Halloween Face Painting is Almost Here!

As a face painter, Halloween became one of my favorite holidays! I love doing appointments in my home for face painting instead of masks (it’s so much safer!) so I just wanted  to share a few awesome blog posts to help educate everyone!

CT Body Painting: Do’s and Don’ts

Look at this awesome article:

DON’T use acrylics or other cheap paints as body paint. Body paints are actually giant tubs of makeup similar to liquid eye liner or foundations. Acrylics, temperas, or other paints aren’t made for humans! Click the image on the left to open it up and read it. Remember this guy? He used cheap submarine paint (instead of body paint) to become the Hulk. And then remained the Hulk for months afterwards. Or, even if you can get the paint off you, acrylics can end up staining furniture, clothing, or anything else you touch. Plus, most colors (especially yellow or red) contain heavy metals known to cause cancer. No thanks! And if that’s not enough to convince you, other non-body paints can crack, smudge, and just generally make your costume look awful!

DO go to a professional. Professional body painters use FDA-approved makeups which are made specially for human skin. Even sensitive skin usually does well with this stuff! Plus our body paint is water-soluable (aka comes of quite easily), is applied by professionals (no streaks or smudges!) and we seal it in (aka it doesn’t come off until you want it to.)Now, we get a lot of requests for people asking us where we get Kaleidoscope gets our body paint from because they want to do it themselves. (The short answer is that we get it through professional suppliers up in MA.) But generally, even for a simple painting you’re going to end up dropping $50-75 dollars on enough paint to cover you. And, more than likely, because you’re not used to painting with makeup, you’ll also probably end up frustrated with streaks or uneven coverage. Call a body painter today and see what they’ll give you for a quote or simply tell them your budget. You might be surprised! (If you live in the Hartford or Boston areas, drop us a line for a quote today!)

Read the full article here.

Face Painting vs Masks for Halloween Makeup

There are a lot of awesome safety facts here for families:

Safety at Halloween is more than just stranger-danger. It’s also being thoughtful of cars on dark streets,  security at large events, and making sure no one has an allergic reaction. Can face paint or masks be any more safe than the other?

Check out safety, hygiene, cost, and more! This Halloween, what is the difference between face paint and masks?

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How I became a face painter!

I get asked alot at parties how I became a face painter! Well, My oldest Grandson Alexander was  turning 1 and we wanted to do something nice for his birthday. After all, he was my only Grandchild at the time! (He’s 18 now!)

So our whole big Family got together for a big birthday party. We had my Sister’s backyard and pool, a piñata, and a bounce house! But most of the kids were too little for any of those things. So I went to the craft store down the street and tried to find something fun for them. Well, I found something much more fun than a craft! I picked up a face painting kit and thought “I could do this!”

My face painting might not have been pretty that first day, but I loved it and so did my family! After Alexander’s birthday (and another few grand children!) I just kept doing face painting at all of the birthdays in our Family. Then, friends and neighbors and other parents started asking me if I would do it at their parties. For years I kept face painting here and there for free, but after I retired to spend more time with my family which was really big by now, I decided to start doing it on the side!

I have been face painting now for 17 years, but only 8 of those years have been professionally. I love my job and I love the kids I work with.

Almost all of my business is word of mouth. Alexander helped me with this Website, which I would say is a pretty great trade-off for years of painting his face! 🙂 So if you haven’t met me before the Website Hello! I would love to come to your birthday party whether we’ve met or not and entertain all of the kids there!

I also do balloon twisting and glitter tattoos now, so I can do anything you want!

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Popular Questions About Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Parties

If you’re wondering what it would be like to have a face painter or balloon twister at your next event, you’ve come to the right place! Feel free to email me if I don’t answer all of your questions in this post.

