Paintertainment

There's No Place Like Home

2011-11-28T17:27:00.000-08:00

What were you most thankful for this Thanksgiving? I know there are 13 children in Minnesota who were thankful just to have a family this Thanksgiving!

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of being a part of the Hennepin County Adoption Days event, which I've painted at with my mom for several years. During this year's event 13 kids were adopted into 9 families. According to their website, Hennepin County has finalized 1,761 adoptions from 2000 to 2009.

What a privilege to be able to take part in such a big day for so many families as they finalize their adoptions! This event is always held right before Thanksgiving, and serves as a timely reminder of what is really important in life.

"There's no place like home"... this was the quote worn by one family who were all coordinated in custom made Wizard of Oz clothing for this year's adoption days! I had a lot of fun painting these ruby slippers, yellow brick road, and emerald city on the kids' grandmother!

Masquerade Masks!

2011-11-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

I've had a couple requests in the past to paint groups of women before heading out for a masquerade themed bachelorette party. Unfortunately none of them have panned out so I haven't had the opportunity yet! But, today I was inspired while browsing through a Google image search of Venetian masquerade masks and had to give it a try on myself...

This was really my first attempt at a mask, and boy am I ever blind when painting myself without my glasses on! (And afterwards looking at photos, I'm always kicking myself for not putting on any makeup, pretty earrings, or something nicer looking than a sweatshirt, but oh well! It's just practice!) I always have to literally paint in super slow motion when painting myself like this, so this one took about a half hour. But, it turned out pretty cool in the end. I had a lot of fun with my interferenz gold paint, metallic silver, and adding sparkly details with my Liquid Bling and also adhering some acrylic rhinestones with eyelash adhesive!

Once I get some more time to edit my other photos, maybe I'll share the step by step process of this one too, if not here than on my free e-newsletter!

New Acrylic Rhinestone Shapes Now Available!

2011-11-08T10:57:00.000-08:00

We've just received a new shipment of acrylic rhinestones! New additions to the assortment now include smaller 5mm round gems, tear drop shaped gems, and larger 18mm red hearts. Check them out on our Acrylic Rhinestone page, where you can also browse our many other shapes and sizes, as well as adhesives!

Private Session: Father Frost & Mother Frost

2011-10-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of painting "Father Frost" and "Mother Frost" on their way to a Halloween costume party last night!

Working on Mother Frost

For "Mother Frost" I used a mix of the regular Aquacolor paints (white & blues), and interferenz paints. I used a little snowflake stencil which was pretty slick, and had fun adding details with a bottle of Mehron white Detailz paint and some Amerikan Body Art Liquid Bling in silver. She brought her own sparkly blue eyelashes which were very cool, and also put on some pretty blue & aqua eyeshadow and lips!

For "Father Frost" I first covered his face and head in a base coat of Interferenz Silver mixed with a little bit of Aquacolor white, which gave him that frosty, pale look with some shimmer. Then I used more interferenz blues around his eyes to add some drama with the frosty cracks and icicles around his eyes. Aquacolor white made a nice snowflake on his cheek, but I added some blue around it to make it really pop! The blue sparkly dots done with Amerikan Body Art Liquid Bling really added a lot when the light hit it as well! I also brushed a little interferenz blue in his beard too which worked well. I'm kicking myself because I forgot to spritz his beard with a little Glitter Spray! But, it all came out looking pretty cool! (pardon the pun!)

I have the joy of painting at Christmas parties each year for "Father Frost" when he plays Santa Carlucci. "Mother Frost" plays a great "Cheryl Claus" at Christmas time and also made their incredible costumes. Turns out they ended up winning first place in the costume contest at the party they attended, which was very cool and well earned as they put so much time and attention to detail into their costumes! Congrats, "Father & Mother Frost!"

Paintertainment FAQ: Is Any "non-toxic" Acrylic Paint Safe for Face Painting?

2011-10-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

Question: Is it safe to use acrylic paints and other "craft" paints as face paint, as long as the package says it is "non-toxic?" The answer: Absolutely NOT! Non-Toxic does NOT mean FDA approved, which is what paints must be in order to be considered safe for use on human skin. I'd even go as far as to say that the term "non-toxic" is almost as meaningless as the term "hypoallergenic," at least where face paints are concerned. The only language that you must always look for in face paints is "FDA Approved for cosmetic use."

Professional face painter Susan Judd from Liverpool has done a lot of research into this subject, and was gracious enough to let me share this great information that she summarized to help really explain why acrylic paints should never be used on skin:

"Most 'non – toxic' acrylics have formaldehyde as a preservative. This is not bad in its correct application, even in terms of getting a bit on your hands and washing off. The amount that they have in them accounts for this. BUT why are they considered a big 'no' as face paint?

Formaldehyde is a probable human carcinogen -cancer causing (it has only been proven in animals, and depending upon the country in Australia it is classified as one) and outright poison that has been researched since the 1940s. It is easily absorbed through the skin, and inhaled.

It has a particular effect on mucus membranes i.e. eyes, throat, nose and gut. 30mls of formaldehyde is a lethal poison to kill a human. And formaldehyde is commonly tested for as an allergen by in an allergy test.

When they approve this as a preservative, they make allowances for, say, it being stuck under fingernails for a few days, but not slapped on a face next to the mucus membranes to be inhaled and seep through and get in eyes. All acrylics are recommended for use in a well-ventilated area as formaldehyde is released into the air as they dry. Again acrylics not so good near the nose and mouth.

Now if the amount of formaldehyde is less than 1% the manufacturer does not have to list that ingredient. As that is a safe amount for its correct application. and it can be labeled Non Toxic.

You will find formaldehyde in shampoo, conditioner etc. but at no more than 0.2% and they have to include releasing agents in them to basically release the toxins as much as possible in the manufacturing process so it is safe for general use. Many things in life contain formaldehyde but are safe due to the way they were manufactured. Unfortunately general paint slips through this as it is not intended to be misused.

Most 'non-toxic' paint is a myth, as they just count on people using it safely. And that is why it is approved as paint but not as a cosmetic. Unless labelled formaldehyde free. There are other ingredients we could talk about, but Google formaldehyde to find out more.

Please don’t freak out about you kids having paints in general it is OK just obviously not with prolonged exposure to skin, as face paint. (or ingested in large quantities I suppose) I read up a lot about it but it is just too much to type.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Formaldehyde (CAS# 50-00-0) is one of the most common chemicals in use today. It is found in many processes and products, being widely used as a preservative, embalming fluid, sterilant and fumigant. Formaldehyde is also used in the production of resins, plastics, dyestuffs, 'non-iron' fabrics, paper products, paint, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. With such widespread uses and applications, many people come into contact with formaldehyde in one form or another in the workplace.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a strong, pungent odor. It is commonly used in liquid form as a 40% aqueous solution known as formalin and in solid form as a white powder called paraformaldehyde. Because of its volatility, both formalin and paraformaldehyde will readily give off irritating formaldehyde vapour with a strong odour.

Health Effects of Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde can affect you when you breathe its vapour or come into contact with materials containing formaldehyde. It reacts very rapidly with moist body tissue, so particularly vulnerable areas are those that can come into direct contact such as the skin, upper respiratory tract and eyes.
The effects of formaldehyde exposure can vary from person to person. Some may show symptoms of irritation at very low levels, while others can tolerate exposure to higher concentrations with little or no reaction.

Typical exposure symptoms include:

Low 0.1 - 5 parts per million
Eye irritation, tears
Skin irritation
Respiratory tract irritation

Moderate5 - 20 ppm
Burning of eyes and respiratory tract
Tears
Difficulty in breathing / coughing

High 20 - 100 ppm
Chest tightening, pain
Irregular heartbeat
Severe lung irritation
Pulmonary oedema
Death in severe cases

Skin: Contact with formaldehyde solutions or resins can cause eczema (dry, flaking and itching skin) and in extreme cases can lead to dermatitis. This is a skin disease that can appear as a simple rash to severe skin cracking and blistering. These symptoms can also be caused by contact with clothing contaminated with formaldehyde.

Eyes: Exposure to formaldehyde vapour can cause reddening and a burning sensation in the eyes accompanied by tears production. Formaldehyde solutions coming into direct contact with the eye can cause serious damage to the cornea, possibly leading to blindness.

Nose, Throat and Lungs: Low ambient concentrations of formaldehyde can cause irritation of the upper respiratory tract. At higher concentrations, the effects become more severe, with levels above 10 ppm causing coughing and chest tightness. Exposure to very high levels can lead to death from throat swelling and chemical burns to the lungs.

In some people, exposure to formaldehyde vapours, even at very low concentrations, leads to respiratory sensitization resulting in an allergic reaction similar to asthma. This can be triggered at any time, even in individuals who have worked with formaldehyde in the past with no apparent reaction, resulting in shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing and coughing.

Cancer: Although there is no conclusive evidence available to prove that formaldehyde is a human carcinogen, it has been shown to cause cancer in animals. Formaldehyde is therefore considered to be a probable human carcinogen, particularly as a cause of nasal and nasopharyngeal cancers as these areas are more likely to come into direct contact with formaldehyde."

So the bottom line is, after reading all of this, is it really worth the chance of causing any level of harm to your child or anyone else's with acrylic and other craft paints, when there are already SO many products out there that are FDA approved and specifically designed for use on skin? It seems to be common sense to me, although I know many people see the words "non-toxic" and think you are safe to use it for whatever you want. Not so! So, consider yourself officially educated...next time you take your child to get their face painted, or the next time you hire a face painter, make certain you know exactly what they are putting on your child's skin. After all, the safety of your child is your job as a parent, and the safety of your little customers is your job as a professional face painter.

