Henna Muse

windy city mehndi meet

2011-09-29T09:15:00.001-04:00

windy city mehndi meet, a set on Flickr.

And here are a few from the conference the week before in Chicago.

big raindrop

2011-09-29T09:14:00.001-04:00

big raindrop, a set on Flickr.

Wow, have I been falling behind on blog posts! Lots to share. Here are some shots from the Big Raindrop Body Arts Conference in Seattle

A new baby belly!

2011-08-30T14:55:00.003-04:00

This is Rachel, or her baby bump anyway. She liked the idea of a fish trapped in a bowl. She mentioned koi, and showed me some paisleys she liked, and I went from there. This particular koi has the part human look of Panyo. Not really my intent... but I think it works.

Stocking Seam Henna

2011-08-18T08:15:00.001-04:00

IMG_3145, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

One of the limitations of being your own henna artist is that you can't reach everywhere on your own skin! My friend Deborah Brommer in Columbus gave me this hot henna.

Charlotte's Henna

2011-08-17T07:52:00.002-04:00

Body Art at the Ohio State Fair

2011-08-10T10:26:00.001-04:00

at the Ohio State Fair, a set on Flickr.

I helped Deborah Brommer of Desdemona's Designs at her booth at the Ohio State Fair. Here's a couple of the more interesting things I did there.

The END of the Library Season!

2011-07-21T07:59:00.003-04:00

Visiting young adult groups at libraries is one of my favorite parts of my job, and its actually what drew me to henna in the first place, way back 10 years ago when I was responsible for children's programming at my home town library. No matter how much I love these visits, they sure can wear me out! After 32 of them this summer, I'm ready for a little break.

Here are a few of the more interesting things I did at libraries this summer.

Hanna's Henna

2011-07-18T09:14:00.002-04:00

IMG_2986, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

I had a great visit with Hanna while doing this little doodle for her, copied from her phone skin!

My entry for a design contest...

2011-07-13T10:51:00.006-04:00

This is the very simple design I did for a contents in a henna artist's group. Here's the contest:

Here's my design:

Birthday Mehndi

2011-06-26T18:16:00.001-04:00

IMG_2936, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

This young lady had me come out a few days before her big sweet 16 bash so her mehndi would look perfect for the occasion.

She really wanted some sparkly mehndi. That silver will stay with her for several days, but not quite as long as the traditional mehndi.

Nayan's Wedding Mehndi

2011-06-26T18:14:00.002-04:00

IMG_2924, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

Nayan was such a smart, sweet, soft spoken woman, and her mom fed me a lovely dinner!

Erika's belly

2011-06-14T08:11:00.002-04:00

IMG_2902, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

Pics from my baby belly appointment last night. Design from LullaBee – Tammi Glanzer-Boudreau.

I used Rajasthani henna from Magical Mehndi cut with Purity from Mehandi.com.

Accents are done with gold glittermark also available at Mehandi.com

Lauren's Belly!

2011-06-01T07:48:00.002-04:00

IMG_2831, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

Old School Tattoo Style Baby Belly

All nighter

2011-05-27T08:31:00.002-04:00

Tonight marks my first all nighter of the season. Danya and I will be working at the Greater Toledo YMCA East with the kids from Clay High School. Until 4 am. A moment of truth, really. Can I still do an all nighter after crossing the ugly threshold of my 35th birthday!? Pictures to come!

And Speaking of WendyMehndi!

2011-05-24T08:38:00.001-04:00

Jen's Back, originally uploaded by *~ωεnÐy~✿~றєhnÐi~*.

This is the work she did on my back around an existing tattoo at the Las Vegas Henna Conference a few years ago. LOVE!!!

Super Robot Ninja Rocket Monkey Steampunk Henna

2011-05-23T06:55:00.001-04:00

Super Robot Ninja Rocket Monkey Steampunk Henna, originally uploaded by *~ωεnÐy~✿~றєhnÐi~*.

You just don't see that every day! By WendyMehndi of North Carolina.

Carrie's drum, stain

2011-05-19T10:48:00.001-04:00

Carrie's drum, stain, originally uploaded by Mehndi Made Memories.

I just can't stop looking at this! From Lisa of Mehndi Made Memories. (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mehndi-Made-Memories/102777219763666)

Nice work Lisa!!!

Christine #2

2011-05-18T14:05:00.003-04:00

IMG_2803, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

And here's her henna.

Christine's belly #1

2011-05-18T14:05:00.001-04:00

IMG_2797, originally uploaded by Henna Muse.

Christine was kind enough to let me both paint AND henna her belly in one day! Here's what we did.

Changes on my web site!

2011-05-14T13:58:00.002-04:00

I did a little updating on the website. There's much more information about new services including face painting and glitter tattoos. I've also acquired a new phone number that is local to Fort Wayne! Reach Henna Muse at 260-220-8070 in Fort Wayne or 419-575-2797 in Toledo.