  • Do you have a lot of experience with kids? I’m a proud mom to five kids and a handful of grandchildren. I love working with children, and hope I can help make your child’s next birthday memorable!
  • Is face paint really safe? I only use FDA-approved makeup. I make sure to only use hypoallergenic face paint and have never had a client have an allergic reaction. My grandson Ethan has super sensitive skin and all of the face paint works great on him. Each child gets a new sponge and brushes are dipped in sanitizer! All materials are fully cleaned between parties. I make sure all my parunnamed3ties are fun and clean!
  • Can I offer you food? If you wish. I always make sure that eating doesn’t get in the way of face painting or balloon twisting, but I would love a snack.
  • What if you don’t get through all the guests in time? Sometimes this happens (but rarely) because more kids come then expected. If you want, adding on extra time is super easy and I would love to spend the extra time with you!
  • How many people can you face paint in an hour? Typically I get face paint done on about 10-12 kids per hour. I can also get about 10-12 quality balloon twists done per hour! Always keep in mind that almost every guest is going to want to get his or her face done or get a balloon animal! A lot of adults even want to get in on the fun. This why having the choice to add on extra time is a great!
  • How do I pay? Cash is easiest way. Checks are also another option!
  • Do you recommend toddler birthday parties to include face paint? Toddlers have a really hard time sitting still (as you probably know). This makes waiting in line and sitting in the chair a difficult task for them. Shy children may also be afraid of me when they reach the end of the line!

Some other queries you might be having about my face painting and balloon twisting entertainment is…

  1. What does the party host have to do? For face painting all I’m going to need is a table and two chairs. For balloon twisting I need nothing at all, besides people to entertain!
  2. What do you do during downtime? I’ll be working the entire time. I guarantee that I’ll be busy for the entire time that you hire me. I can always paint children’s hands or do a second round of balloon animals.
  3. When do you setup? I’ll come early to set up. No matter if I’m face painting or balloon twisting (or both) I’ll be sure to arrive about 15 minutes early to set up all of my materials. It takes less than 5 minutes to have everything ready to go.

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Balloon Twisting and Face Paint for Popular Boy Birthday Themes

In the last blog post I discussed how face paint and balloon art can be incorporated into popular birthday themes for girls! To see that blog post click right here:

Incorporating Balloon Art and Face Paint Into Popular Birthday Themes: Girls Edition

 

This week I’m going to discuss how the same can be done for popular boy themes. According to party city the most popular boy birthday themes are:

Superheroes:

  • 2d34d22678ae17143126c5258281412fHire a face painter to come and face paint the children’s favorite superhero masks onto their face. Complete this with buying some bulk cheap capes and the children can entertain themselves by playing superhero.
  • Balloon twisting designs for superheroes isn’t as obvious as face painting designs. It is possible to make small superheroes balloon figurines, however in my experience children wo9856434d4263f29d487c6b8cd2192debuld prefer superhero weapons or just simple swords. Swords are one of the easiest balloon twists to make (no surprise there). Kids love them though! I personally love the Caption America balloon defense weapon (and I’m sure my grandson would agree with me). It’s requires a lot of balloon twisting skill, so remember this kind of twist will require more time.
  • I love how many characters there are for superheroes. With that comes many different options for superhero themes foods! The marshmallow and fruit Caption America armor will be sure to please both children and adults. Plus, it’s super easy to make! The Thor cupcakes are also easy to make and use some of the same materials. However, if you plan on serving birthday cake you may not want to invest time in making cupcakes. The hulk rice crisp treats are also super easy to make! Just add some green die to the recipe, and buy some black dye at the nearest Michael’s Craft Store for the frosting. All these foods allow less time cooking and more time with your birthday child.

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Cars:

  • Believe it or not cars face paint is actually less common than one would think. The face paint design below is one of my favorites. It’s so creative and it’s1266bf55fc92876b61fc489afb39236b more than painted car on a cheek. The face paint design incorporates the whole face!
  • Now the picture below looks like it would take a lot to recreate. However, if you build this one scene you don’t need to go all out with the rest of the decorations. Don’t be worried that a lot has to be done to make this scene, just think about how much more one would have to do if you di9f5b29dc09e291e93d9164c423f5fa0bdn’t do it. Take a cheap black tablecloth and paint the white stripes. Buy a few balloons and cones, and BAM decorations done.
  • The car balloon art is awesome. I taught myself how to balloon twist this after seeing the photo. Just remind the party guests that balloons can’t be rough housed with. No car accidents for these balloons. 4d2f3fee3c689d5d88a7dfa8025954da