Here is another bit of info that I pulled off of the Snazaroo acrylic paint FAQ page from "Hopeful the Clown," who wrote to Binney Smith Company, maker of Liquitex acrylic paints, requesting their MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) for Liquitex acrylic colors in tubes, jars and artist colors.

Below is some of the information they received:

A-Chronic Health Hazards: Contains soluble cadmium. Avoid using if pregnant or contemplating pregnancy. Exposure may cause harm to developing fetus. Not for use by children.

B-Chronic Health Hazards: Contains soluble nickel. May be harmful if swallowed. Exposure may cause damage to the testes. When using do not eat, drink, or smoke. Not for use by children.

c-Medical conditions aggravated by exposure: Pre-existing skin, eye and respiratory disorders may by aggravated by exposure to this product.

D- Emergency and First Aid:
1- Eyes: Flush with water for 15 minutes. Call Physician if symptoms exist.
2- Skin: Wipe off excess and flush with warm water and soap.
3- Ingestion: consult Physician, hospital, or poison control center.
4- Inhalation: Remove victim to fresh air and treat symptomatically.

E- Carcinogenicity: The ingredients of this product are on the toxic substance control act (TSCA) inventory.

F- Do not store near extreme heat.

G- For Airbrushing" Use NIOSH certified respirator. Do not inhale spray from airbrush. Use adequate ventilation to control fumes vapors and dust/. Do not airbrush colors 162, 168,161, 312,154,157,168, 150,152,and 160.

Links to check out:
Snazaroo's Acrylic paint FAQ page
Another good blog post on the dangers of non-professional supplies

Here are some more useful links found by Susan Judd (Thanks, Susan!!):
http://www.nontoxicprint.com/safepainting.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formaldehyde
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/formaldehyde

Baby Bump Painting: Minnesota Twins!

2011-10-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Boy am I lucky to have yet another adorable pregnant woman in my family! My cousin and his wife, who are expecting TWINS were in town visiting this week, so of course I had to paint her!! I'm honored that I was able to get a slice of their time, as I know how precious it is when visiting family out of state!

Being that the Minnesota Twins are my cousin's favorite team, AND they are expecting twins, it was only natural that we'd do a Twins baseball design!

Progress shots

First I have the mom-to-be stand while I sketch the design with a white makeup pencil

Then mom gets to sit and get comfy while I paint!

Adding the blue outlines really made it sharp!

Finishing touches!

I had a few different options for Twins designs to choose from, and I'm glad she picked this one! It looked simple but was fun to really add some dimension and detailing with the stitching, and the giant baseball really played well on her belly shape!

I got some cute shots with the dad-to-be, who also took the photos of me painting above (thank you!!)...I'll probably post some of his own photos later too as he had a better camera! ;-) All in all I think it turned out pretty cute and I had a blast!!

Interested in having your own custom baby bump artwork? Click here to learn more!

Dramatic Celebrity Face Paint Ideas for Halloween Costumes

2011-09-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

Nobody wants to show up for a Halloween party and be asked, "so who are YOU supposed to be?!" Choosing a Halloween persona that incorporates face painting is a great way to achieve the full effect and really look like who you're trying to look like!

There are many movie characters, musicians & celebrities that can easily be mirrored with a little face paint! Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking this Halloween...

Lady Gaga - Pretty much anything goes, but the above looks can be achieved with Aquacolor paints in the color of your choosing using brushes, paired up with some glitter, glitter spray, or go all out with some acrylic rhinestones attached with eyelash adhesive or spirit gum!

The Mad Hatter from Alice - Use some clown white or aquacolor white for a base, applied with a round or wedge sponge. Then feather on the pink/red around the cheeks and eyes using Aquacolor paint with a wide brush or a sponge. (Don't forget the makeup remover if you use the clown white or other Supracolor paint as it is not water based)

The Queen of Hearts from Alice - Use some clown white or aquacolor white for a base, applied with a round or wedge sponge. Then add the blue eyelids and red heart shape over the lips using blue and red Aquacolor paint or supracolor paint and a brush. Use a fine brush and black Supracolor or Aquacolor black for the little mole and black eyebrows. OR, try a black Pro pencil or a bottle of Detailz! You could even achieve this whole look using one 6-color Supracolor palette. (Don't forget the makeup remover if you use the clown white or other Supracolor paint as it is not water based)

Captain Jack Sparrow - Use a brush with some Aquacolor white, black, and green to paint his extra eyes!

The Joker - Try wrinkling up your face while blotting on some Aquacolor white paint with a sponge. This will help achieve those "cracks" of no paint where the wrinkles are. Then get some red for the mouth and apply with a brush, and do a mix of black and green around the eyes. Put a little extra water in the black and red to allow it to bleed into the cracks and you've got yourself one creepy looking Joker face!

KISS - Try some clown white or aquacolor white for a base applied with a round or wedge sponge. Then add the black details with a brush and black Aquacolor paint. Use metallic silver around the eyes if that's the face you choose!

Blue Man Group - That's an easy one! Get an all black outfit and paint your head blue with Aquacolor paint! Use a round or wedge sponge to get quick coverage. (Pick up a skull cap if you're not bald, or go all out and shave your head!)

Be sure to sign up for our FREE e-newsletter too if you haven't already...the next one will be coming out in just days and will include a cute step-by-step Halloween bat cheek art design, as well as some really cool "sugar skull" designs!

Got something awesome planned for this Halloween involving face paint? We'd love to see how it turns out and post your photos! Contact me if you'd like to share your costume ideas, past or present!

Baby Bump Painting: Goldfish Bowl!

2011-09-22T14:21:00.000-07:00

I am sooo excited to share my first baby bump painting, done just this afternoon! Well, my first on someone else...I did paint my own belly like a pumpkin on Halloween two years ago. But it was much trickier not being able to see below my belly button. ;-)

Pregnant belly painting, also known as "gestational art," is all the rage these days. Moms-to-be are having their bellies painted and photographed with their dads-to-be for their baby books, and even having them done at baby showers! You may have seen moms on A Baby Story having their bellies painted, or maybe you've seen some celebrities in the news having it done, like Mariah Carey.

Having your baby bump painted and photographed is a really fun way to preserve some memories from pregnancy and celebrate your growing belly! I've always had so much fun studying all of the photos of baby bump art in my face & body painting magazines, so I put a feeler out on Facebook to see if I could get a model or two to let me paint them. My wonderful second cousin, who is 32 weeks pregnant, graciously volunteered, having never even heard of having your belly painted!

I started by sending her a few photos off of the web of other people's painted bellies to get the wheels turning. She decided on the fishbowl idea, which is a really fun play on the round pregnant belly! I put together this Photoshopped concept for her using various clipped digital images off the web, and I used this for reference:

digital concept "sketch"

...and here's the finished piece...pretty close!

I gave her a page of different plants to choose from, and she picked these cute lilly pads which were fun shapes to create!

After reading some suggestions from experienced belly painters on the face paint forum, I decided to have her stand at first while I drew the basic design on her belly with a makeup pencil ($5 each for black or white). This prevents the design from looking distorted when she is done and stands back up.

Above are a few progess shots along the way. I used a round makeup sponge that I had cut in half ($1.20 each) to fill in the white base and some blue shading. Then I used my #28 flat sable brush ($19.50) to feather and blend the blue and white to give the bowl a nice round appearance. From there I used my #5 and #2 contour round brushes ($3.40 & $4.60) to fill in all of the colors and details.

I'm really glad that she brought her mom to share in the experience, because she was a great photographer and captured the whole process!

I've never really painted pictures of goldfish and it was really fun. Normally I spend about 30 seconds to a minute on a design, on very adorable yet wiggly children. I was wondering if I could even get myself to spend more than 20 minutes on a design! Turns out the challenge for me was making myself STOP tweaking and adding more detail after over an hour of painting! The time flew by though and I already can't wait for my next belly painting.

After we were finished we took tons of photos! I didn't have an actual fish net so I Photoshopped this one into the picture, which turned out pretty cute:

...although I was kindof wishing I had a cat to put next to her!

All in all I think it went well for my first belly painting and I think my wonderful model enjoyed it too! Many thanks to her for driving out more than an hour I'm sure to my house so that I could paint her while my two boys were napping! ;-)

If you live in the Twin Cities area (Minneapolis / St Paul Minnesota) and are interested in having your belly painted, or in giving a belly painting as a gift to an expectant mom, check out my website here for more info!

New Package Deal: The Charity Fundraising Kit!

2011-09-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce yet another new product introduction to the Paintertainment online shop...the Charity Fundraiser Kit! This kit was designed to help people raise money for various charitable causes, enabling someone with no experience face painting to achieve professional results without the high price tag of hiring an actual professional. Click here for a video demonstration!

For just $23.99 (over a $2.00 savings versus buying each item individually)
the kit includes:
• One #2 round brush for outlining
• One round makeup sponge, which can be cut in half to make two sponges
• 2.5 ounces of Kryolan Aquacolor makeup in the color of your choosing
• .5 ounces of Kryolan Aquacolor black makeup for outlines
• One ribbon design stencil from Snazaroo

Not sure what colors represent what causes? I'm in the process of putting together my own color chart, but in the meantime, I really like this one put together by Fire Mountain Gems, a place I like to buy beads for jewelry making!

Rainbow Butterfly How-To

2011-09-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

Tonight I finally had a chance to try out a few of the fun new products that were recently added to Paintertainment's online shop! I took photos along the way so that I could share a little rainbow butterfly how-to for you!