IMG00181.jpg

2010-08-01T14:15:00.000-04:00

This is the farmer's market at the end of my street. If you're in fort Wayne on a Sunday afternoon stop by the tecumseh branch library and check out the east state village market!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Face Paint!

2010-07-30T09:30:00.001-04:00

I've just added face painting to my list of services... Check out some pics!

Ooops!

2010-05-06T09:11:00.002-04:00

I also just noticed that a lot of my photos are missing. This is because I was hosting them on my web site, and I have rearranged things since then. I'll be working on fixing those links, starting with the most recent posts. Thanks for your patience.

If you hadn't noticed...

2010-05-05T21:11:00.003-04:00

I've neglected this blog for a while. When I decided to wrap up my henna and body art supply online shop I quit blogging about my business. I am still doing henna body art on a professional basis, and I also work for the HennaPage as a forum moderator and as a customer service representative. I just don't sell my own supplies any more. I'm going to start posting to this blog again about my work and play with henna!

What I Learned at Henna Camp

2010-05-05T21:09:00.000-04:00

Occasionally we have moments that spin our perspective like a top. My little field trip to NEHG and TAAB was one of those moments. After a week and a half to recuperate, I’m ready to bring it out into the daylight and poke it with a stick a little.

NEHG was sort of comfort food. It was exactly what I expected. It was a pretty typical henna conference with a lot of the same faces and lectures, but some new ones as well. Daytime for these events always feels, to me, a little like a baby shower, but where the games should be there are lectures and demonstrations instead. There’s lots of people. Some are friends, some you only see on special occasions, and some are total strangers. The nights are basically slumber parties with wine and lots of skin. (How is it that so few men have discovered these gatherings!?!)

This may sound like a pretty drab description of an event, but that’s not my intent at all. It was a well put together gathering. I enjoyed seeing my friends and meeting a few new people. I got to see a new city. I learned a little, I taught a little, and I left feeling comfortable with my position in the world. I even did two hennas that I enjoyed! I can only share one, because the other has nipples :(

No, this isn’t anything special or new. No real creativity expressed here, but it is pleasant to look at and fairly well executed. The other one, the secret one, was more interesting. It had the slightest bit of my own style.

Then I jumped on a plane, headed to Kent, and hit the “reset button” for TAAB. It was completely different.

I didn’t really know what to expect for TAAB. I knew it had a broader focus. I knew that there wasn’t a whole lot of buzz about it in the henna community. What it was in the end was something that couldn’t really have been planned for by anyone. Attendance was just this side of nonexistent. This was actually really cool in a lot of ways for those of us who were there. We were able to have lectures in a much more conversational way. We were also able to just skip right over the newbie level lectures that we’ve all heard, including one of mine -Presenting for Schools and Libraries. There was no one at TABB who wanted to teach at schools and libraries that didn’t have a pretty good grip on it already. For me the highlight of the planned events was a reading by Dr. Elizabeth Howard of her essay about having her nose pierced in India. She is a lovely woman who was kind enough to offer us her skin as canvas, as well as a few “story times.”

It was the unplanned stuff at TAAB that knocked me off my equilibrium.

A personal note, before I really dig into this: I’ve been struggling a lot with getting “off book.” When I say that I don’t mean that I’m just now learning to create my own designs. I’m great with off the cuff festival art, and wedding-guest-mehndi. I’m even pretty good with creating my own more interesting stuff… on paper first. I made a very conscious decision to keep working developing my “off book” skills despite the rather intimidating company. The longer the week went on, working next to very impressive artists, the more I choked. My work got more and more oppressed, despite the fact that I didn’t work from design books or sketches. Finally toward the end of the week, I pulled out my sketch book. By that time, it was too late. I was already too discouraged. I couldn’t even execute the ideas in my sketches properly.

I went to bed Wednesday night feeling pretty miserable. I had decided that I was going to have to write TAAB off as an artistic loss. I’d just have to accept and enjoy the fact that I’d just had a rather pleasant working vacation with a few old friends and a couple of new ones.

On Thursday morning I started to dig into the paint. To be honest, I’ve been avoiding the paint brush for years, except to work on the cheesy beach mural I did for my Dad. It felt really good! In the end, I was able to make something that I thought was kinda pretty! It was a huge relief.

So… what I learned at henna camp:

1. I know my shit. I have a pretty impressive working knowledge of henna art, history, technique, and especially science.

2. Now that I don’t run a store, I don’t plan to go to these shin-digs on my own dime, except maybe the cost of my travel. I don’t need it. I don’t have much else to learn that I can’t learn from my friends for free. I don’t have anything to market outside of my own area.

3. And this is the most important. I’ve been allowing my art to suffer. I haven’t been challenging myself. I haven’t held myself to high enough standards. I’ve been spending too much time focused on the kind of art that generates business from the lowest common denominator. Flower, rose, paisley, star, flower, rose, paisley, star… I have a lot of work to do.

