A brand spankin new year

I recently returned to the blogger/youtube game after an almost 2 year hiatus. In that time my life has changed loads. I've moved a bunch, lost, gained, struggled, and now I'm planning. No resolutions on my list, but goals and lots of hard work. All my personal stuff I'll leave off, but I certainly have goals for Free Hand Mehndi.

Regroup and refocus. I left Free Hand Mehndi a giant mess with any and everything unfinished. Unprocessed orders/refunds, over 10,000 emails unanswered, and unfinished projects/contracts. I've spent the last few months ironing things out and cleaning up the giant mess I left. My goal is to have everything settled by March 31st. This means I need to hear from you. If you're due a refund from FHM or we have an unsettled contract I need you to contact me by March 1st.

Upgrade! My camera and editing equipment is in dire need of upgrade. I want to bring you clear crisp video and images, and professionally edited content. I'm working on it. For now things might be a bit murky but trust me, I'm working towards better equipment.

More fun stuff. I get a lot of requests for videos, classes, and even meetups. I hope to be able to make it to at least 3 major cities for meetups in 2014. I want to see your beautiful faces and have tons o henna fun.

Online store. A bulk of my mistakes and failures came about through my online store and retail store. I have a lot of cleaning up to do in this area. As soon as I came back to youtube the first question many asked is if the online store was coming back and how soon could they order. At that time I wasn't sure if that was possible and replied that the online store was not coming back.

 I unfortunately lost my domain name due to my expired bank card, but that's easily fixable. Got locked out of my website because I forgot the password (easily recovered). I messed up big time and lost the trust of my long time viewers and customers (one of my biggest regrets), and this is not easily fixable. I appreciate all of the love, forgiveness, and kindness many of you have shown. Simply opening an online store is something I can do tomorrow, but I'd be setting FHM up for failure I'm sure of it. My mission is to make things right, and it takes time to do that. I need to gain back the trust and respect from my long time viewers and give you my best, in 2014 I intend to do just that.

With all of that said, the online store will reopen in 2014 (no date has been decided at this time). Henna is my passion and I intend to make it my business permanently. At one time I had a lot of success in the online henna business and I hope through hard work that I'll have the same and better than I once had. Sadly the retail store will not reopen.

Searching for the perfect henna powder. I'm on a mission to find the perfect henna powder. Something better than my Monsoon? You bet! It may mean I have to travel, and I'm more than ready to do just that. This is a labor of love and I'm super excited about this project.

I hope that 2014 is a great year for you, and that you grow in your craft and creativity. Heres to better days ahead! **Happy New Year**

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

Random Henna Inspiration at Midnight

I like to call this Mehndi Midnight Madness. Around midnight my mind is flooded with design ideas. Sometimes I sketch the designs out, other times I ignore the design flow and try to sleep, but these days I'm reaching for a henna cone and bringing these ideas to life.

For the last few nights Morocco has been my inspiration. I'm considering a whole month on youtube dedicated to Moroccan inspired henna designs. Last nights midnight madness I had khamsa/hamsa's on the brain, and geometric shapes and patterns. The typical Moroccan Henna outlines just wouldn't do. The outline of the ring and middle finger with no filler was perfect. I couldn't add or remove from this. Now that it's on skin I can sleep.

When that burst of creativity comes at midnight, how do you cope?

Below are pics of my most recent midnight henna madness

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Floral Strip Fun

Floral strips have taken the henna design world by storm. While they've been around forever they've recently become more popular in bridal and special occasion henna. The awesome thing about floral strips is they're super easy to do, even for a beginner, and they look impressive when finished with very little effort.

Floral strips are made up of 3-4 shapes, accents, or motifs that are repeated until the design is complete. Below is a video of my most recent floral strip adventure. As you can see it took almost no time to complete and looks rather full.

Floral strips are fun for just about anywhere, the arm, hand, foot, leg, and even down the middle of the back.

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All images and video copyright Free Hand Mehndi

Another bit of fusion henna fun inspired by the gulf

I love trying to fuse new styles of henna together. In this bit I mixed Bahraini/Gulf florals and accents with Indian mandala pieces. Much of this design was inspired by designs found on Hennaalakhawat's instagram. I love this style and look forward to trying more designs from this region.

Follow me on instagram @freehandmehndi for daily henna inspiration!

How To Hire a Bridal Henna Artist

Your special day is fast approaching and the task of hiring the henna artist has made its way to the top of your list. 

These tips will assist you in hiring the right bridal henna artist for you. 

