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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Happy 2010!

The past year has brought a lot of changes to me, my family and my face painting business!

2009 was the most successful year Doodlebug face painting has seen to date! My newly designed website received a lot of traffic bringing me many new clients, my facebook page has lots of followers from around the world, and I received many referrals from people who were happy with their "Doodlebug experience" and passed the word along to others. (My favorite way to get new business by the way!)


However, my year was cut in half when last July, we welcomed the beautiful Miss Sophie into our lives. Nothing has been the same since! Sophie's big brother Oliver has had A LOT of adjustment issues of late and we have our hands full with him. And although Sophie is a wonderful baby, she does have one little issue that we wish we could change: she REFUSES to take a bottle. Of course, this throws a monkey wrench into my plans of re-starting my Doodlebug face painting business in the month of January, 2010. (I did take one booking in late Novemeber - a friend of a friend - and ended up toting Sophie along. It worked out fine since there was a willing mom at the party who was happy to snuggle a cute baby for an hour, but I will not do it again as it could have been a complete disaster!)

So all this to say, Doodlebug is still on hold – for now. I love face painting and cannot wait to get back to it, but my family life – and 5-month old daughter! – are a little too demanding at the moment for me to jump back into it full time. I will consider bookings on a job by job basis (I will have to pass on bookings longer than 1.5 hours and outside of the west island but will consider short parties that are close to home. Please do not hesitate to contact me with your info).
Please check back with my blog from time to time as I promise to post updates more frequently. I wish you and all of your families a very happy and healthy 2010! Happy face painting everyone!

Nancy

Friday, July 31, 2009

A new little Doodlebug!


























Well, it's been a busy couple of months for me!


I had an amazing pregnancy and was feeling so good, I managed to sneak in a couple more parties less than a month before giving birth to my beautiful daughter, Sophie. I am truly going to miss face painting, but hope to start taking new bookings in early 2010. (A lot depends on Sophie of course!)

Sophie is a beautiful baby and is very different from her brother (in temperament, not appearance)! Her evenings are a little fussy but once she settles down for the night we usually get 4-5 hours of sleep before she wakes in the middle of the night to nurse.


We feel so blessed to have her in our lives and feel fortunate to have both a boy and a girl so that we can experience raising both genders. Big brother Oliver is having a few adjustment issues, but we are trying to give him some extra TLC and it is a huge help that my husband (who is a teacher) is off until the end of August.

I have included a photo of my new "little doodlebug"... I guess in a few years I will have a full-time model to practice all of my "girly faces" on!  : )

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Color Mundo Wrap-up

On May 3rd, I attended Colormundo in Old Montreal with my fellow face painter Erin and my 4-year old son. Due to a conflict in my schedule (it was a hectic weekend!) I was not able to take any classes this year (they were offered on Saturday the 2nd) but will try to squeeze one in next year if possible.

My in-laws usually spend some "grandparent time" with Oliver (my son) on Sunday afternoons, but as they were out of town that weekend, I decided to take him along with me. We picked up Erin and headed down to Old Montreal and the Marché Bonsecours, where the exhibition was taking place.

Once we had found parking (I had forgotten just how busy - and touristy - the Old Port area can be!) we made our way to the venue. The show was held upstairs in the Marché Bonsecours and split between 2 main halls. In one hall were the exhibitors and the stage for the shows and in the other hall were the competitors (who were doing their last minute touch-ups to their models) for the brush and sponge portion of the bodypainting competition.

We started with the exhibitor portion and leisurely looked around at all of the booths and what they had to offer. Many of the booths had products for sale and it was so nice to see and test the different paints, glitters etc. as  most of my supplies are purchased on the internet.

It was a real mixed bag though, as Colormundo is not exclusively a body art convention. There were also exhibitors for makeup, wigs, nails, hair, costumes, special effects (for film and theater) and more. I think I was expecting a little bit more emphasis on the face/body painting aspect of the business, but it didn't seem to be the case.

However, the competition room (where the artists were working on their models) blew me away. The second we walked through the door we were faced with a roomful of beautifully painted models, photographers and artists scurrying all over the place. The work was really fantastic and there was so much talent in the room. Oliver was in awe. He was pointing out all of the images painted on the models and telling us which were his favorites. It was great to walk around and check out the bodypainting up close. The models were very open to us taking photos (I forgot my camera, but Erin had hers.) and we took our time working our way around the room.

As we made our way back to the exhibitor's booths for a last look around, we passed the Mehron booth and one of the makeup artists asked Oliver if he would like to have his face painted as Spiderman. (We only saw 2 other children there the whole time we were there) He hopped up into he chair and she got to work. She did a really cute job with his face paint and even painted his hair! (something I had never considered doing before) He was pretty happy and we ended a great day on a high note.

