Wow! I have had a mindblowing weekend at a business conference – with a difference.

Big Hearted Business – presented by Clare Bowdich

What an amazing journey, in a nut shell it is: “do what you love, make money and save the world” Certainly business philosophy that resonates with me. A month or so ago I bought a ticket to this event, not quite sure of what to expect – and I’m not entirely sure of how to describe it now either. I am so glad I treated myself to this experience. The weekend was executed by a truly loving group of people, with the amazing Clare Bowdich at the helm. I have left feeling so mushy, loved up, nourished and inspired on many levels. My eyes keep leaking a little.

on a practical level, we were fed many useful tips on running a small business from marketing, social networking, blogging, planning and much more. The speaker list was a who’s who of amazing creative (big hearted) business people including:

Rachel Power, Jane Martino, Catherine Deveny, Pip Lincoln, Lucy Feagins, Kemi Nekvapil, Darren Rowse, Isobel Knowles, Kylie Lewis, Natalie Harker, and of course Clare Bowdich.

My notebook is filled with many inspirations and tips from all of these talented folk. In addition to the practical know how, we were treated to so many delights, crafternoon sessions, amazing catering – beautiful wholesome food, beautiful surroundings courtesy of styling by Lucy Feagins, meditations, singing in harmony with Clare, a champane party finale and goodie bags to take home. Then, of course, there was all of the wonderful people who attended, who were all open and ready to connect wholeheartedly with each other. We have established an online group to maintain these connections with each other. The event was filled with honesty, raw at times with emotion and so full of heart.

YIPPEE!

if you are seeking information to assist you in your creative endeavors then consider signing up to the Big hearted business mailing list for business and creativity tips.

Quite a few other attendees have blogged about this event too, here are some links to some that I have come across so far:

Meet me at mikes, Sarah Phillips Dean,  Kelly Zarb ,  Lily Mae, Sue Haliday,

If I have missed yours please leave me a comment so I can read it.

Also there are some fantastic quotes from the speakers on twitter #bhb2013

I was too busy experiencing to take photos, of course I’m kicking myself now – here’s a couple I managed. Plenty more on the blog posts above though, and some beautiful sketches on Lily Mae’s post..

thankyou sponsors – the goodie bag was wonderful! I think it’s only right that I go and support the sponsors – I’m eyeing off a Polli necklace now

my heart is singing

Hello Painting Friends,

Wow, what  busy year 2012 was! I hope you are easing nicely into 2013. February – the month of romance  ahhhh I hope you are planning some lovely Valentines day treats for your loved ones.

I have a valentine’s treat for you, my reader. I am offering a 20% discount on my new ebook; Face Painting with Ambah: a step x step guide to 22 popular designs. The discount will be applied in the store for the month of February.

This ebook features 22 designs that I have created over the last year or so.

I am also working on a sequel, with more popular designs including zombie, sugar skull and mermaid. Stay tuned to hear more about that and sign up for the latest news to  recieve any special offers I have when I release it.

Meanwhile you can download an excerpt from this  ebook here, included is the cover page, contents and a free design to try out.

New workshop dates for 2013 are over here with booking information here. I will add some more for later in the year too.

Happy Painting!

Ambah

xx

Workshop Dates 2012:

Happy New Year Painting Friends,

So you’re ready to take your face painting passion (obsession) to a new level and are ready to let the world know about your business. Here are some promotion ideas.

Buisness Cards: you will need some business cards with your details, online companies like Vistaprint offer great rates and options for you to use their templates or upload your own design. Print plenty of cards so you can freely give them away. TIP: some painters include removal instructions on one side of their business card as extra incentive for parents to take the cards with them.

Markets and Local Events: If you have time on your hands it is a great promotional tool to get out there and paint in your community. Painting at markets will allow people in your area see what you have to offer. Generally these are “pay per face” events where you charge the parent for each face you paint, this may not be as profitable as painting at an hourly rate, but it is a great way to get exposure on the days you don’t have bookings.