1) Wet the brush and/or paint. Swipe the Snazaroo butterfly fan brush across the Paradise Rainbow Cake to load it with a rainbow of colors! (You'll swipe in the other direction, loading the other side of the brush, when you do the butterfly's right wing in step 3)

2) Lay the butterfly fan brush against the skin, making sure that all colors make contact.

3) Swipe to the right as you lift the brush up for the left wing! Repeat using the other side of the brush for the right wing.

4) Outline the wings in black. I used the Kryolan #5 round brush and black Aquacolor paint.

5) Paint a body and add antennae and outlines. I used more of the Kryolan Aquacolor paint for the body, and a black bottle of Paradise Detailz for the outlines and antennae.

6) Add the finishing touches in white! I used the Snazaroo dotting wand for the white dots on the edges of the wings, and a white bottle of Paradise Detailz for the fine highlights and details.

New Paradise & Mehron Products Now Available!

2011-09-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

I'm pleased to announce another round of great new products just added to Paintertainment.com!

Glitter Spray
- Glitter spray is a water based gel with glitter suspended throughout. It may be sprayed on the skin, hair or clothing. Use alone or to add sparkling accents!

Pro Pencils
- These silky smooth, ultra creamy pencils glide on with ease and come with a sturdy composite casing to protect the tip. Use them to draw designs or outline shapes to indicate placement of makeup...a must have for clowns and baby bump artists! Hint: for better point, put pencil in the freezer for a few minutes before sharpening!

Rainbow Cakes
- This 6-color rainbow cake is made up of Mehron's world famous Paradise Makeup AQ paint. The large surface of the rectangular cake has equal amounts of each color. They can be applied with a dampened sponge or brush, and remove easily with soap and water. The container measures about 3 1/8" x 2 1/4"

Detailz
-This liquid color concentrate is specifically designed for detail work. Each bottle comes with its own special applicator that provides the artist with the ability to add those fine details to intricate designs, outlines, fine lines, round accent spots and dots of various sizes.

I can't WAIT to try out all of these cool products, and as soon as I do I'll be sure to post pictures!

Happy painting!

Full Faces Freak me out!

2011-09-02T14:08:00.000-07:00

I hesitate to even post these just because full faces still totally creep me out!! That's probably a bad trait for a face painter, eh? ;-) Well, I thought I'd try my hand at some full face animals on myself. So here they are:

Leopard - This was my first try at using a "rake brush," and a neat animal print stencil I just bought online. Never thought I'd use a stencil but they are pretty slick for things like prints!

My tiger face, before I had the rake brush which makes such great fur...

Trying out another new stencil of reptile skin! The interferenz paints were pretty cool for this. If I did it again I'd do a darker base and then do the stencil'ed pattern in lighter green. I used to have an iguana named Gonzo. There's your trivia for the day.

Two of My Favorite Summer "Gigs!"

2011-08-31T14:01:00.000-07:00

Now that things are barely settling down a bit, I thought I'd post some photos from a couple of my favorite annual gigs that were last week!

My mom and I have been doing this outdoor concert together for the past few years at the Village at Mendota Heights. So far we've always lucked out with great weather! There's a cute grassy "square" outside where all the families gather to listen to children's entertainment. This year there was even a petting zoo!

a few happy customers!

My mom painting

Then the next day I painted at another one of my favorite events to work at...the fall kickoff party at Virtuosos Music Academy in Plymouth! The past few years they've been including some of the other neighboring businesses and the event grows every year. It is free and open to the public with wonderful live music by the students, karate demonstrations from the nearby karate school, and this year they even had free Starbucks, and some professional stylists from The Style Room styling and spraying kids' hair fun colors!

some musicians performing from the music school

I had just a few minutes to paint my own arm when I started! I love doing the music related designs at this event.

My little portable face painting setup. It all folds up and fits in the back of my VW Beetle!

A little father son arm painting!

There was a rush of "eye swirls" after everyone saw this one! I love how it matched her earrings!

It was a busy end to a busy summer, and I still have more events to paint at this September. Business is booming and I've been having a lot of fun! Before we know it I'll be posting photos of Christmas gigs with Santa...gotta enjoy these summer days as long as we can!

Liquid Bling Now Available on Paintertainment!

2011-08-29T13:58:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce the arrival of another one of many new products coming to Paintertainment.com: Amerikan Body Art's Liquid Bling!

Liquid Bling has become the clear favorite 3-dimensional glitter product of professional face and body artists. Made of a combination of pure aloe and cosmetic grade glitter, Liquid Bling dries with a 3-dimensional effect and is fantastic for adding the look of gems or outlines that really pop!

We now carry the 5 most popular colors of Liquid Bling, in both .5 oz bottles and 2 oz refill bottles. The .5 oz bottles are $5.99, and the large 2 oz refill bottles are $9.99.

The .5 oz applicator bottles come in a little plastic bag with a metal tip. The tip is to be placed on the bottle only during use, and it is recommended that you remove it and wash it between usage, replacing the plastic cap back on the bottle.

I have heard from other artists who use this product that it is helpful to keep a pin in the tip (with a large head so it doesn't fall in of course) between customers. This helps prevent the tip from clogging with glitter. The tip can be soaked in warm water to clean at the end of your day.

I am super excited to start using this liquid bling, especially in my upcoming Christmas events! Are you a fan of Liquid Bling? If so, I'd love to see and share photos of your work! I hope to post photos of this in use as soon as I have some. Until then, happy bling-ing!

Introducing: "Funny Fingers Hand Art!"

2011-08-26T12:30:00.000-07:00

I am SUPER excited to announce my latest book, hot off the press! "Funny Fingers Hand Art" It's been 3 years since I've published a book...about how long it's been since my first baby boy started getting mobilized! I think you can guess what's been keeping me busy since!

I got the idea for this book and 3 weeks later it was going to print. I love what my drive to complete a project can do when combined with the amazing ability the internet gives me to publish my own books! (Well, it would have been done in 2 weeks, but I had to paint at the fair right in the middle of it!)

Unlike my previous two books, "Face Painting: A Step-by-Step Guide" and "32 Classic Carnival Designs," this book is not designed for the total beginner. This new book assumes that you have the ability to paint and have some artistic skill as a face painter. It definitely stretches the imagination! If you're a professional face painter, are finding yourself "stuck" in the same old cheek art designs, and are looking for some fresh, fun, new ideas to get your creative juices flowing, this is the book for you!

The book measures about 6" wide (including the spiral binding) by 8.5" tall, making it the perfect size: large enough to see each step, but small enough to tuck into your kit of paints and take with you. It costs a little more to bind a book with the spiral binding, which is why you won't find that on the other popular selling books currently out there that focus on princess faces, cat faces, etc. However, being a professional face painter myself and a professional product designer, I know that when you're painting, your hands are both full and you don't want to mess with trying to hold a page open. The spiral binding allows the book to lay flat on the table for reference, or fold completely back if you just want to reference one page.

So what's the big deal about painting on hands vs the face? Kids just LOVE them. A little creative placement on the hand, combined with a child's imagination, can bring your designs to life! Kids can open and close their fingers to make an animal's mouth open and close, to make legs walk, or to wiggle the fire coming out of the space ship. Parents love to see their child's own hand transform into a puppet...a fun toy that they can enjoy all day and won't find broken under their bed two days later!

The beginning of the book opens with a couple pages of tools and tips. Tips include hand-painting-specific things like how to get a smooth, solid line across a knuckle. The "Design index" spread functions as a visual table of contents for the designs. This makes it quick and easy for you to find the page you want, and also can double as a design menu board if you use it at your events for the kids to choose from!

There are 18 designs, each one illustrated with full color photography in six steps, along with a large, full-page photo of the finished design. Most of the designs also include the "Get Creative!" box at the bottom, which includes more ideas to make your design unique and inject your own style!

You can purchase the book from my website. As of today I only have this one copy that I've photographed, however, I've already ordered more and expect to have them in stock for good and ready to ship next week! Can't wait that long? You can also buy it directly from the site where I self published it, Lulu!

Sammy's Special Requests

2011-08-19T19:08:00.000-07:00

My little 3 and a half year old Sammy is really at the age where he's getting into the face painting. He prefers to have them on his arms, legs, and hands though, so he can see them. Usually when Mommy gets home from a gig, I have one last customer demanding a painting when I walk in the door!

Here are a few of the creations that he come up with and asked me to paint in the past few weeks...

For this one he asked for a "Beetle car." It had to be blue, like Thomas, of course, and I used some metallic silver for the bumpers and wheels.

He was extremely specific on this one. It had to be an orange house with a green roof, a blue garage door, and an apple tree with apples. He has a very creative, vivid imagination like his Mommy, and I love helping him realize his "vision!"

This is Otis, our dog. Sammy came up with the idea to make his tail on his finger so that it could be "wagged."

This is Amos, our other dog. He had to have his green collar, too.

The other day he asked me to paint an Angry Bird on one hand, all loaded up in the sling shot, and a green pig on the other hand. He then proceeded to bang his fists together while making Angry Bird sounds all night! Wish I had gotten a photo of that one! (or maybe a movie would have been better!)

3 New Flaming Finger Hand Designs

2011-08-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Here are a few more of my hand paintings I just thought I'd share! You can find them on my Facebook page too.

This one is actually going to be on the cover of my new book which will be coming out very soon... "Funny Fingers Hand Art!" I'll be sure to blog about it once I have copies in my hands to ship.

