hennablog

So it didn't go perfectly, but it went pretty well, in my opinion.

I didn't get my EOs in the mail, so I added ground cinammon and allspice to the mix so it would smell good. Nice combo! Completely took out the "moldy lemonade stand" motif.

Some things I'm gonig to fix my next time around:

• WAY less sugar. I used equal gram weights of sugar and henna powder... I'm thinking using half or a third as much sugar as henna powder. I don't know how to describe the results. Whenever I wanted a line to end, it wouldn't, because the end would refuse to leave the cone.
• If I add cinnamon and allspice, I need to either get it powdered, cook it into a liquid to add, or strain my paste before using it. I had a slight clogging problem with those added in.
• Gotta remember to wait until it's dry before putting the lemon juice/sugar mix on to set it! I totally smooshed my nice, delicate hand henna with the lemony cotton ball.
• I'm totally using an Elmer's glue mix to set it next time, not the lemon juice/sugar with a coating of New Skin. That stuff totally stinks. I guess, alternately, I could just apply the New Skin outside instead of in the kitchen...
• If I do apply New Skin outside instead of in the kitchen, I need to remember to do it after the lemony sugar skin dries, too. Or else it ends up running, then crystalizing, then being sticky.
• And lastly, maybe I'll make a smaller batch. I ended up with five cones, lol.

Now, onto the photos! I took these before setting the paste. None of these come directly from a pattern book, btw.

My left foot.

My fun hand henna that I squished with my lemony sugar ball after taking this photo.

A design I tried to do on the outside of my left ankle. It looks narsty because, well, it's really, really hard to see the outside of your ankle. Either that or I haven't been doing enough yoga. Anyway, yuck.

So tomorrow I get to scrape the paste off, and it should be a nice dark color by Saturday or Sunday, if I'm lucky, and my tea tree oil did what it's supposed to do!

Now, I'm off to wrap these babies and stick 'em under a heating pad. In true fog city fashion, my apartment is freezing. Not good for henna.