I set up my henna booth at the Crossroads Music Festival here in Ypsilanti on Friday. Its a weekly music festival that is free to the public. Vendors can come and set up for $10 and do as they please. Its so wonderful to get to see what Ypsi really is all about – music, diversity, art & conversation. I got to meet so many nice people and Nathan, Judah and I plan to be there every Friday until the beginning of Fall.

Here is an octopus I did on my upper leg for fun and to get my hand muscles back into working order. It took about 45 minutes, 60 minutes including the 15 minute break I took. The design was inspired from an online photo.

octopus, henna, art, body art, design, mehndi

Here is the photo of the stain it made after the paste was removed. There reason why its not as dark as my henna usually comes out is because of the place on my body where I did the design.

octopus, henna, art, body art, design, mehndi

This photo is three days later after the henna was first applied. You can see it has gotten even darker. Henna designs get to their darkest stain 48 hours after the paste is removed.

octopus, henna, art, body art, design, mehndi

Just a tip : to keep your henna design longer, apply a waxy balm to protect the area daily and before you get it wet. I prefer Mama Bee Belly Balm ( that I had left over from my baby being born )

*Kelly*