I'll be back next year for sure!

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Face Painting frenzy!


This weekend was a busy one for Doodlebug Face Painting!

Along with 2 birthday parties (one on Saturday and another on Sunday afternoon), I took part in the Wee Wiggles Fair Affair, which was a huge success!

I arrived about a half hour before the Fair was to begin in order to set up my chair, signs and business cards/brochures and was greeted with a roomful of people putting the finishing touches on their displays and booths.

After returning home for a change of clothes and some "self-painting" I returned to the fair at 10 a.m. (an hour after it had begun) and was SHOCKED at the number of people that were there. I actually had a line forming before I even had a chance to set up my paints and get my water ready!


After that, the next 2 hours were a blur. My "neighbors" were from Mini-Mod, (the local hair salon for kids) and one of the women was a real sweetheart – she kept asking if I needed anything (water, coffee etc.) as there was no way I could have left my booth, the line-up was constant.


My husband and son arrived in time for the magic show and musical entertainment and I was happy with my decision to have painted my son's face BEFORE I left home as he would have been stuck in line, instead of enjoying the show! (and sampling some of the gingerbread cookies provided by a local bakery!)

 All in all, it was a fantastic experience and I got a lot of exposure. I heard so many encouraging comments and got quite a few enquiries about pricing and availability. My stack of business cards was completely wiped out by the end of my 2-hour "shift" and a good number of my brochures had been picked up as well. Kudos to Ariana Jalfen for organizing such a well-attended and successful event, and a big thank you for asking me to take part! 

I look forward to next year's Wee Wiggles Fair!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Color Mundo Montreal

The annual Color Mundo make-up show is coming to Montreal again this spring! Held at the Bonsecours Market in old Montreal, it promises to be an exciting weekend full of demonstrations, classes, exhibitors and seminars held in both French and English. The classes are held on Saturday, May 2, while the show gets under way on the 3rd and 4th.


As I have a full time job as a graphic designer, it looks like I will only be able to attend the Sunday portion of the show with my friend (and fellow face painter Erin). It should be really interesting and I am looking forward to seeing what they have to offer.

I am also contemplating taking a face painting course at Color Mundo with the talented and internationally known Jinny, which would be fantastic! I find a lot of inspiration in her work as well as some of the other exhibitors that will be attending, and the opportunity to attend a class of hers would be great since I will not be able to attend FABAIC (Face and Body Art International Convention) this year.

Doodlebug looks forward to coming away from this convention with lots of new face painting tricks and techniques to help put a smile on the faces of all of the kids that I meet in the upcoming months! 

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Free face painting at the Wee Wiggles Fair Affair!

Montreal Face Painter Doodlebug offers free face painting at local community fair!

I was invited to take part in the Wee Wiggles Fair Affair, which is taking place on Sunday, March 29, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Creation Station. (63 Donegani, Pointe-Claire) I will be face painting from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., so please stop by my booth and say hello!

The Wee Wiggles Fair Affair is a community-building activity for toddlers, pre-schoolers and their parents. While the little ones enjoy a bouncy inflatable ride, face painting and an array of live performers, moms and dads can browse the 25 booths showcasing the products and services of new mom-owned businesses and community minded retailers in the West Island community.

Please visit their website at http://weewigglesfair.eventbrite.com. Tickets are free, but you do need to register in advance in order to receive your on-line invitation/ticket.

I will try to post some photos after the event and I do hope to see you there!



Monday, March 16, 2009

Welcome to the Doodlebug blog! (or should that be Doodleblog?)


Hi everyone!

I finally decided to get this blog up and running to keep everyone up to date on all of the news from Doodlebug Face Painting!

Doodlebug Face Painting is a Montreal-based face painting service that specializes in children's birthday parties, corporate events and other fun functions. It's face painting for any occasion!

It has been a busy winter with a lot of birthday parties being booked in the past few months. (Must be the cold winter weather and snowy days that are keeping everyone cooped up inside and wondering how to entertain their party guests!) I have met some wonderful people and some great children as well. This is one of the main reasons that I love face painting so much – I love interacting with the little ones and "transforming" them into whatever their heart desires! The looks on their faces is priceless and creates some wonderful memories for them.

My next bit of exciting news is that I will only be taking bookings until June 1st, 2009 as I am expecting another little "baby bug" in mid-July. Of course, this is all subject to change depending on whether the new addition decides to make an early appearance or not! I hope to start taking a few bookings starting in the new year (2010) but again, please contact me for availability!

My website is www.doodlebugfaces.com and my email address is doodlebugfaces@sympatico.ca. Give me a call if you'd like more information or check my website for photos and pricing details.