Re: How to henna paper

Posted by Eliz. on December 16, 1999 at 22:07:02:

In Reply to: How to henna paper posted by Natasha Papousek on December 15, 1999 at 17:08:19:

Thanks for putting your instructions online! I had a whole bunch of
too-old henna, so I tried a bunch of things. On paper, I couldn't get
the dry paste off without tearing the paper. Maybe I need to use
thicker paper of the handmade variety (but I was using
watercolor/sketch paper, which is pretty thick.) The paste left on is
actually pretty nice, if you're careful to keep the height fairly
even, or at least vary it intentionally. I also tried microwaving the
design while it was still wet. Some potential there, but it didn't
come out as nice as Natasha's stuff.

Henna on wood: not terribly successful, but it looked neat with the
paste still on, and I can imagine putting a protective coating over
that. It was pretty cheap wood.

Henna on eggs: keep the paste dry, do only one end or side of the egg
at a time, and leave the paste on. If you take the paste off, half
the time it takes a microlayer of shell, too, and the centers of the
lines are blank while the edges/outlines are darker, but not
dependably enough to use it as a design. Re-wetting the paste doesn't
help. For dying of any kind, it's important that the shells be clean
(wipe with a soft cloth dipped in vinegar) but not scratched (by a
paper towel, fingernails, metal holder, or other item).

Henna on fabric: rocks, as has been said before. Remove the paste
before steam-ironing, and wash afterwards (I keep getting a faint
green haze, but it washes out.) Try to get the paste actually into
(not just atop) the fabric, as has been said before.

Follow-ups:

• Re:if it don't move, henna it! Natasha Papousek 21:12:30 12/17/99 (2)
  • Re:if it don't move, henna it! Eliz. 04:51:22 12/18/99 (1)
    • Re:if it don't move, henna it! Catherine Cartwright Jones 16:12:53 12/18/99 (0)
• Re: How to henna paper Kenzi 23:33:49 12/16/99 (0)