Lots of Henna

I was hired to do henna tonight at a birthday party for a 14-year-old girl.  The kids were great, though I was really disconcerted to hear "Oh, this is from Glee" when songs from my junior high and high school years were playing.  Wow, am I that old?  Really?  When did that happen?!

At any rate, the party was outside, where the humidity was wreaking a bit of havoc with the henna's consistency, but I got some decent results and the kids loved it.  Mom had set up a great little table from me, with printed paisley designs to "set the scene."  That was great!

Some of my pieces...

(The girl pulled this one up on her smartphone; it apparently means "love.")

And my very last request of the night, from the birthday girl's younger brother, a penguin.  I drew it first in surgical marker to be sure I'd get it right, and you can still see it behind the henna.  The marker is easily washed off, while the henna stain will remain.  It was quite dark at this point, and I was working by a dim porch light, so I wasn't quite as "on" the marker as I thought I was.

And yes, the penguin is holding a little fish.  I just had to.

Afternoon of Henna

I was hired to do henna today at my client's daughter's 50th birthday party. Yes, 50th. I was a surprise, part of the birthday gift, because the birthday girl is a huge henna fan. It showed when my client introduced me to her daughter, and she kept looking back and forth between me and her mother saying, "Really? Seriously? You have henna?" and then sort of squealed.

She wasn't the only one; I was a hit at the party in general, and people got henna even though it meant they couldn't get back in the pool on a nice, warm day. My takers were mostly girls and women, though some men went for it too.

I think the only person who might not have loved me to death was a teenage boy who wanted to use my henna himself to "graffiti" inappropriate words or pictures on another boy. With young kids at the party, I didn't think this was the proper venue for such things and refused.

I do lament the fact that I wasn't able to get good, clear photos of these last two. I really liked them, but it was headed toward evening and with the dim light, I had trouble getting the camera to focus properly. I figure they're worth posting anyway.