Author: gfleener

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Birthday Window Painting: Happy 13th Birthday Wyatt!

We’ve recently started offering window paintings as a fun, no-contact alternative to help you celebrate your family’s milestones! Window paintings are great for birthdays, graduations and other special events, especially in quarantine! Last weekend I had the opportunity to paint a surprise birthday window for Wyatt! Above is my initial sketch, with the final window in the background.

Here you can see the progression. First I start by cleaning the window, then apply a base coat of white. In the center photo you can see the gradient I laid down for the “13th.” I then carved out the numbers & letters using a razor blade!

There’s just something that is oh so satisfying about scraping off fresh paint! Haha!

Me with the finished product!

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Wet Paint Magazine Fall Issue: NOW LIVE!

The fall issue of Wet Paint Magazine is now live! We have just ordered our own copies for the shop, so won’t have them ready to ship for another week or so. However, if you live outside the US or you just don’t want to wait for us to get them, you can order now through our printer, Blurb.

My how quickly and drastically life can change on a dime! This time last year I was writing an article about my busiest summer ever, my first year launching the “Glitter Glamper” at the MN state fair! And now, here I sit in the middle of summer without a gig on the calendar.

Strange times. Trying times. Unprecedented times.  Uncertain times. Whatever you call these “times,” they have certainly been particularly challenging for those of us whose livelihoods depend on events with large gatherings of many people! 

At the moment it seems as though many artists, unless they have the luxury of being able to financially “wait it out” or have taken on another job, are either attempting to get back to work in some capacity, or they are focusing on pivoting their business in a new direction. Both are difficult decisions that require a lot of hard work, and what’s the right choice for one artist isn’t necessarily right for another. We are all in different places right now, and that is why I feel that now is a great time for artists to share their varying perspectives and plans, and for everyone to open their minds and take in whatever experiences and advice are useful to them. For this reason, in the fall issue we have interviewed a variety of artists going back to work (page 6), and also those who are exploring other avenues for the time being (page 22). 

I have also had the pleasure of interviewing Monique and Annabel, the creators of the wonderful new, online face painting platform called “Smile Creators!” (page 32) The fabulous Elodie Ternois has not only done us the honor of answering our “Pro Artist Q&A” questions for this issue (page 38), but has also sent us a gorgeous unicorn step-by-step (page 45)! Check out page 37 for some fun Halloween glam inspiration by Marianne Janssen, a couple Minion step-by-steps on pages 28 and 30 by yours truly,  and our face, body and belly art galleries!

Whatever place you and your business is in right now, I hope that this magazine finds you healthy, hopeful, and finding creative ways to utilize your talents when our world needs them the most. Hang in there, painty friends, and keep creating!

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Easy, On-the-Job Minion Tutorials

Are you a purple minion or yellow? Well, either way you’re in luck! I’ve just finished two really simple, on-the-job minion designs, both yellow and purple! You can leave them as-is, or you can get creative and add some 3D google eyes! Check out the videos below, or you can hop on over to our YouTube channel to watch these and more!

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Coloring Contest Winners Announced!

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Future Face Painters Club coloring contest today!! The contest was divided up into two age groups: 6-9 and 10-13. We only had two entries in our 10-13 age group…both VERY worthy of prizes as they did an amazing job!! But since we had an extra 3rd place prize to give out, we decided to give out two 3rd place prizes to our younger age group! Here are the winning entries and some judges’ comments!

All winners have been sent an email with details to claim their prizes. If your child won and you have not received this email, please contact me! Thanks so much for entering, and happy painting!!

Winners from age group 6-9

Winners Age Group 10-13

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NEW “Coloring Book” Style Window Paintings

We are having so much fun with this fun, interactive style of window painting! It’s a great way for your kids to be a part of the art, and the perfect way to entertain and celebrate occasions during the pandemic with no contact necessary!

We paint a design using only white linework on the outside of your window, with our outdoor paint that can last for weeks.

No-contact fun…we’ll paint on the outside of the window!

Inside the house, you and your kids can color in the design using chalk markers or window markers, just like a giant coloring book! (Scroll down for our recommended markers for coloring it in!)

