Learning Mehndi

I am learning the art of mehndi, applying henna paste to the hands and feet to stain the skin to achieve a temporary "tattoo". This is done traditionally as part of the wedding preparation in some cultures. A friend I made through SILC apparently has faith in my artistic ability, because he asked me to do mehndi at a summer festival before I had even begun to learn the art, and asked me again for several other festival occasions, and has now given my name to a young woman seeking an artist for bridal mehndi!! Now, I love the opportunities and the art itself, and I am pursuing excellence in henna work. But I am a beginner. I think I will stick to less dense, more open patterns as much as possible. Last night when I couldn't sleep, I took my last leftover cone of henna and tried to approximate from insomnia glazed memory a gorgeous design I saw here: DarcitaNanda's Henna It's not a close approximation, and I used the hand a couple times before the paste was dry so squished it in a few places... It's nowhere near as fine as the beautiful original. But a record of my first attempt :).