Before calling and googling around be clear with yourself about what you expect for your bridal mehndi. Do you have a design in mind? Is there a certain style of henna you want (Indian, Arabic, Indo-Arabic, Gulf/Khaleeji, Moroccan, Indo-Fusion, extra)? Are you more traditional? Or are you looking for something a little bit more unique or modern?

Next, think about your budget. Bridal henna can range in price depending on the artists talents and where you live. If you want a top knotch henna artist expect to pay in the $250-$350+, but not every artist that charges in that range is worthy of those rates. 

Once you're clear about what you want, and your budget is settled, it's time to begin the search. 

You can start by searching locally, Google or craigslist is a great place to start. Most henna artists have a web presence of some sort, so a website/page, blog, Instagram, or Facebook page should be easy to find. Once you've seen who/what's available locally, select an artist or two that you feel meets your needs and set up a consult/meeting with them. 

Now what if there isn't an artist in your area or those in your area aren't up to par? Search in the nearest major city. If you end up hiring an artist in another city, expect to pay extra for their travel or expect to travel to them. 

The consult should be free of charge or very cheap. During the consult you should have the opportunity to browse the artists portfolio and see a live sample of their work. At least two happy bridal clients (not related to or friends of the artist) should be provided to you as references. You should show the artist the design you want and ask if she/he can do it. 

You don't have to hire the first artist you consult with, but if you do consult with one and you don't hire them, a thank you but I've decided to hire another is most appreciated. 

Once you've picked an artist, be very clear about your expectation as far as the designs, the dates, and the results you want. Expect to put down a non refundable deposit. Very few henna artists do bridal business on a handshake anymore, and more artists are using contracts these days. Contracts and deposits are part of bridal business. 

Your artist should provide you with tips in regards to skin prep before the big day. She/he should advise you when it's appropriate to tan, have mani/pedis, waxing/shaving, or other skin treatments. All of these things affect the quality of your henna stain and the artist should advise you when to have those things done, so your henna will be its best on your special day. 

Your artist should keep in contact with you as the date for your bridal mehndi nears. This is the best time to ask all questions and review the details you may have previously discussed. 

On the day of the mehndi the artist should arrive on time and ready to henna. Before starting, review the design again, placement of the design, and ask questions if you have them. If you've added bridal party members, this is the time to talk about and agree on the added cost. Extra work means more money. 

The artist needs space, good lighting, and comfortable seating. The artist may need to take short breaks to rest her/his hands. Please put away pets, little ones, or busy people that might bump you or the artist. Don't allow pushy family or friends to bully the artist or talk you into something you don't like/want. 

Once the mehndi is complete, your aftercare has been provided, and the artist is ready to go, it's time to pay. This is not a time to haggle with the artist on what's due even if that's normal for you culturally, it may not be for the artist and is considered rude. Tipping is the norm in service industries, but not a requirement. 

The artist should provide you with aftercare and should give you additional instructions before leaving. 

It's always nice to send pictures taken of your mehndi on your wedding day to the artist. We love to see pictures or get feedback. You may be called upon to give a reference for the artist and we're most thankful for that. 

In the event you're not happy, let the artist know immediately. Don't wait weeks after the application to speak up. Be clear about what you don't like or why you're unhappy. A simple I didn't like it, or my cousin could've done the same for cheaper just won't fly. Threats aren't appreciated. 

Red Flags to watch for 

• The artist has no portfolio and can't provide references. 

•The artist doesn't mix their own henna. 

•They're not clear on their pricing and are vague about their availability. 

•The thief is using pictures of others work and trying to pass them off as their own. A portfolio isn't made up of pictures stolen from others. 

•You're their first bridal. 

• Their portfolio doesn't reflect bridal quality work, or the sample henna done during the consult doesn't match the quality in their portfolio. 

•You can't get in touch with the artist. 

•The artist refuses to do a consult or expects you to pay a lot for the consultation. 

•The artist offers black henna. RUN!

•The artist insists on a deposit but won't provide a contract. 

Please share your bridal henna experience below and artists please share tips you think are helpful to brides, that I didn't list. 

eBook Special 9/28-9/30

It seems that Eid just ended and another blessed Eid is almost upon us. Free Hand Mehndi has a henna pattern book just for you. Mubarak! Ten pages of beautiful henna patterns and motifs. This ebook was just released in July 2013 so the designs are fresh and new. As a gift, Free Hand Mehndi will also send along a copy of Fab Florals Vol 1.

You don't have to celebrate Eid to take advantage of this special deal, henna patterns are for everyone to enjoy.

This special runs 9/28-9/30. To get your FREE ebook you don't have to do anything. We'll automatically send it with your purchase of Mubarak.

Take a look at all of the FHM ebook titles here