Chalk markers are easy to wipe off with a damp paper towel or cloth, so your kids can color again and again! And when you’re all done with it, just let us know and we’ll come out to remove the outside paint for you.

Outside view, before adding color

Inside view, after coloring
Outside view, after coloring

Chalk Marker Recommendations

Here are a few great chalk markers that we’ve tried and recommend, and a photo of what they look like on the window!

Here’s how they look on the window. All were super easy to wipe off with a damp cloth! If your kids get a little crazy with markers, we’d recommend taping off any porous, wood window trim.

The “Chalktastic” and “MRNKI” brand chalk markers give the best, brightest, opaque coverage. But, they do have an extra step when you get them…you have to shake them up and push the tip down for a few seconds to get a flow of liquid chalk. These show up great through the window too! The Expo neon window markers were fun too for neon colors…not as bright as chalk markers but they are super easy to just open the cap and use, like kids are used to. The Crayola “Crystal Effects” are really fun! They are really hard to see while you are coloring, but as the ink dries, you get a crystallized effect on the window. We used these markers for the sun and some of the water in this design.

Visit our window painting page for more information, or to book YOUR custom “coloring book” window!

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Window Paint Removal

Yesterday I removed some window paint that had been on my vehicle for a month and a half! In general it still looked great…just now starting to crinkle in one spot. But, it was time to take it off. Here’s a video of how the removal went!

Last month I removed the super fun birthday Yoda painting I did, however, due to user error my GoPro did not record it. It was a bit more stubborn to get off, but came off nice and clean!

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Introducing Our New “Future Face Painters Club!”

Does your chid LOVE to have their face painted? Have they always wanted to BE the face painter? Well now we have put together a special club just for kids like yours! Designed for kids age 6 through 13, the Future Face Painters Club gives your child the instruction and supplies they need to explore the fun world of face painting!

How does it work?

When you purchase a Future Face Painters Club Kit, we will mail you a cool binder that contains information, sheets to take notes and sketch designs, practice faces and a board to paint on, and a convenient 3-ring zipper pouch stuffed with brushes, safe cosmetic glitter and professional quality paints!

Your purchase automatically gives you access to our members only website, which contains video tutorials to help get your child started in the fun world of face painting! We realize that there are a lot of options out there for kids when it comes to activities, and nobody wants to spend a fortune on supplies for something their child will lose interest in, so that is why we’ve started with the most basic and economical, yet quality professional supplies in their kit!

If you discover that your child has really developed a love for face painting, you can choose to invest in their new hobby by adding to their kit as they learn new techniques and skills explained through tutorials our website. There are endless options for face painting supplies, but we’ve made it easy by recommending logical next steps for your child, and your membership entitles you to an exclusive 10% discount on additional supplies!

We also have a members only Facebook page, where your child can share their work with professional face painters and other kids who love to paint!

Members of our Future Face Painters Club will be allowed to join our private Facebook group to share their work with professional artists and other kids!

Win a FREE Club Kit and 1 year Membership!!

As a fun way to launch our new kids’ club and get it off the ground, we are putting on a COLORING CONTEST! Two grand prize winners will receive a full club kit and annual membership to the club!! We also have some super fun 2nd and 3rd place prizes, all of which will be awarded to two age groups. Click HERE to learn more, read the rules and print out the contest to color!

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Now Offering Virtual Zoom Paint Parties!

We are super excited to announce one of our pandemic projects…something that has been in the works now for months: Live zoom paint parties!

How Does It Work?

First, you book your actual party date and time, simply by filling out a form on our zoom party page! We’ll get back to you to arrange the time and send an invoice. (Booking a virtual party includes a full 1-year membership for the birthday child to our Future Face Painters Club, including the full club kit full of supplies and instruction!)

Once your date is booked, you put together your guest list and we’ll help invite them AND equip them with the supplies they need to paint along! We’ll create a pdf invite with your party details that can be sent out to your guests. If you wish, you can send us a photo of your child that we can turn into a practice board! We’ll include that with the invite and your party guests can paint their practice designs right on the birthday child’s face!

