One of Amanda's Guests
Oh what a lovely surprise!
My lovely client Amanda posted a surprise review for me on Yelp.com. I am so happy and excited about that.
In the past, Yelp has not allowed my clients’ reviews to show. I think Amanda’s made it through because she already had an account there and she had reviewed other establishments. They are very picky about reviews and reviewers.
Yay! Here it is in all it’s lovely glory: Yelp Reviews for Bright & Shining Face Painting
Thanks, Amanda!
“I hired Michelle to do face painting and balloons at Chickfila for my son’s birthday party. I had to get approval from Chickfila to bring her in but they were ok with it since we didn’t have a huge party. We had 7 kids and a couple of adults getting their faces painted. She also does balloons for parties but, in our case, made them ahead of time since they don’t give you a huge window of time at a Chickfila party (an hour for the party and 30 minutes for clean up). I paid Michelle using paypal (easy!) and gave her plenty of info via email on what the kids are into. My little one is a Yo Gabba Gabba fanatic. My older boy (and his friends) are crazy about Mario. She arrived promptly and did a fantastic job painting faces. After painting was done, she brought in the balloons she had pre-made. She made a balloon for EVERY single character from Yo Gabba Gabba. And she made a Mario balloon as well. Amazingly, all of these balloons really were identical to the characters! She obviously invested a lot of time looking at images so she could be sure to get it right. I highly recommend her for entertaining if you’re looking for a face painter or balloon maker. Fantastic job!”
~Amanda in Columbia, MD
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I just loved this intimate little birthday party:
“Hi Michelle,
We had a great time with you yesterday, thanks again for doing such a special job with the kids. So funny that ALL the girls wanted to be butterflies! It was wonderful that you were able to create variety amongst all those butterflies, I could see how you really thought about each girl and gave different touches and flourishes to suit their personalities. But I was most taken by the design you chose for our Lucy girl. Not sure if my husband explained our situation with Lucy, but she was born with a devastating metabolic disease and she is profoundly disabled… Lucy is in her own little world most days, comfortable and at peace, but very very fragile. She is the center of our lives and our family, and we feel so lucky that she is comfortable and at home with us. The winter angel / fairy design was so touching to me – it looked so beautiful on her but it almost enlivened her facial expression a bit (she does not make eye contact or smile…). I really loved it, so thank you.
The other Moms were really impressed as well. Everyone kept saying how professional the work looked and I told them that you were the consummate professional throughout. I was just so impressed by your work.
And thank you again for being such a special part of Audrey’s party yesterday.
Warmly,
Christine T., Washington, D.C.”
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What a fun summer party! We had a great time and even the birthday boy’s dad wants to get in on the action next time:
The Littlest Zombie!
“Thanks, Michelle. The kids loved it. Great pics too! Next time I want to be a zombie.”
~Reed R. in Columbia, Maryland
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I had such a fun time at Kome’s party! The kids were great and they loved the balloon show. Here is Kome’s review:
“I could not have had it any other way, everyone said my best party ever. Thanks to you, all the mums I spoke with today said the kids did not want to wash their faces! I would call you again in a heart beat you are the best. The kids would have taken you home if that was an option. Thanks so much, Michelle.
Kome O. from Clarksville, Maryland”
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four weeks of freedom:
no swirls, curls, teardrops from me…
time to stretch my wings
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Here are photos of my Face & Body Art work from the last 3-4 months.
Click the Thumbnails to enlarge – and find out why each photo is dear to my heart.
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Tee he he!
I thought this was a funny twist from a non-face painter’s point of view:
Rainbow Cake
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I took a little trip to the Container Store today in Rockville, MD.
It was so awesome!
I needed some new kit organization after Face Painting for 9 weekends at the Maryland Renaissance Festival.
Here are some pictures of my new set up:
Here is what I changed:
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- I bought a rockin’ new Black Case that I love to pieces. It is a lot lighter and less bulky than the ubiquitous metal tool box from Home Depot/Silly Farm. Plus it lays open almost completely flat so I don’t have to transfer stuff from the case to the table or worry about the thing shutting or falling. It has a nice handle and I can also add a shoulder strap.
