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Halloween Face Painting is Almost Here!

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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!

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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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Toddler Party Tips

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I get tons of people asking for balloon twists and face painting packages for toddler birthday parties. Every mom and dad knows that toddlers act different from other ages and should be treated quite different from kids ages 5+. Being a mom and grandmother myself, I know that toddlers are quite unique and need things to be tailored to their curiosity and short attention spans. That’s why I’ve learned how to tailor my parties to make them perfect for toddlers.

  1. Face painting a toddler isn’t always easy. They just won’t sit still! After waiting in line (if you can get them to wait) it’s very frustrating if at the last moment the toddler decides they don’t want their face painted. It is for this reason that I recommend balloon-twisting parties rather than face painting parties. Toddlers love to watch balloon animals being made. If any older kids are at the party, they will also love watching the balloon twisting, and the other twists even more. It’s not even unusual for adults at my parties to want a balloon too. I would say that balloon twisting is a lot more universal than face painting!
  2. Don’t service any party food that would require the child to sit down! Hot dogs and finger foods are perfect. The kids are going to be having too much fun to sit down and eat.
  3. I know plenty of games that are perfect for children of all ages. Toddler parties often have a couple older kids thrown into the mix, whether they are older neighbors or siblings. I make sure that all my activities are suitable for all ages.
  4. When planning the birthday party remember that most toddlers still take an afternoon nap so take that into account. You will probably want a late afternoon (or morning) party and you can keep it short and sweet! This also leaves you with more one-on-one time with your special birthday child. Most toddlers also are beginning to appreciate goody bags. I try to suggest that with older kid’s birthday parties they move away from cheap goodies, and onto a more meaningful give-away. However, with toddlers I would suggest going as cheap and easy as possible! Toddlers aren’t going to be more impressed by bigger and better items.

Toddlers need more supervision then older children, which can make a toddler’s party super hectic. That’s why hiring entertainment is even more important. Balloon twisting is definitely the best option! It will keep the kids entertained and give the adults some much needed adult talk time. Unlike some other companies, I have a lot of experience with kids of all ages and can definitely keep the children entertained, whether it be face paint or balloon twisting.

Overall, don’t stress out, hire a balloon twister, and keep your party short and sweet!250-octopus

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Popular Questions About Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Parties

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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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Making Sure Your Summer Party Isn’t a Bummer

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Having a summer birthday opens up a couple new options for party ideas that can only be done during this time of year, including some festive balloon twisting and face paint designs. The two biggest decisions for birthday party planners in the summer months are whether the party will be held outdoors or indoors, and if the party is going to be relaxed or lively. Some easy party ideas for any gender and any age during the summer are:

All Parties Can Have Face Paint and Balloon Twisting!

  • Hire a face painter and balloon twister! This is a definite way of making sure the children will be entertained. Face painting is suitable for all ages and designs can be matured for older kids. Everyone also loves a good balloon sword! This option is super easy for parents because the artists do all the setup and takedown. All the party holders need to do is setup a table with two chairs. How easy!

Outdoors

Very Active Party:

  • Not everyone has the luxury of a having a pool. However, don’t fret if you want to cool party guests off but don’t have a man-made body of water and concrete sitting in your background. Water balloons are a major pain to inflate (and take about five minutes to go through). Instead, invest in some water guns! Have bins filled with water throughout the yard so that kids (and let’s be real, adults) can refill the guns. If you already have water guns this can be a total party hit with no cost to you. If your collection of water guns hasn’t begun yet, dollar stores and Wal-Mart are a great place to look. Just be sure that every party child has the option to play, so make sure that the number of guns will equal the number of children at the party. It’s also a super good way to water your lawn (:
    • Just because this party idea involves water doesn’t mean that you can’t have face paint! Noodle Doodle offers waterproof face paint! With FDA-approved ingredients, the paint comes of with soap or makeup remover instead of water.

More Laid-Back Party Idea:outdoor theater

  • Create an outside theater in your own backyard. Hang a sheet up in the backyard, rent a projector, and stream the birthday child’s favorite film. Litter the backyard with old blankets and pillows! I would recommend this idea for parties for older kids (9+) that are more likely to be able to sit through an entire film. This would also be a great time to do face paint, because rather than waiting in a line the kids can come one at a time during the movie. A super awesome addition to this idea would be to make a slideshow of the birthday girl or boy’s photos to play before the movie. There is no harm traveling down through memory lane.
  • For kids under 9, bring a carnival to town! Not literally, but you can create carnival games for the children to enjoy. The problem with this idea is that needs a lot of work beforehand to complete. The games once completed can be used for many birthday parties to come though!

A good majority of summer birthday parties are held outside. However, the weather sometimes gets upset that it wasn’t invited to your party and rains down on the special day. I would recommend a more laid-back tone to indoor parties because having multiple loud kids inside isn’t ideal.

Indoors

  • Now, if you planned for an outdoor movie theater and the weather decides to move the party inside creating the same idea indoors is easy! Although it would now be easier to just play the movie on the TV, I would still recommend using the sheet and projector anyways! That extra step will be sure to wow the party.
  • The easiest way to create a summer feel to an indoor party is to make a beach theme! This where some really fun summer balloon twisting and face painting can come in. Let our face painters create a tropic paradise on your little’s one face. Regarding summer inflatable objects, balloon animals are so much better than beach balls!
face-painting

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