started working on a DIY Paint Party plan.

The Game Plan

Planning the Party Details for your Paint Part

Once I decided to have a DIY paint party then came the fun part (not!) of figuring out the game plan. As my husband will tell you I’m a little obsessed with lists. My lists notebook and planner go with me almost everywhere and usually reside in my purse! So out came my pen and paper and my list started.

The Who and Where?

The first thing to figure out is who. Knowing how many people you are going to be having is important so you can plan accordingly. The number of people is going to play a big factor in determining all the party details. My list had four other girls and my daughter for five total.

I decided to keep the first attempt small so I could host at home and see how it would go. This answered the where question. If you have a larger guest list these same techniques can still be applied. You would just need more space (which my tiny house defiantly does not offer lol) and more materials.

The Theme and Details

The next step was the party planning portion. Will your party have a theme? This can be as simple or as extravagant as you want. In my case I wanted this to be extremely simple so my theme was Painting! Now if you have something else in mind you could choose any theme you want. My daughter insists the next party will be Harry Potter themed. Though if she had her way life would be Harry Potter themed!

Once a theme has been picked you can decide on party decor, party food, drinks, party invites, and the painting design. Just like the theme, these choices can be as simple or as extravagant as you want. I decided not to decorate, I would do simple finger food snacks and juice drinks, and the party invites would be via text. 

Deciding on a Painting Design for your party

Next, I needed to plan the painting. I’ll be honest my first thought was I’ll just give them the canvases and let them paint whatever they want. Then I took a drink of my coffee. I guess the caffeine rushed to my brain because I started thinking about the problems with this. First, how would I know what paint I would need? The second was scheduling. I’d have one paint a circle and be done. Then they’d want another canvas (Note to self I should probably buy extra canvases) or they would want to go play. Down the rabbit hole, my mind went. As the kids finish they wander off outside to pay. Then kids are climbing trees and breaking arms. Meanwhile, my last Picasso, still painting way at the table, was left forgotten as I whisked the others away to the emergency room.

Yes, I’m a bit dramatic, I know! No, I’ve never had a kid fall from a tree or break an arm on my watch! But hey who hasn’t seen Home Alone? Obviously, I needed a design to keep them all on the same track. So I went to Pinterest. You can see the board of paint options I created for my daughter to chose from here. She decided she wanted to do a simple geometric painting.

Creating the DYI Party Shopping List

Once everything is all planed out then comes the shopping. You’ll need to start your shopping list based on your party theme and party plans, but here is what you will need for each painter. I bought everything I needed for the painting part at Walmart separate from my food just to see what it would cost me. The paint supplies cost me $26.95 with tax.

For Each Painter:

• A Canvas – I purchased the Daler-Rowney Simply Panel Canvas, in 8″ x 10″. These came in a 6 pack. Even though I only had 5 painters I got two so I would have extra. If you get the stretched canvases that are stapled on the back the finished painting doesn’t need to be framed.
• Paintbrushes – The design you choose will determine the exact need but I recommend 3 each, a fine point, a medium, and a larger flat brush. For our geometric painting, a variety of bushes wasn’t as essential so I went with a more cost effective choice and just got a variety pack of bushes.
• Foam or Plastic Plate for mixing paint – Foam Egg cartons are a good option too if you have extras.
• A plastic cup of water for washing brushes – Important tip – If using the same plastic cups as you’re using for drinks take a sharpie and label the water cups so your guests aren’t drinking paint water!

For The Party Table

• Plastic Table Cloths – I got mine from the party section. They cost a dollar. They make for easy cleanup and protect your table from paint. If you’re worried about your floors you can also buy extras and lay or tape down under your table to protect from spills and splatters.
• Paint – I got an essentials starter pack (with 12 colors) of Apple Barrel paint in the craft section. The paint you need though will depend on the painting you decided to do and how many painters you will have.
• Painters Tape – One roll was more than enough for all of the kids.

Here are some of the products I bought for my DIY paint party. Just so you know what you are looking for when you get to the store. Or you can click on each to get more information about them.

The Painting

Once all the planning is done and you’ve got all the supplies you just need to wait until the day of your DIY paint party to get set up. Cover your paint area with the table cloth(s). Set each painter up a space with canvas, water cup, paint plate, paint, and paintbrushes. Once they are ready let the painting begin. Here is the complete step by step instructions for the geometric painting my daughter picked.

The Clean Up

Once all your Picassos are done painting all that is left is to let their creations dry and clean up. I moved all of the paintings to my freezer (covered in yet another $1 table cloth) to dry. You’ll want to move the brushes to your sink to be washed. I soaked all of mine in a cup with some Murphy’s Oil Soap for a couple of hours before rinsing mine out and leaving them to dry on the counter. Dump all the water from the paint cups, make sure the lids are shut and store your paint, and then simply throw the rest away! I hope you will enjoy your DIY paint party as much as we did!