Some More Fun... and a "New" Service!

Many years ago, when I was just 14 and first allowed to get my working papers, I got a job as a sales clerk at the Paramus, NJ branch of Lewis of London, a very high-end baby furniture store.  It was so high-end that it was even mentioned in this NY Times article in 1984!

Well, once I was there, I was also recruited - and paid - to custom paint designs on lots of their items for sale.  There was a stock of my hand painted baby bottles and step stools always in the store, but people would also commission custom items like toy boxes and rocking chairs, with baby names and paintings to match the bedding sets they were buying.

So when I was asked to paint a picture frame as a baby gift, it was only reasonable that I agree!  The photographer/gifter sent me this photo to work from...

... and explained that the boy's room is Mets themed and in the Mets colors.  Well, OK, then!  So this is what I did...

She absolutely loved the photo I sent her, and will be picking it up today for the party on Saturday.  I can't wait to see what she thinks in person and hear about her friend's reaction!

Meanwhile, between this, the hand painting I did the other night with fabric paint on my own new denim jacket,

(isn't that so cool?!)... and the custom logo painting I did a while back, it has occurred to me that I need to offer this is a service!  So I am!  Now you can order custom painted gifts and decor, and I'll work with you to create anything you like, whether you want something to be matched exactly or you're looking for an artistic spinoff.

On the Other Hand...

There is something acrylics are good for.  Canvas!

As soon as my good friend told me she was pregnant and what bedding she'd chosen for her little girl, I knew what I wanted to do.  It's called "Zoo Garden," but my friend called it "Purple Jungle."  I immediately found what she meant online when I got home that night.

 

Really cute!  I decided that I wanted to do a painting that went with the set, without actually matching, so I wouldn't just be copying.  And the fact that my friend had called the set "Purple Jungle" gave me a little license to add other animals that are found in the jungle.  I looked up giraffes, elephants, and hippos to make sure, and confirmed that they're all found in Africa.  Well, so are zebras and feral honey bees, so I added those too!  After all, zebras are really cute, and it just wouldn't be "me" without bees.

 

I drew it out first in pencil and Sharpie on paper to get the placement down, and then tackled the canvas with a vine charcoal stick.

 

I wanted to avoid black, and keep the paint colors soft ,but not bland.  It was a fine line to walk, for sure.

But in the end, I think I accomplished what I wanted, and my friend loved it!  Hopefully as her daughter grows up, she loves it too.

Personalized Disney... by Me!

Back when I was planning my wedding in 2007/2008, I became friends with an online community of women all planning their weddings for the same month and year.  They're all over the US, and one's even in Canada.  A sizable group of us are still friends, and some of us have met and become friends in person as well.

And for the holidays, we do a secret Santa gift exchange.

My recipient this year happens to be a former Disney employee, who still loves all that is Disney.  Loves.

So for her gift, I got her Disney fabric, Disney ribbon, Disney stickers, Disney buttons, and even some non-Disney stuff!

Also, she likes unicorns.

In my travels, and while shopping for her gifts, I found that apparently Minnie Mouse has dressed as many princesses... but never a unicorn!  Not one I could find anyway.  Well, of course I had to remedy that.

Behold... the one and only Minniecorn!

I used this drawing I found online as a basis for Minnie's shape and stance and angles, but I did draw it freehand, as you'll notice if you take a look for inconsistencies.  It was so fun to create!  And I love that my friend will own a piece of Disney fan-art that will never exist anywhere else.

Besides, you know me & handmade.

I Love It When I Get to Have Some Fun

And I love it when people translate the fact that I can paint into other creative endeavors.  Most recently, a woman in my town whose daughter is being bat mitzvahed this month contacted me about doing a project for her.

At my bat mitzvah in 1983, my "sign in board" was a sheet of oaktag with a photo of me in the middle and rainbow stickers all around, since my theme was rainbows.  Hey, it was 1983.  Give me a break.  When my sister's bat mitzvah rolled around in 1990, her sign in board was Lucite with her name in Lucite letters and hearts.

Well, this mom has the nifty idea of using a mailbox!  The concept is that she'll have postcards printed with the bat mitzvah girl's logo, which she had designed for the event, and the guests can each write a message on a postcard.  Then the postcards go in the mailbox, and the whole shebang can go on the girl's dresser or shelf as a keepsake.  I love it!