These two below I just did tonight. I spent maybe 15 minutes on the marshmallow roasting one and probably 20 or so on the birthday cake. I never get to spend this much time on my very adorable yet often times wiggly little clients, so it's fun to put more time into painting my own hand!

My 3.5 year old Sammy thought this one was pretty cool. I used some metallic silver paint for the roasting stick and a touch of UV-Day Glow paint in the flames.

This is another one I thought of while at the fair but didn't get around to painting...which was fine, because doing it at home after the kids went to bed gave me more time to pay attention to detail. I used metallic again on the platter. Guess I had flames on the brain tonight!

Make a wish!

Dakota County Fair 2011 Recap!

2011-08-15T12:49:00.000-07:00

Just yesterday my 14th Dakota County Fair week came to a close! This year I didn't blog as much because I couldn't get the wifi to work there on my laptop. And, by the time I got home at 11:30 pm, I was just too wiped to download, edit, and post pics! But, now that I've had a chance to do that, I thought I'd share a few photos from the week.

This photo above is me painting my 3.5 year old Sammy. Behind me is my husband Wayde and our littlest, 1.5 year old Toby! My boys came along for the booth set-up and tear-down. I couldn't do the fair without my husband, who takes care of the boys while I'm there and is always super supportive of my business ventures! Also my mom, who took this photo, and splits up the days painting at the booth too, and my dad, who was a big help with tear-down night this year!

I actually enjoy some of the slow times during the fair days, because it gives me a chance to try out new ideas on my own arm and hands. Here are a few that I did this year...

The chicken was really fun! I'll let you all in on a little secret...I've been working on a new step-by-step book of really fun hand designs. It's almost ready to go to print, and will be available in the book section of my online store soon!

Angry Birds were very popular new designs this year. I thought I'd take it up a notch on my own arm, since I could work on it slowly between customers, and did this full scene above.

Having a little fun with some paisley print!

Thought I'd try a full-body unicorn. Usually I do a head/neck design on my board, but once I had this one on my arm, I did have a customer request it on hers too!

Another fun hand design!

For 2011 I added a nice display book of hand animals and full face designs. Here are a few...

Barbie eyes...always so freaky! I had to take her photo to show her what it looks like since, for obvious reasons, you can't just look at yourself in the mirror!

"Cheek Art" designs are what I do the most of by far, whether they are actually on the cheek or somewhere else on the body, like the arm...

Many thanks to everyone who let me take their photo for my sample board! I have a big board of photos in my display and people have fun looking for themselves the following year. I always have fun seeing kids who are little on the board coming back as teenagers!

I'll end the post with my cute, curly-headed little Toby. Like many of the kids who stop by my booth, he loves my big mirror stand!

First "Hand Design" at the Fair!

2011-08-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Dakota County Fair is in full swing!! Rollie Brandt kicked off Paintertainment's 14th year yesterday in our booth just inside Exhibit Hall South (aka "Building 22"). This year we have a whole new selection of full-face designs, as well as some really fun hand designs! We haven't done any full face designs yet, but will post when we do...here's one fun hand design that Rollie did yesterday: a horse! The initials are from this horse's name. These hand designs are super fun for kids as they can turn them into little puppets and make them talk.

Rollie will be out there at the booth all day today, and Gretchen will be painting tomorrow. Come on out to the fair and see us...I don't think the weather has been more perfect in my 14 years at the fair!

Hand paintings from Kimberly-Clark Ads

2011-08-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Just came across this link to some great hand paintings that were used in some Kimberly-Clark ads...fun stuff!!

Como Park with Rusty the Clown 2011

2011-07-30T18:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I had the privilidge of working again at an annual picnic at Como Park through Rusty the Clown! I've been painting for this event for the past several years and it's always so much fun to be around Rusty and his entourage of friendly clowns! On the left of Rusty is his daughter "Pumpkin" the clown. I'm on the lower right and that's my mom, Rollie Brandt, in the Spongebob shirt!

This is Rusty with Sassie and Pumpkin!

This was the first event where I tested out some of my new hand animal designs, and they were a hit! I did many snakes and sharks. This was my first attempt at a hand bunny! I'm looking forward to offering many more in events to come!

Here's my mom painting

Pumpkin making balloon hats!

Isn't this little girl the cutest?! I love painting the cherries, and with her dress, it was the perfect choice!

New Images Added to Work Examples!

2011-07-27T20:44:00.000-07:00

Each summer as my number of face painting gigs ramp up, I get more inspired to create new designs. This past week I've been using both myself and my 3 and a half year old as models to try out a few ideas that I hope to add to my selection. I've just recently added some photos of these designs to my work examples page (along with another new animated GIF!), but you can also check them out below!

(above:) On the top two, "Barbie Eyes" and "Frog Eye," my eyes are actually closed, and I've painted eyes on my eyelids. This is particularly difficult for me to do on myself, being that I am nearly blind without my glasses on, & can only get so close to the mirror with the brush in my hand! The bottom two are of the same alien, with and without a black background.

(above:) These are really fun for kids because they can make the mouths open and close. Sammy loves fishing, especially since we've recently moved to a home on a lake, so we had to do a fish and a worm!

(above:) On the top is a frog I painted on my mouth. Below Sammy is sporting the usual shark I've always done as "cheek art," only now his mouth is aligned with the shark's mouth.

Stay tuned for more new additions, and thanks for looking!

Photoshop's Animated Gif's Bring "Handimals" to Life!

2011-07-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

I've been having a little fun lately, combining my face paints with Photoshop's ability to create animated GIF files. Check out my first animated "handimal!" I painted this shark on my hand last night, took a photo of his mouth open and closed, and today turned it into an animation. Of course, I'd love to make it way cooler, and make him eating a fish or something, but this was what I could accomplish during my boys' nap time. ;-) Click on the image below if it isn't animating, or you can see it directly on my work examples page! Enjoy!

Metallic Silver Paint Used for a "Living Statue"

2011-03-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

A week or two ago I got a call from Hannah in Pennsylvania, desperately in need of some metallic silver paint asap. She was having trouble finding any retailers who would answer their phones! I was very happy that I had some in stock and was able to ship it out to her right away, just in time for her big event. She used it to act as a living statue (above) while handing out flyers for her friend Jason of Seventh Wave Studio, who was giving a workshop at the 15th annual Millennium Music Conference in Harrisburg, PA.
Thank you for sharing your photo, Hannah, and I'm so happy the paints worked out well for you! Your costume turned out totally AMAZING!!

Get 10% Off during Paintertainment's GRAND RE-OPENING!

2011-01-10T18:55:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to announce Paintertainment's GRAND RE-OPENING!!! We have expanded our assortment of products so much, that we had to build a second story on the virtual store just to display all of the great new items we have for sale!

Visit our store today to check out not only more new products, but also entire new assortments! You'll find an all new clown section, with clown makeup essentials like white clown base makeup, setting powder and remover, Supracolor grease makeup palettes, and even rainbow eyelashes!

Our new balloon section is a great place to start if you're getting into balloon twisting, with an assortment of balloons and hand pumps. I plan on expanding the assortment of colors soon as well! Got a favorite that you use most often? Let me know, as I'd love to incorporate your feedback! I am not a professional balloon twister myself, although I plan to learn soon. So, I am open to any and all suggestions.

Our glitter aisle now has even more "bling," with the previous addition of acrylic rhinestones and two products to affix them...both spirit gum and eyelash adhesive.

So visit our store today and check out the new "remodeling" and product selection! And as a special thank you to all of my Blogger and Facebook friends, get 10% off from now until January 17th on all orders when you enter the coupon code REOPEN2011 !! (No minimum required. Limit one coupon use per customer.)

Merry Christmas from Paintertainment!

2010-12-31T08:03:00.001-08:00

We had yet another wonderful December of face painting at Christmas events!

This was my 3rd year and my mom's 1st year painting at the Village at Mendota Heights' "Mendota Lights" Christmas event! Above is a photo of the carolers that roam the mall during the event.

This was also my 3rd and my mom's 2nd years painting at Axel's restaurant on a golf course in Woodbury with Santa Carlucci! (My mom and Santa, above!) Doesn't he have an amazing outfit?!

Santa Carlucci can even bring his sleigh and real reindeer along. Here is a family having their photo taken in the sleigh.

Santa sure has a way of drawing in the kids!

I also really enjoyed doing another private event inside a skyway above the Holidazzle Parade downtown, with both Santa AND Mrs. Claus!

I am very fortunate to be Santa's face painter of choice when he is visiting Minnesota from the North Pole! Thanks Santa, for another fun Christmas season!

Kryolan Water Soluble Spirit Gum Now Available!

2010-09-25T15:22:00.000-07:00

After doing a little research with my fellow professional face painters, I found that most painters who use acrylic gems in their face and body painting work use either eyelash adhesive or spirit gum. I recently added eyelash adhesive and an assortment of gems to the site, and today am excited to have just added some of Kryolan's water soluble spirit gum as well!

I have tried both of these methods of adhesion on myself so far. From what I've gathered, here are a couple differences....

Eyelash adhesive is more expensive for a small tube, and it contains latex, so you'll have to make sure that the person you're using it on doesn't have any latex allergies. However, it really holds very well and sticks quickly...at least in my experimentation, the gems stuck the second I touched them to my skin. They also are easily removed when you want them off.

Spirit Gum is less expensive per ounce, and it does not have any latex in it. The drawback is that it takes much longer to dry. So, you may be spending more time holding the gem in place, or checking it periodically while you paint to make sure it isn't sliding down. You can now find the Kryolan spirit gum on my website in two sizes...the .5 ounce bottle with a built in applicator brush ($4), as well as the larger 16 ounce refill jars ($20) .

