A Near-Holiday Birthday

... that led to a holiday face at a birthday party.

This young man wanted to be a deer today, and was happy to roll with it when I suggested Rudolph and a red shiny nose.  I love kids who are up for some change.

That may or may not have spurred this request for a gingerbread man.

Cute, but likely not as tasty as the gingerbread animals and ornaments I baked for Christmas dinner.  Those were yum.

The birthday wasn't holiday themed, though, it was Mickey Mouse themed.  And mom & dad were really into it.  They were so fun!

A full-face Mickey is not easy.  I gave him a bow tie for a little color.

Of course, there were the standards... tigers, Elsa, a puppy (he was only one!), and a slightly out-of-season vampire.

 

Event the small art at this one was fun.  Seriously.  I'm usually not a huge fan of the small stuff, but when I can do a Minnie (so glad I had a little practice from doing the drawing for my friend!) and a whale and fun stuff like that, I love it.

One of my favorite people, though, at this party, is counterintuitive for me as a Giants fan.  Granted, they didn't play well this season & they're not in the playoffs, but still... a Green Bay Packers fan?  Sigh.  He was cool, though, and I had a good time painting him and talking to him.

Especially since he was going out after to watch the game.  Pretty cool!

Sometimes Things Just Work Out

I got calls for two parties for today, but they were able to work around each other so I could paint at both!  I love it when that happens.

The first was a baptism luncheon in Wayne, NJ, with some really terrific kids.  The first one I painted was this beautiful girl who let me match her butterfly to her top, but my favorite thing about this photo is the face of the girl waiting behind her.  The whole thing is just too funny!

That comical girl, with a favorite color of blue and a flowered blue and yellow dress, chose flowers.

This one very specifically wanted a rose.

 And of course, there were a couple more butterflies.

This next young lady was the surprise of the day.  Upon sitting across from me, she immediately pointed to my range of pink face paints and said she wanted sparkles.  No problem.  So I asked her what she wanted to be painted as, expecting flowers, princess, or a butterfly.  What I got, though, was, "MONSTER!"  Well, OK, then.  One sparkly pink monster comin' up!

Of course, there had to be a couple tigers.  My purple tiger's mom was surprised at her choice, but loved it.

After seeing the tigers, this gentleman chose a lion.  A very serious lion.  I think the tie makes it even better.

And to finish the "Oh My Trilogy," as one dad put it, a couple bears were in the mix... lions and tigers and bears!  Oh my!

The girl loved her fish, but at two, my boy bear was a little too squirmy for the detail.  Another squirmy customer was this young Spiderman, also two, who had never been painted before.  He was decisive about his choice, though, and though it's not the best Spidey I've ever painted, his reaction is totally worth it.  As soon as I showed him the mirror, he started laughing in delight and just didn't stop.

Then I was off to my second party, a first birthday in West Milford, NJ.

This was a somewhat older crowd, but the girl who wanted to be first just couldn't pinpoint what she wanted to be.  I went through a list of animals, flowers, and other subjects, but when I got to "eye mask," she lit up and told me her favorite color was blue.  That made me happy, since it's mine too!

I think it went great with her awesome red hair.  An onlooker liked it so much, she wanted the same thing, but her favorite color was red.

I only had one cat today, so I had to make it as sparkly as possible.  Obviously.

After the party's requisite butterfly (what's a face painting party without butterflies?) ...

... I had two less typical requests.  First, a turtle, who after I painted her walked around exclaiming, "I'm adorable!"  She was, too.

And second, my first ever attempt at a phoenix.  I see room for improvement, but it wasn't bad for the first time.  I'll work on it.

Graduation Party

On Sunday, I had the good fortune to face paint and do temporary tattoos for an amazing and HUGE family in Orange, NJ.  They had two high school grads they were honoring, and everyone came out to celebrate.  The women who hired me actually met me at the Valerie Fund Walk, which they do every year as walkers/fundraisers, so you know they've got good hearts.

And creative kids.

How cute is this little teddy bear?!  I gave her a button nose and a stitched face in her favorite color, pink, of course.

I had a couple zombies... kids after my own heart!  I didn't get a photo of her, but one was a little three-year-old girl who LOVED how scary she looked!

This young man and his buddies were absolutely hysterical after I tattooed some kisses on their necks.  He couldn't stop laughing!

Her favorite was "all the colors," so how could I not do a rainbow butterfly?

And this is the happiest I've been with one of my lions in a long time.  It's a work in progress, but I like this one.  Maybe it's the canvas that makes it.

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!

These Girls Were a Kick and a Half

I love creative girls who don't all follow the lead!

Cheetah, mermaid, monster, nerd, Orioles fan, princess, Shrek, wolf, and last but not least, an Orioles fan who also liked Justin Bieber.