Toy Story:

  • I’m in love with this party theme! The face painting designs for Toy Story are quite time-consuming and detailed. Without so much meticulous brushstrokes, the designs wouldn’t look good. They would look more like the birthday child did it. With some face painting designs, like this d2a19af89d34023294a90a34690ae6fcone, there is no in-between between good and bad.
  • Creative food that plays with the theme of Toy Story is great. Getting boxes of pizza and making a sign saying “Pizza Planet” is a super easy and low-effort way to feed the guests and up the décor. Another food to serve could be croissant-wrapped hot dogs and calling them “slinky dogs” to reference the popular character. Whatever food you chose to serve, if you choose to feed the guests, make sure the items don’t require the children to eat down. There is too much excitement happening!
  • Toy story alien balloon art are some pretty awesome examples of the talent it takes to balloon twist. It’s so obvious who the balloons were created to be. Making ionic balloon animals can really showcase talent.51d8c21e83a6662f992bb701b8941136

 

For more party ideas I have created some Pinterest board with even more party ideas for a bunch of themes: https://www.pinterest.com/FacepaintingCT/

Which Pinterest board is your favorite?

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Incorporating Balloon Art and Face Paint Into Popular Birthday Themes: Girls Edition

Face paint and balloon art are great ways to keep children entertained during a birthday party, and it helps to bring together a theme! The great aspect of having a popular theme is that finding supplies only requires heading to the local party store, rather than searching online or doing it yourself. Party City has a list of the most popular girl and boy birthday party themes. For this post I’ll be focusing on popular girl themes, and next week I’ll post about the boys themes. However, there are some popular themed party supplies that can’t be bought at Party City; balloon twisters and face painters.

Most Popular Girl’s Party Themes:

Minnie Mouse:

    • Balloon twisting can be tailored to every theme for every age. The video below is a great representation of how balloons can tailor to any theme! The hats would be a great way to tie in the party theme.

  • While on the topic of balloon art, balloon decoration is another way to bring together any theme. Minnie Mouse balloon arches are especially amazing because it’s so obvious what theme the party is aiming at. Even if you decide not to go over the top with decorations this one single décor addition will be able show the guests what the theme is. Or if you are deciding to go over the top with decorations, then you really need a balloon arch!c1328590314dc44019501033deb0b51e
  • A super awesome craft and treat idea would be to make a ‘create your own Minnie cookie area’. Making the cookies before hand can be a great way to get the birthday girl or boy involved.dc05e0648a27bf78b91163743df880b2
  • Face paint, like balloon twisting, is a simple way to keep the party guests entertained. Children love having their favorite characters painted on their faces. Adults love it because face paint makes the kids happy! I adore the Minnie and Mickey face paint design below.

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Disney Princesses:

  • One of the great things about princess birthday parties is that the party ideas are endless! Maybe it’s because there are so many princesses, or many it’s because they have been around for so long. Whatever the reason we aren’t going to question it. Just like party ideas, there are endless ideas for princess balloon art. Not only can Disney princesses be made into balloons, their companions can also. There are so many characters in Disney Princess movies so every party guest could get a different one if that’s what they wish.

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  • Side Note: If you’re looking for a summer Disney Princess party then check out my old blog post about throwing a Frozen party in the summer.
    • http://www.facepaintingpartyct.com/frozen-summer-party-ideas/
  • Having a face paint princess crown on is a great way to make any birthday girl to feel like royalty. Just like balloon art, face paint for princess parties also has a lot of design options. Having glass slippers, princess companions, castles, crowns, or the princesses face painted on the partygoers faces are just some of the options.
  • Decorating crowns is another way to entertain party guests. It’s also a great party favor for the guests to take home to their own castle.

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Hello Kitty:

One of my granddaughters was a major Hello Kitty fan growing up. The problem was that she really liked the cartoon before it was popular! Of course when it started getting popular she grew out of it. She would have loved a party like this.