After trying them both myself, I'd recommend having both on hand, depending on the situation you're in and who you're painting. Obviously it would be a good idea to have spirit gum on hand if you have someone with a latex allergy. If you really need the gem to stay on well and for a long time, or are doing a gig where you don't have the time to wait and hold each gem while it dries, you'd want the eyelash adhesive.

If any of you fellow painters out there have other tips or advice for acrylic gem adhesion on the skin, please do post your comments...I'd love to hear your thoughts!

New Containers Now Available at Paintertainment.com

2010-09-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

I have yet another new group of products just added to the site, in our storage container category.

The first one I am very excited about. This is a storage box that comes with 28 screw-together jars for just $12.00. These are the kind of jars that I like to keep my paint in, because they stack together, and you don't have a lid for every color to screw on and off or lose. The jars are 1.5" in diameter, and come in 6 stacks, each of which fit neatly inside 6 compartments in the snap-closed container. Two of the jars are a little taller, making them perfect for storing a few acrylic gems or even glitter! I have already purchased one myself, and plan on moving my paints into this container. I can get all of my bright colors, and now I have space to add some UV-Dayglow paints and metallics all to one conveniently sized kit. I'll post photos once the "move" is over! If there's space left, you can even store glitter in here. I have 12 colors that I use at any one time so this is a great idea for that as well, especially with the jars being clear.

I also now have available this great box containing 12 screw-top jars for just $7.00! Each jar comes with it's own lid and measures about 1.5" in diameter and 1.75" in height. Right now I use little glass jelly sample jars for my glitter, but as they begin to break over time, I plan to move my glitters into this container. Like I said, I usually have about 12 glitters available at my events, so this would be perfect to hold all of my colors and keep them neatly stored together in my supply bag!

Last but certainly not least is our new 16" art supply box. You can get this box as part of the new "Business Starter Kit," or you can purchase it separately for just $15.00. This box is large enough to hold your paints, brushes, glitter, gems, you name it! With it's clear snap-open storage lid and lift-out tray, organizing your supplies is a breeze!

New Acrylic Gems & Adhesive Now Available!

2010-09-16T13:59:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I now have a selection of acrylic gems and adhesive available in the shop! These gems can really add a lot of sparkle, especially to your princess designs. These are not the cheap peel-n-stick gems that fall off right away. They have a smooth, shiny back, so you can properly attach them safely to the skin with Kryolan eyelash adhesive. They stay on well and remove easily when you're ready!

I have chosen a variety of different shapes and sizes to offer at my site! Below are some image of what I have currently, including hearts, ovals, circles, squares, stars, and variety packs. Don't see a shape or size that you like to use? Please let me know! I'm looking for more ideas as far as what other shapes to carry. I have included photographs with a penny shown so that you can easily visualize the size of each gem.

We also have these large 1 pound bags below for just $16.00. These packages do not list a quantity, so I can't tell you exactly how many are in there, but it's a BIG bag that is sure to last you a very, very long time! They are available in an assortment of different large shapes, as well as a bag of various round gems!

I am soooo excited to start using these gems in my designs and start offering up special princess party packages. These gems will be the highlight of my princess and crown designs!

How to Paint an Avatar Face for Halloween

2010-09-14T13:13:00.000-07:00

Interested in dressing up like an Avatar character for Halloween but not sure where to start with painting your face? You've come to the right place! I just did a quick Avatar face painting on myself and photographed the process so you can see how to do it, step-by-step!

Please excuse the sloppiness of my painting...I am nearly blind without my glasses, so it was extremely hard for me to paint my eyes! (hence my blank stare) But, hopefully this will give you the general idea! Click on the images to see them blown up.

Step 1: Obtain a face. This is usually the easiest part. Tie your hair back if it's long.
Step 2: Cover your face with a light blue paint. I used a light blue that I mix myself from my Kryolan Aquacolor blue and white, and applied it with a natural sponge for quick coverage. Stop at this step if you change your mind and want to be a member of Blue Man Group instead.
Step 3: Using a brush and a darker blue to begin painting stripes. I started from the center of my face, forehead down to my nose, and added more working out from there. To get the tapered look, I used a wide, flat #12 brush, starting with the bristles in a horizontal position and slowly rotating the bristles vertical as I brushed down.

Step 4: Continue adding stripes across your forehead and to your cheeks.
Step 5: Add more stripes across your cheeks and chin, all the time starting from the edges of your face and working inward to get the tapered look. At this point I took a brush with the lighter blue again and filled in a little more around my eyes.
Step 6: Paint your lips purple (or if you have purple lipstick, that would probably stay on better)

Step 7: Closing one eyelid at a time (unless of course you have x-ray vision), paint the corners of each eyelid white. You can leave the center empty because you'll paint pupils there.
Step 8: Paint yellow circles for the iris in the center of each eyelid. You'll get a nice, realistic effect if you also outline them with a little green, and blend to yellow in the center.
Step 9: Paint black circles on the iris for the pupils.

Step 10: Put a dot of white off-center, so that it overlaps both the iris and pupil. (These will make your fake eyes look shiny and wet like real eyes.) If you can keep your eyelids closed long enough to dry between steps, it'll help prevent smearing.
Step 11: Add some small white dots around the nose, across your eyebrows, cheek bones, etc. (Google Image search a photo of an Avatar character for reference.) I also added some Blue-violet ultra-fine glitter, which looks great.
Step 12: Accessorize! Okay, I didn't buy any accessories...I just photoshopped myself onto an image. But, if you have long hair, make a bunch of braids, or check out these wigs and ear accessories on Amazon:

Save Over $30.00 On Our NEW "Business Starter Kit!"

2010-09-13T18:21:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce another new product offering to our growing selection of new fall additions...the "Business Starter Kit" professional face painting supply set! This is an incredible deal that you will only find at Paintertainment. While I created the "Smile Painter Set" for beginners looking for quality supplies, this kit is geared toward the budding professional, looking for a set that will give them the most for their money when they are starting up their business. Packed with the essentials you need to get going, I have also included a list of other optional items you may want to add to your set.

This kit comes with over $206.00 worth of paints for only $175.00, which means you save over $31.00! The kit includes eleven of our large, 2.5 ounce Kryolan Auqacolor paints, two round brushes (a #2 and a #5), two flat brushes (a #12 and a #28), one round makeup sponge, three 1-oz jars of glitter (pastel pink, pastel blue, and blue-violet), a canvas apron with pockets, a spray bottle, and a 16" storage box with a lift-out tray and clear storage compartment lid! There are not many businesses you can start with such a small amount of money, and this is our little way of helping you get started for a small investment! Order your kit today at Paintertainment.com!

Empty 24 Color Palette Boxes Now Available!

2010-09-08T11:45:00.000-07:00

I've just added another new product to the shopping site...empty 24 color palette boxes for $20! I recently started carrying the 12 color and 6 color empty palettes, and they have become a popular addition to my inventory. So, I decided to add in the 24 color box as well. These metal boxes are designed to hold the Kryolan palette refills, also available on the site. Purchasing these boxes empty allows you to create your own custom palette of colors, once you fill them with your desired refills!

It's super easy to fill these palettes and swap out colors...simply snap the refills into the round depressions in the metal palette. The option of creating your own palette gives you the opportunity to mix and match the basic colors, UV Dayglow fluorescent colors, Interferenz and metallics. The possibilities are endless!

Two New Paint Colors Now Available!

2010-09-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce the addition of two new paint colors to our selection of 2.5 oz Kryolan Aquacolor professional face paints! I have just added a light flesh tone (#01S) as well as a very nice teal (TK2) to the website. Both are available now at $12.00 for a large 2.5 ounce size...check them out!

The flesh tone is perfect for the skin color of many popular characters, such as princesses, etc. Just a little bit of red added would turn it into a nice pink. The teal is great for flowers, butterflies, and mermaid tails! I usually mix most of my own colors, however, teal has always been a tough one for me to get just right. It usually turns out leaning more toward green or blue. But, this one is perfect on it's own!

THREE New Glitter Colors Now Available!

2010-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce the first of many new product introductions to the website to come this fall...three new glitter colors to choose from! We now carry gold, silver and Mahogany!

I've always felt that my rainbow of glitter selections was not quite complete without a brown, so we now have a nice mahogany available. We also are finally carrying both silver and gold, two colors that I know many face painters have in their supplies as glitter staples!

If you check out the glitter aisle of my store, you will notice that I've now cleared a shelf to make way for more new product...gems and jewels! I will soon be carrying the little acrylic gems that many painters like to use to kick their designs up a notch, especially princess designs. Stay tuned for this fun new addition, coming soon!!

Dakota County Fair 2010 Comes To A Close...

2010-08-17T13:43:00.000-07:00

Another Dakota County Fair has sadly come to a close! I had a great time painting again this year.

It's definitely harder for me now that I have 2 kids, plus one who is still nursing, to be gone so much. But, I am very thankful to have had my mom painting with me again this year, so I could spend a few half-days and a full week day with my boys, knowing the booth was in EXCELLENT hands!

This year was our 2nd least profitable year...I think it was a combination of the extremely hot weather and the not-so-hot economy. Regardless, I always am glad I did it in the end. While it makes me feel a little old, it's fun to paint kids in 4th or 5th grade who have been painted every year since they were old enough to sit still! It's also a lot of fun to see faces from my past. Every year is like a class/family reunion, spending a week in the county where I grew up.

