"Chef's Choice" Henna Tattoo

Sometimes, after looking through all the pattern books I bring to Midnight Sun, clients find a style they like, but want a custom tattoo. Hence, the Chef's Choice" option you see to the left.

I am noticing a new style of henna evolving in my work. It seems to be a personalized abstract artwork that I am calling New American Tribal for lack of another name.

The Tribal Tattoo section of my henna site features a photo gallery of more designs in that style if you care to visit.

Weather permitting - in that it is warm and not pouring rain - I will be back at Midnight Sun this coming Saturday. Last Saturday we had a good time, and I was very busy, so I may arrive a bit earlier, perhaps Noon. See you there?

Peacock Arm Tattoo from Midnight Sun

We had a wonderful time at Midnight Sun today.. the first day of "Henna Season" in Five Points. I had to wait for the weather to warm up enough to make good paste. Also, with warm weather, we have some many more places to tattoo.

Peacock designs were very popular today, and here you see a peacock theme on the upper arm. This pattern is a modification of the great art in the henna pattern book "Sangeet" available at Tap Dancing Lizard.

I did several "Chef's Choice" patterns today, and will post some of these "New American Tribal" henna patterns in the next few days.

Lots of new work is ready in photo albums hosted on my updated henna site Spirit Vision Henna.

April 12, 2008 - Henna at Midnight Sun

Spirit Vision Henna will be at Midnight Sun, 1055 Park Street, Jacksonville, Florida on Saturday April 12, 2008. I expect to arrive around 1:00 PM and to offer henna until 5:30. Please stop by to look through the new pattern books from India!

Spirit Vision Henna will be closed from March 27, 2008 through April 6, 2008. All orders for Jamila Henna and henna tea spices will be processed & shipped as soon as possible beginning Monday, April 7, 2008.

I will not be able to reply to your phone calls during this time. Should you need to contact me it will be best to send an e-mail through my henna site . I will reply as soon aftern April 7, 2008 as possible. See you soon.

Essential Oils for Henna - What oils are safe to ship by Mail?

I will not be offering a new henna kit this year. As I will now ship only by US Mail, most of the good terps can't go by mail. Although the quantities of oils shipped in a kit are quite small, I feel it is better to be safe than sorry.

Here is a link to very helpful information about essential oils and their shipping status from Camden Grey.

Oils that can ship by mail under certain circumstances:

• Lavindin Grosso: Flashpoint 151°F
• Geranium: Flashpoint 185°F
• Neroli: Flashpoint 154°F
• Clove Bud: Flashpoint 212°F

Oils that cannot ship by mail according to the professionals at Camden Grey include:

• Eucalyptus Oil: Flashpoint 109°F (Cannot ship via air or ocean w/o appropriate documentation, cannot ship via postal air services.) UN#2319
• Lavender Bulgaria: Flashpoint 125°F (Cannot ship via air or ocean w/o appropriate documentation, cannot ship via postal air services.) UN#1993
• Lavender French: Flashpoint 125°F (Cannot ship via air or ocean w/o appropriate documentation, cannot ship via postal air services.) UN #1993 Flammable Liquid
• Tea Tree: Flash point 130°F. (Cannot ship via air or ocean w/o appropriate documentation, cannot ship via postal air services.) UN#1993
• Cajeput: Not to be used on pregnant women! Flash point: 120°F. (Cannot ship via air or ocean w/o appropriate documentation, cannot ship via postal air services.) UN#1197

All these oils have been shipped to me via ground transportation carriers like UPS, DHS and Fed EX so I have plenty on hand for henna here in town.

My most successful henna blends do include Tea Tree, Lavender & Clove. Another good blend however is Geranium, Neroli & Clove. While I have seen numerous cautions about the use of Clove Oil in henna blends, it is my experience that a drop or two has not caused any problems to date.

I do offer all my clients an informed consent to sign that lists all ingredients used in their henna paste, and only one person in 5 years has been unable to get a tattoo because of a known allergy to cloves.

I hope you find this information helpful. I did! I may choose to change my shipping plans to make a weekly trip to the UPS store to ship henna kits by ground transportation. I will also do some more investigation to see if there are exceptions to shipping these oils by volume. (I hope so.)

The Henna Cone - Easy to use - Fine Lines - No hand cramps.

I was browsing to see see what sorts of henna kits are available for sale now (and of course to see where my page was in the engines) and I notice alot of kits offer the jaquard squeeze bottle, and some offer different tips.

I still use the plastic cone for henna, and the the cellophane cone for gilding. I make my own cones these days using 1 mil. plastic & a heat sealer. This way I can make the cone as wide or narrow as I prefer... and I know the seal will last. This method does create a seamed edge, but when filled with henna, twisted shut & sealed with a rubber band, I just turn the cone so that the seamed edge faces away from my client. The closeup photo below shows this.

I like it that I can roll the rubber band down the cone as I run low on henna. This helps me keep an even pressure on the paste, draw faster, cleaner lines and best of all... no hand cramps!

An extra advantage is that if I make too many cones, or just have a bit of great paste left over, I can wrap the henna cone in plastic wrap, tuck it into a freezer bag, freeze it, and then have henna for that "Oh I just need a quick design" moment that seems to happen in the summer.

Currently I offer two cones in each of my Artists Henna Kits. The cones are washable and reusable. I cut a very littel bit off the tip of one cone for finest lines, and cut more off the second cone to have the broad tip for tribal patterns & bold henna tattoo.

If you would like to see more photos of a henna artist at work.. visit this slide show from a Saturday at the Midnight Sun.

Some New Henna Pattern Books

Here is a lovely new widget from Amazon.com! It's a self starting slide show of books you might enjoy. If you place your mouse over an image.. you get more information. Click to buy. Enjoy!

Henna Table & Henna Tent for Summer Fun

Well.. I can't wait for warm weather! I miss Saturday afternoons at Midnight Sun & all the wonderful festivals in Jacksonville,Florida.

Click RIGHT HERE for a little slide show of my henna tent set up. You can see all kinds of incense, henna powders & kits, wonderful little gift bags and other jewels we sell when vending out.

If you would like Spirit Vision Henna at your North East Florida festival, Art Walk or Artists Weekend, just give us a call at (904) 993-7466.