I’m excited to share a sneak peek of our Kentucky Derby party with you today. It’s filled with lots of colorful creative inspiration that should come in handy if you’re planning a “Derby Fiesta” of your own!

The 144th annual Run for the Roses falls on May 5th this year, which means that Cinco de Mayo parties will also be in full swing. So… we decided to take full advantage of the FUN and host a Kentucky Derby viewing party followed by a fiesta-inspired dinner. We’re talking mint juleps, margaritas, bow-ties, big hats, taco bar, & more. I mean…TACO ‘BOUT A PARTY, right?! Sorry… couldn’t resist. ;)

Live coverage of the Kentucky Derby starts at 2:30pm ET on NBC. It’s such a fun event to watch! We invited our guests to come over at 2 so there’s plenty of time to place bets, admire/crack up at outfits, and sip mint juleps before the race.

I don’t know if it’s the vibrant colors or the horses or the array of textures or all 3, but I’m feeling extra inspired by the “Derby de Mayo” combo theme this year. Craft mode has been in full effect over here, and most of the projects I’m focusing on are very easy & inexpensive but still pack a big punch!

Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Painted Taco Shells

Aren’t these fun?! I’m planning to string them into Taco Shell Garlands at the party (by hanging them curved-side-down on lengths of twine). I used regular craft paint for the colorful shells and metallic spray paint for the gold ones.

They’re super fast to paint and don’t need to look “perfect” at all. In fact, the imperfectness adds to the charm. Just make sure to handle them gently while painting so they don’t break! I only spent $4 total on FIVE (10 count) boxes of these taco shells, though, so it’s definitely not the end of the world if you lose a few either. ;)

2. Printables

These signs are from my new Derby de Mayo printable collection, which is available to download for free right now!

Printables are my favorite way to instantly bring any party to life and really play up the theme. This collection has a variety of signs, banners, tent cards, and more. For added color, you can also embellish simple frames with crafty elements like paper flowers and mini poms.

3. Embellished Horses

Toy horses make for great Kentucky Derby party decor. I found the large ones on Amazon and the small figurines at Michaels. I usually paint the horses a solid color for Derby parties – but this year they’re getting more of a fiesta vibe. ;)  I might even add tiny flowers to some of the small gold ones…

4. Pineapples with Bow Ties!

I thought this idea would be a fun way to combine the “fiesta” and “preppy” vibes. It took less than 2 minutes to spray paint 3 pineapples gold. The extra paint colors on the leaves are optional… these pineapples still look great either way.

I used scrap fabric and ribbon to make the bow tie using a simple fold-and-hot-glue method similar to this one. You can just eyeball the size too… and no sewing skills required!

5. DIY Derby Drink Decals

The traditional mint julep cups are beautiful but VERY pricey to buy in bulk for a party, so our guests will be sipping from embellished party cups instead. These gold “decals” are actually just horse stickers spray-painted gold. (You can find similar stickers in the scrapbooking aisle at craft stores or on Amazon.)

For a few other creative ways to use these DIY decals, check out this post.

More to come…

Hope you enjoyed the sneak peek! I’ll be sharing pics from the actual party this weekend on Instagram too… stop by to see how it all turned out. And don’t forget to tune into NBC on Saturday to watch the Derby festivities along with us!

Until then, hope you’re feeling inspired to get crafty… maybe this cute polka dot taco shell will help? ;)

P.S. For even more Kentucky Derby party inspiration, check out my other Derby themes in our archives.