Once you know how many will attend, decide how you’d like to get our party guest packs out to each guest! (pick them up from us and distribute yourself, have us ship them all to you, or ship to each individual guest) Our mini party packs include the paints, glitter and brushes each child needs to paint along, in a convenient zipper pouch with your Zoom call information!

Party Time!

When the party day arrives, everyone logs into Zoom for a live session with a professional artist! We’ll give the kids a basic lesson in how to use their paints, and show them how to paint a design or two, in about 30-40 minutes. You can even request a specific theme for the designs, or we can incorporate a favorite sport, hobby or character of the birthday child!

The Fun Doesn’t Stop There!

The fun doesn’t end when the live zoom stops, however! Kids have been known to keep painting for hours afterwards! You are encouraged to set up an additional conference call with the kids so they can continue painting together as long as you wish! Afterwards, we’ll encourage your guests to share photos of the paintings they’ve done. The birthday child can also get access to our club members’ Facebook group where he or she can share their work with us and other artistic kids as they continue to learn and build their skills through the Future Face Painters Club members only content library!

Discovered a New Passion?

Should you discover that your child has really taken to face painting and has found a new passion, our members only online learning resources will show your child more techniques and skills, and we can recommend additional supplies if you choose to grow your child’s kit of supplies. Likewise, if one of your party guests wants to upgrade their party pack to the full club kit, we offer that as well!

Learn More or Book a Party!

Interested? To learn more about our virtual paint parties, check out our virtual party page, here! And feel free to contact us if you still have any questions!

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Balloon Decor Project

Last week I did some balloon decor for my church, to help celebrate the first week of their kids’ services returning after quarantine! The balloons were designed to go with the graphics created for the coming month’s theme, specifically the words “Faith” and “Focus.” The graphics included colorful images of 3D glasses with halftone dots, so we had some fun with polka dot balloons! I also created a giant pair of 3D glasses using mylar 0’s, 7’s, and colored cellophane. It was super fun! I ordered a pack of 100 pairs of 3D glasses, and had my boys turn them into garlands using my Crop-A-Dile tool. Here are a few photos, and a time lapse video of the project going up!

My boys were great helpers! We built a couple columns in about 2 hours. I realized when I got there that I had accidentally ordered the dark blue balloons in 5″ diameter instead of 11″. Gah! So, I ran out to the nearest party shop to get more dark blue, while Sam stayed behind and kept filling the others to keep us on schedule. Thanks, Sam!

Here is a time lapse video of everything…scroll down for more pics!

Here we are hanging the 3D glasses “garland.” It worked great! We also dangled a few glasses from this across the room. On either side of this we hung red and blue crepe paper, lying against each other and twisted…which actually looked funky through real 3D glasses!

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NEW: “Bling-to-Go” DIY Body Bling Kits!

We are SUPER excited to show you our all new “Bling-to-Go” Do-it-Yourself Body Bling Kits!! They are the perfect way to celebrate virtually with your friends, or bling yourself out for a socially distant night on the town! Each kit includes a storage tin, complete instructions, skin-safe Pros-Aide body glue, and coordinating cosmetic glitter gel! Simply peel your bling off at the end of the day and store it in your tin to use again!

We have a variety of different options as far as designs go, from unicorn horns to mermaid tails and everything in between! However, every kit includes full color instructions, a 1ml vial of body glue with applicator, a 1ml container of Pixie Paint glitter gel, and your hand made bling piece of choice, all neatly packaged in a little tin for storage!

Our kits come complete with step by step instructions to get you started, and you can wear your bling cluster again and again! Loving the bling more than you thought you would? No worries…we have everything you need if you decide you’d like refills of your glitter gel and adhesive in the Glitter Glamper Shop!

Our handmade bling is even better when one of our talented “Glampette” artists brings it to your event and applies it along with their skilled makeup embellishments, and we can’t WAIT to get back out there and “Bring the Bing” to your celebrations! (Click here learn more about all of our in-person glittery offerings!) In the meantime, we hope that these Bling-to-go kits will help fill that sparkly void!