5th Birthday

On Saturday, I painted at a great birthday party in New City, NY.  The family had rented a Sabrett truck, gotten Optimus Prime to show up, had a bounce house, and me!  It was really fun and the kids were great... and I was happy they were willing to get painted even though they were swimming in the family's backyard pool.

I had a pretty varied bunch at the party, with lots of different requests and very few doubles, always a plus for me.

Of course there was the requisite butterfly, but only one!

Only one cat too!

This little devil was really happy with her face.

The flaming football and Jack Sparrow facial hair did inspire a couple of duplicates, but it was too fun, so who cares?  How cute is that kid in a beard & moustache?!

It's not face painting 'til there are hearts involved... even if those hearts wind up on arms.  That top "tattoo" contains the model's wife's initials, and I'm always happy when a kiddo lets me match her outfit.

Where there are hearts, unicorns are never far behind.

This smiling ladybug got a great reaction from the guests, and from the bug herself when she saw the mirror.

Sometimes it's all about the simple classics.

And sometimes things are a bit more involved!

These three were going to Dave & Busters after the party to watch the Rangers game.  I only wish they'd been going to the actual game so I could look for them on the monitors!

And a Transformers fan to the end, the birthay boy, last but definitely not least, was Optimus Prime.

Lots and Lots of Henna

I was hired to do henna tonight at a birthday party for a 14-year-old girl.  The kids were great, though I was really disconcerted to hear "Oh, this is from Glee" when songs from my junior high and high school years were playing.  Wow, am I that old?  Really?  When did that happen?!

At any rate, the party was outside, where the humidity was wreaking a bit of havoc with the henna's consistency, but I got some decent results and the kids loved it.  Mom had set up a great little table from me, with printed paisley designs to "set the scene."  That was great!

Some of my pieces...

(The girl pulled this one up on her smartphone; it apparently means "love.")

(In case you can't tell, peace signs are "in" this year!)

And my very last request of the night, from the birthday girl's younger brother, a penguin.  I drew it first in surgical marker to be sure I'd get it right, and you can still see it behind the henna.  The marker is easily washed off, while the henna stain will remain.  It was quite dark at this point, and I was working by a dim porch light, so I wasn't quite as "on" the marker as I thought I was.

And yes, the penguin is holding a little fish.  I just had to.

A New Idea

I love it when the kids come up with a new idea for me.

Tonight while I painted the hordes waiting for me at a restaurant, the kids noticed my rainbow cake, and came up with a design I'd never tried before; a rainbow peace sign. It's amazing how the old stuff, like peace signs, just never go out of style with certain age groups. The design was a life saver, since I had a lot of "customers" and only two hours.

I like it! It saved me from the plethora of dolphins I also painted.

I must admit, though, that it wasn't quite as challenging as other designs kids have requested out of the blue, like Ronald McDonald and Grimace....

Or even crazier... Alf! Or a hamster (though the hamster, to be honest, wasn't at a restaurant)!

Who but kids would have thought of these designs? Heck, I'm surprised kids even remember Alf. My favorite thing, though, is a challenge. I may crash and burn, but I'm really likely to try it!