- I got a “Professional Face Painter” tote as a Free Gift from Metina’s Face Paint Forum Shop. Weeee! It would be worth the $10 anyway – it has a nice flat bottom and wide shoulder strap. I do wish the bottom was reinforced with a stiffy (that’s what she said!) but it is lovely so far (NOTE: Metina let me know that there is a stiffy included with the bags! I just misplaced mine. I found it and tried it all together and there is no sagging. Wee!!). Into my tote goes everything I can’t fit into my Black Case.
- I have all my TAG Body Art palettes organized by color on the left side of the Black Case when open. The palettes get closed up when they are in the case so they don’t shift around or fall out.
- On the right side of the open Black Case I have my few pots of Kryolan, Snaz, and Paradise plus my Black and White and Rainbow cakes and my water containers + wipes.
- I also changed out my water containers – I need a wide shallow one for my sponges and a tall narrow one for my brush water. I bought the brush one (dark plastic rectangular box) at the Container Store.
- I bought one of those Lipstick holders to keep my glitter, fan, and Green Marble handy.
- For my clean sponges, I switched out using a HUUUUUUUUGE mesh bag and now I’m keeping 26 sponges in a mesh collapsible cube. The dirty ones still go into a mesh laundry bag on the side.
- I decided to try out using my new TAG One Stroke Split Cakes with my regular kit to see how I like them. They are in a 3 drawer acrylic thingy. I tried to take pictures to show how the cakes fit nicely into the drawers.
- I’m keeping a few of my self sticky rhinestones in the bottom drawer.
- The rest of my loose jewels are inside/under my Brush Easel.
So there it is.
I timed myself unpacking and then repacking and I finished in under 2 minutes both times.
My next step is to get my picture display easier to carry, then my table, then my chair…. then the WORLD!!! Muahahahahahahahhahahahaaaaaa… ahem.
The Container Store Product Descriptions and Codes:
17″ x 14″ x 4-1/2″ h Commercial-Grade Case Black
Item # 10014001
Acrylic Lipstick & Pencil Cube Clear
Item # 854100
Small 3-Drawer Acrylic Box Clear
Item # 388350
5-1/2″ Folding Mesh Cube Black
Item # 10005355
Amac Box Turquoise: 1-3/16″ sq. x 2-7/16″ h
Item # 10022858
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1. Lucie Brouillard
2. Alison Kenyon
3. Nick Herrera
4. Olivier Zegers
5. Catriona Finlayson-Wilkins
Who are your top 5 Face Painter Crushes?
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COLUMBIA – - And achieves her own dreams in the process.
Michelle's Satisfied Customers
“The Maryland Renaissance Festival has always been a lofty goal of mine,” says Michelle “Heff” Heffner, the owner and lead artist behind Bright & Shining Face Painting. “This is the event which I am always questioned about. At every birthday party, corporate picnic and holiday party we service, there is at least one family that asks if I have ever face painted at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. And now I can say ‘Why yes! Will I see you there?’”
Michelle started her face painting business in Columbia, MD in a fairly typical fashion: she painted the children at her daughter’s birthday party. Paintbrush in hand, she turned the guests into fantasy creatures. “Boy, was that a hot mess,” Michelle recalls, “It took me almost 2 hours to paint less than 10 kids and I had no idea what was actually going on at the party!”
Now 2 years and many birthday parties later, she has achieved her goal of working as a face painter at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. She met her contact through her local network of professional face painters. “We all watch out for each other and try to help our friends realize their own goals,” Michelle says, “And now all of my face painting friends are jealous!”
Look for Michelle at the Body Parts Face Painting booth at the Maryland Renaissance Festival this season. She will be the face painter with the wild red hair and the over-joyed smile on her face.
Click this link to see Photos of designs painted by Michelle Heffner at the 2010 Maryland Renaissance Festival.
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Contact: Michelle Heffner
Michelle.Heffner@gmail.com
443-878-2654
www.brightandshining.com
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