need suggestions on what to invest in

I finally got my hubby to give me 800.00 dollars to invest in paints and brushes. I have been overjoyed and thrilled since. However I am still a newbie to fp and have only been painting for 2 months now...I currently have a silly farm deluxe beginners kit, and like the paints that were included. Now that i am able to invest, i believe i have overwhelmed myself with research on paints,,as far as what to buy, what brand,an so on .....so in an attempt to get refocused and start back to painting im open to any suggestions you think would be helpful....thanks

do you mean the snazaroo kit they have?

I would invest in some nice brushes, round and flat in the sizes you use most.
Some sponges ( I only use one sponge per child, sometimes even two sponges per child) For example if you buy a 20 pack of Wolfe sponges (or any other brand) and cut them in half you already have 40 sponges to use.
Wolfe white and black, you will use lots of white and black so the bigger containers would be adviseable.
Some glitter.
As far as artycakes or splitcakes are concerned you can either buy a couple or make your own by cutting up bigger cakes.
If you buy them the big one for tigers (orange/ yellow/ white) would propably be good.

oh yeah,, and you have propably already noticed that the bigger cakes you get, the more you get for your money. So I would get the most common colours in the larger sizes (or those colours that you think you will usethe most)
I hope this helps.

Well the paints that came in the kit was paradise ... basic 8 color with 2 american choice brushes 5 and 2

Besides the basics discussed above, I have found it VERY helpful to have a few bottles of Liquid Bling on hand. And a rainbow cake. At every festival I did this summer, the design with the rainbow stripe beginning above the forehead and sweeping down the cheek was enormously popular. After I did it, I added white stars and touched them up with the Liquid Bling, and there were lots of really happy little girls.

I had eight colors of Liquid Bling on hand, and I used gold and then let the girls pick the second color. 98% of them pointed to the bottle of fuchsia. Every time.

So, that's just become a staple in my kit.

$800!! Cool!! Have fun!!

) joan

Yes, I totally forgot those. The rainbow always gets requested at least once even if I don't have my rainbowcake out. And I totally agree with the liquid bling, gold for sure, maybe silver as well concidering that it is winter and silver works well for any winterdesigns.

try a number 4 and 2 round brush, a 3/4 flat brush. Maybe a smudger. Some on here use a new brush for every child. I have at least 8 number 4s. One is solely for white, one other only for black, same with the number 2s. You need to find out what brush sizes work best for you. It might take some trial and error.
maybe a practice head would be something to concider as well.

IMO you would spend your money more wisely on paints than a practice head. Got one as well as a practice skin pad. Nine times out of ten I just practice on my arm. Check out the advice of some of the folks on the forum that have been doing this for years. More is not always better, especially if you wind up spending money on something you'll never use!

If I were you, I would only spend $200 of it right now. Buy smaller sizes of different paints, get brushes on sale from AC Moore and Michaels when coupons are available, and learn what you like. I am phasing out all of my Snazaroo because I prefer Wolfe, TAG, and Paradise. I agree Wolfe black and white are staples in many kits. I have discovered I use my neon rainbows more than any other, and found tack sponges at a horse supply store for 1/3 cost of other sponges. Don't buy brushes in bulk. Get one, try it out, if you like it buy other styles from that manufacturer. Save your money for a nice chair, table, tent, advertising, business cards, etc. My husband and I agreed to a rule of putting a percentage of money from gigs back into supplies. Buy what you need and not what you crave. It's very easy to spend money on nice glittery things. Just take it slow and enjoy.

About the practice head, a while back someone told me about a set of 3 disposable cutting boards you can get at Walmart. They wipe clean easily and you can practice like crazy over and over. Wolfe black can stain them but they're so cheap to replace if the ghosting really bugs you.

I would get insurance so that you can bring in more money, some business cards. a neon raibow and true rainbow split. a big red, orange black and white. metalic white if you don't want all of the metalics as it can shine all things a bit.
brushes three size 4s and 2 s for details. a medium flat, a large flat and a medium sised filbert. Also gold liquid bling, and an extra tip for when it clogs or you loose it. some holographic glitter, a brush tub, extra sponges and -
Then whatever colour paints and brushes you like and somthing to put them in be it a scrapbook case, pallette, fatmax rolling scrapbook case etc

my reasoning is
as a beginner the rainbow butterfly is your friend.
Although I have lots of glitter the holographic is enough to get me by a job.
orange - tigers are popular, Red - so is spidy - black and white well you know.
bling - gold is good almost universal and adds value to your design.
Brushes the absolute minamum. to do and try diferent things and to figure out where to go from there.what you like and what sises you want/need.
Insurance - as I wasn't even aloud to paint (as a volunteer) without it. and if you want to do it, and get a return on the $800 (I assume that is what your husband wants anyway) you will need it.
business cards because people will ask for them when they see you.
and somthing to put the paint in as you are going to need to move it around to use/store it from practice to jobs to just keeping it away from curious children.

and at the end there should be enough left to get things for fun that you want as well

I would get a couple of arty cakes for cheek butterflies and flowers. They make very quick and beautiful designs. I agree about the rainbow cake. (neon). I'm not a huge fan of my round neon wolfe rainbow cake just because it's hard to load. The square or rectangular cakes that Metina have in the shop are nicer for loading. (just my opinion).
For me, white starblend has been great. I use it a lot on my tigers and for my spidermen for the eyes (and muzzle). Other painters may not use it, but it goes on SO smoothly and makes it easier for the little kids not to flinch and squint. It also doesn't smudge around the mouth like regular paint. I agree with the others. Get a metalic color of some sort. Metalic white or even Kryolan's silver. Mix it with anything and you have a nice, light, sparkly color that works beautifully as a base. $800. I'm jealous!! Took me several years to spend that much!

Oh, and Flopsie, that was the BEST advice ever. So practical. Hold onto most of the money until you have more experience and know what you really find yourself needing. SMART!

I agree with flopsie..you don't need to spend 800 on paint..i would only use around 200 of it..you can get all you need for that..I would invest in the insurance..you will also need a table of some sort, or a fat max to work out of. the fat max will be a good storage for your paints, sponges, glitter, brushes,, get a photo book for your pictures..
don't forget the business cards..I have the link to a place that makes banners really cheap..
http://www.allstatebanners.com/vinyl-banners/full-color/design-online
also here is a picture of my banner that it also a photo board..[img][/img]