Mehndi Mayhem

I've been brushing up on my mehndi, and the examples above are my latest creations. I find it so much easier to make the designs with a marker than squeezing a mehndi cone. I wonder if anyone has ever created a "mehndi marker"? I'd have so much more control over the design that way! The full size drawings actually span across an 8.5x11 sheet of paper, and I intend to turn them into iron-on transfers for t-shirts. Right now I'm debating whether or not I should add color to them and re-scan or simply keep them black and white. I read online recently that you can use black fabric "puffy" paint to trace a picture in a coloring book, and then transfer the design to a t-shirt using a hot iron. Once the image is on a shirt, you can add permanent color with fabric paints, markers, rhinestones, etc. Kids can also use washable markers to color the image. The the color will disappear after each wash, and they can use different colors each time. If the method works with a coloring book page, it should work with my own designs on a sheet of paper.

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Samedh has been creating mehndi designs of his own lately. He uses sidewalk chalk to color his hands and arms and then shows me his work. At our Bal Vikas Reunion last summer, all the kids had mehndi done on their hands. It was a big hit, and Samedh is looking forward to getting his own design this year. He wants an elephant design and asked if he can go first. Sure he can go first, but now I have to come up with an elephant design! Last year, kids asked for all kinds of designs including dragons and such. I'm afraid if I make an elephant, I'll get all sorts of requests that I won't be able to accommodate. I did try making a peacock yesterday and it looked OK. Maybe if I can perfect an elephant and peacock design within the next week, that will be enough to satisfy the kids.

See Ya' in Chicagoland!

Our count-down to Chicagoland has begun! We have just under three weeks left before our very special reunion of India adoptive families. Last summer, nine families met at Homewood Suites in Schaumburg, IL for our group's first official "family reunion." Now we are preparing once again to make the journey from various parts of the Midwest so our families can spend a long weekend together - - most of us reuniting from last year, and some who will be meeting for the first time. None of us are blood relatives, but we are family all the same. You see, we all have one thing in common: our adopted child(ren) from Bal Vikas Orphanage in Mumbai, India.

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This year, we are expecting a total of seven families, but are certainly welcome to more if schedules allow! Only a few weeks ago, our group was convinced that this year's reunion would be much smaller, with only four families able to commit. But thankfully, the schedules of a few additional families opened up during the past week, and our numbers are growing strong! Best of all, Samedh's good buddy Anish (whom we met over Memorial Day weekend) will be making the trip with his parents, which is news we just learned yesterday.

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As one of the event coordinators, I have a lot of organizing to do in the coming weeks. Thankfully, I have a lot of supplies left over from last year (craft items, table covering, table ware, mehendi cones, etc.), so it's just a matter of hauling totes out of storage and preparing for the road trip. Like last year's reunion, I am planning a very special keepsake for the children. Because a few of our BV families are readers of my blog, I can't disclose what I have planned for this year without spoiling the surprise. Everyone will know soon enough, though:)

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I'm sure the time will fly by, and the end of June will be upon us before we know it. This weekend we have the Race for the Cure in Holland, next weekend is Father's Day, and the following weekend will be our big road trip! It's hard to believe that it's been almost one year since our group of families last met. It will be fun to see how much each child has grown, and we probably won't even recognize the youngest members of the group who are already 2 years old this year!