Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

The Snazaroo USA website (http://www.snazaroo.us/) is a great resource for any face painter.

Several years before I became a clown and started learning how to do balloons or face painting, I discovered the Snazaroo website. I was interested in becoming better at painting my face for Halloween and found their photo contest pages (http://www.snazaroo.us/photos.htm) an incredible resource. The pictures mainly show the end results and not the actual steps, but it was still useful.

I still visit the Snazaroo website when looking for ideas or variations of images. For example, when a kid asks to have their face painted like a dog, I normally paint either a dalmatian or a brown and white dog. The photo pages have several other styles of dog faces along with most types of cats or farm animals.

The Snazaroo website also has an extensive FAQ (http://www.snazaroo.us/faq.htm) which answers just about any question related to face painting or running a successful face painting business.

Magical Balloon-dude Dale has a great balloon blog on his website (http://www.mbd2.com/forum/balloon_Animal_Blog). As someone still getting started, seeing some of the large, detailed balloons that Dale had created, is somewhat intimidating. I make a tiny 2-3 balloon dragon compared with his much larger and more detailed dragon. But, seeing his designs can also be an inspiration to continue learning and trying to make bigger and better designs.

I highly recommend checking out the Magical Balloon-dude’s website.

Celebrate the Art of Balloon Sculpture by participating in 12th Annual Balloons Around the World on Wednesday, October 5, 2011. Visit http://www.balloonsaroundtheworld.com/ to sign up or find a group near you.

One of the great resources for any balloon twister is the Balloon HQ (http://www.balloonhq.com/). I must admit, that I haven’t spent enough time there. I visit from time to time when I am looking for something specific, but it has a vast collection of information.

If you do balloons or interested in doing balloons, I suggest you check out the Balloon HQ and see what they have to offer.

I think I got started doing balloons like everyone else. I bought a bag of the Traditional Assortment by Qualatex. I had a lot of people tell me that the jewel tone balloons pop more than the other colors and eventually moved on to the Carnival Assortment. I have to say another issue with the traditional assortment is the challenge of telling Quartz Purple from the Onyx Black before the balloons are inflated. Both colors appear black.

As time went on, I started using more and more balloons. I eventually bought a bag of green balloons for flowers and a bag of red for ladybugs. After a while, I stopped buying the assortments and started only buying individual colors. The assortments are OK for grabbing a bag of balloons for a jam or to test out new colors. The biggest problem I had with the assortments is that I would run out of one or two colors. At Chrismas, I didn’t have enough green, red and white balloons. The cost of my balloon orders increased when I went from buying assortments to buying each color individually. I had to carry a larger inventory of balloons to make sure I had each extras of color.

I am at the point where I can use 100-200 balloons a week (or sometimes more). With that volume, it is easy to justify having inventory of balloons. I know they will all be used within a few months.
I currently have two or three shades of each color balloon. Each time I buy balloons I try one or two new colors.

I keep my balloons organized, both in my bag and overstock supply in rainbow order from pink/red to purple. I think it makes it easier for me to find balloons and keep track of what I need to order. The only problem is the websites I use to order balloons sorts balloons by type and usually lists them in alphabetical order.

Here are some more jokes… this time they are about dogs, one of the more popular balloon and face painting designs.

Q. What is the difference between a dog and a marine scientist?
A. One wags a tail and the other tags a whale.

Q. What kind of dog likes to hang around scientists?
A. A laboratory retriever

Q. What is a dog’s favorite soda?
A. Pupsi-cola.

Q. Why did the dog see the doctor?
A. Because a stitch in time saves canine.

Q. What do you tell young dogs when they make too much noise?
A. Hush puppies!

Q. Why are dogs bad dancers?
A. Because they have two left feet.

Q. Why are dogs like hamburgers?
A. They are both sold by the pound.

Q. What kind of dog tells time?
A. A watch dog.

Q. What is smarter than a talking dog?
A. A spelling bee.

Q. What happened when the dog went to the flea circus?
A. He stole the show.

Q. Why did the dog have to go to court?
A. Because he had a barking ticket.

Q. What are a dog’s clothes made of?
A. Mutt-erial.

Q. What do dogs put on their pizza?
A. Mutts-arella

Q. What has 400 teeth and says, “Beware of dog?”
A. A picket fence with a sign on it.

Each month, I host a face painting and balloon jam at the Cici’s Pizza in Chantilly. It is normally on the 2nd Monday of the month, and in June, the official jam will be on Monday, June 13th.

This month, we will share ideas for doing events outside. How to keep balloons from popping or face paint designs from melting. For me, that means making more balloon hats/bracelets that won’t hit the grass and pop or not doing designs ear to ear when face painting. Bring your ideas and an open mind for the discussion. The regular Jam will be from 7:00-9:00 pm when the restaurant closes. Bring your balloons and face painting supplies.

Note: The theme is more a conversation starter for the dinner period of the jam. It is not a lecture but an open opportunity to ask questions of the group or share what has worked in the past.

The actual jam portion of the night begins around 7:00 and continues until Cici’s closes at 9:00pm. You can come as early or late as you like.

The jam is open to face painters and balloon twisters of all skill levels.

June Face Painting and Balloon Jam in Chantilly
Monday, June 13th
Buffet from 6:00 – 7:00
Jam from 7:00 – Close

CiCi’s Pizza Buffet
14392 Chantilly Crossing Lane
Chantilly, VA 20151
703-961-9100

I really like dragons. I make them all the time with balloons, but haven’t gotten too many requests for dragons when face painting. Here are some inspiration videos that are worth watching.