For my last day at the fair, I decorated my arm with this eagle...a new design this year. I added in the flag ribbon thingy. ;-)

In addition to my fabulous artist mom, I couldn't do this without my super supportive husband. He really IS supportive, literally, as you can see here...supporting our 7 month old and my boards, tearing down the booth Sunday night!

He takes time off from his very demanding job as a director to be with our boys when I'm at the fair. He even drove us from Ohio back to Minnesota for the fair every year for the 4 years we lived out there. He does everything he can to support my business ventures, and I am so grateful!

I'll close off my last county fair post for the year with a few shots that I took around the fair!

My History With The Dakota County Fair

2010-08-11T19:23:00.001-07:00

My mom just pulled out this great photo of my siblings and I at the Dakota County Fair! Yup, that's me on the left. Here are a few "fun facts" about my own history with the fair!

- I grew up in Dakota County (Eagan, Inver Grove Heights, and Lakeville), and have never missed a single year of the fair in my 31 years, even while living in Ohio for 4 years.

- I have entered artwork in the fair from kindergarten through adulthood and still have a box full of my ribbons!

- One of my favorite things to do was to collect business cards from all the booths in the commercial buildings. Now I'm handing them out!

- The Dakota County Fair remains the one and only fair that I face paint at!

- I shared the booth with my sister 13 years ago...she did airbrush t-shirts!

- My mom, who has face painted with me for the past 7 years, has won many awards for her art in the fair through the years, and she did painting demonstrations several years. My dad and brother also won awards this year for their homemade wine!

- My booth at the fair was where my business, "Paintertainment," was born.

- I've been featured in a few newspaper articles for my fair booth. Check out http://www.paintertainment.com/press.html

- I miss the "Lollies by Lee" booth. My Dad used to let us pick out a home made lollipop there. The booth smelled like sugary heaven!

Thanks for all the fun memories! I can't wait to make new ones with my little boys!

Http://www.DakotaCountyFair.org

Dakota County Fair 2010...Day 2

2010-08-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

Today is day two of my 13th year at the Dakota County Fair! My mom has been painting 10:00-4:00 while I paint 4:00-10:00. Then she will be here all day Thursday, and I will be here all day Friday through Sunday!

So far it has been a slow start, however, in my many years here we always end up doing about the same each year in the end.

Here are a few photos that my mom took of kids she's painted, and a couple that I did on my own arm! New designs this year include Yo Gabba Gabba, Max and Ruby, Dora, Diego and "the map," more Thomas characters, and Kai Lan! Can you tell I'm inspired by my two year old? ;-)

Well, better get running...rain is coming down again and people are piling into the building! Hopefully my little VW beetle will make it through the deep mud ruts in the parking lot tonight...!

River City Days 2010- day 2

2010-08-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

I'm just wrapping up hour 7 of 8 today down in Red Wing! A little rain came through, but luckily passed on by just before I started painting at noon. A slight breeze, in addition to my umbrella and little shade tree, is making the heat and humidity just bearable enough!

Sammy got James on his arm today, and as you can see above, he promptly wiped the food off his face with his arm and was left with a paint "stash!" the humidity and sweaty skin does tend to make the paint take longer to dry! ;-)

Today I tested out the new Dharma logo on my arm! It was another great day and for me, end to another great year at River City Days!! The fun will go on, however, as my mom takes over with painting tomorrow from 12:00 until 6:00, so I can go set up my booth at the Dakota County Fair.

Many thanks to all of you who came by to get your faces, arms, and legs painted...a few two days in a row! See you next year!!

River City Days 2010...day one

2010-08-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

We're all set up down in Red Wing, Minnesota this weekend, painting at River City Days! So far it's been beautiful weather and a great turnout. It's always so much fun doing this event every year, especially because I have my family with me all day!

Sammy, age 2.5, is now big enough to sit still long enough for Thomas and Percy to be painted on his legs!

I will be painting again tomorrow from 12:00 until 8:00, and my mom will take over on Sunday, 12:00-6:00, while I head over to Farmington to set up for the Dakota County Fair!

Come visit us this weekend, set up in Bay Point Park by the playground! Visit www.rivercitydays.org for event info!

Clowning Around at Como Park

2010-07-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

I had a great time on Saturday painting with Rusty the Clown and his daughters, "Dotsy" and "Pumpkin," at Como Park in St. Paul. My mom and I have painted with them for this event for several years. Rusty puts on a great magic show, and his daughters are a blast to watch as they entertain the kids with their balloon animals and bubbly personalities!

Here I am painting a princess crown on Pumpkin's arm:

You may recognize her from my website, where you see a photo of me painting her ankle some years back!

They are such a great bunch of people and I really enjoy it when I have the chance to work with Rusty. I soon hope to add his information to my own website, where I will be able to offer his wonderful entertainment to clients as well!

"Hypoallergenic" and "Non Comedogenic"...what does it all mean?

2010-06-23T18:48:00.000-07:00

Hey fellow Kryolan paint fans...I thought I'd share this bit of news just received from my US distributor. Kryolan is now the first and only cosmetics company to receive a seal of quality approval from the European Center for Allergy Research Foundation. You can click here to download a pdf article from Kryolan, or find a link on my FAQ page.

The reason I was given this article was because I checked in with Kryolan regarding a question from one of my customers, who was wondering whether the paints were considered "non comedogenic." This term basically means that the item will not clog pores. Upon further investigation, I basically confirmed my original suspicion that this term has as little science behind it as the term "hypoallergenic." These are terms that are widely used to help sell products, but hold little or no concrete value. So, this is the reason why you won't see these terms printed on Kryolan's packaging. However, you can be assured that all Kryolan paints have been dermatologically tested for safety.

If you suspect that you or your child might have an allergic reaction to face paints, the best way to prevent it is to know what ingredients cause the reaction, and check the ingredient list of the product. My FAQ page not only talks about these terms, but also lists the ingredients in the paints, so that you can be informed about every ingredient you are putting on your skin! I am happy to say that in my 13+ years of face painting, even having painted at birthday parties for children with severe food allergies, I have yet to encounter anyone who has had any type of reaction to the Kryolan paints!

Now Available: Build-Your-Own Palette!

2010-04-05T11:34:00.000-07:00

I am excited to announce that you can now create your OWN custom Kryolan paint palette set at Paintertainment! This is something that several of my wonderful customers have requested over the years. You can now purchase an empty tin paint case, in the 12 or 6 color size, and then order refills for whatever colors or paint types you'd like.

Get only the colors you want and need...now you can mix and match between the basic colors, the interferenz paints, the shiny metallics, and the UV Dayglow paints (that glow under black light)!

If you'd REALLY like to get specific and customized with your palette, I also have just the empty paint holders available for $1 as well. These are the containers that the refills come in, with the clear lids. However, you can mix up your own colors and press them into these containers, or if you want to save money on refills, purchase the 2.5 ounce paint size as your stock of paint and refill these as needed from there to keep your palette full!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-03-18T21:09:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! It's been a WHILE since I've posted...been busy since then with Christmas, my son's 2nd birthday, and then the birth of my new little boy, Toby in January! Needless to say I haven't been doing a lot of face painting the last few months either, although am gearing up for spring and summer gigs as we are experiencing an unusually warm March here in Minnesota!

I'm also turning 31 tomorrow! (Tomorrow being in about 50 minutes) Above is a photo that my mom dug up and posted on Facebook tonight of me and my dad (his birthday is the day after mine), 24 years ago at his company picnic. If you look closely, you'll notice that I have a pink flamingo painted on my cheek! I remember having my face painted at those picnics as a little girl, and the tough decision of which design to choose.

Who'd have thought that this many years later I'd have my own face painting business, painting dozens of flamingos on other little girls out having fun with their daddies! So, I am an example that it's worth the few bucks it costs to get your kids' face painted...so splurge on your little ones and get them a face painting at your next event. The artwork may only last until bath time, but you're making great memories that will last a lifetime!

Happy birthday Dad, and thanks for the funny old photo, Mom! ;-)

Christmas Gigs with Santa

2009-12-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...when Santa is making his rounds in the Twin Cities and calls on me to paint at events with him! I am very fortunate to have been able to be Santa's "official" face painter since last year, and always enjoy painting Christmas designs. This weekend I painted at events in Mendota Heights and Woodbury, while Santa got to hear wish lists from the kids!

Above is a photo of me with Santa from this weekend! With 7 weeks until baby #2 is due, my belly rivals Santa's this year!

Here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T19:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! I am hoping there are a lot of happily painted faces out there today, as I know I've sent out several rushed overnight paint orders through my site this past week!

I enjoyed volunteering my face painting services again this year for my church's "pumpkin party" last night...here are a few pics!

I even got to paint a mustache and curly chest hairs on "Wesley" from the Princess Bride:

Here's a shot of my little 22 month old dinosaur, checking out Mommy's paints! He was the first painting of the day, with snoopy on his hand!

It's been a long 2 months since I ended my frenzy of summer face painting gigs, so I was surprised to be reminded how hard it is to paint while 6 months pregnant, especially when I set my paints on my rapidly disappearing lap! I am due in January...hopefully I'll make it through my upcoming December gigs! I did take advantage of my big belly today though, and painted it up like a jack-o-lantern! :-)

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Paintertainment says Bye-bye to Paypal and Hello to Google!

2009-09-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

For years we have been using Paypal as our exclusive payment processing method on Paintertainment.com. However, I have had so many problems with them over the past couple years, that I have finally decided to make the switch to Google Payments system instead. It has taken me a while to figure out how to integrate the new system, but Paintertainment.com is now up and running with Google Payment buttons!