4. I forgot how to clear the slate by walking away for a minute. I’ve always thought that the reason I’ve been able to focus on henna for so long is because it has so many faces to study: Culture, History, Science, etc. If I get board with one, I can move on to the next, and come back later. That’s the way I always used to paint, before I abandoned the brush. I would have 2 or 3 paintings going at a time, so if one started to frustrate me I could work on another. I’m in the same fix now.

I’m going to take my henna art back “on book” for a while. It just doesn’t feel like I’m quite ready to grow artistically with henna just now. I hit a wall. Instead, I’m going to spend some time with a brush, both on skin and canvas, and see if that opens something in me.

Jamila 2009 Pre-Order Sale! $43.00 per Kilo!

2009-06-03T09:29:00.002-04:00

Pre-Order your Jamila at Henna Muse and get the amazing sale price of $43.00 per kilo or $7.25 per 100 gram box.

I will ship every pre-order the day my Jamila comes in if I have to stay up all night!

Look!

Indigo Sale!

2009-05-27T09:38:00.002-04:00

For a limited time indigo leaf powder for hair is on sale for $5.25 per 100 grams. This is about 1/3 off our usual price and about half off the price of many other suppliers. The quality is the same, the price is just lower!

Get it quick, the sale only runs until June 1st or until it's gone.

Indigo Leaf Powder from Henna Muse.

Mica Tattoo Video!

2009-05-27T09:32:00.002-04:00

Henna Muse just put out a great new video on creating mica tattoos.

Mica tattoos are just like glitter tattoos, except that they use mica instead of glitter. Mica is the same sort of colorant used in eye shadows. A skin safe, medical acrylic adhesive is applied to skin, and mica powders are brushed over it. Mica tattoos tend to last a little longer than glitter tattoos because mica has a much smaller particle size. This lets the particles stay secure in the glue longer.

All new products! Indigo for skin, skin care and a new henna blend!

2009-05-04T12:05:00.003-04:00

Lots to share today!

We just added some new gentle and natural skin care products...

We have a daily cleanser with amla and organic castile soap, a mask/scrub also made from amla and essential oils, and a simple, mild toner.

Finally, our own henna powder blend! Exclusively from Henna Muse, the new Muse Magic blend is specially crafted from three different hennas from the Thar desert to make a henna with the most phenomenal texture. Its smooth, creamy and a little bit stringy all at the same time. No need to mix henna powders on your own and worry about differences in dye release times any more! This henna is ready to use in 24 hours at 80 degrees or 48 hours at room temp when mixed with lemon juice.

And now, possibly them most exciting news of all... introducing Blue Muse! This product is an indigo made for use in body art. It is a functioning vat of indigo, freeze dried into crystals. You just add water to use it at your convenience.

We also have a sale through May 13. If you spend more than $15 before shipping, get $3 off of your order. Just enter the coupon NEWSTUFF at checkout.

Look for articles on how to use Blue Muse! coming soon!

Don't forget about Elvis!

2009-04-22T12:36:00.001-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

IMG00028.jpg

2009-04-22T12:32:00.000-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Erika...

2009-04-22T12:30:00.000-04:00

Makes people sparkle.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Kim...

2009-04-20T20:15:00.001-04:00

Teaches festival favorites step by step. She's not that blurry in person, I promise!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Sunset

2009-04-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Our view

2009-04-19T15:06:00.000-04:00

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

2009-04-05T20:57:00.000-04:00

Evan's Dragon
This is a test to make sure I know how to post from my blackberry. That way I can blog from the conference in Vegas!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

March sales!

2009-03-04T11:38:00.002-05:00

We put together two great kits to help you stock up for the festival season easily and on the cheap!

The Weekender has everything you need to run 4 or more weekend festivals for only $45.

The Professional has enough to get many pros through the season for $98.

Shop now! The sale only lasts until March 16.

News about HennaSuppliers.org

2009-03-03T09:03:00.003-05:00

HennaSuppliers.org just got a huge face-lift! If you don't know already, HennaSuppliers.org is a social website for the henna, body art, and natural personal care community that supports quality artists and suppliers.

The site now offers interactive features such as an events calendar, forums, articles, listings of artists and suppliers, galleries and much more. Please come check it out and see for your self!

Artist banner listings will be only $5 for a year. Banners run at the bottom of site pages and appear in a database that can be searched by location. Our site already has a google page rank of 2 and it was only just born a few months ago. For a limited time, these listings will be offered for free in order to get things moving. Go check it out!!!

WOW! New Hair Products

2009-02-15T10:46:00.002-05:00

Henna Muse is proud to announce the addition of amla and cassia to our catalog.

Cassia has the same wonderful conditioning and thickening properties of henna without the bright red color. It can also be used as a color booster for blond hair or mixed with henna to produce shades between blond and red.

