I've Been Holding Out on You

Back in May, I painted at two events in one day. 

The first was the first communion party of a girl whose brother had me at his communion two years ago!  Their mom kept my info handy so I could come on back.  I love that, and remembered the name instantly when she got in touch with me.

This awesome family and their friends are defintely independent thinkers; I don't think I painted two kids with the same design at all!

The guest of honor even went last and made up her own idea, this rainbow turtle.

I kind of love the idea and want to add it to my regular repertoire.  And yes, I always do my turtles upside down so they share a smile with the painted child.

I did have two of my staples, a tiger and a butterfly, but only those two.

And I finally got to use that fox face I designed for the show I was in!

I actually had time to give one boy two faces, since he changed his mind.  Initially, he was a gorilla.

But I think some of the younger kiddos were scared, so he washed it off and came back for an alien.

One young lady asked to be her own black lab.

And another just wanted a spider on each cheek.

The only other cheek art I did was on this Yankee fan.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party was populatedby kissing dolphins,

a pirate,

Evil Elmo (???),

a panda,

and a stitched up monster.

The most unusual request I got at that party, though, was for "paint splatters."  It took me a sec, but here's my rendition.

Like I said, I love creative kids!

Speaking of creative, I haven't even gotten to the second party of that day yet.  This one was a birthay being held later that afternoon.  The birthday girl requested, and I kid you not, an "angel puppy."

Well then.

So... I give you... my angel puppy.

Note the winged ears.  Hey, she loved it!

 Showing solidarity, one of her guests chose to be a straight up puppy,

and another a straight up angel, but with swirls on her forehead.

The two boys at the party became superheroes.

And even the adults got in on the action, which you know I love!

First Birthday... and Selflessness

I painted this afternoon at a first birthday.  While the birthday boy didn't want to get painted, his friends and family were certainly willing... but then, I've painted several of them before!  Remember these guys?

Well, you might recognize two of them from today's party.

The kids at this party were great.  Even the ones who started out reluctant, like this girl who wanted a tiny butterfly on her cheek came back later for a flower on her arm, and wanted blue to match her dress, which you all know I love.

I tried a new puppy, and love the ears on this one.

And I got my first ever parrot request!

Maybe it's not entirely accurate, but it's not bad, if I do say so myself.  Of course, there were still the requisite butterflies.

Spidermen too, but these boys wanted them all on their arms!

One young man who'd already been painted as a lion decided he also wanted a pirate.  Since I couldn't put one over the other on his face, I suggested this skull pirate on his arm.  He was very skeptical beforehand and as I painted him, but once the design started to take shape, he understood and then he loved it.

Meanwhile, I did get to do one tiger, on this terrific little boy.  He's four years old.

And here's where the lesson in selflessness comes in.  He loved his tiger.  He and the lion were going around growling at all the butterflies and puppies running about.  But when he approached another four-year-old attending the party to play, the other boy, who wasn't a fan of face painting and was quite shy, got scared of the poor tiger-faced kid.  Apparently, my tiger kept trying, and the other boy kept getting scared.

So what did tiger-boy do?  He went and washed his face so he could play with the other boy, who then happily followed him into the playroom.  I've never before seen such a mature decision in a four-year-old.  Heck, I've yet to see some adults behave so selflessly!

Kudos to you, kid.

Witches' Ball (aka Halloween - Part 3)

Last night was the Witches' Ball in Montclair, NJ, co-hosted by Mystic Spirit Metaphysical Shop and Everything Akasha. I'd never been to it before, because it usually conflicts with my own Halloween party, but this year they held it a week later, and so I was able to go.

Me, miss a costume party? Not if I can help it!

My friend came over earlier in the evening, to be painted as The Morrigan, and Irish goddess. This was the picture from which I was working:

Kerry didn't have the head circlet or armbands, so here's what I did:

For myself, I saw this as another opportunity to wear my new pirate garb, so I went as a dead pirate:

Simply because I didn't feel right going to a costume party unpainted!

It was hilarious how many people apologized for saying it was creepy, when that's exactly what I was going for!

After the party, my husband and I stopped at the Wendy's drive-through because he was hungry. I was driving, and scared the bejeezus out of the two women at the window, who then proceeded to call over other employees to look at me.

All in all, a good night!

A First Birthday

I painted at the first birthday party of an adorable young man this afternoon, and in the process, got to be his first face painter! I always love being first. He wasn't crazy about the feel of the brushes, so I did the quickest (and probably messiest) pirate I've ever done in my life. He did seem happy with the result when he looked in the mirror, at least.

And yes, that's dad as Gene Simmons. In fact, I got to paint the whole band!

I've done Gene Simmons before, and Peter Criss (the cat), but I'd never done Paul Stanley and Ace Freeley. They were a fun bunch, each egging the other into getting painted.

It was a day of firsts. I also did my first Sponge Bob, and I think he came out pretty darned good.

And this cutie wanted to be a monster, but was wearing the sweetest pink and yellow dress with flowers and bees on it. I love to match outfits anyway, so she approved my suggestion that I paint her as a monster to match her outfit. This is what we came up with...

How can you not love it?

Renaissance Faire, Take 32

The NY Renaissance Faire is 32 years old this year, and on Sunday I attended for my thirty-second consecutive summer. Two years ago, I bought Rennie garb, which has allowed me to do face painting, temporary tattoos, or henna at faires, as well as appear at parties in that costume.

This year, I expanded my costume wardrobe yet again; for my birthday, my husband got me pirate garb! You know what this means... I can now appear at your parties as a pirate! I already had a hat that I'd left home, so I'm not wearing it in this photo, but it's perfect; a buccaneer hat complete with feathers.

A note about the NY Ren Faire. Please, if you are going to attend and feel the need to get painted, demand that the artists not use acrylic paints or craft glitters. They do have some proper products with them, but they tend to use them for only part of the design, then using acrylic paints for the majority of their designs, and putting craft glitter near eyes. I've already remarked on the dangers this poses, here. They are good artists, and nice enough people, but they refuse to listen to anyone who tells them that FDA-compliant cosmetic products are a must.