  • Hello Kitty face paint has to be done well. I’ve seen plenty of pictures where the kid’s face is entirely painted white, and they end up looking more like a ghost then hello kitty. The example below is a great example of good Hello Kitty face paint.
  • Hello Kitty balloon animals are a bit harder to screw up then face paint. Unlike Disney princesses there aren’t as many ionic Hello Kitty characters to paint. So I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of party guests would also want more typical balloon animals.

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  • I spent a lot of time on Pinterest looking for Hello Kitty party crafts. I was actually super surprised by the lack of ideas. Even though Hello Kitty is a popular theme according to Party City, you can began to see how much harder it is to plan a less popular theme. Having face paint and balloon twisting is that much more important for unpopular themed birthday party, because it ties together a theme easily.
    • The only idea I found that I thought was unique and special would be to make headband ears. Just like decorating crowns, this Hello Kitty headband ears would be a great keepsake and a dress up play toy for the guests.

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Nancy’s Favorite Face Paints

I often get asked about the face paint I use, it’s safety, and the brand. Here’s a little bit about my favorite face paint brand: Snazaroo!

Here is their safety FAQ off their website:

Are Snazaroo face paints suitable for sensitive skin? 
All Snazaroo face paints are specially formulated to be friendly to the most delicate skin and are fragrance-free. All our face paints have been reviewed by an independent professor of dermatology and professional toxicologists. However, we recommend that before you start, you try a small test area on the inside of the elbow.
Are Snazaroo face paints non-toxic?  
All Snazaroo face paints are manufactured using only ingredients fully compliant with EU & FDA toy and cosmetic regulations, and are not dangerous and non-toxic.

Are Snazaroo face paints suitable for Vegans or for Vegetarians?
Some of our Snazaroo face paints contain lanolin, an animal-derived ingredient and as such, our products cannot be categorised as vegan/vegetarian. However, the glyceryl stearate in our face paints does not contain any animal ingredients and there are no other ingredients (other than lanolin) which are derived from animals in our face paints.

Are Snazaroo face paints safe for pregnant women?
Snazaroo face paints are safe for pregnant women, as all our cosmetics conform to the cosmetics directive.

Are Snazaroo face paints tested on Animals?  
Snazaroo products are never tested on animals.

Are Snazaroo face paints gluten free or nuts free?
Snazaroo products do not contain any gluten or nuts.

What to use to remove Snazaroo face paints?  
All Snazaroo products are easy to remove. Simply wash off with warm soapy water or use gentle face wipes.

How long can I keep Snazaroo face paints?  
At Snazaroo we recommend that you use your face paints within 18 months of opening.

Do you produce or sell rainbow cakes?  
Here at Snazaroo we do not manufacture rainbow cakes as producing these require cutting the paints by hand and touching them. All our products are manufactured in a cosmetic environment and sealed with the cosmetic film which does not get touched by human hand until you, the consumer, peel it back to use the product for the first time.

 

What is the minimum age for children to be painted?

Snazaroo face paints are safe for all ages, but we recommend face painting for children 3 years old and over. If painting on younger children we recommend a small motif on their cheek, hands or arms.

 

 

Does Snazaroo face paint wash out of clothes/fabric?

Snazaroo face paints are water-based and will wash out of most fabrics. However, please remember that due to the high pigment content some colours may stain.

 

 

How long will the face paint stay on my face/body?

Until you wash it off under normal circumstances. Always remove paint before going to bed.

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Safe face painting in CT

I love these face painting tips from the FacePaintingTips.com website. Here’s their article on safety and sanitation, and you can rest assured I follow all of these rules!

Today I’m going to be talking about hygiene which is a big concern in our industry and it’s so important that you take it seriously to save yourself hassles such as:

* Your clients getting allergic reactions
* Contamination of your face paints that infect others
* And getting sued for all of the above (in extreme cases)
* Below are our tips on keeping your tools hygienic.

