First B-day Party Tomorrow... eep!

I have been hobby painting on and off for a few years now and have become obsessed over the past year or so. I paint my kids, neighborhood kids, and at their school after-care. I recently told DH that I'd like to give it a go, and work toward actually doing it professionally... eep! I got insurance a couple days ago, then called my friend who is having her daughters b-day party tomorrow and offered to come paint in order to get the experience. She was part of a group of friends that chipped in a couple months ago and got me an amazon gift card to get more FP supplies and support my habit. I have awesome friends! She also has worked on me (she's a chiropractor) free when money was tight, she's a mom of 3, one special needs, and recently became a foster mom to a friends son who also has autism. ANYHOW, I thought it would be a good way for me to repay her kindnesses and get my toes wet and see how I do with real live kids. I mean, ones that aren't mine and I cant bribe to sit still for goodness sake!

I just needed to share. I'm very excited and nervous. She and other friends that wil be there have seen the work that I post on FB, but painting Olof on my thigh is totally different than a squirmy 6 year old. I have to decide what my rate will be in case other parents ask after the party. I think I'll see how tomorrow goes and decide based on how well I think I do. I know pros in my area are $80-$100/hour but their stuff is amazing! I also don't want to undercut, so am trying to be realistic. Thinking $60/hour, especially since I'm slower and can't get as many faces done in an hour as they probably can.

Thanks for listening, any advice is welcome.

Oh, and I'm not going to put myself out there at the lower price, just for friends right now. :-)

Sounds good... I did start off a little cheaper and then go from there, I have also found that kids that aren't mine sit stiller than my own kids.

It was so much fun! Because I just called my friend and offered to do it for free as a practice run, we hadn't talked about duration... I stayed longer than I expected, about 2.5 hours. I'll need to have clear limits next time around!

It was a fun group of differently-abled kids, so I got to be challenged with different scenarios like the brush tickling, sudden moving, sensitivity to the sponge, and my favorite, reminding me that I didn't put the dot in just the exact same place that I had in the picture. smile emoticon I loved these kids!

They all loved it and the parents were super impressed. A few people took my business card, one who helps run an event for Downs Syndrome. She mentioned that they already have a painter but could probably use two. That would be interesting to maneuver without stepping on the other painters toes... I'll cross that bridge if she calls!

They kept saying how fast I was, and I did feel like I was cruising along, but I only did 17 faces/arms in 2.5 hours. I'm working on getting familiar with all the designs so I don't need to look at a picture for reference, that will help.

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Drat, can't seem to get the sizing right. Ah well...

your work is really good. I would start charging about $75/hr min 2 hour bookings for the first year. Then when you get better/faster (which won't be long from the looks of it), up it to $100/hr

17 in an hour isn't bad. The average is about 10-12 in an hour. keep on your times and make sure that you don't spend more then 5min per kid (total time in the chair, not just painting).

For 10 awesome tips for to speed up your face painting, check out this link!
10 Tips For Faster Face Painting

Good luck!

That Totoro is super cute!

glad you had a good time, nice work!