Crazy for Coloring - for Adults!

One of the new crazes right now is Mandala art and adult coloring books.  Stores like Michaels and Target have devoted entire end-cap sections to adult coloring books, and many adults are enjoying the relaxation of coloring right alongside their young children (I know I am!). When one of my regular monthly dinner gals asked if she could bring an out-of-town friend to our June monthly dinner, I asked my friend for some of her guest's loves hoping it might provide some inspiration for the month's theme.  Two of her friend's likes were coloring and Mexican food - she moved from California to Georgia, so the Mexican food selection in not quite what it is here! I decided to incorporate both of these likes into our June theme.

Invite:  I designed the invite on Photoshop using free images I found on Google.  While there are a lot of art party invites out there to choose from, I wanted this dinner to focus on Mandala art and colored pencils (rather than crayon, paint, etc), so I created my own invite specific to that.

Entry Decor:  I made an entry sign with my Cricut Explore.  I found a Mandala art piece of an owl and cut that image out with the Cricut.  Because it was so large, it was actually difficult to do.  It didn't turn out perfectly, but it did the trick. I added color pencils a dollar store basket to elevate the sign. 

Inside Decor: I set my table with a red tablecloth and then a huge strip of white butcher paper on top. I printed out large images of Mandala art and glued them on the butcher paper.  I colored in a few parts of each image, and guests added to each as the night progressed.

For a centerpiece, I bought a colorful bouquet and cut out a Mandala image my daughter had already colored to adhere to the front of the vase.  She loved helping out with the party!

Also on the table, I made large colored pencils out of Pringles cans. First, I cut colored card stock to wrap around the can and attach with scrap book tape.  Next, I cut a beige circle and smaller colored circle for the bottom.  The top is a beige half circle with a 7 1/4" diameter.  I hot glued the half circle around the lid of the Pringles can and then colored the top in marker.  I added pails I found in the dollar section at Target and filled them with markers and colored pencils. The little rainbow cups I found at Dollar Tree.

The rainbow napkins I also found at the Dollar Tree.

The colorful plates my family uses for BBQ gatherings and camping, so we already had them.  Love the color they added to the table. I created 6" mandala art coloring pages to match each of my guests.  Shown above are a pregnant woman for my friend who is pregnant with her first baby, Star Wars, and a Harry Potter tribute.

A couple more:  Mickey Mouse and Hunger Games.  I created all of these on Photoshop combining images I found free online.

For place cards, I wrapped four colored pencils in twine and added a mandala art piece with the guest's name.

I sawed the tops off of colored pencils and added a mini eye hook to make wine charms.  They were really cute in person and easy to make.

I created the wine labels on Photoshop after finding a mandala piece with red wine glasses.

Menu:  I wanted food with a lot of colors.  I started with this recipe for Rainbow Salsa I found on Gimme Some Oven.  It was a win-win -- delicious AND healthy!

For the main meal, I created a tostada bar with grilled carne asada and chicken, refried beans, and cilantro lime rice. For colorful fixings, I had tomatoes, cheese, lettuce, olives, guacamole, sour cream, and pico de gallo. 

For dessert, I made this rainbow cake with Mandala art on top.  My good friend came over and helped me with the Mandala art to place on top.  I made a stencil with my Cricut, and she used the stencil to carve the mandala out of fondant.  The cakes I made with 2 boxes of white cake mix.  I divided each mix evenly into 3 bowls and used gel food color to dye the mix the desired colors.  After baking, I leveled the cakes and stacked them with homemade buttercream icing in between. 

Favor:  I wanted to do something with Skittles candy because they are colorful and their "Taste the Rainbow" slogan went with my overall theme.  I found a template for pencil boxes here.  I took that template and resized it to my liking in Photoshop.  I also added color to make it a colored pencil rather than a regular pencil, and I added the "You Color My World Thanks for Coming" note.  After folding each pencil (I used glue and tape), I place and bag of Skittles inside.

I really love how everything turned out, and we had a great time coloring. Hope you enjoyed this post, and let me know what you liked best!