Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Help, They Want Me To Do Face Painting, UPDATE

Y'all.  Hank's preschool is having a little Halloween carnival, or you know, Fall Festival, on Thursday morning. They have a costume parade and there are bounce houses, stuff like that.  Back in September I signed up to help out.

Friday they sent home a little info sheet about the festival, telling us the times for each age group, and it had my volunteer assignment handwritten across the sheet:

Face painting.

I am scared. Hold me.  Seriously, this is not among my skills.  I can barely put on my own eye makeup. Okay, actually I can't really do that well at all.  I don't know why they assigned me face painting, but like they say in sorority rush, I think my star would shine brighter in another house.  Like leading the kids through a close-reading of a sonnet.  Do you think they might like that?  Kids love iambic pentameter.

Is this, like, a thing that just anyone can do?  Because when it comes to art, I am just anyone.  I did a quick google search for "OMG how do I make the cheek pictures OH NOES" and it looks like there are a good many how-to's out there, but they seem a lot above my level.

So tell me, have you done this?  Can you think of any web resources for it?  Will you come do it for me?

You know who would do a great job at this? Matt would.  I might try to sweet talk him into it. I'd go and sit by him and hold the paints.

In case the sweet talking doesn't work out, y'all let me know if you have any intel about this.    

Edited to add: Matt is going to do it!  Matt is going to do it!  I asked him sweetly and he said he would. I tell you, I got a brand new pair of roller skates, he's got a brand new key. Yes!

19 comments:

Amy said...

Keep it simple, sister. A little pumpkin on their cheek or a butterfly for a little girl. Or a little white ghost--that's basically a blob, right?

I sympathize--that is not my area either, as you know. Why don't you suggest the iambic pentameter thing? Cause that's a winner of an idea!

My Kids' Mom said...

Boys would also like a quick spider- a blob with some legs, or spider web? Have a piece of paper on the table with the choices the kids can get- or they'll start making requests. Plus, it'll give you something to look at as a sample.

Hootie said...

Two words: Jackson. Pollock.

Camp Papa said...

Pollock would be good. But, if you have to avoid drop cloths and safety glasses, you might want to think Edvard Munch.

Michele R said...

I’m of no help! Like your man, my Hubs would be so much better at it. You could call the coordinator today and ask if you can swap booths with someone else. Maybe offer to call some people to switch with you.

Jenni said...

Holy crap. This is why I volunteered to make pumpkin muffins.

Ditto your sis. Keep it simple. You could do a little cat face or something, I know it. And if it comes out crappy just blame those wiggly preschoolers.

Elle said...

I misread where you wrote about holding the paints as I might have to sweet talk him ... sit by him and hold his pants And I thought that was a euphemism for a Capital Idea, one that I myself use very often to inspire the reassignment of many duties in my own partnership. Yes.

Keely said...

I can do it, but I have like, that art degree n' stuff. I'm probably not the best person to ask.

Keep it simple, as stated above. And keep in mind that kids are easily impressed. And if all else fails, break out into iambic pentameter.

Anonymous said...

well, it is halloween, so what about tweaking your job duties and applying halloween tattoos?

Kelly said...

You could just do a black nose and whiskers and make everyone be a cat. Tiger stripes aren't that hard either!

Elizabeth said...

In my sorority (and I can't believe I'm openly admitting that, yes, I was in one) we said HEW -- which stood for "Happier Elsewhere"

Becky said...

Elle, I can't believe I missed your "hold his pants" comment! My dad pointed it out to me. So that's not weird.

Yes, pants-holding has 1001 uses.

Becky said...

Also having 1001 uses: HEW.

Unknown said...

I got stuck doing this the day of the harvest festival, with no advance warning. As I painted the kids' faces, I realized that
a. they can't even see what you are painting and
b. anything you attempt makes them sooooo happy.
I did the white blob with black blobs for eyes and called it a ghost. Am orange blob with black eyes for a pumpkin. A spider. And the big hit was whiskers and a black nose and voila, they were a kitty cat.
One more thing...many of the kids just wanted their hand painted. A sun, a butterfly, easy stuff. They only stand still for a minute. You'll be FINE!!

Kimberly, An American Mother said...

One word: Stencil. That's all I got. On another note...my word verification for this post is "hemiwide." I'm wondering if I should be offended. (McBride family hips and all that..)

Michele R said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Michele R said...

(had a typo above)

That’s an awesome update! Oh, and I love that commercial with the baby for HP, using that rollerskate song. My middle son thinks it’s a new song and told me to rush to the TV and watch it. Check it out on You Tube.

Elizabeth-FlourishinProgress said...

Seriously, sigh of RELIEF for you.

I once got assigned to do a handkerchief craft at the school fair (yes, you read that right...sounds extremely fun, no?) and I was anxious about it for a few days before the fair. Would I need to learn different things to do with a.....HANDKERCHIEF??? Luckily, I got reassigned to rhinestone crafts.

Anonymous said...

Glad he's going to do it! Post pics of the masterpieces.