As customers, you can still check out using any major credit card like you could in the past. You just won't be able to use a Paypal account balance. (Unless you have the Paypal credit card connected to it) I realize this may be a downside for some of you, however, I am now hoping to eliminate many other issues my customers have faced using Paypal in the past! I can also now offer coupon codes, which is a big plus for you!

As a fellow online merchant, if you're interested in WHY I'm making the switch, my biggest problems with Paypal have been (and this is only a partial list):
1) When they changed their button designs and as a result my website was un-shoppable for DAYS while I waited for them to fix their problems.
2) Every now and then someone will place an order and Paypal won't notify me...resulting in upset customers emailing me a month later wondering why their order is taking so long, really making me look bad when I pride myself on my customer service!
3) The shipping calculator kept allowing international orders to be entered with domestic shipping costs, resulting in extra work and payments for my international customers to correct and complete their orders.
4) They do not offer coupon codes...what's up with that?! You would think that they would have that figured out in their many years of business, but no luck. I would like the ability to reward my customers with coupons.

As a merchant, the only downside so far that I can see is that I do not receive payments instantly, they will take days to reach my bank account. With Paypal it would drop right into my Paypal account, connected with my Paypal debit card, which I could use like any major credit card to make my own purchases. Hopefully Google will come out with something like this. However, I felt it much more important to try a system that will WORK for my customers!

I hope to incorporate a better international shipping calculator soon (currently I ask international customers to email me first for their custom shipping costs and an invoice), as well as offer coupon codes.

Thank you for your patience and understanding through my past Paypal issues and during this transition to Google...I welcome your comments and suggestions if you've tried either method on my site!

Halloween Package Deal!

2009-09-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

The Paintertainment Halloween Package Deal is back!!

Just $31.00 will get you:
(1) Orange 2.5 ounce Kryolan Aquacolor makeup,
(1) Black 2.5 ounce Kryolan Aquacolor makeup,
(1) Orange glitter,
(1) Black glitter, and
(1) Heavily laminated Halloween design sheet

You can save $5.70 by purchasing all of these Halloween essentials in the package. Check it out while supplies last!

All Ready for Dakota County Fair 2009!

2009-08-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I set up my booth at the Dakota County Fair, which will run tomorrow through Sunday, August 16th! This will be Paintertainment's 12th year at the fair. This is still the only fair that I do to date.

We recently traded in our Dodge Durango for a Jeep Grand Cherokee, which was a bit smaller. I wasn't sure everything would fit but I miraculously was able to cram everything into the car, even with a spot open for our carseat! I had to take photos to remember how to fit everything in when the fair is done!

It took about 50% longer to set up this year since we had our 19 month old son with us! But, all went well. Here is the booth all set up:

This year I have a new banner that runs the length of my booth...you're sure to spot me when walking by the building! I also have many new designs to choose from this year, and a new and improved photo board of past fairgoers and their paintings. Be sure to check it out if I took your photo last year...you may be on it!

If you'd like to find me this year, I'm in my usual spot, just inside the entrance of "building 22," also known as "Exhibit Hall South," down on the south end of the fair, just south of the red building. My mom will be painting most weekdays from 10-4, and I will be there from 4-10 every night, and from 10-10 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Click here for directions. One thing to note if you are coming down I-35 to the fair...you can't get off on 70 this year due to construction, so you'll want to take 185th street to county road 50, into Farmington. Hope to see you there!

Face Painting for a Mayo Clinic Event

2009-08-08T11:40:00.000-07:00

Today my mom and I painted together at an event held by the Mayo Clinic down in Rochester! It was the farthest I've traveled for a one-day event, about 2 hours away. Here is a shot of my mom by our tables, once we got set up (before the kids came in):

Here are a couple shots my mom took during the event:

It was a great time! They had tons of great entertainment for the kids and we kept pretty busy for the 4 hours we were there. Thanks much for the Mayo for inviting us to paint at your event!

Painting at Red Wing's River City Days 2009

2009-08-05T13:45:00.000-07:00

I had a great time face painting at Red Wing's River City Days festival last weekend! The weather could not have been more gorgeous every day. I even ended up in the local paper! (above)

Here is my little sidekick, my 19 month old son, with his crab arm painting:

The crab was a popular one this year!

Here are a couple more painting shots...

I always love doing special requests, and enjoyed painting a couple people from the American Red Cross booth nearby:

I even painted some princesses!

It was a great time and I am looking forward to returning again next year if at all possible! This week I have a couple more painting gigs. Tuesday was a National Night Out event that I do every year in North St. Paul, and this weekend I'll be driving down to Rochester for an event for the Mayo Clinic along with my mom to paint. After that it's time to get set up for my 12th year at the Dakota County Fair! Stay tuned for more photos from this year's fair!

Maplewood 4th of July Event

2009-07-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had a blast face painting for the city of Maplewood's July 4th celebration on Saturday! This year I added several new July 4th designs, including a patriotic butterfly, a red white and blue bomb pop, bald eagle, and US flag! Here are a few I painted on my arm:

I kept VERY busy throughout the time I was there, so didn't have much time to paint anything else on myself. But, I enjoyed making all the kids look extra festive!

My husband and 18 month old boy came along again this year as well. Little Sammy had a blast as this year they had a blow-up bouncy thing for little little kids!! For just $2 he got an unlimited wrist band, and from what I heard, he was in there about 5 times during the 3 hours or so we were there!

There was also a very entertaining lumberjack show, and they did the ice cream and jell-o eating contests again this year as well. It is always a blast and we were thankful for the great weather!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend as well! :-)

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

I will be out painting this Saturday for my 2nd year in a row at the city of Maplewood's July 4th celebration! Come on over and check it out! I will be face painting from 5:00-7:30, but there will also be an All American Lumberjack Show, food vendors, beer tent, and a kids zone with inflatables to play on, not to mention fireworks at dusk! I know my husband and little boy will be there enjoying the festivities again this year...hope to see you there!

Non-stop Painting in Mendota Heights

2009-06-09T05:47:00.000-07:00

The Village at Mendota Heights' "Park Celebration Kick Off Event" was a great success! The weather was gorgeous for sitting outside in the market square and enjoying the live music. TC Bear, the Twins mascot was there, and I was face painting non-stop for two hours at one painting per child! Many thanks to everyone who came out to get painted and enjoy the weather, which seems to have been the last nice day we've had since!

Face Painting Tonight in Mendota Heights

2009-06-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

Tonight from 7:00-9:00, I will be out face painting at an event going on at the Village at Mendota Heights! I painted there back in December with Santa and really enjoyed it...they have a very nice outdoor mall and townhomes nearby as well. Come on by and check it out!

Now Available: 6-Color Interferenz Bright Palettes!

2009-05-08T10:49:00.001-07:00

For quite a while now I have been carrying the Kryolan Aquacolor Interferenz palettes in the 6 and 12 color sets. However, the only 6 color palette I carried was the earth tones. But, as of today, I now offer the complete family of Interferenz palettes with the addition of the 6-color Interferenz "Brights" color palette! Check it out here!

This palette has the other 6 colors, which includes: Interf. Silver, Mozart Pink/RY, Strauss Wine/PV, GB, Verdi Gold/GY, and Interf. Gold. Depending on what color range you like to paint in, you can now purchase the earth tones, the bright colors, or all 12!

Never used Interferenz paint before? It's much like the metallic paint in it's sheen, but is more of a pearlescent paint, Click here to see what this paint looks like on skin. And don't forget, I also carry the refills!

Grand Opening of the NEW Paintertainment Virtual Store!

2009-02-25T10:58:00.000-08:00

Today is the grand opening of Paintertainment's new virtual store! I have just completed the totally new design, construction, and merchandising of our store. When you go to my new shopping page, you will see a store (above), just like you had stepped into an actual retail location. However, unlike most retail locations, this store is open 24 hours a day, and you don't have to burn any gas driving here!

Glance around the store overview to get your bearings, and click once you decide which aisle you'd like a closer look at. You can choose from Glitter & Containers, Books & Design Sheets, Brushes & Sponges, and Face Paints. Or, click on the special promotional signage to see our Clearance Section and Package Deals!

Once you click on an aisle, you will see a closer view of the shelves (above), where you can peruse the different products available and click on them for more information and to add them to your shopping cart.

I plan to incorporate more intuitive features into my virtual store in the near future as I continue to fine-tune your shopping experience. Feel free to comment here or email me if you have any comments/suggestions, or if you come across any links that are not working properly!

Thanks for visiting...please come again soon!

Kryolan Paints and Glitter on Sale 10% off!

2009-02-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

I am happy to say that I have just updated my website with a new CLEARANCE ITEM SECTION! I will be using this area of the site to sell items that I will no longer carry or would like to discount for other reasons. Be sure to check it out for the latest deals!

Right now I have some nice pastel purple paint up there for 10% off, simply because I accidentally ordered the wrong color. It is nice, new paint, but is not the purple that I regularly carry and just don't want to add it to my inventory. You can also find that I have all of my Kryolan glitters on sale for 10% off! I have decided only to carry the Stampendous glitters, so now is the time to get these at a discount. First come, first serve... get 'em before they are gone!!

Paintertainment is now on Facebook!

2008-12-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Paintertainment is now on Facebook! If you're a member, be sure to check us out here! :-)

New Face Painting Book!

2008-11-28T13:28:00.001-08:00

I am super excited to have just received the first print of my 2nd book, "Step-By-Step Face Painting: 32 Classic Carnival Designs," now in print and available soon at Paintertainment!

