How to Host Your Own Paint and Sip Party!

When I have an opportunity to get together and celebrate… I go all out! This month it was my turn to host book club, so it was the perfect opportunity to plan something fun! Occasionally, we don’t read a book and have an “activity” instead-don’t judge us, LOL!  Paint and sip parties are very popular now but usually you have to make reservations well in advance and it can be very pricey to rent a private space for a small group, so I decided to host my own paint and sip party right at home! Here is how to host your own paint and sip party:

1. Find a local artist! Luckily, this turned out to be the easiest part for me! I have a dear friend whose daughter, Kali,  is a very talented artist! I had the pleasure of attending an art show she was featured in a few months ago here in Downtown Los Angeles. It was a great event and I loved supporting her work! In addition to her wonderful art, she also hosts fabulous paint and sip parties in your own home… Perfect! Checkout her website, here.

2. Pick a theme and send a cute invitation! I love to have a theme for my parties and I usually start with an inspiration piece! This time it was really easy to pick a theme because about a year ago our book club discussed planning a trip to Paris! However, we never got past wishful thinking so I decided to host a Paris themed party instead! My inspiration piece was a hot pink statue of the Eiffel tower that my daughter had in her bedroom years ago. I then found a black and white Toile fabric at Walmart to match my inspiration piece! Now I had my theme and color scheme! We like to use evite.com to send out invitations to our book club members. Thank you Debbie for making such a cute invitation.

3. Plan your menu! Now that you have a theme, time to plan a tasty menu! Every dish does not have to match your theme. However, a few touches that go with your theme are great! I chose to go with sun-dried tomato pasta, caesar salad, and fresh baked French bread. For dessert we had French macarons with vanilla bean ice cream, the perfect dessert for a Paris themed party! Catering from Fresh Corn Grill and French macarons can be found at Whole Foods.

4. Time to decorate! Decide whether your party will be formal, informal, indoors, or outdoors! What mood are you trying to set? I wanted to create the feeling of a warm summer’s night in Paris! Dining al fresco seemed like the perfect choice! Once you know the vibe you want to create for your party, you can look for fun decorations that support your theme and create a nice ambiance. Pinterest is a great place to look for creative decorating ideas. You can find great “pins” for any theme or occasion! I found some great ideas for outdoor chandeliers that can be a fast and easy DIY project. I purchased a basic outdoor chandelier at Big Lots and added a rustic wreath and artificial flowers from Michael’s to create the perfect statement piece.

 

5. Set everything up well in advance! Truth be told I started planning this party months ago! I picked up little things here and there. Whenever I would see something I liked with “Paris” on it, I grabbed it! I found most of the things I needed at Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, Urban Home, and Home Goods. I also realized I had several things around the house that already matched the theme, so don’t forget to shop your own closet!

6. Enjoy your guests! When you have everything well planned you can relax and enjoy the time with your friends. We listened to French cafe music station on Pandora while we painted and laughed at our “masterpieces”! There was definitely a lot of sipping and chatting!  At the end of the day, it is all about having fun with your family and friends. I think everyone really appreciated all the effort and we had such a wonderful time!

I hope you enjoyed this paint and sip party post!  After having such a great time together we recommitted ourselves to planning that trip to Paris! I hope we make it there this time but no matter what, we will always have our backyard “Painting in Paris” summer night!  Thank you Alison for being such a wonderful co-host, we make a great team!

Stay busy being fabulous,

Kery B.