DIY fish face paint and the Just So Festival 2016

It’s about this time of year that we make our tribal announcement for our pilgrimage to the Just So Festival (read all about the Tribal Tournament that includes owls, foxes, stags, lions, fish and frogs), and I’m giving you a mega sneak peek of our costumes. This will be our fourth visit to Just So, and Ez and I have been owls every single time. Until now. Because this year we are all going to be FISH! Well, some kind of fish/mermaid/sea creature/pirate mash up to please all four members of the family. We’re so excited! The great thing about fish is the scope it offers in terms of costumes, so I’ve been busy dreaming up our face paint options, and have come up with this design, which is way easier than it looks, honest. Scroll down for the full tutorial…

Apart from the glitter, I’ve used a standard Snazaroo face paint kit. You’ll also need a pair of fish net tights (!). Here are the steps:

1. Use a sponge to cover the eye area with white, reaching right up to the hairline at the temples. Make sure you leave the paint to dry thoroughly.
2. Put the tights over the head (taking care not to scuff the white underneath) and use one hand to stretch the fabric over the forehead and cheekbone area.
3. Load a sponge with a contrasting colour (we used blue), and dab onto the the forehead, down the side of the eyes and onto the cheekbones through the tights (repeat on both sides of the face). Carefully remove the tights.
4. Use a third colour (we chose green) and go round the eyes and the top of the forehead (try to blur the edges so you don’t end up with really hard lines). You can also use a brush to add some spots of this colour to the ‘scales’ you created in step 3.
5. Apply the glitter (I bought glitter hexagons that are designed for use on nails, but can also be used on the body). I used the pots of glitter gel in the Snazaroo kit as glue, but you can also buy cosmetic glue or gel. I applied the glitter around the hairline, over the eyebrows and on the cheekbones. Finish with some fishy lips painted on with a brush (these won’t last long on a six-year-old but are fun while they last).

The rest of our costumes are a work-in-progress, but they will definitely feature dried moss (got mine on eBay) and seaweed that we gathered and dried on our recent trip to North Norfolk.

You can see more fishy inspiration on my ‘for Just So Costumes 2016’ Pinterest board, or more general fancy dress ideas on my ‘for dressing up’ board.

Are you going to Just So this year? There are still tickets available and I can’t rave about the festival enough. If you love the outdoors and all things creative and imaginative then it’s the place for you, and the magic stays with you for the whole year. You can all read about our previous visits to the Just So Festival here, and if you do go, please come and say hi if you spot me (it’s a small enough festival that I’m sure we’ll cross paths).