More Pakenham creativity - henna and braids

In the last post I highlighted Heather's baking creativity but Sarah and I have not just been lolling around in that department.

Sarah purchased some henna, looked at some pictures on the internet and then got to work on Heather's hand.

Completed. Maybe she was inspired by Skin Wars which we have been binge watching. Some amazing body painting!

Then she got to work on her own foot.

After the pattern was complete we periodically sprayed it with lemon juice (to stop it from cracking off) and then wrapped it in saran wrap (to keep it moist) overnight. Heather was even talking about tying her arm to a bedpost to prevent the henna from getting rubbed off in her sleep. We convinced her the saran wrap would suffice.

In the morning the saran came off, henna dried out and came off and the skin was temporarily dyed. These are Sarah's hands which she did herself.

I was her trial canvas and opted for something simple.

The "tattoos" fade and then disappear as the layers of skin die and shed. Occasionally oiling the site helps them last longer (lotion is not advised). Sweating makes them fade faster. Unfortunately it has been in the 30s and humid so we haven't been able to avoid sweating.
Our morning routine is for Sarah to wake me at around 6am (by telling me that the coffee is on). I get dressed, wash etc and emerge to pour my first cup and do the first braid. This is a routine established 2 years ago when I first took care of the girls for a week and sent them to school with a different braid every day. We are not doing as much internet research this year, just sort of making them up.

On Heather, lace braid with feathers, the start of her ladder braid.

Ladder braid across one side of her head and around the back

and lace braid on the opposite side (I cleaned up the elastic mess before she left for school)

Sarah with a french braid from the neck up and the forehead back. She then put the excess in a bun.

Working on the same style for Heather. It involved her sitting on a bar stool with her head down. A little dizzy when she got up. Personally I think your lucky dizzy is all you are at 6:30am.

Completed back

We bobby pinned Heather's excess into a roll.

Getting even more complicated on Sarah. 3 french braids, meeting at the top with one braid left in the pony tail.

Heather was my second braid BEFORE my second cup of coffee, so we went simple. French braid from above one ear to behind the opposite one.

OMG. Normally I am not downstairs much before 8am and here I have braided 2 heads, had 2 cups of coffee, walked 2 large dogs for 45 minutes and had my breakfast by then!