Harry Potter: Henna a Dark Mark

My friend and I are dressing up as Death Eaters for the movie premiere and book launch - we decided to complete the package by hennaing dark marks onto our left forearms.

Print off the following image and choose a size suitable for your arm. Cut out the design. Use an exacto-knife to cut out the eye sockets (this will give you a guideline for where to place the skull) as well as the 'holes' in the snake (where it makes the figure-8).

Place the template on your friend's arm and trace around it using a pen. You could probably also use eyeliner for this.

Once the outline is complete, remove the stencil. Using it as a reference, fill in the details.

Start tracing the design using henna. I got mine off ebay. Try to apply the henna at a vertical 90 degree angle, this will help you be more precise and prevent your hand from smudging the work you have done before.

Let the henna dry. The longer you leave it on, the darker it's supposed to be. I left mine on overnight. I've also heard that steaming it (putting your hand over a kettle boiling) also makes the henna darker once it's set.

Once you've left it on long enough, scratch/rub the henna off. Wash off the pen/eyeliner with soap and water.

This is how mine turned out!