Here is what Ken, the VP of Membership & the Purim Carnivals’ organizer had to say about our services:

“Thanks again for yesterday… everyone loved it! You guys were awesome…heard of a lot of compliments!!!”

~Ken B., VP of Membership, Shaare Torah, Gaithersburg, MD

I really enjoy this convention because I know that the folks I meet are close by and are as serious as I am about making our professional children’s entertainment companies in Maryland, Virginia and DC exceptional and ever-improving.

Michelle Heffner Teaching New Face Painting Techniques

I had such a great time talking about my “Pretty Little Somethings” – designs for when clients don’t know what they want but they still want to participate in the live creative process of face painting. It was lovely to show off and get “oohs” and “ahhhs” of course, but it was also gratifying to hear the feedback from the class participants :

“…your workshop was great! The rhythm of the step-by-step with the ‘this is how I would normally do it’ was really good, and your explanations were better than the other ones I went to! Excellent job and a good topic too.”

Michelle’s special “One Stroke” rose technique which WOWWED even the most seasoned painters

One of Amanda's Guests

Oh what a lovely surprise!

My lovely client Amanda posted a surprise review for me on Yelp.com. I am so happy and excited about that.

In the past, Yelp has not allowed my clients’ reviews to show. I think Amanda’s made it through because she already had an account there and she had reviewed other establishments. They are very picky about reviews and reviewers.

Yay! Here it is in all it’s lovely glory: Yelp Reviews for Bright & Shining Face Painting

Thanks, Amanda!

“I hired Michelle to do face painting and balloons at Chickfila for my son’s birthday party.  I had to get approval from Chickfila to bring her in but they were ok with it since we didn’t have a huge party.  We had 7 kids and a couple of adults getting their faces painted.  She also does balloons for parties but, in our case, made them ahead of time since they don’t give you a huge window of time at a Chickfila party (an hour for the party and 30 minutes for clean up).  I paid Michelle using paypal (easy!) and gave her plenty of info via email on what the kids are into.  My little one is a Yo Gabba Gabba fanatic.  My older boy (and his friends) are crazy about Mario.  She arrived promptly and did a fantastic job painting faces.  After painting was done, she brought in the balloons she had pre-made.  She made a balloon for EVERY single character from Yo Gabba Gabba.  And she made a Mario balloon as well.  Amazingly, all of these balloons really were identical to the characters!  She obviously invested a lot of time looking at images so she could be sure to get it right.  I highly recommend her for entertaining if you’re looking for a face painter or balloon maker.  Fantastic job!”
~Amanda in Columbia, MD

“Hi Michelle,

We had a great time with you yesterday, thanks again for doing such a special job with the kids.  So funny that ALL the girls wanted to be butterflies!  It was wonderful that you were able to create variety amongst all those butterflies, I could see how you really thought about each girl and gave different touches and flourishes to suit their personalities.  But I was most taken by the design you chose for our Lucy girl.  Not sure if my husband explained our situation with Lucy, but she was born with a devastating metabolic disease and she is profoundly disabled… Lucy is in her own little world most days, comfortable and at peace, but very very fragile.  She is the center of our lives and our family, and we feel so lucky that she is comfortable and at home with us.  The winter angel / fairy design was so touching to me – it looked so beautiful on her but it almost enlivened her facial expression a bit (she does not make eye contact or smile…).  I really loved it, so thank you.

The other Moms were really impressed as well.  Everyone kept saying how professional the work looked and I told them that you were the consummate professional throughout.  I was just so impressed by your work.

And thank you again for being such a special part of Audrey’s party yesterday.

Warmly,

Christine T., Washington, D.C.”

The Littlest Zombie!

“Thanks, Michelle.  The kids loved it.  Great pics too!  Next time I want to be a zombie.”

~Reed R. in Columbia, Maryland

“I could not have had it any other way, everyone said my best party ever. Thanks to you, all the mums I spoke with today said the kids did not want to wash their faces! I would call you again in a heart beat you are the best. The kids would have taken you home if that was an option. Thanks so much, Michelle.

Kome O. from Clarksville, Maryland”

no swirls, curls, teardrops from me…

time to stretch my wings

Thanks Brady :)

I thought this was a funny twist from a non-face painter’s point of view:

Rainbow Cake

It was so awesome!

I needed some new kit organization after Face Painting for 9 weekends at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.

Here are some pictures of my new set up:

Here is what I changed:

1. 1. I bought a rockin’ new Black Case that I love to pieces.  It is a lot lighter and less bulky than the ubiquitous metal tool box from Home Depot/Silly Farm.  Plus it lays open almost completely flat so I don’t have to transfer stuff from the case to the table or worry about the thing shutting or falling.  It has a nice handle and I can also add a shoulder strap.
   2. I got a “Professional Face Painter” tote as a Free Gift from Metina’s Face Paint Forum Shop.  Weeee!  It would be worth the $10 anyway – it has a nice flat bottom and wide shoulder strap.  I do wish the bottom was reinforced with a stiffy (that’s what she said!) but it is lovely so far  (NOTE: Metina let me know that there is a stiffy included with the bags!  I just misplaced mine.  I found it and tried it all together and there is no sagging.  Wee!!).  Into my tote goes everything I can’t fit into my Black Case.
   3. I have all my TAG Body Art palettes organized by color on the left side of the Black Case when open.  The palettes get closed up when they are in the case so they don’t shift around or fall out.
   4. On the right side of the open Black Case I have my few pots of Kryolan, Snaz, and Paradise plus my Black and White and Rainbow cakes and my water containers + wipes.
   5. I also changed out my water containers – I need a wide shallow one for my sponges and a tall narrow one for my brush water.  I bought the brush one (dark plastic rectangular box) at the Container Store.
   6. I bought one of those Lipstick holders to keep my glitter, fan, and Green Marble handy.
   7. For my clean sponges, I switched out using a HUUUUUUUUGE mesh bag and now I’m keeping 26 sponges in a mesh collapsible cube. The dirty ones still go into a mesh laundry bag on the side.
   8. I decided to try out using my new TAG One Stroke Split Cakes with my regular kit to see how I like them.  They are in a 3 drawer acrylic thingy. I tried to take pictures to show how the cakes fit nicely into the drawers.
   9. I’m keeping a few of my self sticky rhinestones in the bottom drawer.
   10. The rest of my loose jewels are inside/under my Brush Easel.

So there it is.

I timed myself unpacking and then repacking and I finished in under 2 minutes both times.

My next step is to get my picture display easier to carry, then my table, then my chair…. then the WORLD!!!  Muahahahahahahahhahahahaaaaaa… ahem.

The Container Store Product Descriptions and Codes:

17″ x 14″ x 4-1/2″ h Commercial-Grade Case Black
Item # 10014001

Acrylic Lipstick & Pencil Cube Clear
Item # 854100

Small 3-Drawer Acrylic Box Clear
Item # 388350

5-1/2″ Folding Mesh Cube Black
Item # 10005355

Amac Box Turquoise: 1-3/16″ sq. x 2-7/16″ h
Item # 10022858