For activities we made rainbow noodle necklaces, played a rainbow game, and colored on a drop cloth.
- Arden and I dyed the the pasta using rubbing alcohol and food dye. I bought elastic string as the cord, and then we tied a button on one end to keep the pasta from falling off as the girls strung them. Tie another loop on the other end and then it could stretch over the button. This activity was a big hit and some of the girls made several necklaces. Sara even made one for me!
- The rainbow game was made out of a 6′ x 9′ drop cloth. I cut 3′ off to make a 6′ square and hemmed the rough edge. Using 2″ painter’s tape and my 9.5″ quilters ruler I made a grid and Arden and I went to town painting rainbow squares. The girls were hesitant about this game at first, but some did get into it trying to stretch their bodies as far as they could to reach from one color to another. I knew we wouldn’t be able to play Twister since the red and purple were six feet apart, so we just called out colors and body parts to get the girls to reach for the different colors.
- I had originally thought about one more craft, but then decided that might be too many things so I ditched that idea. After presents were opened and there was still about 15 minutes before parents were returning to pick their children up I just grabbed a bunch of markers and set them loose on the extra part of the drop cloth. Phew! Thank goodness for that piece as they happily colored until everyone was ready to leave. Hadley even got in on the action! So, note to self – have at least one more activity prepped than you think you need…
Arden really enjoyed painting the squares for the rainbow game, but we quickly switched from the foam brush to a chip brush after the first one was shredded.
I kept the decorations pretty simple – I re-used the happy birthday banner I made for Arden’s Pink party last year. Dave strung a rainbow out of streamers in a path from the front door into the dining room where I added rainbow tissue poms to the chandelier. I framed Arden’s twenty questions, adding a little black & white polka dot washi tape to break up the white of the frame.
One of the things I started doing last year and I love is to find fabric yardage to coordinate with the party and use that as tablecloths. I found Riley Blake chevron rainbow and small dots in rainbow at Knotted Thread Etsy shop. I run a serged edge around all sides and then after the party is over I can make all kinds of things using the fabric.
For food I made rainbow fruit and veggie trays, rainbow ribbon finger Jell-O, rainbow bundt cake and rainbow juice. I also had colored goldfish crackers, which weren’t so much rainbow as precisely the colors of our dog’s food – ha! I still put them out to have a little crunch besides the blue corn chips on the veggie tray.
- The fruits were: strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, green grapes, blueberries, and blackberries.
- The veggies were: grape tomatoes, baby carrots, yellow peppers, cucumbers, and blue corn chips. I wanted to have purple cauliflower, but I couldn’t find any.
- I used this recipe for the rainbow Jell-O. It’s not rocket science, but it takes hours of making and waiting in between layers. But look how cute the results are! Totally worth it. Arden figured out right away that you could peel the layers off and eat them one at a time.
- Oh, the rainbow cake… I used this recipe and followed it precisely – I should have taken pictures of the layers of batter in the pan – so pretty! Alas, there wasn’t much rainbow action when I cut across the bundt; more of a greenish blueish blend with some yellow and purple tinges. It was tasty, however. I even busted out grandma’s piping bag and tips to add the “cloud” frosting. Random swirls with a star tip is about the extent of my cake decorating skill set.
- For the rainbow juice I bought mini water bottles and opened every one of them to add 1/4 t of zero-calorie drink powder. The blue are those Mio drops which were the only blue things I could find. I made “rainbow juice” labels and added them to the bottles. They were so cute, but I forgot to take pictures before they went into the ice. I also bought a few flavors of Jones soda with the adults in mind.
To serve the rainbow sherbet, I portioned out servings into rainbow baking cups found at Sweet Kaity Etsy shop. I loved how easy this made it to get sherbet to everyone and kept the messes to a minimum. I will definitely be doing this for future parties. I also used a set of these cups to make the rainbow cupcakes Arden took to her preschool class on her birthday. Those cupcakes did turn out with all the rainbow layers, but I didn’t take pictures of the finished product since I was not feeling well on that day.
I already shared about the Altoid tin coloring kit favors. We handed these out to guests as they were leaving.
I found the tins at Tin Supply Etsy shop. I think you could use these tins for all sorts of projects and gifts.
And the treats also shared previously here. I had a few left over that we’ll give to friends on the 17th. This is such great timing for a rainbow party with St. Patty’s right around the corner.
Arden had such a great time – she was almost manic running around like a nut and giggling uncontrollably as guests arrived. This year she didn’t oversleep and have to be dragged out of bed after everyone was already here like previous parties. She loved the rainbow sherbet and ate two of the cups at the party and was asking for more. Good thing there are a few leftover! Hadley ate her weight in blueberries and seemed to enjoy herself immensely.
Phew!
I’ll be linking to:
Mondays Making the World Cuter Monday – Making the World Cuter Made By You Monday – Skip to My Lou Craftastic Monday – Sew Can Do FUNday Mondays – C.R.A.F.T. et al. Market Yourself Monday – Sumo’s Sweet Stuff Creative Me Monday – The Southern Institute Tuesdays I Made It Without My Hubby – Shanty 2 Chic Sew Cute Tuesdays – Better Off Thread Take a Look Tuesdays – Sugar Bee Craft Edition Shwin&Shwin Nap Time CreationsWednesdays We Did It Wednesdays – Sew Much Ado Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice – Seven Thirty Three Show & Tell – Blue Cricket Design Show Me What Ya Got – Not Just a Housewife Your Whims Wednesdays – My Girlish Whims Thursdays Strut-Your-Stuff – Somewhat Simple Make It, Wear It – The Train to Crazy It’s Stinkin’ Cute – Sew Stinkin’ Cute Show Off Your Stuff – Fireflies and Jellybeans Making It With Allie – What Allie’s Making Now Pinspirational Thursdays – The ArtsyGirl Connection Fridays Furniture Feature Friday – Miss Mustard Seed Weekend Wrap Up Party – Tatertots and Jello Feature Yourself Friday – Fingerprints on the Fridge Friday Fun Finds – KojoDesigns Weekends Check Me Out Saturday – A Vision to Remember Show and Tell Saturday – Be Different Act Normal Sunday Scoop – I Heart Naptime Sunday Showcase Party – Under the Table and Dreaming A Pinteresting Party – Tutus & Tea Parties Sunday Roundup – A Rosie Sweet Home Just Something I Whipped Up – Project Inspire
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