Amla adds shine and boosts curl. It can also be mixed with henna to shift the color toward brown. Aside from its uses in hair care, amla makes a wonderful facial scrub that tightens pours and gently exfoliates. High vitamin c content give the effect of a chemical peel when used as a mask, but without the chemicals and risk of redness and drying.

For a limited time get 10% off your entire order when you buy a cassia, indigo, or amla product!!!

http://www.hennamuseshop.com/category.wml/storeid/1100/categoryid/7944/The-Henna-Muse-Shop/Hair-Care.htm?SessionID=0a00001e07d9020f090f312d68

HUGE SALE

2009-02-05T16:11:00.002-05:00

Consider it an invitation only sale. Those few folks who read my blogs and share online communities in common with me will ever know about it. Aren't secrets fun?!?

I have some spring harvest Rajasthaini henna that does this:

It also has the unusual characteristic of being especially easy to rinse out of hair. It requires no sifting or straining, and is mildly stringy.

You can have some today for the low-low price of $30 per kilo plus $5 shipping. This is in bulk packaging, but I will supply you with individual baggies if you wish to divide it out. Share with friends. Stock up for summer.

This really is good henna. I'm not trying to get rid of it so much as trying to raise some cash.

I'll also part with Jamila for $6 a box. ($5.50 each if you buy a kilo or more) Shipping will be $5 for as much as I can stuff in a flat rate envelope. If you need more than will fit, I'll charge only the real cost of shipping, no mark up or handling fee.

The offer is good through Saturday only. Shipping prices are for US only. Tell me where you live for a quote on shipping to other countries. Don't use my store. I didn't set up the sales in my shopping cart. I can add any items that you may want to order from the store into a sale purchase though. PayPal and US credit card accepted. Interested parties should email (info@hennamuse.com) me.

Thanks for looking!

Jen

Dye your hair with henna step-by-step

2009-01-28T17:52:00.002-05:00

Dying your hair with henna can be messy and stressful if you've never done it before. This article will teach you everything you need to know and even has step by step instructions WITH PHOTOS.

Check it out!

http://www.hennamuse.com/hennaforhair.html

Henna Muse is on Etsy!

2009-01-15T14:36:00.001-05:00

Lookie!

Rajasthan Desert’s Gypsy Women: The Kalbeliya and Bopa Women visit Pushkar Fair

2009-01-08T19:04:00.001-05:00

I found an interesting article today...

Rajasthan Desert’s Gypsy Women: The Kalbeliya and Bopa Women visit Pushkar Fair

New Article -Cajeput

2009-01-07T08:20:00.001-05:00

We've just added a new article about Cajeput Essential Oil. This is a first in a series of articles that will eventually cover all the oils we carry.

Cajeput

Enjoy!

The New Henna Muse Shop!

2009-01-05T19:07:00.002-05:00

New at Henna Muse...

We have a new shopping cart! This cart offers more features than our old PayPal cart, like wish lists, separate shipping and billing addresses, new shipping options, and much more. New features coming soon include downloadable items, gift wrap, gift certificates and special discounts.

Please go check it out:

It looks sharp, works great, and we're very proud.

The original site is still live, but the product pages have been re-routed to the new store, so don't worry if you have been using our informational pages. They're still there!

HennaSuppliers.org

2009-01-05T17:59:00.002-05:00

Henna Muse is proud to host a new web site of trusted henna suppliers. HennaSuppliers.org is an index of natural henna and body art suppliers. We'll soon be adding artists' listings, articles about henna and other body art, photos, designs and even some video tutorials. Listings are free to those who agree to the rules.

Please bookmark it and throw us a few links!

Henna Muse Fall Rajasthani 2008! -Color Results!

2008-12-05T11:56:00.002-05:00

Check out the photos of color for our new favorite henna! Click on the photos to go to flicker and read all the details.

Henna Muse Fall Rajasthani 2008!

2008-12-02T09:20:00.003-05:00

It's here! It's finally here! The new crop of our signature henna is finally in stock. The first test batch is mixed, but not quite ready to apply. It's been standing about 15 hours now and its still not quite ready. I'm really hoping it will have a nice long dye release time like last year so that its easy to mix with Jamila. So far the texture is exactly what we've come to expect from Henna Muse Raj. Its so creamy and stringy! Perfect baby-powder sift, and tested negative for added dyes. (that means no fake green color to make it look fresher than it is as well as ugly chemicals like ppd.)

Stay tuned for photos of our test batch as it developes.

If you can't wait and have to try it right now go get it here! It's on sale!

Learning Hindi

2008-11-18T11:39:00.004-05:00

Why am I interested in learning Hindi?

I thought it might come in handy at work.
I will travel in India someday, when my kids are bigger.
I thought it would be something fun to do with the kids.
Hindi script is pretty.

How am I going to learn Hindi?

