Using carrot bags:

While the 1/2 Jacquard plastic applicator bottles and Jacquard metal tips or the Peblo tips remain my preference, I have been playing more lately with the carrot bags. As I have said before, each tool has advantages and disadvantages...strengths and weaknesses. So I thought I'd post some carrot bag use tips and information.

For anyone wondering what the heck is a carrot bag, briefly it is a triangular and cone shaped piece of plastic that you will often find in some candy stores that sell loose candy, to be filled with small candy like jelly beans. They resemble the thick and opaque bags that are use by cake decorators to fill with icing and decorate cakes. For cake decorating, they are used with couplers and an assortment of metal tips. The couple and tips can also be used with the carrot bags for henna design application.

After the paste is made, the first challenge is to get the paste from your cup or bowl into that carrot bag. I found trying to hold the carrot bag while doing this to be rather hit and miss. And missing with henna paste is not a good thing. So having something to hold the carrot bag while you fill it is a good idea. Just about anything that is deep enough will work. The carrot bag itself is about the length...or a bit longer than the average adults hand. Filling that near the top is a lot of henna paste...also not advisable because you need a lot of the plastic at the top to twist to close the bag. So unless you are filling it to use as a means to transfer your paste to other carrot bags or other applicators like your applicator bottles, you will not want to have an even near full carrot bag worth of henna paste. Another issue with too much paste in the bag is the weight of all of that paste and the effect of that weight on the hand while trying to use the bag as an applicator.

I like about 4 inches of paste in the bag. So accepting the first challenge is made a lot easier when getting something to support the carrot bag while you fill it. I use plastic containers that are about 6 inches in height with an opening with about a 3 inch diameter. Placing the tip at the bottom of the container and then rolling the top of the carrot bag over the container then pulling it down around the outside of the container worked quite well for me. Sort of like having the carrot bag make a lining for the inside of the container. It helped to have about 6 inches of the carrot bag down in the can with the rest pulled around the outside of the container. Then I could just spoon and scrape all of the paste into the opening of the carrot bag. When all paste is in the bag, it is easy to then take hold of the part of the carrot bag hanging over the outside of the container and pull the carrot bag completely out of the container. You now have a carrot bag with your paste in it.

Sometimes you will have about a half inch to an inch at the tip of the carrot bag that has created an air pocket and the paste can't get to the tip. That is fine. You can deal with that later. First you have to close the top of the carrot bag. I was afraid of using a twisty for fear it would cut into the plastic and create a mess. What worked for me was to push the paste as far down into the bag as possible and then twist the bag tight...you know...like you do with the bread bag in order to keep the bread fresh. Twist the bag until the paste is tight in the bag. Then begin to tape the bag where it is twisted. It helps to have your tape already cut off in order to get this taping thing done with one hand holding the bag. Keep twisting the bag to keep it tight and tape around the twist to the point of excess. With henna paste there is no such thing. You don't want the paste to seep out of the top while you use the paste. Continue to twist and tape until you are sure you have the top closed securely and the paste is tight and compact in the bag.

Now you will want to deal with that air pocket at the tip. You will want more tape and a razor blade to deal with this. Place the carrot bag on its side on a hard surface. You want to cut the tip off. But you want to keep two things in mind. You need to make sure the cut is such that the opening created is not too large. The larger the hole, the more paste that will come out of it. If you want thin lines, you want the smallest opening possible. So cut as close to the tip as is humanly possible. You also want to make sure you cut the tip in the correct direction. Lay the carrot bag with the seam side furthermost away from you and the unseamed side closest to you. This means that you don't want to use the carrot bags with two seams. Secure the bag with one hand and cut the tip with the razor starting at the seamed side and cutting downward at a 45 degree angle. You have to keep both the angle and the size of the opening desired in mind. When the small opening is cut, the air in the tip will escape. Gently put pressure on your carrot bag and push the paste to the tip. When the paste is at the tip, fold a small piece of tape flatly on the tip with enough tape left so you can easily remove the tape. Squeeze the tape tight to seal the tip.

Then go back to the top of the bag and twist it some more to tighten it. The loss of the air pocket will have made the bag more loose. Twist and tape until your bag is once more tight. Twist the top of the bag so that you have about 2 inches of twisted taped plastic. Cut the excess plastic away...leaving about a quarter inch of untwisted plastic. Then slightly twist and fold this over the rest of the twisted plastic. Tape securely. Your bag is ready to use when you remove the tape from the tip.

I am sure that everyone using carrot bags have their own way of holding them. What works best for me is forming a fist around the bag with the tip coming out of the bottom of the fist and the twisted part coming out of the top of the fist. (Top being where my thumb is.)

Some important things....I think.

1. It requires very little pressure to make the paste flow. If your paste is thin enough, it will just sort of flow out on its own;
2. Getting the paste to flow out in a round thread has a lot to do with the cut, but also with how you hold the bag. Hold the bag with the seamless side in the direction you are pulling the thread of paste.
3. Thick paste will over time stretch your tiny opening and can result in thicker lines than you desire;
4. Hold the tip of your cone above the skin as you lay your paste to form your design. Pull the line of paste along as you create your design. The more you can pull the paste the thinner the line. Stringy paste is just a blessing when doing this. Your pace and pulling will determine how thin a thread of paste you are working with. And ofcourse, that will determine how fine and thin the line of your design will be;
5. And isolated wrist movements work for you better than working from your shoulder.

Advantages of the carrot bag...IMHO...

• Speed
• No squeezing and great pressure necessary
• Availability of paste without need for refills
• Ability to use all of the paste in the bag
• Toss it when empty...no washing them out

Disadvantages of the carrot bat...again IMHO...

• Requires getting use to the feel of working with something soft
• Squeezing is a habit that has to be unlearned with these
• Requires more effort to fill them
• The opening is of your making and wrong cuts are possible
• The opening can expand and alter the line of your design if a tip and coupler is not used

I find carrot bags a fun and useful alternative to applicator bottles and cones. For designs that flow, I would choose the carrot bag as first choice. For covering large areas of the body, they would win hands down because of the amount of paste they will hold. And they are economical.

For designs that require a lot of starts and stops, I still find the Jaquard bottles with tips to work best for me. I am addicted to the familiar and the Jacquard bottles feel familiar to me. I like their firmness...they remind my hand and body of the firmness of pencils, pens, brushes, chisels...things my hands have long time relationships with. There is something comforting about working with things with their own boundaries and limitations. Perfect for working tight. And at the same time, the carrot bags felt more freeing. They reminded of when I painted with my fingers, when I am working with clay. I found working with them while creating free hand designs seemed allowed the design to happen with little consideration of the tool. Which is both good and bad.

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