Henna truly is amazing. What a natural gift.

Thank you Chico! See you at the market!

You can find me on Broadway between 3rd and 4th street in Chico, California April-September 6-9pm for natural henna, exclusively local produce, handcrafted food, wares, jewelry, and food trucks

Floral cuff henna for her birthday at the market.

Henna design inspired by Arabian Penninsula by Liz Ging at the Thursday Night Market, henna by Kristy McCurry.

naturalista for life. Purely natural henna imparts temporal and beautifully rich earthy designs upon your skin. Ask your henna artists what is in their paste to ensure an authentic henna experience, the paste should smell clean and earthy.

Henna $10.00 special at the Thursday Night Market Chico, California. April to September 6-9pm.

Today by my west window, working on my leather amulet necklaces for my etsy shop with a fresh henna stain, just newly oxidizing.
By tomorrow morning it will become richer and darker. Stop back in to see how it turns out!

Tonight you can find me on Broadway Street, bewtween 3rd and 4th street for natural henna with myself and Fatima’s Jewled Henna from 6-9 pm in Chico, California. We’d love to see you!

Via Flickr:

  An early afternoon in Bidwell Park, the jewel of my city. I saw only one piece of litter to be contained and crews of volunteers cutting back and digging the blackberry plants which are wildly proliferate in our area. We sat under the trees around the Nature Center to celebrate natural life in Bidwell Park. A happy day.

Earlier in the year we met for her bridal consultation to decide what design direction to take, as there are many styles of henna to choose from. She liked the idea of fine details to her elbows and little to no floral designs, Indian lace style mehendi came to my mind immediately. We set her henna appointment to be 3 days before her wedding, a day she would share with loved ones and a hen party.

I spent a few weeks seeking henna designs on flickr in her style and making little sketches of details I liked from other henna artists. I liked her style choice, and felt mandalas and half mandalas would be a great element to include in her henna. I tried to design each 4 parts of her wedding henna with different, yet cohesive designs. Her palms would have a design which came together when her palms were cupped upward. We would hide her groom’s name in the details.

Wedding henna this detailed takes time to apply skillfully and Sara was most patient. Let’s just say it took me more than 3 hours. We started in the afternoon, I find it is a great time to start wedding henna, as the light is perfect and there is plenty of time for the henna to seep into the topmost layers of your skin. This leaves you the option of removing your henna paste in the late evening and letting it oxidize while you sleep.

So this is her wedding henna  part I, I’ll have the rest of her story next week.

Thank you for stopping by!

Purely natural henna with model Emily Teague and Henna Trails, captured by Vinnie Johnson photography

• Model: Emily Teague,   
  
•  MUA: Lindsey Deshler
•  Henna: Kristy McCurry      
•  Photography: Vinnie Johnson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Are you inspired by the beauty of henna? I can help you fulfill your vision and connect you to the roots of natural beauty. Your skin is a perfect canvas. Contact me to make the ancient artistry of henna a realization for you.

leaves release their color contained within

delicate lines draped as bespoken lace patterns

mindful stillness as her henna sinks into her skin

with ancient whispers of devotion to love.

her skin blooms in the deep red of henna

palms open, as her heart

her feet adorned, a divine contact upon our earth.

as flowers fade, so her henna fades.

and love grows.

Society6 and I are offering free shipping for a limited time in my newly created Our Folk Life online shop! I am loving the look of the dark wooden plank and turquoise toned mandala motif, decidedly rustic. Certainly bohemian…what device?

My art is all hand drawn, Society6 enables me to produce items I normally would not be able to offer at reasonable prices. Society6 is  based out of San Francisco and so far I have been very pleased with their service and the environment they nurture. There are very many quality artists keeping shop, with new offerings daily. I upload my art image, they store it and print on demand. I’m so excited, so many opportunities, so many visions to come to life.

I would like to let my readers know I am blogging about my folk art on Our Folk Life. Henna Trails will continue to focus on henna body arts, culture and design. Join me if you like my folk art!

Thank you!

Ingredients in Henna Trails’ henna paste, mixed fresh and in house.

1. body art quality henna powder

2.aromatherapy grade essential oils; cajeput, cardamom, cedar and lavender oil

3.warm tamarind and hibiscus tea

4. jaggery or, raw sugar

Paste mixing day comes once a week, mixed smoothly and set aside to develop and release the dye contained within the leaf so we can all have stunning natural henna stains.

Purely natural henna is a woman’s best sepia toned accessory . Natural henna paste dyes the top layers of your skin, as your skin exfoliates naturally, your henna stain will fade away entirely.

Natural henna stains are variable, you can see something of an ombre effect with the fingertips being the darkest point of the henna stain.  It is natural to see the the stain lighter as it moves up the arm. Sometimes the stain stays consistent as it moves up the arm, a trait of henna paste, body chemistry and more. Purely natural henna is made from powdered henna leaves, tea, cajeput essential oil, and sugar. A simple recipe, natural and safe. Henna is known to have been used as skin adornment for ages, times when chemicals were unknown. Even now, the naturalistic essence of henna is one of it’s most appealing attributes. Henna stains typically last anywhere from 7-12 days, depending on body placement and skin chemistry.

To achieve your quality henna stain, you will need to be patient and slow down for a few hours at least. Your henna artist will apply the henna paste upon your skin, typically the paste will be dry 15 minutes after the paste is laid. Henna is known for having a cooling effect, you’ll want to adjust your environment. Now that you have your design, you will want to keep it intact for 4-8 hours, depending on your commitment to quality henna stains. The longer you leave your paste on, the more skin cells the henna paste can reach.

I have applied my purely natural henna paste in an Arabic floral motif on my hands. I will leave this paste intact for 6 hours for quality henna stains.

During this time you will want to do something that doesn’t require much activity which could effect your henna paste, wherever it is placed. Settle yourself comfortably and daydream, nap, wax poetic, talk with a friend, or watch some films. Have one cup of hot tea.

After your natural henna paste is rubbed off, your new henna stain is revealed. This is my favorite part of henna, as your skin reveals a deep layer of bright orange designs and the essence of the essential oils mixed into your paste are intoxicating. My henna paste has undertones of cardamom, lavender, and cedar essential oils, a clean woodsy scent with the cajeput oil. However, you’re not quite done with your aftercare. Avoid direct contact with water as long as you can. You may need to get creative and ask for assistance from your roommates or family. If you can’t avoid water, it’s fine, you’ll still get a really nice henna stain. If you avoid water you’ll get a better quality henna stain. Your henna stain will progressively become darker as it oxidizes. 24 hours after your stain is revealed will be your mature henna stain color.

A few hours after rubbing the natural henna paste off my skin.

Henna is and was, meant to be purely natural.. Your skin is your largest organ and a beautiful canvas. Nothing compares to the look of purely natural henna stained skin, connect with an ancient beauty. The henna on your skin may fade away, yet the artistry of henna will remain and grow.

Reblogged from Curiouser & Curiouser: