I can't remember how much we paid for the face paint at a local carnival last month, which I later let them wear to my symphony concertSome people in the audience that night weren't amused.  In fact, those some people weren't amused my kids were there at all. To those some people, I say, Tough Noogies.  Go find a concert that doesn't let in all children under the age of eighteen for free if you don't want to see my better-behaved-at-a-concert-than-most-adults kids sitting in the back with their father while you listen to one of the noisiest symphonies in the repertoire. Some of us in the world still think it's awesome to expose kids to classical music before they're too old to learn to hate it and hope that those efforts will contribute to the notdying of the art form.

What I do remember about the face painting booth is it was a bit more expensive than the typical face painter at a local carnival, but not a lot more.  One woman walked up while we were standing there, asked how much, and then stomped away, muttering to her disappointed kid that it was way too expensive.  I believe she expected the usual $5, teenage kid paints a heart on your kid's cheek with watercolors from a drug store and if that's what had been provided, I might have thought it was expensive too.  I had enough cash in my pocket to pay for both of the Shortlings and when she finished the first one, The KoH and I looked at each other and said, "TOTALLY worth it!" and then started scheming how we could combine the girls' birthday parties next year and make this artist the main attraction.  She based all the face paint designs she did that day to the outfit each model was wearing so every one was completely unique and individualized.

I'm not being compensated in any way to rave about and subsequently link to Face Creations by Mama Mia.  I just think that when you find someone who does their job very, very well, they should stay around for awhile and others should know about them. Go keep her in business, people.