Henna Fish - Tattoo for Festival Days

This little fish is a "chef's choice" pattern for the back of the hand. It took just a few minutes to create a henna pattern based on the koi.. or fancy goldfish concept.

Once the outline was drawn for the eyes & head, the rest of the fish just flowed along. You will notice the pattern is filled in with traditional henna components, the line, spot, curved and straight lines.

I hope you enjoy it. If you would like one, just stop by the Midnight Sun in Five Points, Riverside, Jacksonville, Florida.

Namaste!

hands together

I had a great settings in Maine, and a beautiful woman wanted her hands done simply.

women on Vinalhaven

so much fun, and we will have to be doing it again sometime this fall!
They picked fun things, and really individual.
I did hear though that some of them went swimming in the quarry shortly afterwards though! (completely disregarding the fact that you should, a) leave the henna on for 4-6 hours, and b) that you should avoid water on it for at least that long if not much longer!)
I will just have to go back and henna them all again this fall!

Henna Tattoo - A simple pattern shines with gilding.

Here is a photo of a freehand henna tattoo with just a bit of gilding added to make Saturday a bit more glamorous. If you click the photo, you will be able to see a larger image of the turquoise & green glitter gel added to highlight the henna tattoo.

Gilding paste is made with cosmetic glitters, or cosmetic powders and a stiff hair gel as the carrier for the color. Sometimes fine glitter is hard to come by, but if you have a mortar & pestle, it only takes a few moments to grind economy glitter into a shimmering powder.

I apply the gilding using a clear henna cone. (Cellophane cones hold up very well & enable clients to see just what color they will get.) I have learned to wait until the henna has dried and at least one glaze of lemon sugar has been applied.

For more photos of gilded henna tattoo, visit the Henna Jewels gallery on my site. There are other photos of gilded henna tattoo in this blog.. check the labels to the right of this post for the complete list.

Need Inspiration? Henna Patterns from India!

Pyari Pyari Henna Tattoo Booklet

Here is another of the wonderful little booklets that helped me start to think like a henna artist. Full of 25 different patterns for hands & feet as well as little doodles for fingers and toes, this small booklet is a great addition to your henna library.

This henna pattern booklet measures 4.5" x 6.75" and has a colorful cover, sure to catch the eye of the henna newcomer. The patterns are printed on a soft grey paper that seems recycled, but I can't tell.

This book as well as several others are now for sale at $4.50 each ( free shipping in the USA ). Just click the title of the book to see more choices, or to add ths lovely gem of a pattern book to your collection.

Just want to browse? Stop by Midnight Sun on Saturday and you are welcome to look through these kinds of pattern books. Who knows, you may choose to get an intricate bit of body art for yourself. See you there?

girls afternoon

Very fun gathering of women! They all had their nails done and then gathered to get henna. The woman in the middle is the bride.

This one was my favorite.....


A very different pre wedding event than the one in Greenwich... very low key, with margaritas and great munchies!

Gilded Henna Tattoo - The Peacock in Turquoise

I feel very happy with this tattoo design. I used the "sketching" technique I learned from the fabulous video previously posted to draw out the main components for this pattern.

I remembered to outline the primary design as soon as I drew it so that I would not be dazzled by the detail & forget to create the white space in process. You will see that the gilded nicely fills those "white space" areas in this photo.

If you want a closer look, just click the photo for more details. My client was very happy with her pattern, and enjoyed the process of watching the sketched outline be filled in with various traditional henna components.

I started the pattern fartest from the finger tips & worked my way down the hand. If you look, you can see that the paisley, floral component & peacock head stand out in this pattern as they are surrounded by space.

Now.. for all or you experienced artists, I am sure these tips are not news at all. I am however, spatially dyslexic & needed this kind of obvious "how to" to progress in the art form.

Well that's all for now! Namaste.

2008 Jamila Henna • Finished Color on Back of Hand

Here is a photo of the results of Jamila Henna 36 hours after the paste was removed. I feel good this wonderful dark reddish brown stain.

Please bear in mind that this is a photo of finished henna on 52 year old skin... and henna on the hand of a skinny woman at that! I am sure lovely, young skin will give a much better finished color than this. For those who are new to henna tattoo, here are a few tips you might want to know if you want to get good rich color for your finished tattoo.

First, the warmer you are, the more your pores open and the deeper the henna can penetrate the skin, so summer weather is good for henna.
Second, henna works best when the paste reamains wet. To keep your paste from drying too quickly, you can either continue to apply lemon sugar to your tattoo to keep the paste active as long as possible.. or you can have the pattern "wrapped" to go.
Third, the longer the paste stays on the skin, the darker the finished color.
Finally, if you moisturize the design area with olive oil, or another vegetable oil, you will get a darker tattoo than those who do not moisturize.

Some clients blow dry their finished tattoos after the paste is removed to help get a darker stain. ( Many people report good results with this method.)

I will publish fotos of the 2008 crop on the palm asap! So.. subscribe to my blog, or just come back for a visit later.
Namaste!

