A good friend wants us to do a 40th BDay party, but be a guest too

My friend wants us to do glitter tattoos at her husband's 40th. There will be some kids, expecting maybe 50 people. Starts at 7:00pm. I told her 3 of us normally charge $95.00 an hour (myself and my 2 teen daughters) She says that's fine, but she wants us to stay and enjoy the party, eat, etc. Any suggestions how to charge for this?? I'm sure this won't be the last time I'm asked to be a guest and work.

give her a small discount--what you think would be fair and that is your gift (or just subtract off how much you would normally spend on a gift for the hubby--if you normally wouldn't get a gift then no discount) Plus you don't want people inviting you to parties to get the discount

Plus you might not have time to enjoy the party if you are busy!

yeah, I did a party recently for my daughter's dance school... they said, "you can do it for a couple of hours at the beginning, then join the party" ... but the kids were getting more than one and some kids were coming later because it was a drop in kind of thing... I missed the whole party and did glitter tattoos for 5 hours straight.

I would give them a discounted rate because they are friends and count that as your gift (or give them one hour free as a gift), but you still need materials covered. And you likely won't be able to enjoy the party... I'm just saying.

I did a friend's daughter's 4th birthday party AS MY GIFT to her. She did not ask for a discount or freebie. I was something I could provide easily. Mom came along, we did manage to have some cake and a bit of a visit, but mostly I worked. But that was the gift so it was all fine.

I wouldn't offer a discount. Every time I offered a friend a discount, I regretted it. To (kinda) quote someone on here, "If they want 100% of you, you should get 100% from them."

Glitter Tattoos are costly too with stencils. No way I would go down on their cost. Face Painting is easy to stretch as far as making a little paint go a long way. It's not like you can really take a glitter tattoo down a notch.

I agree, give a small discount as your "gift"...and maybe work it out with the friend to allow you to have a break when cake is cut/dinner served/etc? Otherwise you will be like me...show up...hey bday boy!! Sure I can paint you......5 hrs. later.....Tina, the party is over...would you like some cake??? As everything is being cleaned up! lol

Ok I also have a glitter tattoo question, I booked a party for painting but she wants me to offer glitter tattoos to....how should I charge for that? I don't have many, just a small tulip kit I picked up at Michael's to see if I even like it. My painting rate is $50/hr with a 2hr minimum....that rate is low for my area but I feel I am still not a pro. That is what I quoted her....should I revise that?

I too charge $50/hr. (nobody in my near area..but 30 miles away they charge $125-$175/hr) so I'm really cheap too, but just beginning and paint slower and not as well.

In your situation I would probably add on for the glitter tats, maybe another $25/hr in addition so a $75/hr. rate to include fp'ing and glitter tats???

That sounds fair, I'm kinda kicking myself for agreeing to do them at my regular rate! Grrrr, what was I thinking?!?! I also looked at what I have for glitter tats and I'm afraid it isn't much, I am really drooling over this kit that I found in another thread.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Body-Tattoo-Glitter-Deluxe-Kit-38-colors-Powders-Stencil-Set-/180938905149?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a20cc963d I would order it because it's a far better deal than the tulip kit I bought. I'm just afraid I won't get it in time since the party is the 28th.

when figuring out what to charge in the future...keep in mind (whether you're a newbie or not!) glitter tattoos cost a lot more per person than your paint does (when you figure in the stencils and the glue and the glitter...even though you can reuse the stencils, most don't for cleanliness (and I agree with that..ewww), but with the paint you're barely using it...of course the major selling point of the fp'ing is the talent to paint! The tattoos can be done (for the most part) by anyone that is trained...but they're costly..so don't undercharge for them. Yes, people can buy a kit at the craft store and do 10 for the price of 2 of yours....but then they have to make a mess and risk ruining it! lol Don't undersell yourself and keep in mind that stuff that costs YOU more, needs to cost THEM more

Thanks for the great advice Tina, I never really thought of it that way and I have been charging drastically less than the other artists in my area. I travel 20miles of my zip code at $50/hr and that includes full or cheeky art. I recently started charging for my table/chairs setup, I was lugging them around for free! This site has been soooo enlightening. Everyone on here is great for the tips and info they share! I am not going to be doing glitter tats anymore unless they pay for it. Maybe I can train my 11yr old to do them, she usually comes to help me setup and get the kids to make their selections anyways. Might be a nice little way to supplement her allowance...

Thanks for the advice! It's always appreciated! I told my friend I asked ya'll, and I decided to charge her 100%, she'll pay for 2 hours, depending on how many people we guess will get them, and if we do a few over that's okay, but not too many over. I think you guys gave me the guts to charge full price. Thank you!

Erica's Funny Faces wrote:That sounds fair, I'm kinda kicking myself for agreeing to do them at my regular rate! Grrrr, what was I thinking?!?! I also looked at what I have for glitter tats and I'm afraid it isn't much, I am really drooling over this kit that I found in another thread.... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Pro-Body-Tattoo-Glitter-Deluxe-Kit-38-colors-Powders-Stencil-Set-/180938905149?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a20cc963d I would order it because it's a far better deal than the tulip kit I bought. I'm just afraid I won't get it in time since the party is the 28th.

I would suggest that instead of purchasing an item that isn't required to follow FDA guidelines and requires such a varied wait time for delivery that you assemble your kit manually. You can get quite a bit for around the same amount of money buying from companies in the US and you'd be supporting this economy. Faketoos and Not Quite Tattoos have some of the best stencil designs and best shipping rates. You can get glitter & glue that you know will be cosmetic grade from several reputable sources. And the best part is that you can get it in a few days without worry.

Thanks Lady Jayde, I recieved my kit already but I do have an order growing with faketoos as well love his stencils! I basically just ordered this kit so that I didnt have to shop around alot and for the glue because I hear the moonlight is the best... it also gives me alot of glitters, stencils, etc. to get a running start. (I am working a big banquet party and needed some variety) I will have to look at this Not Quite Tattoos you mentioned though, first time hearing of them.