People to Avoid Painting
Never paint someone who has:

Any open cuts or sores on their face.
A cold sore, conjunctivitis, or any other known infectious skin condition.
A food allergy or allergic reactions to soaps, skin creams, etc., without a prior skin test.
Face Paints Palettes and Kits
If they have cuts or open sores on their face, think about painting something on their hands, arms or even legs. If they can’t get their faces painted, at least a little bit of body painting might help put a smile on their face, and parents will love the fact that you’re considerate of their child’s feelings.

Keeping Your Tools Hygienic
Hygiene is important but don’t get too carried away. Some recommend that all brushes, sponges, and palettes must be cleaned or replaced after painting someone and before painting the next person.

Although this may sound time consuming, brushes and sponges can be quickly rinsed quite quickly in hot water (as this will kill the germs). If you’re painting lips, a cotton swab works great and is disposable.

The most important thing to remember is that you should only be painting faces that are clean, so if you’re only painting clean surfaces then you’re not likely to be spreading anything around.

Some other tips are listed below:

It is a good habit to get into to ask parents before you work on their child if they have any allergies or skin sensitivities. If you’re unsure, you might try a test patch on the inside of the wrist.
Some (very few) children have extremely sensitive skin and will break out with a rash with even the most pure products. So you should always have a disclaimer on your table, just in case.
Use a baby wipe to clean a child’s face (if he/she has a runny nose or food/drink on their face) before painting it – so your tools don’t get contaminated.

Obviously your own hands should be clean before you start painting. And you should try to wipe them occasionally on a baby wipe to keep them clean while you work.
Keeping your water looking fresh and clean is important. Change it frequently.

Only use one sponge per face, or wash the sponge before you use it again.

Wash your brushes before using them on another person. It helps if you have alot of brushes – this way you don’t have to be washing brushes inbetween each client, you can just use a different brush.

Some insurance policy guidelines, and also FACE (The UK Face Painting Association) recommend never painting the face of a child under three years old, but this is a guideline, not a rule. Children under 3 have not yet built up their full immune system, so might be more susceptible to a reaction. The choice will be yours, but you should be careful. You might want to paint an arm or leg on children under three.

Make sure brushes and sponges are cleaned in soapy water after each day’s session. You can save yourself some time by putting your sponges in the washing machine on a “warm/hot” cycle for a thorough cleansing each evening.

Look after your tools, and they will last you for years. Thoroughly clean brushes and sponges after each session, but make sure you don’t put them away damp. If you do they could mold.

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Unique Face Painting Party Ideas

Here are a few of the coolest parties I’ve ever face painted at! Maybe they’ll give you a few ideas for your next party!

  • “Morning After” sleep over! I arrived at 10am for the girls to have breakfast and get their faces painted after their sleep over!
  • Super heroes party. I painted super hero masks on all of the kids, and even some of the adults.
  • Sweet 16. Yes, I can do teenage parties. Lots and lots of glitter!
  • Makeup party. For kids that were too little for real make-overs, the mom brought me in for a little face painting “makeover”! Great for little girls who want to feel like pretty moms!
  • Humane Society Birthday. A little girl in Newington wanted her friends to bring donations to the humane society instead of presents, so we set up a little area outside and gave them all wonderful animal face paintings!

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Five Fabulous Face Painting Places

We’ve had a few disappointed moms recently on the phone because their bounce house places or Chuck E Cheese wouldn’t let me in to do face painting for them. If you’re set on having face painting at your party, here are a few places you can invite us:

  • Any banquet hall you rent out

Private halls almost never have a problem with face painting or balloon twisting

  • Any restaurant you rent out

Many restaurants have a private room you can rent out. Just make sure there is enough room for your guests, plus our face painting or balloon twisting station. Plus, this way you don’t have to worry about food!

  • VFW, American Legion, or any social club

Most social clubs have a hall available to rent for the community. These are great for large events! We paint at lots of these all year round!

  • Private room in a library or town hall

Many towns, especially smaller ones, have rentable community space. You may be surprised at what you can get!

  • Your house!

When all else fails, let us do all of the entertaining at your home!

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