There she sat.. A little butterfly on the train...I did not quiver or grimace or duck as I normally might at the site of such a creature in an enclosed space, but instead I watched her happily rest on her mother's arm. Why was this creature on the 1 train to Harlem? Simple, she was on her was back home from a birthday party, exhausted from the day's events and satisfied with the happiness she experienced moments ago. This butterfly had braids, wore a pink t-shirt and a denim skirt and reminded me much of myself as a young girl. Ok so the butterfly is really a girl, but I enjoy taking some creative license with these blog posts. 4th of July weekend has come and gone, and while my own weekend was very quiet, the image of the girl with the butterfly painted on her face reminded me of how the simplest things fill children with glee!

Face painting has emerged as a popular addition to many children's parties and reminds me of a transformative effect similar to that I experienced as a young girl, playing "kiddies carnival" in Trinidad, decked head to toe in costume, glitter on my face and beads in my hair. While this girl on the train had a very simple design on her own face, complete with intricate pinks wings covering her eyes, forehead and check, and with glitter gleaming strategically on the edges...it was enough to make her happy and make her feel special.

There is so little good, simple, clean fun left in the world so I would definitely encourage anyone hosting a children's party or other youth focused event to hire a face painter. Many face painters can be hired by the hour, can provide you with galleries of their artwork, present you with new and current options, and are probably former/current art students putting their talents to good, practical use! Face painting can be as crude as work done with face paint crayons and as "fancy" as those done by airbrush..Either way, once done carefully and artistically (and quickly...kids don't sit still for too long!) it will surely be delightful :)

I found an instructional video for a bit more involved butterfly than the one I saw, but I thought it was very helpful: Butterfly Face Paint

Also I have included some pictures of my favorite faces that I found online. Click on the links for the original source and to see a larger image!

In conclusion, if you have any artistic talent, why not do some face painting at your next kids party? Or call around to find a face painter in your area, they are typically inexpensive and the kids are guaranteed to love it. What will you become?? :)

Butterfly Girls



Green Goblin



T-Rex!



Tiger Cat



Spidey Face!