Face Painting

I will usually try anything that my family needs or wants.  A recent example, was a request by my  Granddaughter to do face painting at her birthday party.  I've painted other things in the past, flower pots, wood signs, fabric....how hard could it be. Right?   I researched differant paints and differant designs on the Internet and ordered what I needed.  I used Wolfe and FX paints which seemed to have the best ratings and results overall.  A great site that I found for face painting tips and designs, was Lisa Joy Young.......  She does beautiful work and has very detailed videos that I found invaluable.

source

Work was really busy the week before the party, so I did not have time to do ANY practicing.  I had no idea how this was going to work.  Since the theme of the party was Monster High, I figured if worse came to worse, I could just make a mess and call it a Monster.  Kids are great, they see Piccaso in a Monster mess.   I set up a table and put all my supplies out in easy reach, along with baby wipes for cleanup of the snafus that I knew were inevitable.  I also had my laptop so that I could have a reference picture of the design I was painting.  Connor was my first victim, brave boy, and he decided on a green snake...relief and joy, that seemed pretty easy.

The first time I placed my brush on his little head, I thought 'Ok, this is not going to be too bad'.  And then, the paint started dripping along the brush stroke.  Whoops. I had the paint too wet.  Out came the baby wipes....I love baby wipes, they are like duct tape for women.  I cleaned him up and started again, after first testing the consistency on my hand.  Joy to the World, he sat very still and the snake turned out not half bad. I found that painting was not hard, but getting good outlines on a face is really, really difficult.  It won't win any awards, but to those kids it was amazing.  Snakes were very popular that day.

I started to gather an audience.  Everyone wanted to be next.  Rein it in kids, this takes a while.  Inexperience in action here.

I already knew that glitter makes everything better.  That includes face painting.

I don't know how many faces I actually painted that day, but I got everyone done within the scope of the party time and still got to see Lexi open presents.

I even had a couple adults get in on the fun.

It was a really fun thing to do.  I didn't poke anyone's eye out and I didn't have a dissatisfied customer.  What has your family asked you to do for entertainment sake, that you have not tried before?


Have A Good One,

http://theycallmejammi.blogspot.com

Indiana Jones Movie Marathon Party

What better way to enjoy a chilly winter day, than with a Movie Marathon?  With an Indiana Jones Movie Marathon, of course. 

The table is decorated with burlap and jungle vines, just what any Adventurer would find comfortable.

Taters of the Lost Ark is a total crackup.  He kept the party going and no one tried to eat him, although his distant cousin Tater Chip, was not so lucky. 

We had to have breaks between each movie and used the time for various activities.  Prizes were given throughout the day, based upon discovered, stolen and earned ancient golden coins. 

Indiana Jones kept folks enthralled for the entire day.  What else is an Adventurer to do?

To keep our guests entertained and from turning into Couch Taters (more relations to Tater's of the Lost Ark), we staged a Quest for an archaeological find in the woods, I mean jungle.  

Clues were scattered throughout the jungle, leading our Adventures deeper into the wilds and the danger lurking there.  We found signs of Natives, but not to worry, our Adventures came armed with their savvy jungle skills and man purses.  

To the surprise of no one, our Intrepid Explorers discovered the treasure after many dangerous minutes (that's hours to you people). 

Can't have a movie without popcorn.  Everyone knows that.

The snake pit was a big hit and got lots of use throughout the party.  Two inexpensive boxes purchased at Walmart and duct taped together (that's right) turned into a dark cave passage filled with snakes and spiders....but wait, there is treasure lurking as well.  

The kids had a blast crawling through the tunnel and risking life and limb to gather as many ancient golden coins as possible.  Fortune and Glory awaited and the reptiles were no match. 

It was a great party and after a long day of being Indiana Jones, it was time for that Dude to get some rest. 