OK, I'm probably not going to learn it well. I took 4 years of high school french, and I can only read it at about a 4th grade level. Spoken French? I'll be lucky if I can understand directions to the bathroom. That said, I'm really only looking for basics. The alphabet and pronunciation. Very basic vocabulary. Numbers, days of the week, etc.

Here's a helpful blog.
Here's a good website for teaching children with worksheets and everything!
And I'm going to try this software. I can't quite afford Rosetta Stone. This software may not be as good, but you can have the basic version free, and the deluxe version is only $50 so it's worth a try right?!
This one is great too!
This is a few lessons on Devanagari, the alphabet used to write in Hindi. Its a good place to start despite being on the bottom of my list.

I'll post fun stuff I learn here!

Mica in a New Size!

2008-11-03T15:42:00.004-05:00

If you ever wanted to try mica in body art, we now have the perfect way to do that! Teeny-tiny 5 gram jars are only $3. They're way more than enough to experiment with and have a smaller price tag. That way you can try it out before you make an investment.

Get 'em here:
http://www.hennamuse.com/catalog4.html#mica

Henna on Wood Experiments

2008-10-21T11:56:00.007-04:00

Warning! Science content! If you can't cope with a chemistry lesson today skip the following paragraph and move right on to the pictures.

I've been learning a lot about the chemistry of henna in the last few years. One of the most confusing and notable things about henna is the apparently contradictory information on pH. Henna powder needs a mildly acidic solution (pH of about 2-4) in order for the dye to be "released" from the plant material. What that means is that the dye molecule (lawsone) is attached to a sugar molecule in the leaf. A process called hydrolysis breaks the sugar and lawsone apart so that its free to do its job. The next thing that happens is that the lawsone attaches its self to cellulose (in the case of paper and cotton) or keratin (in the case of skin, hair, and silk.) This happens by a reaction called Michael Addition which prefers alkylin (above a pH of 7) environments. So, lawsone requires a low pH to be made available for use, but a higher pH in oder to be used! What can we do? Here's what I did:

I soaked one craft stick in ammonia (A) and the other was left alone as a control (C.) The pictures below show the result immediately after removing paste, several days later, and after exposure to heat several days after removing the paste.

We can see clearly that the ammonia soaked stick is darker, especially at first. We can also see that with the addition of heat and time, the stick that was not soaked in ammonia nearly "caught up" with the other. This brings me to the conclusion that the dye will attach to the wood even in a neutral envirnonment it just takes more time. You may also notice that the color is warmer in the stick that was not soaked. In the end, you may prefer not to use ammonia on wood if you like the warmer color. If your in a big hurry, on the other hand, you may want to give it a try!

New Stuff!

2008-10-21T09:20:00.003-04:00

We've got some new stuff at Henna Muse! We've just added some one of a kind, hand-made gifts. Right now we have some earrings and pendants and some hand-painted boxes. This page changes often as we make great new stuff. (Yes WE make it, right here!!!)

I feel so bad!

2008-10-11T17:35:00.002-04:00

I have totally abandoned this blog! Well, here's the thing. I'm in the process of completely rebuilding my web site and store. It will be done by somewhere between Thanksgiving and February. I know that's a wide window, but it depends a lot on whether I can scrape together enough flow to hire someone or if I have to do it myself.

ANYWAY, point being when that's all up and running this blog will become an important part of the new site and be much more active.

2007-12-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

Tags: henna, mehndi, temporary tattoos, mica

Henna Muse has just added a line of vividly colored micas! Mica is the mineral colorant used in makeup. It is nonirritating and hypoallergenic. Mica can be used with medical adhesive to produce colorful mehndi designs that last up to a week!

This mehndi design was done by first applying medical adhesive with an applicator bottle and a precision stainless steel tip. The adhesive was allowed to dry until clear. Then an eye shadow brush was use to brush the mica over the adhesive. Moonlight swarovski crystals were also attached with medical adhesive..

You can use this same method for temporary tattoos that last a week! The smaller particle size gives these 'tattoos' even more longevity that those made in the same way with glitters.

These micas are FDA approved for use on the face, lips, nails and even around the eyes. This means that you can use them directly as eye shadow, to color homemade soaps, or added to your favorite lotion to give you a little shimmer all over. This product has limitless uses!

We have 13 colors of micas. Here's a few examples.

Click here to see the rest up close: http://www.hennamuse.com/catalog4.html#mica

Powered by Qumana

2007-10-23T09:07:00.000-04:00

It was a rather exciting bridal appointment. First of all, because of babysitter issues and the fact that my best assistant is still in the feeding-baby-every-45-minutes stage of motherhood, I had to do a bride, 7 bridesmaids, 2 moms, a sister and an auntie in 4 hours! I warned the poor girl in advance that I couldn't do my best work in this amount of time, but she was still happy to have me. To make things even more exciting a wicked storm blew through complete with a tornado! Don't worry, the tornado didn't get close, but we did lose power for a few worried minutes. Anyway, I did end up staying over an hour late despite my hopes of getting home at midnight for the sitter, and I suppose I did a decent job considering how fast I had to work. I ended up telling the last few bridesmaids not to pick patterns. Just show me a style you like because I can wing-it much faster than copying a pattern.

