Step 2: a pair of hands holding small tie dye party spray bottles over a shirt
January 7, 2021 kscope

Our tie dye party stations are available in CT, MA, RI, and NH and are the perfect addition to parties in looking for hands-on activities for guests!

What To Expect with a Tie Dye Party Station:

  1. When your guests approach the station, a professional artist will help them twist and band their shirt.
  2. Next, they’ll pick up a spray bottle and begin spraying the colors of their choice into the fabric.
  3. Finally, they’ll either place their (still damp) creation in the sun to dry or directly into a gallon bag (whichever makes the most sense for your event) to take home.
  4. In their bag will be a set of care instructions. At home, they can take their apparel and either iron it or throw it in the dryer on high to set the dye.

Why We Spray, Not Dip:

  • Traditional dip-dye requires tons of water, requires a long dry-time, and makes a huge mess. (None of which are ideal for a scheduled event!)
  • Our spray dyes can be easily applied to clothing by any age of guest without making a mess on themselves or the event venue.
  • The spray-dye effect on the apparel will leave more white than traditional dip-dye (as you can see from the photos in the above gallery), but also uses significantly less liquid–meaning that even large events don’t need a large drying station or long dry times.
  • Spray-dye stations are easier to transport and set up, saving clients unnecessary set-up fees.

Tie Dye Party Station Considerations:

Mess: while our spray-dye is low mess, some dye may find it’s way onto the ground or guests’ clothing. While the dye is washable until is set with heat, we encourage you to keep your station outside in the shade during the warmer months and remind your guests to wear comfortable clothing.

Set Up: Our artists need a few things for a successful set up. We bring everything else!

  • A large folding table (or two) ideally outside to control the mess
  • A folding chair
  • If outside: a spot in the shade (if outside during warm months for artist and guest safety) or with adequate lighting (if at night)

Garbage Can: Guests will be given disposable (latex-free) gloves to keep the mess to a minimum. A garbage can (or even just a garbage bag) will help control the mess.

Dry Station: While guests can instantly put their spray-dyed creations into a gallon bag (which we provide), we’ve found the best results allow shirts to dry on the ground or a folding table in the sun. A designated drying area is helpful but not required, depending on how your event is being planned.

Large Events: For events over 50 people, we recommend several additional tables labeled in alphabetical order where guests can let their creations dry and then easily find their apparel before leaving. Please discuss the logistical considerations of large scale events with our office.

Tie Dye Party Pricing:

Tie dye stations parties include one or more professional artists (depending on your event size), a canvas drop cloth to keep the station clean, and all the dye, rubber bands, gloves, gallon bags, and laminated care instructions that your event will need.

Our stations are priced by the hour for all of the above labor and supplies and take into account the number of guests at your event.

We can additionally provide 100% cotton apparel, or you can supply your own apparel at the event when the artist arrives.

Contact our office for pricing of labor/supplies as well as apparel options.

April 6, 2020 kscope

Ever wonder what’s in face paint? (Is it really paint? Does it have any peanuts, soy, milk, or animal products? What about latex? Heavy metals?) What about perfumes? Is it okay for sensitive skin?

We use only 2 supplies for 2 brands of face paint–“face paint” being a misnomer since what we really put on children’s faces is kid-friendly makeup.  Face paint should never be done with actual paints! Our makeup is free of cancer-causing metals, unlike actual paint, all safe for skin, and cruelty-free.

Below is a full list of all of our face paint brands and their ingredient lists. If you have any additional questions, please contact our office during the booking process and we’d be happy to answer them!

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April 6, 2020 kscope

If you and your family have fallen head over heals for these happy, adorable, colorful creatures, and you’re looking to make your party head-to-toe Trolls inspired–we’ve got the designs and party entertainment that’s just right for you!

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April 6, 2020 kscope

Unicorn Themed Party Ideas

New Ideas and Activities for Unicorn Parties

At Kaleidoscope, we’ve been doing Unicorn parties for almost a decade.  We’ve seen the trend go from My Little Ponies to something so much more glittery, sparkly, and iridescent.  In fact, the trend has grown so much that our office staff had a “Unicorn Meeting” so we could brainstorm all the great ways we can make your Unicorn party super original and memorable!  Here they are–take a look, and when you think you’ve found some good choices, our booking specialist can help you with a quote: 

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April 6, 2020 kscope

So, did your kid ask you for a Baby Shark-themed party—and you’re thinking, “What could I even do with that?” 

