Cases or boxes to hold everything?

I am in need of some ideas to hold everything neatly in place so that it's not all over the place when I set up. I was thinking about maybe strapping some of those plastic drawers to my carryall frame but I saw another post about using magnets to keep things from being carried away. That's a good idea! I need to be portable and not kill myself lifting it too. I hope that makes sense.

Anyway, I am on a limited budget so I wondered what you did to keep everything together.

Gr8ful, a lot of people like the FatMax. Here's a pic of my setup, that I use for festivals and markets and such. The benefit of it is that I use it as a table so I don't need to take a table. I got mine on sale at Canadian Tire, it was $86. It is heavy though. (There are more pics of it in my gallery)



However, for house parties I don't take the FM, it's too big, so I made a more portable kit. I have one of those soft-sided coolers with wheels and a pull-out handle. I can fit all three of my plastic tubs of paint in there (yes I'm up to three tubs of paints now LOL), as well my water basin, brushes, etc. I also have a tote bag (from Metina's shop) that I put the rest of my stuff in - my book of designs, wipes, sponges. It's actually all fairly lightweight.

I didn't spend much money on my portable set - the tubs were $2 each at the dollar store, and I put some of that rubbery shelf-liner stuff in the bottom so the paints don't slide around. The brush holder is a popsicle maker. And I already had the cooler but if I hadn't - I think they are about $20 (?) at Canadian Tire.

I'm thinking of trading in my plastic tubs for some wooden trays with the magnets. But I'll probably make my own trays, the jewelry cases are kind of expensive. I tried to make something out of an old backgammon game case but it didn't work too well - the wood was warped.

Anyway, I hope some of this gives you some ideas. I love looking at people's setups, post yours when you get it together!

Thank you so much! I've never seen one in a store so I will have to go look at them. The "table" is already on it? It looks interesting enough that when I go to town tomorrow I will stop in @ CT or Home Depot to have a close look. I need something, that's for sure. I will take some pics of what I am using now and post them but it's storage and portability only..nothing to hold them together while painting.

There's a heck of a thunderstorm brewing so I might have to post the pics later if it hits any closer than it already is. My poor dd (13) was out riding her bike and had to make a pit stop at Grampa's to borrow his van to bring home the last 2 miles because she was so scared to ride with all the lightening. Good thinking imho.

my FatMax goes to house parties, but I guess as a clown I might have to bring more stuff? It's a little bit heavy but the fact that everything that I need all fits into one container and I never have to move it from one box to another makes it perfect for me. I can't forget anything because it's always there.

Top compartment


Bottom compartments

No, I made the table top out of a piece of thin board with trim around the edge. It sits on top. I bungee it to the front of the FM when packed up. Lots of people have "laptop" paint containers that they open up and set across the top.

I like using the tubs to hold my paints - I just slap one big lid on each one and put them away. I don't put the lids back on each individual paint container any more. This is so much quicker.

This is what I have to stuff into my soft side picnic basket bag amd please excuse the messy shelf behind my table:

where did you get those great pink stencils?

I found the stencils at WalMart in the craft section. I thought they would be perfect for those kids that want stuff I don't yet know how to do. Like little cheek horses and cheek kitties and...? All I have to do is add the detail. ;D I also have foam stampers which I do the same thing with when I have loads of kids and no or few helpers. They make it quick and easy but I don't have as much pride in those because they aren't "my own". They are there for when I am in a pinch or for those who don't want to help me because mine are "better". That kinda frustrates me so these help eliminate that.

I've never seen anyone with Disguise Stix in their kit... do you load your brush sponge right from the stick? How does it blend? It is soap based I believe, isn't it?

And for carrying kit I'm using a shopping trolley... Co-op (you are in Saskatchewan, there must be one on your block! ) has them for $9.99. I got one to use for my tatt kit. My main kit trolley is bigger - you can see it http://shannonfennell.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/face-painting-for-2011/

When I was doing airbrush tatts I used those craft stencils too... I cut them up and duct taped around the edge to make a sheild for the overspray. There are some cute designs.

I'm contmplating something like this as it can be fully loaded for full day festivals but breaks down for parties.. I mean why carry 100 sponges for a 1hr gig right?
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/BLACK-MAKEUP-BEAUTY-TROLLEY-STORAGE-CASE-SBS-04-/270730512703?pt=AU_Makeup&hash=item3f08cbc93f

Shannon Fennell wrote:I've never seen anyone with Disguise Stix in their kit...