This is the logo:

Cute, right?  Of course, pencil first, just in case.

And then I painted it all in.  I promise the name is in a nice purple, not blue.  With my dining room light lit, I just couldn't get the color true.

What'cha think?  I kind of love it.  And I'm open to more work like this, for sure.  Much more.

Wizard of Oz

I had the opportunity this weekend to face paint at a birthday party with one of the most fun concepts ever!  And the four-year-old birthday girl's parents definitely pulled it off.

They rented the upstairs of a local movie theater on Saturday morning for a special showing of the Wizard of Oz!  There was a "yellow brick road" purchased from a party store leading into the theater where the movie was showing, and a full-sized Glinda.

I was there to do themed face painting, and even got to see some of the movie!  You may be wondering about that orange face on the left and how it relates... the very decisive young lady really wanted an orange tiger, so we compromised on a modified orange lion.  It worked, and she was happy, always my goal.

The birthday girl got Toto, which of course made that the popular face of the morning.

Cowardly lions were pretty popular too, and these cute siblings made their own pride!

I did have a couple of Wicked Witch of the Wests, which of course you know was fun for me.

And another compromise when my butterfly requester agreed to an "Over the Rainbow" butterfly.

And last, but not least, one of my Glindas realized that her bangs were covering her painting more than she liked, so she came on back for a rainbow.

But I never finished talking about the rest of the party carrying the theme!  There were Wicked Witch cupcakes all in a tower from a phenomenal local baker, Kara Kakes.  If you take a look at her Facebook page, you'll see some incredible other work she's done, but check out these in the meantime!

Are those not amazing?  And then for favors, there were Wizard of Oz themed bags of popcorn in blue with gingham bows and ruby red glitter marshmallow pops by another local food artist, Sally of Dipped Delicious.

How awesome are these?

Too cute!  Too delicious!  In fact, one girl who'd started in on her popcorn handed the bag to her dad so she could get painted, and admonished him, "Don't eat it!"  Apparently it was irresistible, though, because he did eat some while I was painting her.  Ha!  Take a look at the Dipped Delicious FB page to see other insanely delicious looking confections.

And if you wanted all three of us for your party?  I can contact them and help you out!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a member of a face painting Google group, and have been for years.  We're very good friends, helping each other with tips, techniques, business ideas and referrals, and meeting to work together, jam, or just hang out.  For many years, we've done a Secret Santa, but this year everyone was so busy during the winter holidays that it was decided this year to make it a Secret Valentine. My recipient was my friend Mike, out in McKinney, TX.  I know he likes and uses our Purity soap, so I sent him a tub and a bar of that. But I needed more. So I made some chocolates!  I ransacked the cabinets, and hit the store for chocolate melts, and came up with some pretty good combos, I think. These little ones are dark and milk chocolate filled with hazelnut.

And these hearts are filled with peanut butter - some crunchy, some creamy.

These pops are red and white chocolate with red sugar sparkle sprinkles embedded.  They came out pretty funky looking.

And these are milk and white chocolate, with pink sprinkles and raisins inside.

I did a bunch of milk chocolate with chopped almonds and pecans throughout.

And last, but definitely not least, dark chocolate with sea salt.

All together and wrapped, it looks like a lot of chocolate!

And some friends liked the look of 'em so much that they ordered some for themselves!  Oh... and Mike got his.  Loves 'em!

Just for Fun

A while back, I got a Klutz Pom-Pom Monster Salon.  The other night, just for kicks, I made a monster for Eric.

I don't think he's named it yet.  Any ideas?

It's Been Confirmed!

An award-winning face painter in Canada, Shannon Fennell, heard all the talk about Reef Botanicals Purity soap and had to try it for herself.  She bought four bars, a heck of a commitment for a product she'd never tried before!

She blogged the results here, but I'll give you a hint.  These are the photos she took:

Is that cool or what?  She's another Ivory convert, as was I.  And her post precipitated another sale, to another Canadian face painter who was sold on the efficacy of Reef Botanicals soap.  Looks like Purity is the hot new thing for face painters!

The best thing?  It works just as well on faces for getting the makeup off.  It's gentle and has no allergens, so it works great.  I use it on my own face every day.

Washing My Kit

Between each face painting gig, I bring my kit(s) into the house and wash each brush and sponge that I've used.  I'm sure you find this to be good news, right?