The bride:

...and the bridesmaids:

...and the Moms and 2 bridesmaids:

I had a lovely time. Everyone was very kind and appreciative and the aunties were unusually hands-off! Then I headed off to chase the storm home for two hours! I was home by 1 am, in bed by 2 and up again to get the munchkins to school by 6:30. I think I'm getting a little too old for that kind of crap!

Tags: Henna, mehndi, brides, bridal mehndi

2007-10-23T08:23:00.000-04:00

On Friday I had the opportunity to do henna at an event to raise awareness about Darfur. It included a traveling enactment of a refugee camp put on by stopgenocidenow.org.

The event included many ways to help including petitions and the opportunity to sponsor a solar cooker for a family in Darfur. What's a solar cooker? Check it out:

Of course I did some henna. The students organizing the event encouraged people to get henna on the inside of their left forearm symbolizing the ID tattoos the Jews were forced to were there during the holocaust. The people I met had creative requests and I didn't have to resort to using a design book at all! Of course the better pieces I did were while I was busy so I don't have pictures, but here are a few:

I was really impressed with the students that I met At IPFW. I go to colleges quite a bit, and I have to say, for the most part, young college students are fairly self involved and haven't really learned to empathize and participate in the world beyond their own. The kids the met last week were thoughtful, interested in each other's life experiences, and just bursting with positive energy. They were creative, involved, and a pleasure to spend the day with!

Tags: Darfur, IPFW, stopgenocidenow.org, henna, mehndi, camp darfur

2007-10-16T12:43:00.000-04:00

Handy new packaging for 2, 4, and 8 ounce sizes of paste! The tapered tip makes filling cones and smaller bottles easy and the red cap alows you to re-close the bottle to store leftovers. The tip can be cut open to any size so you can even use the bottle directly for large, bold applications.

Get it here!

Tags: henna paste, mehndi paste, henna, mehndi, squeeze bottle

Powered by Qumana

2007-09-28T21:46:00.000-04:00

Tags: henna, mehndi, glitter tattoos, swarovski crystals, bridal henna, bridal mehndiTags: Poe

I did some more glitter work to post on the Henna Page for the monthly Artists' Challenge.

These fingertips are done with moonlight Swarovski crystals in 3, 3.5 and 4 mm size. I got the idea from the cover of a Poe album.

Here it is with blue and silver glitter added.

I also had an appointment with a woman who wanted to surprise her husband with bridal style mehndi.

The backs of the hands are my own design (-read as a quicky take on traditional Indian bridal) and the palms are from the design book Love Mehndi -which I totally LOVE. Its my favorite design book available so far.

Powered by Qumana

2007-08-26T17:41:00.000-04:00

Tags: henna, mehndi, mehandi, glitter, sardozi, glitter tattoos, swarovski crystals

Henna Muse now has cosmetic glitters and swarovski crystals!

Here's the glitter colors. You can order here: http://www.hennamuse.com/catalog4.html#glitter

Check here to see the swarovski crystal colors: http://www.hennamuse.com/catalog4.html

Here's some photos of a quick glitter tat. Its done with burgundy glitter and volcano aurora crystals.

Powered by Qumana

2007-08-02T08:04:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I did my final festival of the season. I admit, I booked myself light this summer, but I'm going to take a vacation with my whole family for the first time ever and school starts (really early!) on the 20th so I just didn't book any fairs at all for August!

This festival was the Celina Lake Festival on Grand Lake in Celina OH. Here's a few photos.

I believe this is from one of Kim Brennan's books.

This one is my own.

This one is from Aloha by Deborah Brommer.

This is a custom piece. She wanted dolphin and the names with a tribal frame. The symmetry isn't that great. Can you tell which way I usually draw my dolphins facing?!? LOL!

I *think* this is another Kim.

Tags: Celina lake Festival, Grand lake, henna photos, mehndi photos, henna, mehndi

Powered by Qumana

2007-08-02T07:46:00.000-04:00

Henna Muse now has applicator bottles!

The bottles are in three sizes: 1 ounce, 3/4 ounce, and 1/2 ounce. The bottle come with an adaptor for the tips below. In about two weeks when we premier our new glitters, these bottles will be available with an adaptor for "poofing" glitter too!

There are 8 different interchangeable tips. Stainless steel tips offer the accuracy and feel of jacquard bottles or syringes. The polypropylene tips have great flow and are easier on the hand. Both types come in small, medium, large, and X large, or gages 15, 17. 19, and 21.

