This party certainly doesn’t have to be done as a Valentine’s Day celebration. However, since this party happened to be near the day of hearts and love… I decorated the party space to reflect that. I kept it mostly simple using graphic black, white, and pink elements. Xs and Os and hearts helped move the theme from the painting space to the bar and food space.
Girls Night In: Paint and Sip
Hosting a girls night in is ALWAYS a fun idea! Why not change things up and host a paint and sip party? It’s a fun way to get together and make beautiful artwork to enjoy for years to come. Plus, it’s the perfect occasion for beginners to dip their toes into the world of painting, with the added bonus of some fun girl time included!
If you are already feeling overwhelmed, don’t be. A painting party is surprisingly easy to put together in a short amount of time. And, you would be amazed at how much fun everyone will have!
Girl’s Night In: Paint and Drink
Want to host a paint and sip party? With just a little preparation, you can organize an amazing party for all of your fellow art lovers and friends to enjoy.
Here are three things that you will need to do when you are organizing a painting party to ensure that it’s a success. By the way, you don’t have to do it alone! You can get a few of your artistic friends to help as well!
Step 1: Gather your supplies.
When hosting a girl’s night in, prepare all of the supplies that you are going to need for the event (plus a little extra!)
You will need to get canvases, paint, paintbrushes, and palettes. Even if everyone is supposed to bring their own supplies, it is still a good idea to have stuff on hand, just in case!
Because this is a Paint and Sip, you’ll also need…drinks! Wine is the most popular option, but you could get creative with other beverages as well such as a signature cocktail (or mocktail).
Don’t forget to grab a non-alcoholic option for those who don’t drink or want to limit alcohol. There is plenty of tasty non-alcoholic drinks that would be great for the occasion!
Step 2: Send the invites.
Send invitations to all of the lucky ladies that you want at your paint and sip party! Make sure to include all of the details to avoid having to go back and forth discussing times and places.
Send the invites with plenty of time in advance to make sure everyone has time to free up their schedule.
Step 3: Choose a girl’s night activity.
To have a fun night of painting, you’ll want to organize a few activities.
The best thing is to have multiple options so that everyone will be able to choose what interests them. It’s a good way to ensure even beginner painters feel included. Ideas for activities could range from a challenging new painting method to painting a simple landscape.
Alternatively, to keep it simple, you could pick out a painting challenge for everyone to try and make a game out of it. Keeping it fun and light-hearted will be great for everyone in the room.
Ultimately, no matter what activity you prepare, the goal is simply this: for your guests to create fun art, enjoy a drink, and have a good time together. Keep that in mind, and your girl’s night in will be a total success!
Join the Party Headquarters Community
Did you have the best time ever hosting your paint party? If so, why not do it again and earn some extra cash while you are at it?
Do you want to learn how to earn money as an artist and teach other women to do the same? If you answered yes, then you need to join the Paint Party Headquarters. This is where I will teach you everything that has grown my passion into a business!
If you love to paint but don’t know how to make a living from it, you need this insightful membership! You can ask me any questions by texting me directly!
Make a Cocktail Based On…
I love this theme for a girls’ night because it can go in so many different directions. For this night, everyone makes a signature cocktail based on a predetermined theme and serves them to the group. You can even vote on the best one with a prize for the winner. Some great themes I’ve seen are cocktails based on your ex, your favorite movie, your job, and your Zodiac sign.
Hear me out: Manifesting actually works. I’m very big into manifesting, lucky girl syndrome, the law of attraction—all of it. Every year, I cut up magazines, make a collage-style vision board, and hang it up where I see it daily. I’ve recruited many of my friends into creating an annual vision board with me, and it always turns into such a fun girls’ night. All you need are some magazines, poster boards, and good energy to manifest what you want in life.
Permanent Jewelry Party
@devin.cooke
This is your sign to have a permanent jewelry party for your next girls night ✨ if you are in Eastern North Carolina, definitely check out Coastal Chain NC on instagram! #enc #permanentjewelry #permanentbracelet
♬ Southern Nights – Glen Campbell
Permanent jewelry is so trendy right now, so this is the perfect glamorous girls’ night. While you could gather all the girls and head to a shop, many permanent jewelry merchants will also come right to your home and host a jewelry party. Put out some elevated snacks, craft some cocktails, and get ready for some gorgeous forever friendship bracelets (or anklets) to celebrate your everlasting love with your besties.
PowerPoint Party
I’m not sure where PowerPoint parties came from, but I am obsessed with this idea, and it seems everyone else is, too. This is another night where the possibilities are quite literally endless, and they’re fun every single time. Choose a theme and have everyone come prepared with a PowerPoint defending their point of view (hot takes are highly encouraged). Once everyone has presented, you can vote on a winner. If you don’t want to make it a competition, just enjoy the hilarious content that your friends bring each time.
A paint-and-sip workshop is a classic girls’ night-out activity. But it’s even more fun when you DIY one at home. You can find virtual paint and sip classes online, or make it your own by simply painting and sipping simultaneously with no official direction. All you need is some paint, canvases, paintbrushes, and some inspiration. In between painting sessions, serve snacks, cocktails, or wine, and enjoy your creative girls’ night.
How to Host a Painting Party
The supplies for a painting party can be as simple as a painting surface and some acrylic paint. Fingers make great brushes! However, if you want to keep it a bit more clean, paint brushes are a good addition. To keep costs down you can even just grab the essential colors of paint (black, white, red, yellow, and blue) and let guests mix their own combinations.
