• Every seat gets a green placemat and a brown paper bag for the kids to decorate and later take their piece home in.

• Share a water bowl and sponge tile between every two kids.

• Marker buckets (water-based!) also go between every two guests.

• Clear the counter and shelves near the party room—parents will use that space for snacks and gifts.

• Pre-pour “party paint palettes” (all rainbow colors except black) about 10 minutes before party time.

• Put a brush set in your apron pocket for the paint demo.

• Prop up the birthday plate with a fresh water-based marker for signing.
  
  

• Invite them to grab a seat, write their name on their bag, and start decorating it.

• Give a fun prompt like: “Draw your favorite animal or fairy tale creature!”

Once everyone’s settled:

“Alright friends – we’re about to get started! I’m going to come around and pick up your bags and markers. Be sure your name is ON your bag so we can get your piece back to you!”

Return the markers to the alcove in the front of Jess’s desk and line the bags up on the brown counter for matching and labeling.

Stand near the color samples by the door and say:

“Who’s ready to paint? Yay! Okay—eyes on me for a sec while I walk you through it.”

Then:

• “This paint is not permanent—it washes off skin, clothes, and even hair. If you need to clean up, the bathroom is all the way in the back on the pink wall.”

• “Pottery paint starts pastel and chalky, but after firing it becomes glossy and vibrant. See these color samples? That’s what they’ll look like after they’re fired.”

• “To get that shine, you need three full coats of each color. So paint it once, let it dry, do it again… then one more time!”
  
  

Demo how to:

• Rinse the brush in the water bowl by painting the bottom

• Tap and roll it on the sponge to reset it

• Show the big brush for large areas and the small one for details

• Explain they’ll get all the colors of the rainbow, plus brown and white—black comes at the very end
  
  

“Y’all are being GREAT listeners! Now for the fun part…”

Show off each pottery option (cat, dog, etc.), then go around collecting names and selections on the party form; Head behind the curtain and grab/distribute the pieces.

“Alright, everyone has their piece? I’m handing out your brushes and paint trays—go ahead and get started once you’ve got yours!”

Hand out big/small brushes and pre-filled paint palettes.

Note: we save the black for last because it is highly pigment and can easy bleed into the bright colors. You can absolutely pour black paint for anyone who wants to paint a black dog/cat, tires, whatever. 

As kids finish painting:

• Place their piece on their labeled bag

• Use a writer bottle to write their name + year on the bottom
  
  

Once more than half are done:

“Looks like lots of us are finishing up—yay! Let’s pass around the birthday star’s special plate. Use the marker to sign your name anywhere EXCEPT where the design is. Cool? Let’s start here…”

Show the plate to the birthday child and ask for 3 favorite colors to decorate it with.

Hand the party room off to the host parent by helping clear the table for cake/presents. Then say something like

"Ok [party parent name], the room is all yours until [list scheduled end time]. We can meet at the counter to settle up payment at the end - would you like me to hit the lights for blowing out the candles?" If yes, stay and sing the birthday song with the group/turn the lights back on after candles have been blown out then sliiiide out of there. 

Generally the party host pays for all of the guests and we inform them that their pieces will all be bagged together for pick up and easy distribution under [birthday star's name]. Be sure to ring in all of the guests under the correct party type and collect that payment before the part host leaves.

Typically the host will pick them all up at once, but we're happy to hand out pieces to individual party guests if they want to stop by.

• Make sure all pieces are labeled (bottom of piece, party form, and bag must match)

• Stack party bags, fold inside of party form,  bind with a rubber band, and place them in the post-fire bin

• Paint the birthday plate in watercolor style with recycled palette paints from walk-in studio.

• After firing, match pieces to the bags

• No tissue paper needed—just drop them in

• Put all the little bags into one big white party bag from the working counter

• Label it with:
  Jessica’s OYH party – 4/24
  (Pro tip: also add host name and phone number)

🎉 Schedule a pick-up text, and boom—you’ve officially rocked a birthday party!

No time for crying over broken bisque at a birthday party! Reassure the kiddo that accidents happen and we're happy to get them another one to start over.

Sometimes it happens when the kids get too excited to show thier pieces to their parents at pick up. If there's not time left to paint, pack one up to go for them and let them "borrow" a set of kid brushes to return at firing. 

Our kids parties are a set price; it's a minimum of 8 participants or the corresponding dollar amount. Guests are welcome to paint the "missing participant" pieces or we've even had parents jump in to be sure all 8 pieces get painted.

If they don't want to take or paint the remaining pieces for the minimum, that's fine but they are still responsible for paying our party package minimum as that also represents the room fee and volume discount they receive on the party piece options. 

Parties are hectic and it happens. The easy solution is to use the party form to call up the host and collect payment by phone - crisis averted!

The one thing we don't do is fire works that haven't been paid for. If the guest tries to pay later or at pick up instead of by phone a good answer is "I totally understand this is inconvenient but we're unable to fire pieces before payment - are you able to drop back by some time this week to pay in person? We're happy to hold your pieces until we can find a solution that is convenient for you".