What'd You Do for the 4th?

Before attending our own friend's party with my husband, I painted at the annual Indian Trails Country Club July 4th party, which I've been doing with my friend Emilie for years.  It was less populated than prior years because of the threatening rain, but we had a really good time with the kids, who kept coming back for more and more paintings and tattoos, until they all looked like the tattooed lady at the circus!

And because I had the time, I got to try my first motorcycle!

Independence Interlude

I still have more looking back to do with you, but in the meantime, I'll post photos from my paintings at a country club party - Indian Trails club in Franklin Lakes, NJ.

 

These two were funny.  I had a run on camo faces, and then a trendsetter who wanted "rainbow camo."  If he hides in a Crayola factory, no one will see him for sure!

The one fun adult who showed her family how to really party!

And this was just too hilarious.  This young man got a Viking balloon hat & cutlass, then asked for a beard!

He loved it!

Happy Indpendence Day, the Face Painter's Way!

I painted at my annual appearance on Wednesday at the Ridgewood Country Club's 4th of July party.  I love that so many of the kids remember me and come looking for me.  I had some fun ones this year, like my first-ever request for Yoda!

Star Wars was popular this year, and I had two more Yodas plus a couple of Darth Mauls.  Some of those had requested Darth Vader, but I talked them out of it, since I've yet to figure out how to make a fully black face defined like a Darth Vader mask.  I love trying new things, but even I have my limitations.

I also did my first pink & green ladybug, at this young lady's request.  I think it's pretty cute!

As is my first blue dragon with red eyes, as specified by my model.

And another first, a poison dart frog.  I happen to love poison dart frogs, so I was really happy to get this request.

And then some old standards, rainbow butterflies, monsters, Spideygirl, a clown, and zombies.  What's the 4th of July without zombies?

And of course, the regular 4th of July hits, flags & fireworks!

Hope you had a good day too!

My July 4th

My 4th of July this year was long.  And hot.  I have no idea how the kids do it, running around in the sun and heat, but I wish I was one of them sometimes.  Of course, I don't remember being that fine in that sort of weather, so maybe I was always old?

(Of course, I'll only be 40 at the end of this month, so "old" is a state of mind.  Or body.  I haven't decided which.)

On the morning of the 4th, my husband Eric and I made shampoo, since our web store was out of stock.  Then in the afternoon, I was hired by a wonderful event organizer, Premier Productions, to paint kids at a big party at the Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, NJ.  It's a beautiful place, and the event organizer was very good to the entertainers.  She had canopies, tables, and chairs set up for each of us, plus enough cold water to keep us going.

That striped tent had games for the kids to play.  There was also this terrific balloon artist.

Plus, a magician.  The balloon artist apparently had a large number of requests for aliens, because then the kidos came to me to have their faces match!  As someone who's ever only painted one alien face before, it was fun to have several in one day; gave me a challenge to change them up a bit as I went.

Even some of the club staff got painted, like this Tinkerbell fan, which is always fun for me.

Some of the kids stuck with the patriotic theme, of course.

And others didn't.

Some went completely another direction and were looking for my favorite, the horror faces.  One boy was very definite about wanting to be a vampire, and another, age 12, just gave me the instruction that he wanted the most gory, bloody, horrible thing I could do.  So here goes, a vampire and a zombie.

And you just have to love kids who play up to the photography!  Hams are the best!

Believe it or not, after four hours of this, I went home, took a shower, and then Eric and I went to a party hosted by one of our own friends.  It wasn't until the next day that we got to see fireworks in Ridgewood.