I knew I’d be hosting more than one of these events, so I picked up some easels, larger boxes of paint ranging colors, prepped canvases, and paint brushes. The below links are to the actual items I got for my painting party and are affiliate links which means I get a small payment if you make a purchase (at no additional cost to you).
Painting Party Supplies (affiliate links):
- 6 Pack of Easels
- 12X12 Canvases
- Mont Marte Acrylic Paint
- Acrylic Paint Brush Sets
- Water glasses
- Towels to clean off brushes
- Paper Plate or Palette Plate
Tips for Painting
I really love the idea of going to one of those Paint and Sip venues with friends. I’ve been several times and always have a good time. However, one of the things I don’t like about it is I’m often left with a piece of art that I probably wouldn’t have chosen to decorate my house with if not for the cost of the party. So, when I host a painting party… I sorta let everyone do their own thing. I love how creative everyone gets!
Not everyone loves to paint like I do and some people majorly underestimate their skill. So, the below tips are how I encourage people to paint.
- Stick with abstract. Unless you are great at drawing…abstract is where it is at.
- Pick colors that go with your home decor already.
- Search for artwork in that color scheme to inspire your painting. For instance, if you decorate in blue and yellow do a Pinterest or Google search for “abstract art blue and yellow” and see what comes up!
- Don’t try to copy. Look a the shapes and brush strokes on the art pieces you are drawn to and imitate that, but don’t hold yourself back.
- Stop throughout your painting to let paint dry and to step back and see how it is shaping up. If you feel stumped…. turn your artwork on its side or upside down and see if that inspires you.
- Don’t be afraid of white space. Seriously… sometimes less is so much more!
The Extras… Food & Drink
I hosted this party during the dinner hour so I wanted to provide some hearty snacks that could substitute as a meal, but was also able to sit out a bit so people could snack throughout the painting process.
Ladies Night Menu:
- Romaine Lettuce and Spring Greens Dressed in Vegan Caesar Dressing and gluten free croutons with sides of Parmesan cheese and grilled chicken for those who wished to add them.
- Tuscan White Bean Italian Salad (a hit!)
- A charcuterie platter featuring Trader Joe’s Gormet Deli Selection (3 types of meats), unexpected cheddar, goat cheese stuffed peppers, blue cheese, fontina cheese, apples, strawberries, crackers, and gluten free baguette slices.
- A vegetable platter featuring carrots, cucumbers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, hummus, and spinach dip.
- A sweets platter with cream puffs, eclairs, macarons (from Trader Joe’s), meringues (from Trader Joe’s), berries, and candies.
Belly Up to the Bar at Ladies Night
I think the beverages are always my favorite part of parties. If you look through my blog you’ll notice that I have more beverage recipes than anything else. They are such a FUN way to give a little something extra to a party. I always make sure there are a selection of fun non-alcoholic beverages at every party including water. For this party I served some cucumber water along with a selection of Bubly sparkling waters and sparkling grapefruit juice. I also had a bar with the makings for martinis and gin & tonics.
Martini Bar Ingredients:
- Coupe Martini glasses (affiliate link)
- Shaker & Jigger (affiliate link)
- Ice
- Vodka (yes, you can totally use gin, but I’m a vodka martini gal)
- Dry vermouth (store that in the fridge!)
- Olive Juice
- Olives
- Lemon Twists (Citrus Peeler – affiliate link)
Make sure you add the directions for making a martini so your guests can make their own.
A Gin Dependent Woman Gin & Tonic Bar Ingredients:
- Glassware – I used rocks glasses (affiliate link)because I like them, but traditionally high ball glasses (affiliate link) are used.
- Ice
- Cocktail spoon (affiliate link)
- Jigger (affiliate link)
- Gin
- Tonic Water
- Sparkling Grapefruit Juice
- Blood Orange simple syrup
- Citrus (lime, lemon, grapefruit, blood oranges)
- Herbs (Thyme & Rosemary– though, basil would be a great addition!)
- Cucumber slices
- Strawberries
Make sure you add directions to this as well and add in some ideas for combinations!
Gin & Tonic Bar Directions:
- Fill glass with ice
- Add 1.25 oz of Gin to glass
- Add in your mixers – squeeze citrus, crush herbs, mash berries/cucumber, etc.
- Add in any simple syrup or juice (half an ounce or less)
- Top with tonic water
Suggested combos:
- Strawberries, thyme, grapefruit slices, grapefruit juice, gin, & tonic.
- Lime, cucumber, gin, & tonic.
- Blood orange simple syrup, rosemary, blood orange slices, gin & tonic.
We had a fantastic time at this painting party and plan to make crafting/painting parties a regular occurrence after this event. Honestly, I think an event like this would be great for a birthday party or shower as well. Wouldn’t it be awesome to host a painting party baby shower and have the guests paint abstract paintings in the colors of the nursery? Or, perhaps a wedding shower where guests paint paintings for the couple’s home together or for the wedding tables! The ideas are endless.
Have a great painting party!
Would you go to a painting party? Share in the comments what would draw you to a party like this or what else would make it a great event!
I’d love that if this idea inspires you that you share it with me by tagging me on Instagram or Twitter (@JenniBost).