Uh oh..is that a good thing or a bad thing Shannon? I bought them at Dance Street and that used to be my main paint because the rest wasn't very good. I still like them so I hope they are okay to use?

I have a luggage trolley and was going to use that if I can figure out how to stack some sort of storage drawers on there for convenience. I bought a sewing box on kijiji but it's too heavy so I am back to looking for those plastic shelving units with shallow drawers so I can just leave my paints inside the drawers. When I set up now I have supplies all over the place and it doesn't look very professional. I will have a look at the link you provided after I send this.

Thank you.

JBM...ahhhh drooling. I have looked at those online...dreaming...too steep for my blood...well at least right now. I will look again if I pull in some money

yeah they've been on the wishlist for a while. But if they are quality and durable and work I'll always pay the extra for something that will be professional and last the distance.. hopefully one of the pros will weigh in on them...

Ahhhhh...JBM, now that's kinda what I was thinking of but that's more than I have to spend. I will keep checking WallyWorld and thrift stores. ;D

Shannon your new setup looks really nice, and Your wild in the jungle costume design is awesome..I was crackin up

Gr8ful wrote:..is that a good thing or a bad thing Shannon? I bought them at Dance Street and that used to be my main paint because the rest wasn't very good. I still like them so I hope they are okay to use?

I've never used them or seen them in person. So I was curious about how they actually worked - most painters I know haven't used them either. I didn't mean to imply anything! Sorry to scare you.

It is just such a strange way to market a face paint IYKWIM???

eva wrote: and Your wild in the jungle costume design is awesome..I was crackin up

That's what I was going for...

Whew! I was worried about them after you mentioned that you'd never seen them. For a while that's all I could get here, both at Spotlite Dance (now closed) and Dance Street.

I love them. I use a sponge or a brush and they give better color that blends nicely than other paints I was finding here. Of course, my experience with paints is pretty limited so far and I am learning a LOT from this site but I found them convenient and they last a long time. Now that I know about a whole new world of face painting I will have more products to try out. YAY! I have 2 extra whites in the Disguise Stix so if you want I will send you one to try? An honest opinion from a professional will be well worth the postage IMHO.

PM me and I'll exchange addresses with you - I'll trade you for it.

As a newcomer to the forums, I don't know if anyone's posted about this, but it looks really good on the site - individual places for brushes/sponges etc.... if only it wasn't so much money:

http://www.creativityinc.com/node/278&m=product_catalog

What do you think?

Hi Helena. I had a look and it won't work for me but thank you for sharing the link. I am looking for "the lazy painter's tote". Something that I can store and use my paints without having to take it all out. Like shallow pull-out drawers on a rolling tote. I don't know if such a thing exists so I think I am just going to get some of those scrapbook drawers, put some rubber liners on the bottom and put my paints on top so they don't skid around. A drawer can be for brushes, paints in another, glitter tat supplies in another, alcohol swabs and wipes etc in another, that sort of thing. When I am painting, I can just pull out the paint drawer and not have to take everything out every time. I want to economize the space I take up so that I am as light and portable as possible. I already have a camp table that rolls up into a bag so that can be strapped to my luggage tote too. Voila...Lazy woman's guide to portable face painting. I just have to find the drawers for cheaper than Micheal's sells them.

What about the Gracious Living stack of 3 at Canadian Tire right now?

Arrgghhh. We were even at CT today Noella. I will see if it comes up online and have a look. Thank you for the lead! I know what I want but I can't seem to find it. Typical. LOL

Jysk... they have lots of stuff like that cheap. I all them the cheap IKEA.

And big dollar stores like Dollarama have a lot of storage type things.

Yup...that's exactly the sort of thing I mean. Micheals has some really nice sized ones but they want 39.99 for a 3 drawer one and I'm out of 40% off coupons.
Ohhhh I forgot about Dollarama. Sheesh! Great suggestion! Thank you. It's times like this when I wish we were closer to the city. I can't exactly drive back in now. Sigh..oh well. At least I have some great leads and I will be hitting the local JYSK and Dollarama next time I go in.