craft party night

A few weeks ago I hosted a make-your-own patch banner party. My good friend – and fellow soccer mom – suggested the idea for the party and I jumped at it!! I have actually been wanting to host one of these craft night parties and this was the perfect chance. I think these kind of get togethers are good for the soul. Even if you’re not artistic or creative, they’re a great way to express yourself and try new things. This craft night wasn’t fancy or elaborate but it was super fun and productive! We had {lots} of yummy treats and almost as much wine. I gathered the supplies and everyone brought a glue gun.

The great things about this party was that we were making a Christmas present for our daughters. They all play soccer and have collected lots of patches over the years so a banner was the perfect solution to display all these well-earned patches. You can check out my post on how to make your own patch banner here for the full step-by-step instructions. The girls will love these and I think they’ll love the fact that their moms made them. But we had to keep the reason for the party a secret. The party was easy. Keeping it a secret was hard.

There’s a little bit of prep work that needs to be done but not a lot of instruction was needed during the party. I think having others around while you work motivates people to be creative and gives them the support to try something they wouldn’t do on their own. So whether it’s a party on how to make your own patch banner – or any other craft of your choice – it’s a fun alternative to a night out. I encourage you to either host a craft party or attend one – whatever your skill level is. I guarantee you’ll have fun, learn a lot, and probably surprise yourself with what you can do.

If you want to host a party, here are some of the basics you’ll need to get it going:

• Collect the supplies ahead of time. I wanted to make sure everyone had the correct materials. You can enlist the help of one of your friends for this task. The only item I asked everyone to bring was a glue gun. And everyone had one – I love it. I had the guests pay $10 for all the supplies – kinda like a class fee.

• Clearly mark each guests’ materials {I made name tags} and also the shared materials. I put all the shared materials in one carry-all container.

• Set up a few tables as work stations. I just used my kitchen table and dining room table as work areas and placed an instruction sheet on each. If you don’t have a lot of table space, don’t worry – the guests could do the craft in stages and learn from one another this way. Or they could be like my guests {7 of them} and all work together at one table. I thought it was so sweet that they all wanted to stay and work together! It was a little crowded but that made it more fun.

• Make an instruction sheet. ok, this was was not really necessary for me since we all worked right next to each other and everyone just asked questions and helped each other along the way. But it would be helpful if you have a larger party or the guests are doing the craft in stages.

• Food & wine. And more wine. Ladies tend not be big party eaters {except for me}. So picky foods are best. And did I mention wine? I set up a small bar area and made a batch of my favorite sangria {check out that recipe here}. I added some fun straws and you could also add these super cute chalk labels if you’re feeling it.

• I made a party favor {shocker}. You certainly don’t have to do this but it was something that just came to me and fit the party theme. I’m into themes. It was a DIY kit on how to make a soccer ponytail holder. I’ll write up a full post on this soon. Super cute. The favor/DIY project was something that could go in the girls’ stockings too.
• And of course, clean your house – which is my least favorite part of having a party.

That was really all there was needed to put together a DIY party. The hard part would be to come up with an idea of what type of craft to do. I would keep it simple – a craft that doesn’t take too long or requires an extensive drying time is perfect. Here are a few ideas {click on the blue links to bring you to the project tutorials}:

• painting party – kinda like this place. Just set up an easy still-life {fruit, bowl, vase, etc.} and give each guest a canvas, paint palette and paints.
• Check out this craft night from a fellow blogger. They made book page angel wings. So clever and pretty.
• Keychains – like this leather tassel one.
• birthday or special occasion cards.
• paper rosettes. Fun decoration for a party – or if you’re like me, all year round!
• candy jars. I use mine all the time – and they make great hostess gifts. Guests could bring their own jars.

So, I think we were successful in keeping this party a secret from our daughters so that these banners can be a little Christmas present for them. And us moms had a nice night out. Wine, crafts and shopping. win-win-win.

Would you host or attend a craft party night? Or do you have any other ideas for one? I’d love to hear your comments and maybe get a new idea for my next party. Enjoy!