Joining the following:

A Pinteresting Party

Hooking up with HOH 

Alphabe-Thursday

Outdoor Wednesday

Have A Good One,

http://theycallmejammi.blogspot.com

Science Birthday Party With Dr. Bond

Alden celebrated his 7th birthday this weekend with a Science Party. 

Each new employee of  Staley Laboratories was given an employee orientation kit which included a lab coat (small white tee shirt split down the front), a name badge/security pass, a can of radioactive material (potato chips), toys, crazy straws and candy. 

Name badges were made using Word.  A picture was added, a generic picture for each of the guests (girl or boy), ID# was Alden's birthdate.



The biohazard material.  A can of chips covered in yellow paper with a hazard label.

Group photo of the new hired Scientists just before the presentation by Dr. Bond, the Science Guy.

Dr. Bond did a great job engaging the group and keeping them entertained over the next hour. 

Surprisingly, the electric current activities were some of the favorites....they loved to hate being shocked.

The potato shooter was a big hit. Air pressure from the tube caused a sliver of potato to be launched in the air. 

Making slime....we had to take a break for a rush to the sinks for hand washing after this one.

What's better than an erupting volcano...an erupting volcano that you can eat.

This was a great party idea that the kids enjoyed...the parents were having a lot of fun too.  I would recommend Dr. Bond to anyone within the Nashville and surrounding areas....he does a great job and the kids really had fun interacting with him.

 
Hope you all had a great weekend!

Simple Things Make Life That Much Sweeter

Our Christmas holidays are always filled with running around from house to house, visiting and opening presents...snacking and enjoying family.  This year, the GBs opened presents at their own homes and then at my Mom's and last at our house...these activities happening on Christmas Eve and through Christmas Day.  On Christmas Day, after opening presents at three other homes and at our house, including stockings at our house, the GBs pushed aside all the toys and had the most fun in a big cardboard box.  If we had only known, think of the money we could have all saved. 

As you can see, the box was a big hit, enjoyed by all the GBs, except for Braeden.  Have no doubt that he will be joining in the craziness soon...for now, he just ignores the noise and snoozes right along. 

All the best,

He's Home Alone (but not really)

Alden has a series of movies that are his favorites. The way this child watches movies is not from beginning to end, so don't panic...he is not constantly in front of the TV....he only has certain scenes that he likes. Currently, he is on a Home Alone binge...he likes to watch both HA1 and HA2, but he is very specific about which he wants to watch and when. I have to question him to make sure I put the right one in the DVD. The conversation goes something like this.

Alden "Jammi, I want to watch Home Alone."

Me "Which one, the one where Marv steps on the nail (HA1) or the one where Kevin throws the bricks (HA2)?

At which point Alden decides and lets me know his preference....he usually end up watching both, but he doesn't always watch them in order, HA1 first and then HA2. For HA1, I have to forward to the chapter where Kevin goes to the church and meets the Southbend Shovel Slayer in person.....for HA2, I have to forward to the chapter where Kevin is racing along to the New York apartment where he devises his cool plan to lure Harry and Marv to their doom.

Alden has a very cool imagination and he acts out the movies as they are occurring. Have I mentioned that I love this kid, he keeps me in stitches much of the time. We had to draw up the plans to thwart those evil bad guys, so Alden can help Kevin out...we have the plans for booby trapping from both movies and let me tell you, they are now well worn....my home is also appropriately booby trapped, but then again, isn't every domicile?

When he is on a binge with Night at the Museum, we have a set of the instructions that Cecil leaves with Larry on his first night alone, as well as a set of my vintage keys that Alden uses and of course, his long black flashlight. We have not yet figured out how to duplicate Ahkmenrah's tablet. This movie, he will watch from beginning to end.

Lexi and Connor have not yet gotten to the age where they play so vividly...with Lexi, she likes Dollhouse and having tea parties...Connor, just likes to climb on the steps and have someone haul him off about 200 times in a 5 minute span. I can't wait to see what we get into with these two nutheads.

All the Best,