Successful art projects at a birthday party? Yes! Art Party: Georgia O'Keeffe

I recently had the greatest/most intense birthday party experience ever.

I hosted a first grader's birthday party at my studio, No Corner Suns.  It is a very small classroom up above an old travel agency.  On my website I say our maximum is 12 kids/party.  Well, we've been able to stretch that to 15...and this weekend I stretched it to 17.  Yes.  Seventeen first graders up in my little attic classroom- and it was off the hook.

My party mom was awesome.  If every customer who came to the studio was like her, it would be a dream.  She took the art party theme to the next level with her details!  It looked great and her daughter was so nice and appreciative.

I taught the kids a little bit about Georgia O'Keeffe and showed them a ton of her flower pictures.  They sketched for a little bit, and then we prepped their canvas.  They spent several minutes mixing their palette (they were great with color theory!) and then painted.  They were so cute!

We of course had our share of spilled water, painted hair and sleeves.  My floor has never been as colorful, and I truly worked up a sweat cleaning up before cupcakes!  It was great fun and I hope to get the chance to do it again.

Successful art projects at a birthday party? Yes! Art Party: Frozen

I started hosting birthday parties at my studio, No Corner Suns.  Of course, the first party that booked wanted a Frozen themed party and project.  I was charged with coming up with an actual art lesson around the wildly popular movie.  I scoured Pinterest, but was having a hard time finding fun lessons...not just put-together projects.

Knowing my class would be wildly excited 8 year old girls lead most of my decision for these projects.  When the girls arrived they built and designed their own Snow Queen Wands.  I stocked up on silvery shiny papers, streamers, ribbons, duck tape, and a die-cuts.  I taught the girls how to cut snowflakes as they arrived.  It was differentiated!

We cleaned up our wands and got ready for our real project...Do you want to build a snowman?  Using Olaf as our guide, the girls built a snowman collage.  I sometimes teach a variation of this lesson to kindergartners during my normal public school teaching. I was SOO afraid we were going to run out of time during the party, that I kind of over prepared and it. Instead of running out of time, we had a ton of time leftover.  Ooops.  Do not do that with a group of wild 8 year old girls.

Fortunately, mom brought a game, we ate cake, opened presents, and I had plenty of recyclables and fun masking tape for a little Open Studio Time.  I think they loved the tin can/toilet paper tube/plastic lid/masking tape projects better than the actual projects! And, it kept them all busy while parents came to pick them up!