This book is a must have for any beginner looking for clear instructions on how to paint specific designs. I guide you through the process of painting 32 classic designs with clear instructions for every step of the way. Every step is illustrated using full color photography of actual face paint on skin in 6 steps or less!

This guide is the perfect size to carry with you, and it's coil binding makes it easy to keep the book open to the page you are referencing.

This book was designed to be used as a companion to my full-color, heavily laminated sheet of designs, also available at Paintertainment.com.

I have more books in print and on the way, and I expect to have them ready to ship within 1-2 weeks! Pre-order yours today!

Hennepin County Adoption Day

2008-11-15T18:51:00.000-08:00

This morning my mom and I spent a few hours face painting at the Hennepin County adoption day! It was a very fun and touching event as 35 kids were placed with 24 families at the Juvenile Justice Center in downtown Minneapolis. This lightning bolt design was caught on camera in tonight's Kare 11 news.

Big Mouth Face Paintings

2008-11-04T19:37:00.000-08:00

Just surfing the web and found a couple of wild face paint designs...check these out!

More New Products Just Added!

2008-10-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

I've just added some great new items to Paintertainment.com!

We now have extra large, 3/4" wide brushes available! These are great for when you are doing full face designs, and need to cover a lot of area. All brushes on our site are made of high quality, genuine sable bristles.

I'm also excited to have just added some great 6-color pallets of metallic Kryolan face paints! These paints have a truly shiny, metallic look.

And, if you run out of any colors, we also have refills, including a bronze that does not come in the standard pallet set:

The metallic paints look really great and shiny on skin. Here is a very simple sword design that I often do, using the metallic silver paint:

Metallic paints go on a little different than the regular paints. I find the silver is almost flaky when it dries out, but I just use a bit more water when applying it than I do with other paints.

If pallets of several colors are not your thing, we also have several of the metallic colors in the larger, 2.5 ounce cakes. I like to keep one larger silver on hand as it comes in handy for many of my designs!

How to do a jack-o-lantern face paint

2008-10-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

I have had several customers ask me to create step-by-step instructions for my designs. While I am planning to write another book soon that fulfills that very purpose, I thought I'd share one great Halloween "freebie" for you!

Here are some instructions for creating a simple jack-o-lantern cheek art design!

1. Draw 3 yellow triangles and a crescent as shown to represent eyes, nose, and mouth.
2. Fill in the shapes with yellow.
3. With orange, trace around your yellow shapes.

4. Add some teeth to the mouth if you like, stroking from the outline into the middle of the yellow.
5. Draw the outer edges of the pumpkin, kindof like a pair of touching parentheses.
6. Fill in the rest of the orange.

7. Add a green stem.
8. Outline the pumpkin and the stem.
9. If you like outline the facial features and add more detail.

10. Add some nice orange and/or yellow glitter!

You can find some nice, superfine orange and black glitter here for your Halloween face paintings, as well as paints, Halloween design sheets, and more supplies!

Happy Halloween!

"Self portraits" by James Kuhn

2008-10-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

I just finished a busy day of face painting at two events and thought I'd share this cool link that a friend passed on to me.

Check out this video of some pretty crazy face painting by James Kuhn! I've been having fun experimenting more lately with incorporating my subject's eyes and mouth into my designs, and it's pretty fun!

You can check out more of his work here. I thought this one of American Gothic was pretty cool...

He even has a book, available here. Great stuff, James!

Face Painting Books

2008-10-01T07:45:00.000-07:00

I have recently added a nice collection of great face painting book links to my shopping page...check them out! There are a lot of great books out there. Note that the links on my site for these books will take you to Amazon...I do not sell these books directly but thought that people would find it helpful to have a nice selection all in one spot to browse! Enjoy!

New Halloween Face Paint Package Deal!

2008-09-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

Now available: a new package deal for Halloween!
This exclusive Paintertainment package deal is available only on this website. I have put together this package for those of you who are going to be face painting at a local Halloween event! Since you will most likely be using a lot of orange and black, you get a large cake of each of those colors, as well as glitter to match!

This Package includes:

• 0.5 oz Orange Ultrafine Glitter
• 0.5 oz Black Ultrafine Glitter
• 2.5 oz Orange Kryolan Aquacolor Makeup
• 2.5 oz Black Kryolan Aquacolor Makeup
• 8.5" x 11" Full-color, heavily laminated page of 24 Halloween designs

Over a $36 Value for only $29.00!
$29.00
YOU SAVE OVER $7.00!

To avoid giving you more than you may need depending on the type of event, I have included just the basics. If you are going to be painting a variety of designs, to complement these essentials, I would recommend also purchasing at least one of the Aquacolor Palettes (6 or 12 color Aquacolor palettes) for the other colors, and if you don't already have them, some quality brushes. Other items that you may enjoy using for Halloween would be the neon yellow glitter (#385U), or even some of the UV-DayGlow fluorescent paints that glow under black light! You can have a lot of fun with face paints at Halloween, whether you're painting cheek art on kids at an event, or painting your own kids' faces as part of their costumes. Be sure to get your Halloween makeup early so you have plenty of time to play around with it, experiment, and get the hang of it in time for the big night!

Finally...My Favorite Glitter for Face Painting!

2008-09-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

I am really excited to announce that I now have ultra fine glitter available on Paintertainment.com and ready to ship! This is the exact glitter that I have been using exclusively for the 12+ years that I have been face painting. It took me until now to finally locate the manufacturer to add it to my selection of products! In my professional opinion, it is the BEST glitter to use on face paintings because it has super fine granules (.008"), which are considered cosmetic and safe for skin by the FDA. The super fine granules are ideal for applying to face paintings because they are light enough to stay on the design without falling off right away when the paint dries, like coarser craft glitter does. They also enhance your designs, rather than cover them up.

You can get some really nice effects by applying some of the brighter colors on their corresponding paint colors. You can see samples of face paintings that I have done with glitter on my work examples page.

I have selected a rainbow array of bright colors that are now available on my site:

Yes, I even have black glitter! It looks great on designs like Darth Vader or a black spider, and the boys love it! Glitter can really add a lot to your designs, if you use the right kind!

I also have a great selection of pastel glitters. In my experience, if you only have one kind of glitter in your set of supplies, I would make it the blue-violet (231U). Blue-violet looks fantastic on top of any paint color without hiding your designs!

I have usually around 8-12 colors of glitter to choose from in my bag of supplies at any one time. I like to store my glitter in mini glass jars...the kind that you get those little jam samplers in around Christmas time. I have seen some people use film containers too. Something with a tight fitting lid works best, and a wide enough opening to dip your finger in to dab it on. I also have screw-together stacking clear jars on my site that work great as well for storing multiple colors.

Busy week completed!

2008-08-18T21:15:00.000-07:00

I recently completed my busiest week of the year, 10 straight days of face painting for two back-to-back events: River City Days in Red Wing, Minnesota, and the Dakota County Fair in Farmington, Minnesota...with a National Night Out gig in the middle!

This was my 2nd year painting in Red Wing, and my 11th year at the county fair. I really enjoy painting at both events, and while it's a lot of work, I enjoy being a tradition for families year after year, especially 11 years at the county fair! You can see a nice newspaper article done on my business last year, as well as more older fair articles on my press page.

The top photo is a shot of me painting in Red Wing. I paint there on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the first weekend in August. Then, on Sunday morning, before I have to start painting in Red Wing, my husband and I head out to Farmington to set up my booth for the county fair, which starts the following day. (bottom photo is my booth)

I get many ideas every year to improve my booth for the following year, and have already started implementing improvements for 2009! As a display designer, I tend to pick apart my booth quite a bit!

Face Painting Kit

2008-08-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

Have you been asked to be a volunteer face painter at an upcoming church or school function? This is a great little kit that I put together just for people in the same situation.

The Smile Painter Set comes with all the basic necessities, and all the supplies are of top, professional quality. The set includes my 40 page book of face painting instruction (assumes no previous knowledge of face painting!), a heavily laminated sheet of simple designs, two high quailty, genuine sable Kryolan brushes in two sizes, and a set of 12 professional Kryolan face paints.

This set of 12 colors is perfect for use year after year, because each cake of paint snaps in and out of the metal box, and you can purchase refills of individual colors as they run out. Don't waste your money on those cheap sets in the molded plastic trays that are not refillable!

The Smile Painter set gives you a discount of $11 over purchasing each item separately! It is a great investment for any church or school because they can keep a kit on hand, and whenever children's entertainment is needed at their upcoming events, they can provide their volunteers with all the supplies and instruction they need to do a great job.

Amazing Hand Paintings

2008-08-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Here are some amazing examples of hand paintings by Guido Daniele! Be sure to check out the link for many more incredible animals...

Welcome to the Paintertainment Blog!

2008-08-15T11:06:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Paintertainment blog! First things first...let me introduce myself. My name is Gretchen, and I have been professionally face painting for over 12 years. It all began back in 2005 when I face painted one summer at Valleyfair. I continued to face paint year-round at the amusement park inside the Mall of America throughout high school and college, and have since started my own business. I currently face paint for parties, carnivals, fairs, festivals, etc...and also run an online store where I sell professional face painting supplies, as well as my own book of face painting instructions, design sheets, and kits for beginners! I am a full time Mommy, and love spending time with my baby boy, while also running my other two businesses, GF Design and Junk Mail Gems.

I hope to use this blog to share cool things related to face painting, as well as announce new products that are available on Paintertainment.com.