Special Offers:Promote a special offer such as upgrading a booking, you may wish to offer free balloons or extra painting time. If you are starting out and don’t feel ready to charge the going rate for your services yet you could offer a “Opening Special” with a discount of perhaps 20% to customers. You could promote these offers by an ad in the local paper, posters on local notice boards ads in local school newsletters. Vista print also have postcards available, these are great to send off to potential customers with a special offer.

Internet: What a great tool the internet is, you can do much to create free/low cost promotion here. Start a facebook page about your buisness, set up a website – even just a simple one will be great for your promotion. Find local businesses sympathetic to what you are offering and offer reciprical links – where you link to their website from yours and they return the favour.  if you are painting at markets or charity events for self promotion ask if they are willing to have a link to your website on their site.

Networking: Painting with other facepainters is great fun, and it can be very helpful to work with each other during busy events. Find local painters you connect with and work out a reciprical arrangement to help each other during busy times.

I hope there are some useful ideas there for you, I look forward to reading your promotion tips in the comments below.

Workshop Dates 2012:

I have been busy creating festive step x step designs for my shop. I currently have a special offer on all 14 Christmas designs for only $9.99 .  Visit my shop here to see  my other available designs which I am regularly adding to.

To continue the Christmas theme, here is a Rudolph video tutorial for you to try:

Rudolph face painting video link

Workshop Dates 2012:

I have been busy creating festive step x step designs for my shop. I currently have a special offer on all 14 Christmas designs for only $9.99 . Below I have published the Angel design, this is in the package and gives you an idea of what the downloadable sheets available in my store look like. Visit my shop here to see  my other available designs which I am regularly adding to.

Workshop Dates 2012:

Design Preperation:

Generally I find that the more I plan and sketch my designs before painting the better the end result will be. Using a template – an outline of the body, I try out different arrangements to see which will flow well before painting it on the body. This gives me confidence to paint quickly, as I don’t need to spend precious painting time working out the design.

Preperation tips for the Model:

I ask my models to exfoliate and moisturise well for a few days prior to being painted , this helps the paint go on nicely and will also make it easier to wash off after.

On the day of the paint, I ask my model not to wear any perfume or deoderant, as this can interfere with the makeup. I also ask that they moisturise well before the painting time to allow it to soak into the skin.

I ask them to bring old, dark clothes to wear home after the paint.

Cleaning it off

Generally I suggest the model rub baby shampoo over her dry body while standing in the shower before turning the water on as this will help to wash the makeup off.

Tools & products

Typically I use the same make up products as I do for face painting, the paint goes along way.

Brushes as per face painting and also I like to use the Mehron or Mark Reid body brush to cover large areas for the base. This differs to face painting where we use a sponge. The sponge is less efficient for bodypainting, brushes are definately the faster way to go!

I also use a fixing spray to set the paint after I have finished so that it will stand up to being worn for a few hours.

Underwear

I prefer briefs with a nylon content as the pure cotton ones are harder to paint over – they absorb much more paint and end up a much lighter colour than the body painted areas.

My preference is seam -full briefs or g-strings avilable form Target, I also by strapless bras of similar material for the more modest events. Below is an image form a job I painted for last weekend. I used full brief & bra, which are hardly distinguishable from the skin. I pre-painted the underwear as I only had 3 hours to paint both bodies.

tip: to keep the underwear in place I glue the tops with pros-aid adheisive

There are plenty of nipple covers on the market. I avoid the silicone kind, as they are really thick and are very obvious even when painted over. I prefer a thin latex kind, made for body painting, or I also use a thin fabric type that I can get from Bras & things in Australia, see the image below. they paint over really well, and are inexpensive. I am sure you would be able to find similar in other countries.

Its nice to bring a dressing gown along for your model to use, and remember to look after them. Allow them breaks, encourage them to drink and eat and make sure they are warm enough.

now you’re ready to paint!

go for it and have some fun, you will only learn by trying it out.