Henna the Art of Dyeing Oneself!

Today I've spent the entire day playing with henna and reading.  Hopefully my hand takes the plant dye but its really old stuff so I thought I'd try it out one last time before deciding whether I should just chuck it  :(   But anyways I used one of my favorite patterns (it's now my banner) and then I had fun decorating my fingers in different styles.  I really hope this turn out well but my expectations aren't high.  So in a last ditch attempt at making the henna really stick to my hand and dye it darker I looked on the internet... which recommended to make a hairspray and regular white glue mix and apply it over the dried henna.  Since I don't have "hairspray" I decided to mix the mousse and glue instead... it seems to have worked in some degree.  There is now a shiny sealant keeping my henna from drying out (although I think it has already and it didn't seem to do much except for keeping it from flaking off)  Also I tried out the process of "wrapping your hand" to make your hand sweat and moisten the dye and heat things up.  It makes sense but after a couple of hours of reading outside in the heat with my hand wrapped (minus the saran wrap) almost every OTHER part of me was sweating... just not my hand.  So I pulled off the toilet paper and old sock (some of the toilet paper stuck to the dried glue covered henna which is supper annoying).  So the henna is still on my hand and has been there since 11:30 and due to the glue I have no idea when I should just give up and rip it all off.  The few times that I've "peaked" in a place that already seemed to be coming off there was little to no visible stain... which sucks.  But luckily I've been enjoying not having to clean my house and my new book which is fantastic!  I mean really how can you not laugh your ass off when San Francisco is plagued with Vampire Cats?

Back to the art:  So in the anticipation of a really sucky henna temporary tattoo I'm going to post some older pics of my fab-tastic skills!

(This one is my favorite pattern)

and the inside of my hand which I did a little bit differently and also takes the dye better... the palm's skin is softer and a better absorber.  Negatives are that you generally wash the palms of your hands more often and thus it has more wear and tear damage.  Also you can do less when your hands have henna on the palms of your hands waiting for it to dry.