Now, as a fine artist, I'd been taught to use Ivory soap to wash my brushes when oil painting.  It makes sense as a nearly-pure soap that cuts through the oils really well.  So when I started face painting, it made sense to me to do the same with my face painting brushes.  Granted, face paints are really makup and not paint at all, and they're therefore not oily, but they are highly pigmented and can stain sponges and brushes something fierce.

I stopped that.  I've started using Purity pure Castile soap instead.  Yes, I make it myself.  When my husband and I started our soap business, Reef Botanicals, I posted it here.  Well, now it's flourishing!

Not long ago, Mark Reid espoused the virtues of cleaning his sponges and brushes in a pure Castile soap.  He bought some Purity and raved about its success.  Since then, other face painters have followed suit.

This is what Ashley Pickin had to say about it:

OMG it cleaned my brushes and sponges SO WELL!  Brushes that had been black with Wolfe black for like months came back to a light shade of gray... I couldn't believe it.  I had used all kinds of other stuff on them and they never came that clean!  My golden taklon ones turned back to their golden color! Amazing! ... STRONGLY recommend trying that stuff.  It's awesome!

And today, I heard from my friend Cindy, who tested Purity on her face painting sponges last night (and bought a new camera):

First, she hand-washed face painting sponges in a lingerie bag in an unscented liquid hand soap, and got these results:

She pointed out the overall pink tinges of the lighter-colored sponges, which were originally a very light peach, and the pink stains on the formerly white lingerie bag.  She'd spent "a good five minutes squishing, squeezing, resoaping, rinsing and rerinsing these sponges."  They were washed until the water ran clear with the last application of soap, which meant three rounds of soap.

Then, she tested dishwashing liquid, and got this:

They're better and brighter, but the bag is still stained and there's still a good amount of face paint staining the sponges.  She had again washed and rinsed until the water ran clear, which took two applications of the dishwashing liquid.

And then she tried again, with Purity Castile soap, and got this:

It took two rounds of soap and they're still a bit stained, but the sponges themselves have returned to their original pale peach color!  They are bright and not nearly so embarrassing for a face painter to pull out of her kit.  And did you notice...?  No stains on the lingerie bag!

Even better, since you know that Purity is safe for use on the face, if there's any residue on the sponges or brushes, it won't hurt anyone if transferred to a face during face painting.  There are no allergens here, since it's completely color-, fragrance-, and additive-free!

This would work for any cleanup, though.  Even though face paint is really makeup and not paint, this would work just as well for oils, acrylics, watercolors... after all, in my many years of art classes I was taught to wash my oil paint brushes with a bar of Ivory.  What could be better than that?  Purity!

So About That Photography I Mentioned

Yesterday, I went with friends to the Orchid Show at the NY Botanical Gardens in the Bronx. I brought both of my cameras - the digital one Eric got me last year for Chanukah, and my very old Fujica that takes 35mm print film and is 100% manual.

I don't have my prints back yet, I actually have not yet dropped off the film for developing, but I've got the digital photos, of course, so here are a few.

A Cleaner Endeavor

Yes, I'm still face painting, although I've been slacking with the posts. In fact, next Sunday I'll be at the Ho-Ho-Kus tree lighting, painting holiday designs!

However... in my quest to keep creating, and now that I've got a husband who also loves to make anything and everything from scratch, we've opened a new business! Eric and I are now the proud proprietors of Reef Botanicals.

At the site, we're selling our handmade hot-process soaps! We've got four recipe varieties so far:

Fudge Chunk contains Ghirardelli cocoa powder and has a subtle chocolate scent.

The Oatmeal Honey is made with precisely those ingredients, and smells amazing! We have it in both bath bar and hand soap size.

The Honey Chocolate is similar, but made with premium crushed cacao nibs, giving it a slight chocolate smell and exfoliating properties.

And our Lemongrass & Sage soap is made with lemongrass essential oil and dried sage. It has a great lather and an amazing citrus scent that wakes me up in the morning.

All of the soaps are made with all natural ingredients, nothing synthetic. At this time, all of our soaps are also vegetarian or vegan-friendly. Those are noted in the descriptions.

Today, we're planning a coffee soap with fresh-brewed coffee and coffee grinds for exfoliation.

Each bar comes packaged in a beautiful organza bag, tied with a ribbon. They're perfect for gifts or to spoil yourself.

We're having a blast! Feel free to visit the site, email us with questions, and place an order.