Fund raising with face painting from SillyJokes.co.uk

Many events are only a couple of hours long. You want to raise the maximum amount possible in that time whilst giving good value and ensuring everyone has a great time.

5 Top Tips for face painting at an event.

1. Be in control.

Relax the sitter by easy chat and don't let siblings or Mum distract them. They aren't used to having make-up on but they love being the centre of your attention. Even the biggest fidget can keep still for this.

2. Have the sitter ready when they sit down.

Have posters or books ready for children to choose from before they sit down to be painted. Also provide wipes or kitchen paper for faces to be washed.

3. Don't do it alone.

Have a helper who can sort out fresh water, prepare each child, manage the money and get the tea. You will be too busy.

4. Get the price right.

It will depend upon the event and your skill but don't be too cheap or you'll have an endless queue of children and won't make any money. At first you should be able to do 4 or 5 faces an hour but you'll soon speed up to maybe 8-10 an hour. Use this to price yourself.

5. Your work is it's own advertisement.

Paint your favourite face on a child at the beginning of the event. Often all the other children will want to copy the face the others have! One of the event organisers usually has a spare child for this purpose Before you know it you'll have a room full of Tigers or Butterflies.

Other things you will find useful:

• Large containers for fresh water and small pots to wash brushes in.
• Mirror (keep this flat until the face is done or it is too distracting)
• Kitchen paper to wipe up spills and mistakes and to clean faces.
• Posters and/or books to work from.
• Saucer to mix paint on

Having good quality face paints and brushes to apply them will make all the difference to your ability to face paint.
Cheap kits just won't have the coverage and the brushes won't be fine enough for detailed work.

We recommend Snazaroo Face Paints and accessories to help you speedily and effectively paint as many faces as possible in the time you have.