My experience with the mehndi party!

What an experience.

I was pleasantly surprised with the reception I received at the party, and how warm and welcoming everybody was. Kerissa and her family were very accommodating, and as the evening progressed, there were more and more ladies becoming aware of my mehndi table.

The setting up didn't take too long, and within 5 minutes I had my table up and running.

And the excitement only increased from here.

I marvelled at the hall decorations; everything was done beautifully.

These young ones were among the first to line up to get their mehndi done. They just loved it! (Our youngest one kept shying away from the camera. How cute!)

The young one on the far left (6 years old) says, "My little brother wanted to get his mehndi done but he wasn't allowed to, so he smudged mine."

There was music, wonderful food, amazing and enthusiastic company, and the good vibes one feels in the air before the wedding. My only regret is that I wish I had taken more photos! It's absorbing to get caught up with interacting with all the people, but that's more important...don't you agree?

This was the design I did for Kerissa two days before the party.

All in all, I was pleased with how everything turned out. I certainly learnt a lot from this event! I'm keen to see some photos of the stain; if you've taken pics of how your mehndi darkened, please post them up on my Facebook group and let me know whether your experience was a pleasant one!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lydi.mehndi.designs/

Excitement build-up for the mehndi party tomorrow!

The day has almost finally arrived! From what was a booking two months ago (this is good, I encourage bookings in advance), to what is now a mehndi party in a day's time...I must say I'm quite excited! My preparations were done well in advance too; I've mixed a super-dark staining paste, this time including both lavender and tea-tree oil, and it stains like a charm. Showing appreciation to my clients is also very important, so I've created a batch full of thank-you cards.

These are the beginning stages.

This is a sneak preview of some of the designs that will appear at the party.

I quite like this one. It's an older design, but I feel it still works well. And it's quick to do.

Overall, I'm feeling a mixture of nervousness, excitement, jittery-ness and anticipation. I really look forward to how everything is going to turn out! Photos of the event will be uploaded in my next post. Stay tuned!

Obsession...With Stain Progression (and a few tips)

Lately I've been finding myself becoming more and more obsessed with the way mehndi stains (sometimes I go a bit too far with the waiting period and regret it, because I want a fresh new canvas to work with after about a week!) Apart from that, I've been taking the time to improve on my craftsmanship, my control; and overall, my designs. Not forgetting setting time apart for studies; that takes first preference.

On that note, here we go!

Stain progression using...a sock?

Yes, that's right...A sock! What I did was wait for the henna to dry, and then put the sock over it and went to sleep...This would work, except the design actually smudges due to fast build-up of heat and moisture (I thought the moisture would be absorbed by the sock). Besides, the crumbling bits actually continue to stain - even after it flakes off and lands on another section of your hand. Not really a good idea.

Tip #1: Don't use a sock on its own while waiting for the stain to darken! If you must, wrap some tissue around the (dry) design, secure it in place comfortably with some sellotape, and then put the sock over. And sleep comfortably.

Still drying.

This was a spontaneous design, but using the larger floral element from a previous design of mine. I started with the large flower and let my mind work from there.

Tip #2: Once design is completely dry (but not flaking so much yet), wrap comfortably with tissue paper, secure with sellotape (just like the above method), but wrap over this with cling wrap.

This method will absorb excess moisture (while allowing for a bit of breathability); also the little details are preserved like a charm. No smudging, and I left this on the whole night.

Still darkening.

Let me know what your thoughts are! You're welcome to post a comment here, or on my Facebook group, "Lydi's Mehndi Designs"!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/lydi.mehndi.designs/

You can also subscribe to my blog to receive new posts and updates.

The Designs That Didn't Escape

Every day I find myself thinking of new designs...Sometimes they pop up at the most unexpected times! The moment I close my eyes to go to sleep, a new design flashes for a moment, then disappears. As Murphy's law would have it, there were no pens and paper nearby to scribble everything out (in the dark)! Luckily for these ones, they didn't escape. The designs shown on both sides of my hand were brought to life last night, and the one on paper was drawn out within the hour.