A Last-Minute Birthday

I'd kept today free for other things, but when I got a call this morning from a former client who'd had me paint at a baptism two years ago, needing a last-minute face painter because the rain canceled the bounce house, I decided to take the party.

It was a 3rd birthday for a beautiful and decisive little girl who knew even when her mom was on the phone with me at 9 a.m. that she wanted to be a tiger.  Unwavering, when I got to the party at 2 p.m., "tiger" was still the request.  And a tiger she was.  A happy one, even.

This was a creative bunch; my next customer wanted to be a brown gorilla.  This face got a heck of a reaction.

His older brother also had his idea from the very beginning, a snake.  They all freaked out at the eyes on the eyes (my first time doing this!), and the one negative was that he couldn't see 'em in the mirror.  But his mom took photos with his eyes closed for him to have.

I also had another zombie... you know I love doing those!  He wanted lots of blood.  I think it's even better with that hairdo!

Is it me, or is that kid headed for a rock band when he hits high school?

The older girls got mostly arm art, including this heart made of hearts, by request.

But this chick told me to surprise her.  It was fun painting while she tried to guess what I was doing.  Once someone told her it was undersea, though, she figured out that the grey I'd used was a shark and she requested a jellyfish and a crab, both of which I incorporated.

She kept a straight face for the photo, but loved it otherwise!

I really am glad I had a free day and decided to go to the party.  It was such a great bunch of people.

More Challenges... and Teenagers are Loons!

I painted at a restaurant again tonight, and the kids were great. I had to be meeting the most articulate, fun children who were just SO excited to see me there with my face painting kit!

It was a new kit, too. I am now the proud owner of a Snazaroo Pro-54... because, you know, I didn't have enough colors. Ha! It's great, though, so compact and organized, and it made my setup, especially in a small space, so incredibly easy. My entire kit tonight was contained in this case:

Which contained this pallet of colors...

... as well as glitter, shimmer, and all my other necessary supplies.

I love painting without my sample books, because it encourages the kids to come up with new ideas, and yet again they didn't disappoint. My first young victim wanted to be Tinkerbell, but also wanted Tink painted on her. How to accommodate? I think I did a pretty good job!

Apparently, so did the three other girls who asked for the design in other colors. Another girl in this group, a little older than the rest, decided to stray from the pack... and be a cocker spaniel. Now, I've painted dalmations, a face painter's standard. I've painted hound dogs, bulldogs, and shih tzus. I have never painted a cocker spaniel, which was requested in brown to look like my model's own dog. I was afraid it looked too much like a poodle, but she loved the result...

On the other hand, if I ever get called upon to paint a poodle, I think I've got a great start.

There was, of course, in amongst the several Spidermen, the requisite arm painting. I think these fish came out very cute, though, and my model loved them.

Then came the teenagers, a bunch of very fun nuts who wanted each other's names and goofy drawings to go with them. One boy got a very pink and flowery "Biff." And no, I have no idea why.

And another got a pineapple (a pineapple?) with his friend's name underneath.

Hey, who am I to fault anyone with a sense of humor and a willingness to be painted?