And the winner is...

And the winner of the free 1-hour face painting party is...

ANDREA JUNEAU! (comment #9)

Thanks to everyone for all of the great suggestions! I had a lot of fun with this contest, even if I did run out of time before being able to paint all of your suggestions. Please check back from time to time for more news and contests from Doodlebug Face Painting, and keep Doodlebug in mind if you are looking for a professional face painter for your next event.

Halloween events

Company Christmas parties

Birthdays

Baptism parties

Weddings

Street parties

Shopping mall promotions

Store openings

and any other event that you want to attract children/families to!

Click HERE for the link to view my Facebook album of "Face of the Day" face painting party contest photos...

I'm having a lot of fun with this - please see my previous post for contest details and please keep the suggestions coming! You could win a FREE 1-hour face painting party for your child's party or other event!

Fun Giveaway for the Montreal-area!

OK, so I might be a little obsessed with my new rainbow cakes! I think I may have actually dreamt about them last night! LOL! In any case, I couldn't wait to get up this morning and after I got the kidlets to school and daycare, I whipped up a couple more "rainbow" faces. What do you think?

Now these are pretty standard-fare faces for rainbow cakes... everyone's seen a butterfly, tiger and rainbow. That got me thinking. How can I come up with some new ideas for how to use these? That's where YOU come in. Leave me a comment on this post for a face design you'd like me to try and paint. It doesn't have to be done with a rainbow cake - it could just be a cool idea you've got for a face painting. I've got roughly 6 weeks left before I head back to work and I'd like to TRY to paint a face a day until then (weekends exluded - there's no time for painting when the kiddies are around!) so send me your ideas!

On October 15th, 2010, I will choose one winner at random from all of the comments posted to receive a 1-hour face painting party for FREE. (8 kids maximum, must be in the Montreal-area, travel fee may apply, expires October 15, 2011 – book early to secure date)

***IMPORTANT*** Please leave your name and email address on your posting - if you are not signed in Blogger your posting will come up as "anonymous" and I will not be able to reach you if you are the winner!

So send me your ideas! Have your friends send me their ideas! I know a lot of people visit this blog, but nobody ever leaves any comments – and I LOVE comments!

Good luck everyone, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Rainbow cakes - yippee!

The doorbell rang mid-morning today - it was a delivery! I LOVE getting deliveries in the mail! Now, don't get me wrong – I don't do a lot of online shopping and when I do it is usually clothing for my 2 children. But today the delivery was for me! I had ordered some extra Snazaroo paints in "rainbow colours" from an online art store here in Canada and less than a week later, here they were! It was time to get to work on some "rainbow cakes"!

It was actually quite a bit easier than I thought it would be. Because the paints were new, they were still pretty malleable and I was able to pop them out of their plastic holders and cut them into strips with a razor blade without them crumbling. I then reassembled the strips into different "rainbows" and replaced them in the plastic holders. As a finishing touch I put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the new rainbow cake and pressed all of the paint strips down and smoothed out the seams. I was able to make 3 different "rainbow" colored cakes (with yellow, orange. red, blue and green), a yellow/orange/red one, and a blue/pink/purple one. I had also ordered a white (which was backordered and should come soon) and when it arrives I'll be able to make the last few cakes that I have in mind.

Here is a quick face that I did this afternoon while my daughter was napping - a basic rainbow tiger. I think it turned out pretty well! I can't wait to play around with my new rainbow cakes and I'm hoping it'll help speed up the lines at some of the bigger events that I have coming up in the near future!

Charity events - Face painting at the WIAIH art show and sale September 12, 2010

I am often asked to take part in charity events where I am asked to donate my services. As much as I would love to help EVERYONE out, I have to be a little choosy about which bookings I take. First of all, I CANNOT offer my services for free. While I do not mind donating my time, I do have supplies to purchase and travel expenses to cover. This having been said, I do offer my services to charitable groups at a greatly reduced fee and encourage the charity to either charge per face or put a donation box on my table so that people can give what they like.

That having been said, this Sunday (weather permitting) I will be painting at the WIAIH art show and sale at beautiful Stewart Hall on the shores of Lac St.Louis in Pointe-Claire. If you are not familiar with the WIAIH, it stands for the West Island Association for the Intellectually Handicapped. Their main office is right around the corner from my house and my neighbor Anne works there as well. It is a local association that I was happy to help out with. I would have been face painting on both days, but I was already booked for Saturday, so I will be there on Sunday, September 12th, from 1-4 p.m. Even if you cannot afford to buy any artwork on that day, perhaps you will consider putting a few dollars into the donation box on my table for some "temporary artwork" that will put a smile on your child's face!

Come on out - I'd love to see you there!

Busy, busy, busy!

Well – I think the party season is fully upon us! It's been a very busy week...

I had a couple of parties last weekend and then a mid-week booking at a pre-school that was celebrating their last day of school before the summer break. You could almost taste their excitment! It was fun to share in their last day and it made me remember my own childhood and the feeling of those last few days of school before we were set free for the summer! It's something that my son will experience for the first time next June as he will be going off to kindergarten in the fall...

With 3 parties behind me I was looking forward to a quiet weekend when I got not one, but 2 phone calls that might change the course that Doodlebug Face Painting has been coasting along on... I was contacted by 2 separate Montreal-area party agents who were looking to add my name to their list of "regular" face painters. I was thrilled! I agreed to put my name on their lists and was immediately booked for a party which took place today. As they say, this could be the start of a beautiful relationship!  : )

I'll keep you posted 

Why choose Doodlebug?

I painted at a 5-year old's birthday today. When I arrived, I introduced myself to the little girl's mother and asked her how she had heard about me. She said that she had found me on the internet and had read my blog. The fact that I had written about my daughter Sophie had appealed to her and she had decided to contact me for her daughter's party.

That got me thinking... Why would it matter that I have a baby daughter and a 5-year old son? Why would someone planning a party choose me over all of the other face painters in the Montreal area?

Well, having a couple of children at home doesn't make me a better painter. However, it does tell the party planner that I'm a parent – just like them.  I spend a lot of time around little kids... I go along on playdates, field trips and birthday parties. I know the things that kids like, are watching and more importantly, I know how to talk with them. Anyone with some talent and the right supplies can face paint, but those who have a knack with kids - "kidsperience" I like to call it – are the ones who will be a success at what they do.

I was once told (at another party that I was painting at) that I "had a real way with children". I realize now what a great compliment that was.  : )

Back to business!

I'm back from a week in beautiful Mexico! Traveling with my 5-year old son is a breeze – he's an airport veteran having logged more air miles than most adults in his short life. (Cuba, Florida, B.C. and all across Australia) However, my 8-month old daughter Sophie was new to traveling and she kept us on our toes! In the end, it was all worth it and it was great to spend our first vacation as a family.

Now that I am back home, it's back to business, so to speak. April 1st was the date that I set for myself to return to face-painting, and I was pleasantly surprised to find my in-box full of enquiries upon my return! However, I have to limit myself and have decided to accept no more than 2 bookings per weekend. My daughter is still very young and has rarely left my side since her birth so this will be an adjustment for all of us as Dad will be left in charge while I am off at work! (Can I call it work? Can something as fun as face-painting be considered "work"?) : )

I look forward to picking up my brushes again in the next few weeks – and maybe meeting you in the near future?!

Please email me at doodlebugfaces@sympatico.ca for more information if you are considering hiring a facepainter at your next event!