February  2014

Last night I hennaed at a lovely  Mehndi Party in Edmonton, North London,  wow what a party!  The bride was beautiful and she sat like a queen as I decorated her hands and feet.

It is good to have a consultation before the day to discuss favourite designs and motifs.  This gives me a good chance to meet the bride and also do a free sample of work to show how lovely, strong and long lasting our natural henna is.

Please contact us on the contact form or email theliondesign@googlemail.com or phone 07789 777 212 to discuss your needs

Pictures are here

Keywords:

Bridal henna, sangeet, mehndi party, Enfield, North London, Natural Henna, Asian Bride,  Henna, East London, Henna London, Bridal Henna London, Best Bridal Henna Artist

February 2014

I have been playing around with my website again, tidying it up and I am really pleased with the new layout.

I have also been deeply studying henna.  I heard on one of the henna podcasts by Kenzi, speaking to Henna Crone in USA that it is a very good idea to keep a book nearby at all times to jot down ideas, inspirations and designs.  It expands the artistic brain and trains the muscle memory. So this is what I have been doing in my spare moments, researching designs and copying them so they get into my brain and this is allowing me to expand me repertoire and helping me understand so much more about how patterns work.

December 2013 Props and Prosthetics

Wow, I am completely having an amazing time at the moment!

I have been given a lovely list of props and costumes to make for The Platinum Panto 2014 which is going to be Shrekettes in Wonderland and you can catch it at The Millfield Theatre 9-16th January, an absolute must if you or your kids like street dance and theatre with a punch!

Platinum have asked me to make a whole range of things from crowns for the White and Red Queen to a Chinese Dragon puppet version of the Caterpillar.  This giant caterpillar has taken my creative brain to places it hasn’t been before, I turned it into an Indian God and made it big enough for 5 dancers.  My kitchen is a hive of activity and half made costumes hanging up awaiting their next process.  This all goes on of course in my kitchen at home, the weather is too cold to work in my lean-to workshop.  It will be necessary to build a separate workshop down the bottom of the garden soon, looking forward to making a name sign for that!

The last two days I have taken part in a workshop learning how to make prosthetic ears, horns and wings, a real treat and I am looking forward to using this more and more.  This really adds another dimension to what I do and if you need to look like a dragon, alien, fae creature or anything like that, you know where to come!

Mid Nov 2013

I am just having such a wonderful crazy time at the moment. Of course I have my new baby girl and she is just amazing but business is flourishing, the art is flowing and the energy is good! When times are slow and quiet, I must remember that this happens and cherish those times too.

This weekend I met a fellow amazing henna artist Michelle from http://www.hennavibes.co.uk we have been friends on Facebook for a while now but until Sunday had not met in person. Well, we got on like a house on fire of course and spent a good while soaking up all the atmosphere, admiring clothes and buying seriously blingy jewellery at The Asian Wedding Show, Excel. We swapped henna artwork, which was very exciting to be henna’d by such an amazing artist. I feel very inspired to do more bridal and work on developing an artistic style of my own that is fusion with tradition.

Today I have been teaching a fellow artist some tricks in adult face painting. My student was already a make up artist and beautician so the brush and sponge work I use came easily to her and she picked up so much information in the time she was here. You can see some of the faces we looked at how to build up in my step by step section.

November 2013

Different topic today! This week I attended a social networking course that explained how all this Facebooking, tweeting and blogging business works. My baby was happy as she got lots of cuddles and Danish pastries and I learned an awful lot about what I need to do to come higher up in the Google search.

The workshop started with a ritual, a pledge of love and brilliance and this set the standard for the next two hours. People buy from people and this old saying is true, so here I am to paint you, henna you while raising my babies and tell you all about it via Facebook and Twitter, and of course, I can do all these things at the same time with my newfound knowledge. If you are interested in learning for your own business contact Karen Mercer at The Ideas Station on the web and Facebook.

 October 2013 more blogging in one month?!  Cor I am getting good!

I have had a bump casting project on the burner for a few months now.

I cast the bump at about 38 weeks when my own baby was only a few weeks old, in fact, I was wearing her in my sling cause she was so teeny tiny!  It was great to find out that the beautiful baby was called Rosie because that is one of my favourite things to paint.

Over the next few weeks I smoothed the casting with papier mache and built up the painting.  Mum brought Rosie over at a few weeks old and we painted her little feet then pushed them onto the bump to leave an impression.  What a beautiful way to remember how small baby feet are.

This week I delivered the finished piece, mum is so happy and so I am I, this is one of my favourite things to do.   Have a look here at the designs in the gallery.

October 2013 Exploring Jewish Henna Designs

I spent an evening doing some freehand glitter tattoos at a very lavish event at a Barmitzvah in central London last week and one of the ladies was talking about her henna party for her hen night.  I felt so excited to get home and look up what sort of designs were traditional in the Jewish Community!

I found that along with the usual flowers, leaves and swirls there are celtic looking designs but also one of my favourite symbols, The Hand of Miriam.  Other names for this female symbol are Hand of Hamsa or Hand of Venus, you can find out more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamsa

I love this amulet particularly because my Dad gifted me a gold Hand of Venus just after a particularly difficult period and I have been feeling very positive since wearing it, it represents the positive change to me.  I am really looking forward to doing some Jewish henna in London or anywhere else it takes me!

Samples of all my work can be found on my Facebook page, here

Sep 2013

Wow! It has been an epic summer!

We have been busy attending local festivals (and a couple further afield) and hardly had any time to tell you all about it.

Really want to thank all our artists for all their beautiful work  and working with all my friends keeps me all inspired, loving this art!

Also want to thank all my regulars, you make me so happy, what a lucky face painter I am!

21st May 2013

Serious juggling today, OMG, school run, middle child at home with cold but Aunty Eloise is coming over today and I just know after seeing so much inspiring artwork from Paintopia Bodypainting Festival I have an itch that needs to be scratched and I neeeeeed to paint my beautiful sister, Eloise Horsfield!

Luckily dear Eloise is up for this so after a quick research on Pinterest I lay paints on the table, baby in the bouncy chair and set to work.  I am so pleased with the result, we took some amazing photos, you can see them in the body art and adult face painting sections.  I am so grateful baby slept for just long enough to complete the mission 🙂

10th May 2013

Really looking forward to face painting at the Grovelands Festival next weekend, 18th and 19th May.  I hope there will be oodles of sunshine and squillions of children.

9th May 2013

Small window this morning to play with my new paints, baby sleeping and sun is shining.  I fancied doing another mask today, working on the eyes.  “Knock knock” it is the postman at the door…. oh my, need to explain…..”please excuse the face!”, I jollily explain, “that’s ok, you have painted my daughter before at Capel Manor Gardens, she loves your painting!” Ahhhh a lovely thing to hear!

27th April 2013

Well today I am designing new banners and lawn signs for my up coming summer events.  The next one is the Grovelands Festival 18th and 19th May at the Grovelands Park in Winchmore Hill.