Baby Shark is not a new song—but when the entertainment brand Pinkfong released its new rendition of the old nursery song in 2016, Baby Shark rose to unprecedented popularity, and unlike absolutely everything else in the world, babies and children everywhere still love Baby Shark.   So it’s no surprise you want to throw your child a Baby Shark themed party! At Kaleidoscope, we hear this request all the time, and as Professional Fun Makers, here are some of our suggestions as to how Kaleidoscope can help you throw the best Baby Shark themed party for your kid.

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April 6, 2020 kscope

After 10 years in the event entertainment industry, we have a pretty good idea as to which weekends are best and worst for throwing events. Our office team actually keeps track of the busiest event weekends of the year (or, at least the busiest for CT, RI, MA, and NH) to help our clients pick make great choices when picking a day to throw their party.

Here are a few general rules:

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September 14, 2019 kscope

Marissa at the “Angels en la Casa” show at Art Space, Hartford, showing off body painting in 2013. Marissa won the show’s “People’s Choice” category for her contribution and began working with Kaleidoscope shortly after.

Marissa is a professional party entertainer based out of West Hartford, CT who began her career as a theme park face painter during her summers in college. After finishing her B.A. in Art from CCSU, she dove head-first into her love of face painting and completed her Special Effects Makeup certification from La Bella Makeup School in Danbury.

Marissa started at Kaleidoscope in 2013 and is available to entertain at your event for almost any type of party entertainment we offer including:

Marissa also works in the Kaleidoscope office as the Head of Talent and is involved in hiring, training, and managing all of our amazing party artists, as well as with anything else the office might need. (If you’ve had one of our artists at your event, odds are they were trained by Marissa!)

See some of her verified reviews here:

When and why did you start Face and Body Painting?

I started working as a face painter at a theme park as a summer job. I was in art school and I needed extra income for when my on-campus graphic design job paused for the summer. The first time I picked up a face painting brush it filled me with joy–I wanted to do it forever!

What’s your favorite art form (or performance etc) to do here?

I still have huge love for face painting, but I think tarot and mentalism are my favorites now. I have less opportunities to do them (they’re more niche than most services we provide) and I love connecting with people when I do them!

If you could only pick one, would you rather do face painting or balloon twisting forever and why?

Ahhhh that’s hard…. maybe balloon twisting (even if I love face painting more) just because I’ve mastered face painting, and it’s literally endless what I could do and learn with balloons!

What are people’s reactions when you tell them You’re a professional party entertainer?

They’re in disbelief that this is a real job! Most people don’t think arts jobs exist, but they do and I wishes we conveyed that message to the public. The working artists I know aren’t “starving” or “depressed”. We love our work, we have financial goals, and we know how lucky we are to be here. I truly love being a face painter, and I have plenty of other artist friends who have amazing niche jobs.

What is one surprising fact about you?

I don’t paint or draw for fun anymore! People assume that since this is my job, but like everyone else I want to clock out of work and relax at the end of the day. I normally garden, read, or exercise to unwind after work.

What do you think your superpower as an Face Painter or Balloon Twister is?

I love making kids laugh and feel good, including shy ones! I used to be a classroom teacher, so I’m also patient with the not-so-shy ones. (And I think that energy goes even farther than good art!)

What was the most memorable party you ever entertained at?

I have a horrible fear of heights (not falling, just being high) and I was once scheduled for the top of a sky scraper… in a pent house in Boston…. on an open balcony. I still managed to get through the event, but I don’t know how!

What is the biggest factor in determining if a college event will go smoothly or not?

Please tell us where parking is! Please send a map! I love college events but they’re logistically so challenging when we don’t know where anything on your campus is. Explain it to us like we’re blind, our GPS is dead, and we’ve never seen a university campus before in out lives.

What is your favorite activity for summer camp event entertainment and why?

Foam! Our foam cannons are so cool, it really gets the kids energy out and they’re just sooo fun even for counselors. You can make it work easily for your camp schedule too. I wish we’d had them when we were kids!

Face painter set ups should have a water source, shade, 1 table and 2 chairs per face painter, and lighting. They should be far away from any speakers or loud sound.