Simple Henna Design - Gilded Back of Hand Pattern

Here is a henna pattern for the back of the hand. I like it very much because the design moves so gracefully over the hand, is interesting, simple and elegant. Click the title of this post to see more patterns.

This was the first design of the day on Saturday, 4/26 at the Midnight Sun, 1055 Park Street, Five Points, Jacksonville, Florida. We applied a bit of gilding, a spot of deep purple in the center of the flower & the outer drops. There are spots of gold int he pattern as well. I like the soft, elegant look this offers.

I waited until the henna had dried, been lemon sugared three times before adding the gilding. This method seems to work best for the liquidity of the paste I make.

My other "discovery" this year is to use a fine mist sprayer bottle to apply my lemon sugar mix. It's fast, covers all the henna in a spritz or two, doesn't usually run or drip and never disturbs the design.

I now strain fresh squeezed lemon juice three times, add almost equal volume of organic brown sugar, heat this in a little bowl over open flame until the sugar melts, then add a drop of essential oil (usually clove bud) and strain that mixture into the sprayer.