Fairy faces: botanical face paint for small witchsticks
Leafy vines up the temples, a few painted flowers, a dab of glitter. Enough to turn any small person into something from the bottom of the garden.
Give a child a flower crown and they will want a fairy face to go with it. This is the design I keep coming back to, because it looks far harder than it is and forgives a wobbly hand.
You'll need
- Water-activated face paints in green, blue and violet (the kind you wet with a brush)
- A fine brush for the lines and a rounder one for the leaves
- A tiny bit of cosmetic glitter, if you are feeling brave
The design
- Start with a curving green vine from the middle of each eyebrow up towards the temple. Curves, not straight lines — nothing in a garden is straight.
- Add little leaves along the vine with the round brush: press, lift, press. They do not need to match.
- Dot a few small flowers in violet and blue where the vines end, with a yellow centre if you have it.
- A whisper of glitter on the brow bone, and done.
The rules of face paint, learned the hard way
Test a dab on the inside of the arm first, in case of a reaction. Work on a dry, still face — bribery helps. And take the photo before lunch, because a fairy who has eaten a sausage roll is a different creature entirely.
Would you want one?
A little card of leafy face-paint designs to copy, for a party
Nothing’s for sale. I only make things people want, so a tap helps me decide.
