Thursday 20 December 2012

Oh what a night!...

On Tuesday Shannon and I did henna at the St Andrews Twilight Market.  The market ran from 4pm till 10pm and it was like one big party!

We had so much fun - our waiting list was full, it was 30 degrees, we had the loveliest of customers all in good spirits - there was so much laughter and joy at our table that I am still grinning when I think back on it. 

Here are some photos from the day (we only had our iphones so I'm not going for any photography awards here!)...

Shannon and I before the customers arrived - red as beetroots from setting up in the afternoon sun...
 Our little stall...
 Danielle popped by for some festive henna...
 The colourful stalls at St Andrews are always interesting to look at...
 Our neighbour Maria who sold beautifully handcrafted rings...
 Um.... it got a little crowded...!
Shannon trying to keep out of the sun by wearing her scarf under her hat ... and ending up looking amazing as usual...
Our favourite blogger Kerrie from "Gypsy River" stopped by for henna.  We were so delighted to meet her after drooling over her lovely blog for so long.  You can check out all the exotic wonder that is Gypsy River here.
 Shannon taking up the challenge of doing face henna...
 Two little girls with sparkly henna...
 As the sun went down we did henna by lamplight...
And we got through the pages of waiting lists...
 Om and Flowers...
 Here is me ...
 Nice henna and ring combo - this lady was so gentle and nice...
Late into the night, I'm tired after so much henna, or too much laughing - not sure which...
 Shannon and I pause for a pic (we should do this more but are often too busy with customers)...
So at the end of all of this, tired and happy and a little delirious from all the sun and henna love - Shannon and I packed up our stall and made the long drive back to Melbourne arriving home at 1am.

This week the henna madness continues with a couple of spots at the Ishka stores (Fountain Gate and Chadstone) plus another market at St Andrews on Saturday.

I've been cooking lots of healthy food to get me through the Christmas rush... and mixing what seems like endless bowls of henna.  Here we have vegetable biriyani and quinoa patties with a bag of henna, some cones and a bowl of extra freshly mixed henna.  Good to see I'm getting my greens right?
I hope the silly season is treating you well...

Tara

Tuesday 11 December 2012

Mellow henna with Danielle

My friend Danielle coined the phrase "you need to let it mellow..." with regards to getting henna to stain the skin.  Once the henna is applied, you really need to relax and let it do its thing to achieve a deep stain.  It needs to be undisturbed, warm and admired so that this can happen.  So really, you need to let it mellow...

Danielle kindly agreed to model for me yesterday so that I could have some new designs for my henna book.  Her skin is amazing and I love having her beautiful canvas to work with. 

Here are some pictures of Danielle letting her henna mellow...

 
 


 
Tara
 

Thursday 6 December 2012

Tribal Thursday...

Normally I do Tribal Friday, but this week I came over all tribal a day early...

Afghani necklace on an Indian wall hanging...
Detail of my Indian tribal bag...
Yes that is a safety pin holding the strap on... I do intend to change the handles one of these days...
 Indian Toran...
 A little hanging I made a while back...
 Nomadic Tara dreamcatcher made from natural materials...
 Another Nomadic Tara creation...
 Blue Indian cushion...
 Indian painted console table...
 Afghani necklace...
 Candles and jewellery which never got put away...
 Indian painted mirror detail...
 Hanging lampshade in fuchsia...
More recently worn jewellery with Nomadic Tara candles... sometimes my mess can be classified as "artistic"... surely...

Wise words... don't mind if I do...
Happy Tribal Thursday everyone!

Tara

Saturday 1 December 2012

Bohemian Dreamer slip dresses...

Following on from my Bohemian Dreamer skirt which sold a while back, I got to thinking about new products for this range - slip dresses.  I like the way you can tie-dye them soft pastel shades plus they are super feminine and girly so that appealed to me too. 

I've used old slips which had a previous life hidden under dresses - with a bit of upcycling (I love that new term!) they now shine as main events rather than having their beautiful lace hidden away.

This is the prototype... which I made for me to wear.  I do love pink...
 It's just a pile of plain old slips and doilies...
 A pot of pink dye and the magic begins...
 A new colour trial - dark green...
 Teal always turns out well...
 It was 39 degrees on Wednesday in Melbourne (phew!), perfect for drying frillies on the old Hills Hoist washing line (colour blocked of course!)...
 Teal lovelies...
 Pinky perfect...
 Earthy greens...
 All washed and pressed... ready for me to create dresses...
 The petticoats all lined up awaiting embellishment...
 The bohemian dreamer slip dress...
That's the pink one done - I hope to have the rest of them up on my Etsy store over the next couple of weeks...
 Tara