Check 'em out here! http://www.hennamuse.com/catalog5.html#bottles

Tags: henna, mehndi, applicator bottles, syringes, jacquard, jac

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-29T18:54:00.000-04:00

Tags: bridal henna, bridal mehndi, henna, mehndi, paste off photos

What a lovely woman! Natalie has allready sent me her own photos and has promised more from the wedding photographer. Here's what I have so far.

I think this one's my favorite:

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-21T10:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I met Natalie. She knew that she wanted henna on her wedding day since her grandmother from Lebanon, rest her soul, taught her about henna when she was a child. She was in a panic, knowing she couldn't do her own right hand. She couldn't find anyone near her to help. Her fiance found me on the Internet!

Natalie wanted thin-lined, floral, graceful designs that reminded her of the Lebanese patterns that her grandmother had taught her.

The palms are one of my favorite patterns ever from "Love Mehndi."

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-17T07:47:00.000-04:00

I thought I was going to get to do 2 bellies this weekend, but I only got to one. The other was my best friend, so I'll make sure to get her next time I visit. She's due August 20th, so I figure if I time it right I might be able to henna her belly 2 more times before the baby comes.

But anyway! here's the one I did get to. It was inspired by a piece done by Darcy of Henna Lounge.

The hearts should have been thicker, and there needs to be more flow in the leaves and vines. I'm not exactly comfortable doing bellies yet. I still struggle with positioning so that we can both be comfortable AND I have a good spot to anchor my arm. Tags: belly henna, henna, mehndi, pregnant henna, pregnancy henna, baby belly

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-11T20:01:00.000-04:00

So, I finally joined flikr today. I was browsing for henna groups to join. I came across a tattoo group that said your photos should be "real tattoos, not henna." WTF is that? I'm so tired of all the tattoo artists in the world who seem to think their art is "real" while mine is apparently not. I certainly don't begrudge them their own, henna free site. That's fine. The phrase "real tattoo" when compared to henna is just insulting. My art is real. What's more most of work free-hand. How many tat artists can say that? I've even met tattoo artists who work solely by tracing a stencil off a flash sheet and filling it in. To me that AINT art. Don't get me wrong, I've met a lot of stunningly talented ink artists. My point is that ink doesn't mean real, and henna isn't fake!

ARG! End Rant.

Powered by QumanaTags: henna, mehndi, tattoos, real tattoos, tatoo artists

2007-07-08T11:48:00.000-04:00

Oh my! This is the stuff! If you didn't like the way last years crop took to days to show good color, well... that's all behind us now.

2 hours after removing paste:

Do you see the curls at the wrist? They were only on for about two minutes. I didn't like them, and I thought I had time to wipe them off.

See the blotches near the fingers? The paste was on there about 30 seconds! It was just from sloppiness while filling cones.

This is 26 hours after removing the paste!

This is going to be my new festival henna of choice. After care be damned. Nobody can screw this up!

Tags: henna, mehndi, Jamila, jamila 2007, stain, festival henna

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-05T20:54:00.000-04:00

DHL arrived in a record 45 hours with my package from Pakistan! I find that to be pretty impressive.

Customs on the other hand -not so impressive. This is what my package looked like inside. Don't mind the torn box, that's my own doing.

The problem is that they ALWAYS cut into one packet of henna in each box. I can kinda understand this and never bothered to get too worked up about it this before. This time the went too far. One packet had a small slice in the usual way, just to get a peak at the contents. Another packet was completely removed from the box, with the wrapper inside completely torn open and the contents emptied into the box. The result was a lot of extra work, the loss of 200 grams of henna, and a terribly messy carpet!

ARG!!!

BUT the rest of the henna is in perfect shape and ready for sale here: http://hennamuse.com/catalog1.html

I've never known a fresh crop of Jamila to be a let down, but I can't attest to this particular crop just yet. Here's my fist batch of 200 grams brewing in the sun.

It should be ready to use tomorrow afternoon and the color ready to show off by Sunday!!!

Now if only the Rajasthani I order 2 1/2 weeks ago would arrive!Tags: henna, mehndi, US customs, Jamila, Jamila 2007, new crop

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:52:00.000-04:00

My first shipment of the Jamila 2007 crop is on its way! Its coming DHL, which is usually really fast. The last time I got a package from Pakistan via DHL it arrived in about 50 hours!!!

I'm taking pre-orders here. I should be able to ship them Monday July 9th at the very latest.

For anyone who doesn't know, Jamila is the most trusted henna among henna artist. Its creamy, smooth, needs no sifting or straining, and has impressive and consistent color.

The box looks like this:

The stain from last year's crop looks like this:

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:31:00.000-04:00

Tags: pregnancy henna, belly henna, henna

This is my best friend's baby belly!!

I wish I had the chance to do this more often. I'm sure I'd be much better at bellies if I could get my hands on more of 'em! So many women are shy about their baby-bellies. What's that about? Be proud, stick it out, and let me paint it!!!

