Rainbow Art Par-Tay!

Our sweet Babygirl turned six this weekend, so we used her favorite activity to celebrate with an ART PARTY!

Decorating was easy since we used every color in the rainbow! It was so bright and cheery, I couldn’t stop smiling!

We had a great time shopping for foods of various colors…strawberries, cherry tomatoes, cheddar cheese, carrots, pineapple, green grapes, celery, blue licorice and blackberries.

Printables from DimplePrints added more bright personalization.

My son was willing to sort through bags of M&Ms and layer them in a glass dish. I’m assuming all the brown ones ended up in his belly as payment for his help.

As each guest arrived, they chose a smock we’d decorated with iron-on patches.

Fortunately for my Dining Room chairs, it was a beautiful day and we were able to set the Art Studio up outside. We covered two card-tables with a plastic tablecloth and printed banners, then set jars of brushes and a tray of craft paints out. Crepe paper streamers blew from the tree overhead.

They started by painting plaster figurines, then moved on to canvases. Some even painted their smocks.

Everyone was so intent on their creations, that it was a quiet and peaceful time. Quite the departure from our usual parties!

We left the art outside to dry, and it was snack time! The rainbow color scheme was contagious, and most carefully arranged their food by color. It was also a sneaky way to get them to try all the fruits and vegetables.

The backyard table had simple decorations, but still carried the theme. A striped runner (made here) layered a basic white tablecloth, with placemats made of foam and felt.

The centerpieces were bright colored bowls filled with shredded paper and rainbow lollipops. Small painted easels held more personalized printables.

And then the best part….singing ‘Happy Birthday’ and diving in to the cake!

And at 6-layers, this was a beast of a cake, with a lot of anticipation! There is plenty of Rainbow Cake inspiration online, but I followed my friend Courtney’s lead. My only variance was to wrap each layer after cooling with plastic wrap, then freeze. The night before the party, I assembled and frosted (three tubs!) and left it in the fridge until party time. That step made it a breeze to frost, and I think the coldness held it together during cutting. Next time I’ll put something heavy on top of the layers while freezing, just to compact it a little more.

I’m not kidding when I tell you there was clapping and cheers when I painstakingly revealed the first piece!

And even though she knew what hid behind the white icing, the Birthday Girl was thrilled to see it, too.

My sweet reward.

Noshing on this was a pretty good reward, too.

Once everyone was hopped up on sugar, it was time for the Sugarplum party tradition….a pinata!

We handed out the goodie bags so they could use the totes to gather the pinata loot.

The little ones took turns whacking the pinata, but it was ultimately big brother who stepped in and killed it got ‘er done.

I wish I could get her to move this fast in the morning!

The happy guests went home with goodie bags full of candy and art supplies, and new art for their rooms.

Thanks to my sweet friend, we even managed to get a rare family photo.

Once the guests were gone, it didn’t take Babygirl long to try on some of her gifts, and go for round 2 of birthday cake!

Such an easy and relaxed party, and since most everything was disposable, clean-up was a snap! Although I am glad to have a full year before planning another one. Not to mention I can’t bear the thought of her turning 7!!