Henna Butternfly - A little tattoo for the wrist

Here is a little henna butterfly... on a very tiny wrist! Lucky that I finally figured out how to roll a mylar (or cellophane) henna cone. These cones make a very small tip possible.. and they keep their shape quite well.

For large designs, I still love my plastic cones, sealed with a rubber band that easily rolls down as paste is expressed. They make doing a full back or a large tribal design go much more quickly than using a smaller tip.

The little dots & flowers ensure the design compliments the wrist.

Tree Tattoo in henna by Ann George

Here are a few answers to FAQs that come up on Saturdays. First, all henna tattoo is freehand, meaning I don't use stencils or transfers. The photos in the little albums I put out on talbes are all photos of henna I have done. Most of those photos reflect traditional henna patterns, but I also do "original" designs.

Here is one such example. It is a tree. I am sure there are patterns for trees, but I didn't have one on hand. Winter trees, or fall trees are one of the few things I feel I can actually draw with pencil & paper, so my client was lucky to order this design. I hope you enjoy it.

Peacock Henna Pattern for the Legs.

Here are photos of a henna peacock pattern that travels across the lower legs. II I were a better photographer, I would no doubt have a better photo series so that you could more easily copy the pattern.

Of course you are welcome to use this design, which was created from traditional components & influenced by the tattoo style of the most excellent artist at Winnipeg Henna in Canada.

If you would like a henna tattoo, I will be at Midnight Sun, Five Points, Jacksonville Florida this Saturday from 2 ish until 5:30pm. Midnight Sun now closes at 6:00 on Saturday, so be sure to come early if you want a design for the Memorial Day weekend.

Remember, if you want a lower back tattoo, it is important that you wear a low cut pant or skirt & a midriff blouse. This will give the henna paste lots of time to dry without rubbing off on your clothes.

What is fortunate about this freehand pattern is that the tail of the peacock seems to travel well from the inner right leg (the double photo) to the outer left ankle (the single photo ). I think the blessing dieties of henna tattoo were present at this session. I hope to have photos on line of finished color for some ot the tattoos you see in the May blog. All most all of them show the henna with the paste on the skin. The finished color will be a shade of reddish brown. The paste I am using this weekend is very fast, I tested it, and will leave good color on the hands after staying on the skin for two or three hours. As always, the farther from the tips of the fingers or toes we put the henna, the more pale the finished color.

New Henna Slide Show online

Here is a new upper back tattoo. My client really like the tattoo pictured on my business card, and I started that design, but as always, henna seems to choose what it wants to do for everyone, and this was no exception.

You can see the updated Saturday Henna Slide Show by clicking the title of this post.

Of course you can also get a glimpse of the wonderful imports available at Midnight Sun. I you just want to wander in a colorful paradise .. stop in to visit.

Gilding is now available in jewel & matte colors.

Getting Darkest Henna Stains

Here is the Kanji symbol for honor, embellished with a tribal design. Do you see it hidden there?

This design was applied to the back of the upper arm, which is often a very difficult place to get a dark color.

Click the title of this post for helpful hints about things you can do to get the deepest henna stain from the "Goddess of Henna", Catherine Cartwright-Jones.

I follow many of her suggestions, and always try to make the best paste possible so that you will get the best henna tattoo every time.

When you come for your tattoo at Midnight Sun, I will give you a little paper to read & sign. Many helpful hints about how to get the best color are included on that paper.. so please have a read.
(Please note: this is a photo of the henna paste still on the skin! This raised black paste is scrapped of to reveal the finished tattoo).

Power Symbol Henna Tattoos

Here is Terri's power symbol henna tattoo from Midnight Sun. She chose a design that we found online & customized it by adding her own symbol at the top.

She chose to have this design on her inner wrist, and we sealed it with a surgical paper tape so that she could get the longest wear & the darkest color.

So it's not necessary to have a full hand design to enjoy the beauty of henna tattoo. Stay "tuned" for the next design on line. Hope to see you soon.

Gilded Wrist Tattoos

Here are just two of the many fotos from this henna this weekend at Midnight Sun. There are so many more to publish!

I have some tribal henna, some power hennas, a kanji in disguise, and a lovely piece for the foot coming soon.
. As always, the longer the paste remains on the skin, and the hotter you get, the darker the finished color.

It is also important to remember that henna on the palms of the hands gives the best color!

Gilding the lotus?

Here's a foto from Saturdays henna at Midnight Sun. Apparently it was a busy weekend at the different beaches, so it was a quiet in town. (Fun for us!)

This is a foto of gilded Nile style lotus blossoms. They run together in a vine pattern because that's what the henna seemed to want to do.

The yellow gilding was done with a paste made from pulverized yellow glitter & yellow cosmetic powder. It seems combining glitter with a fine powder base in the same tonal group gives the best finished gilding to date.

The coral embellishement gilding was a very fine "gem" powder. I like these, although they are more expensive than glitter, because they are so fine.

Shaded Henna Flowers - A delicate look for the leg

Here is a photo with the henna paste still on the skin. I never use "black" henna, as there is no such thing! I use pure, safe, all natural Jamila henna powder for all my work this year.

For this design, you may be able to see that I experiemented with two shading techniques. One was to treat the henna cone not unlike a pencil, using it to do shading motions with the paste.

The other effort, which may or may not result in an effective shade this time, was to mix henna paste with lemon juice & sugar to create a "wash". I used this diluted henna to fill in some of the flower petals.

I will let you know how this turns out. Click the photo for a close-up.