Bridal Henna for Back of Hand - Thanks Toni!

Thanks to all the generous artists who post videos of their work in process! I have learned so much about how to layout the designs as a result of watching their work.

I now use a a much thinner paste than I was using before, and a finer tip on the rolled cone.

I never did like mylar cones, but I found some floral plastic wrap that is comfortable to touch and responds well to pressure. It has a smooth feeling & I am not worried that I will "pop" it.

You may notice that I have a better grasp of the use of white space in this henna tattoo. In part, this is because I remembered to outline components when they were finished.

Of course one of the best blessings to henna tattoo practice is a willing & very still model. The success of this pattern is due in large part to my very patient model. Thanks Toni!

Arabic Style Henna for the Arm - Chef's Choice Henna

I am always grateful to my trusting henna clients who order "Chef's Choice". I mentioned to Rachel that I was really inspired by the excellent work of the artist who is featured in the henna video below, and that I wanted to practice that more intricate style of henna.

Lucky for me she agreed and here you see the result. This photo shows the henna paste on the skin.. and not black henna. We used the '08 crop of Jamila Henna so I have no doubt the finished color will be excellent! The henna powder created a nice gummy paste when I mixed it. The paste flowed easily and I could "drop lines" of paste on the skin when creating the tattoo, so I really enjoyed that.

I feel so fortunate that highly skilled henna artists are willing to post their work in action. I am a visual learner, and it is so wonderful to watch other artists think.
So.. I went browsing around and found a great live action henna video from Nepal that I will post in the near future. Right now, I am inspired to do a bit more bridal quality henna for practice & will post those photos soon.

Namaste 'til next time.

Amazing "How To" Bridal Henna Video

This is one of the most useful live demonstrations of How To apply henna. I have learned so much watching this great artist fill hands with mehandi. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Jamila Henna Powder • Rich Dark Color

Here is a bold pattern for the palm of the hand. This dark color is achieved with the last of the '07 Jamila Henna.
I used lemon juice, henna tea & jamila henna to start the paste.

After about 4 hours I added cajeput, neroli, lavendar and a bit of pomegranate juice to the mixture. I made a fairly liquid paste and used a medium tip mylar cone to achieve this design.

I did wrap the henna in tissue and wear a thin plastic glove overnight to get the darkest color possible. Of course, the color will be even darker tomorrow.. but I had a moment to put this photo up for you today.

I will have new photos online next week showing the finished color achieved with the 2008 harvest of Jamila henna which is just now for sale at Spirit Vision Henna.

The new henna pattern booklets from India are also for sale & make a great gift for the aspiring mehandi artist.

2008 Jamila Henna is HERE!! Great Price & Free Shipping

I just received my case of Jamila Henna! The 2008 Harvest is fresh off the plane & ready to ship. For those of you who like to freeze your henna for later use, now is the time to purchase. I will not put this order in the freezer for at least a week so that you will have time to buy.
Please notice that the sale price of $8.50 per 100 gram box includes free shipping by First Class Mail in the USA. If you are ordering from outside the US, please send a note that includes your ship to address & I will give you the best shipping price possible.
To see un-retouched photos of the deep red color possible with Jamila henna visit the henna powder page at Spirit Vision. PayPal shopping cart buttons are on line. Off we go!

punjabi wedding

I was lucky enough to do henna at a pre-wedding event in Greenwich for about 500 guests. It was beautiful with so many incredible sarees, fabulous music and dance performances. I hennaed with Carrie and Kayan for 3 1/2 hours.


(these were taken before the event started, as they were setting up. The bride is the one in the gorgeous red saree)

Henna Tattoo Video • Arabic Style How to Henna

Here is the work of a very talented traditional artist. I love her use of bold lines & white space while creating a very full look for the palm of the hand. I just wnat to do more of this kind of art. Don't you want to have some traditional henna ??? I love this pattern. What you you think?

Henna Pattern Booklets from India - Ready to Ship

I have received the balance of my order of henna tattoo pattern booklets from India. Here is one of my favorites: "Latest Mehadi - Arabic Henna Designs Booklet". I have posted a photo of the cover page as well as a sample pattern.

These booklets are for sale at Spirit Vision Henna for $4.50 each with free shipping in the USA. They are printed on a soft grey colored paper,are 31 pages long and at least 25 of them are henna patterns.

The booklet is printed in the language you see on the cover and contains a good balance of bold as well as traditional, or fine line henna tattoo patterns. The cover photo on this booklet alone really helps me introduce new clients to the art of mehndi.

If you click the title of this post, you will go to my website to see other new henna booklets. Secure online shopping provided by PayPal. Please feel welcome to email me any questions you might have. Limited quantities available!!

always popular

This has been popular lately. I was inspired by the work of Carrie, as I will be working with her at a large indian wedding event. Her designs are beautiful.

This I did on a friend, and embellished it with glitter paste. She loved it!

birthday party

These girls had so much fun picking out their henna designs for Ana's sleep-over birthday party!