She brought me a shirt

With henna the possibilities are endless so when a friend brought me a shirt and asked me to create a design, I was excited. Free hand henna designs with inspiration from objects, is one of my favorite ways to do henna. If an object is not available I get inspiration from veins in the hands (sounds crazy, I know). This design was lots of fun, and this shirt was easy to get inspired by.

Can you see what I used from this shirt? What would you have done differently? What do you use for inspiration? Check out my instagram @freehandmehndi for daily inspiration

eBook Rerelease! Naqashat Moroccan Designs

So excited I was able to recover an ebook I thought was forever lost. Naqashat was the ebook that transitioned me from amateur ebook author to a pro. It took months for me to finish this ebook and it was a true labor of love. In this ebook are fusion designs and some traditional Moroccan pieces as well. I hope you enjoy it as much as I loved creating these patterns.

Naqashat is the word used to describe a traditional Moroccan Henna Artist.

Hip Hip Horay! Naqashat is back!

Naqashat includes 6 pages, 12 motifs, 2 hand patterns, and 4 foot patterns. Recommended for intermediate, but a nice challenge for beginners.

Naqashat is only $5 and can be purchased here 

That crazy thing that Raj does

I'm a big fan of Rajasthani henna, it actually makes the top two in my book. Raj is stringy, silky smooth, and dark staining. This of course is not the case 100% of the time, only when it's harvested and milled properly. 

But Raj does some weird stuff. Ever used Raj on you palms and feet and found that it doesn't fade evenly? I mean dark spots for weeks upon weeks when the rest of the design is gone? 

Raj is just crazy like that. Sometimes those dark spots turn blue or green, and look like mold. It isn't harmful at all, it's just one of those crazy things that Raj does. Of course this doesn't happen to everyone but for us lucky few it can attract some pretty odd stares. 

This blog post was written in beautiful Irving park in Portland Oregon. Happy Friday!

Put a little sugar in it

In my most recent video I had a question asked about sugar from a subscriber. In the video "quick and easy henna paste" I didn't use sugar. In this post we'll discuss when, why, and how to use sugar in henna paste.  

First let's discuss why henna artists add sugar to their henna paste. Sugar helps henna that's not naturally stringy to become stringy. What is stringy exactly? Stringy is a texture that allows you to lay and drape thin lines and delicate motifs in your henna designs, without breaking the lines. This is really helpful when applying complex designs like an artist would in a bridal design. Henna from Rajasthan India and Morocco are naturally stringy without the use of sugar, I highly recommend them both for bridal henna application.

Sugar also slows the drying process once the henna is applied to the skin. The goal is to keep the wet henna paste on the skin for as long as possible to achieve the darkest possible stain. Adding sugar to the paste with the intention of slowing the drying process is ideal during festivals/street fairs when the weather is often hot and dry, and the henna will dry too quickly. Of course adding sugar is ideal for bridal when achieving the darkest possible stain is ideal. 

Is sugar right for every henna paste or a requirement? No. As mentioned earlier Moroccan and Rajasthani hennas really don't require sugar due to their naturally stringy qualities (unless of course you want to delay the drying time, and there are other ways to do this). Adding sugar to henna that's already naturally stringy can backfire on you, making the henna too sticky. 

Speaking of sticky, the third reason to add sugar to henna paste is to make it sticky. This is recommended for festivals/street fairs when the customer will move shortly after the design is applied, and will be out in dry heat. Without sugar, the design may dry too quickly and fall off resulting in a weak stain and unhappy customers. 

In the video I didn't add sugar because I was using henna powder from Rajasthan and because sugar is optional, not required. 

I hope this is helpful. If you have any questions about henna paste I'm always happy to answer. 

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Quick and Easy Henna Paste

Please, pretty please allow me to show you just how easy it is to mix the perfect henna paste quick and easy. You'll find many methods on the internet, in the back of pattern books, even on youtube. In my latest video I show you how to mix just a few simple ingredients to get paste that gives beautiful dark cherry red stains.

My quick and easy henna paste only requires the following; henna powder, lemon juice, and essential oil. Lemon juice bottled or fresh squeezed, either one works just fine. For essential oils I like to use eucalyptus (widely available and inexpensive), lavender (widely available, moderate cost), and tea tree oil (widely available but crazy expensive at times). You can add water or sugar to your paste if you like. I only add sugar when I am using a henna that is not naturally stringy. I typically use water when I mix henna from Morocco.

Please remember the idea is not to get perfect measurements, or exact measurements, that recipe does not exist. The idea is to get the right texture/consistency. The ideal consistency is toothpaste, mashed potatoes, or smooth peanut butter. If your henna paste is too thick and dry use more liquid. Too runny? Add more powder.

Video tutorial

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Mehndi Mandala Festival or Party Henna Design

This month I was invited to apply henna for wedding guests at the Nritya Mandala Mahavihara temple. Inspired by the artwork and name of the temple, a lot of mandalas were applied. I decided to recreate one of my favorite manadalas applied that day. This manadala is really easy to apply and is perfect for henna parties or festivals.

Thank you to bride Alicia and groom Triratna for having me be a part of your special day.

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