It's importatnt with pregnent women to make sure they get a doc's permission. There's nothing dangerous about it all. But when under a doctor's care you should discuss with them anything you plan to do with your body! Lavender essential oil is the best choice in a paste mix for pregnent women and children. This is because it is the mildest oil that will have any impact on stain quality.

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:29:00.000-04:00

Tags: goddess art, moon art, pagan, henna, body art

So, I do occasionally do fun stuff at the salon! Here's what I did Saturday.

The Goddess

The moon with flowers

...and from the front

These ladies were wonderful and I really hope they come back to see me again!

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:28:00.000-04:00

Tags: banner design, gimp, marketing henna, image editing

Here's the new banners!

This is my supplier banner:

This is my artist's banner:

Much better huh? I do my designing with GIMP which is a *FREE* open source image editor for mac, PC and linux. It does everything photoshop can do for *FREE* What are you waiting for? Go get it!

If you're not a teck geek, you should make sure you download a version with an automatic installer. There is a slight learning curve because it's not set up quite like photoshop, but it does have a help guide, and you can find books out there to teach you even more. I mean it! GO GET GIMP!

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:25:00.000-04:00

Tags: henna business, salon deals, salon commission, salon booth rent, expectations salon

This is my salon: http://www.expectationssalonandspa.com/index.html

A friend of mine who was designing that very web page, hooked me up with the owner. We met, and she was very excited about what I do. I felt really good about the deal. She seemed very understanding of the fact that since I wouldn't be using any of the salon's supplies I would get a better commission split than the stylists. We discussed my paying 30%-40%. She added my services to her yellow page listing and suggested that I buy my own add, for her shop, in the Tattoo section of the yellow pages. I declined with much resistance, but other than that, everything seemed like it would work. I really believed that I was going to be in a supportive and lucrative environment. She didn't contract me, and acted like it was a favor to ME. Turns out she just wanted to opt for the 40%. Bet she knew I wouldn't sign that contract. Imagine my surprise at my first check.

My last attempt at a similar deal was a tattoo shop. Nice guys, great artists, poor business men. Long story short, they ended up going out of business. At least they treated me like an asset...

I didn't get any sort of training or explanation of how to handle money in the salon. I looked unprofessional trying to manage at the reception desk untill one of the receptionists offered to show me the ropes. I had to point out that I'd been doing small amounts of work for a month and hadn't seen a paycheck yet. Turns out I had to fill out a tax form. Were they waiting for me to ask? I did a few pieces early on, but didn't really worry about the lack of steady clients because it was winter -not exactly the best time for henna. The stylists loved my work and made it worth my while to show up from time to time. Keep in mind that at this point I was going in three nights a week for several hours and RARELY doing any work while I was there. Summer will be better...

I bought business cards. I designed and printed brochures. I bought a salon T-shirt and registration for a networking event to a tune of $65. I pounded the payment. I worked hard and all told invested about $220 promoting this salon. AND 3 evenings a week for 4 months. I don't even have a chair. When I work I set up in the lobby. This is what is provided for 40% of my earnings.

I was reasonably excepting of all this for a while. I suggested that I could set up my festival tent in the parking lot and promote myself and the salon that way. The owner was interested and suggested we offer snacks and such as well. After a while we picked a day. Another week goes by and she tells me that I should call the local night-life free paper and see if I could get them to cover the event. It was also clear that I would need to plan and promote the whole gig. (by the way the free paper covers large events and businesses who buy add space, not hot dogs and henna in the salon parking lot.) Did she think that I was going to buy an add? Now I started to wonder if she was going to look to me to supply the snacks?!?

So what am I getting for 40%? I spend my time money and effort promoting this salon AND pay them! Once again, I don't even have a chair. That was the last time I went in hoping for walk-ins. Now I just show up when I have an appointment. The receptionists, all of whom are great, take my appointments and call me to tell me when I need to come in. I'd rather just give them the salon's cut directly. They're the only one's who do anything for me. I don't give out salon cards any more. I went back to using cards with my home number on them. I don't really encourage clients to meet me at the salon. I suggest I come to their home first. If they hesitate, then I offer the salon. I'm just not going to pay the salon for the privilege of promoting them on my dime any more. We'll see what happens next...

Powered by Qumana

2007-07-04T11:23:00.000-04:00

I've been a professional henna artist for 6 years now! It doesn't seem like it, but the calendar doesn't lie. All of that time I was working under the name "Body Art by Jen." Lately it sounds kind of rinky-dink and unprofessional to me so I decided to make a change. Now I'm Henna Muse!

Here's my old banner:

I'm working on the new one tonight. Hopefully I'll have something to show for it soon.

Tags: Henna, mehndi, Body Art by Jen, business name

Tomorrow I have an appointment at the salon. That's kind of a joke, but more on that later...