Face Painting and Balloon Twisting Blog

I have never been big on reading books. In school, the only books I ever read, were the books my teachers said I had to read. But, once I decided to become a clown, I realized I needed books to help me learn the skills I needed to succeed. I ordered a few books from the various websites that sell clown, face painting, and balloon supplies. I also got a few books from Amazon.com. It wasn’t until I was bored one weekend and decided to venture into a used book store that I discovered there was a cheaper way to get great books.

I have been visiting the local used book store every month or two and never walk away without finding something interesting. I have found books on juggling, magic, mime, clowning, face painting, balloons, puppets, jokes and a variety of other topics. The best thing is that I rarely have to pay more than $3 for a book. I don’t think I can go wrong spending $10 and coming home with 3 or 4 used books. Actually, it is usually more like $30 and 8 to 10 books.

Friday, July 8th was Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-Fil-A and now is the time to vote for your favorite cow. I hope you will vote for me by visiting my page at http://www.cowappreciationday.com/gallery/detail/432

Mike at Chick-Fil-A on Cow Appreciation Day

Friday, July 8th is Cow (Customer) Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A and customers who come dressed head to toe as cows get a free meal. Visit their website http://www.cowappreciationday.com/ for more details.

So, here are some ideas for cow balloons or face painting designs.

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 July, the official jam will be on Monday, July 11th.

This month, we will share ideas for dealing with lines. The theme is only a conversation starter… come with your questions and ideas for dealing with lines of kids (both at birthday parties and larger festivals) and share with others. What do you do when faced with 15 kids who all want to be next? 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, July 11th
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

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.

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.

What should a face painter or balloon twister wear to an event? When I go to jams, I will often wear a fun character t-shirt and a goofy hat. But for bigger events, I don’t want to look like the average person on the street.

Last year, I had one event where I was specifically told NOT to wear shorts and that my shirt needed a collar. I have actually considred finding a formal looking outfit for the higher end events, but don’t want to look like the catering crew.

Some events, I were my pair of green and white striped overalls from Game Bibs. Game Bibs targets the college sports fan and makes striped bib overalls in most college team colors. At most events, I will wear my custom designed pair of Converse shoes. Converse has a variety of shoes that can be customized by choosing the colors for each piece of canvas or leather used to make the shoe.

I am always on the lookout for something fun to wear. I find that the websites that sell face paint and balloon supplies seem to offer more shirts and accessories for women. I am also considering getting a custom embroidered

When I am at a restaurant, birthday party, or other event, I like to interact with the kids beyond just asking them what they want. Sometimes I will ask about school or some recent event/holiday. Other times, I will try to make a silly comment about their request.

I have watched other entertainers doing shows or interacting with kids. They seem to have comments or jokes for just about any situation. I know this comes from experience and knowing what worked in the past. Since I haven’t been doing this as long as others, I am still building my list of jokes. During the past year, I have purchased several books of jokes and riddles. Although I have looked through the book, I haven’t done a good job of finding ones that I use on a regular basis.

I am going to try to compile a list of jokes related to various things related to the popular balloon and face painting designs. Today, I will begin with jokes about butterflies and other insects. The butterfly is one of the most popular faces for little girls and is also an easy balloon to make. When a kid asks for a butterfly, I will often call it a “flying stick of butter” and ask what type of toast they like best.

Here are some of the better jokes I found on the Internet.

Q. Why did the butterfly?
A. Because it saw the ice-cream float.

Q. Why wouldn’t they let the butterfly into the dance?
A. Because it was a moth ball!

Q. Why did the boy throw butter out the window?
A. Because he wanted to see a butter-fly!

Q. What goes zzub, zubb?
A. A bee flying backwards!

Q. What do you say to an annoying beetle?
A. Stop bugging me!

Q. What bug isn’t allowed in the boys’ bathroom?
A. A lady bug