Last week Mom and I trekked out to Floyd, VA - a one-stoplight town and one of Mom's favorite day trips. She loves to eat at Oddfella's Cantina and wander through the shops in Floyd. The town in a wonderful fusion of alternative hippie lifestyles and traditional farmers - think of Bob Marley and Ralph Stanley living in harmony with one another.
We went to the home of Sam, Sam, Austin and Cypress where they made Mom and I feel welcome and comfy and set to work on our henna tattoo. We were there for about two hours but the whole tattoo process only took about an hour. Mom picked out a lotus that represents me and two bunnies which represent easy childbirth. Mom likes swirly lines so they became the stems of the lotus that go down to the mother. Once the design was selected, Sam, the husband, drew the two bunnies and then Sam, the wife, drew in the rest. The henna is mixed into a paste, put in little plastic bottles (maybe 1 ounce) with metal caps of varying diameter openings for narrow lines or wide lines, and squirted onto the belly, hand, back, feet, wherever the tattoo will be. Henna tattoos have been used in India for centuries, especially for brides. Most often if searching for henna tattoos, you will find images of them in very intricate designs on hands. A tattooed pregnant belly is supposed to bring happiness and luck to the mother and child. Mom had seen them years ago and thought they were beautiful. So when she found out I was on the way, she sought out a henna tattoo artist.
The pics here show the results of the process. First the henna paste is allowed to dry for 6 to 8 hours occasionally reapplying lemon sugar water to keep the paste moist and allow it to dye the top two layers of skin as much as possible.
Then the paste is removed. The tattoo shows up as a pale orange/peach color. 
After about 36 hours the tattoo has darkened. It will darken just a bit more over the next 12 hours but you get the idea.
The tattoo is temporary as it only dyes the top two layers of skin. As the skin exfoliates the tattoo fades away. Usually they last for about two weeks. So I guess you can say that Mom and I have been pasted (instead of basted) for Thanksgiving. We are looking forward to sharing the tattoo with everyone over the holiday.
