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Want to know what 1000 backpacks filled with school supplies destined to be given to needy elementary and middle school children look like? Here they are Our College's Registrar Office has been doing internal fundraisers for the past 4 years to fund giving the backpacks out - as well as other supplies when possible - to schools that have needy students. We started with one 3rd grade class and are now up to 3 schools and multiple classes in each. We've given out over 450 backpacks so far this year. But, a local church, Parker Hill Church, contacted us recently to say they wanted to help. Today, the delivered 1000 backpacks filled with supplies. This will allow us to outreach to schools that surround our 4 extension campuses - something we've not been able to do before. It took about an hour for us to carry them in to the storage room - but what an experience. If this doesn't put a smile on your face, nothing will.

Bad news! The brunch place I had in mind doesn't take reservations and because I have a really small window of time (my kid gets vaccinated at 9, I have a tattoo appointment at 11) I'm going to call the brunch off and suggest that maybe those of us going to the convention on Saturday try to grab a drink there?

I guess these aren't technically my newest, but they are only a few months old. (Friday 5/13) they were new to me in several ways, and I love them. I also wasn't' sure where else to post them!) I wasn't really that big of a Traditional American fan until I saw Dave Kruzeman's winning back piece from Ink Master. Side note: I'll be seeing Dave for a piece on my knee in a little over a month. I'm super pumped. It pretty much blew me away, made me dig deeper into tattoo culture and to do a ton of reading and researching on Norman Collins and his apprentices. That lead me to the Friday the 13th tradition and got me thinking about some fo the bad luck I had with tattoos when I was younger. When I saw this rework of Jerry's "Superstition is for Sissies" black cat, I knew it was time to choose my own tattoo luck, and pick better artists and tattoos So, I made sure I always have a black cat in my path. Ian "Jonezy" Jones did these for me at True Tatoo, Hollywood and was insanely fast getting them in. I think the whole thing was under 90 minutes and the shading was my most painless shading I've ever had. After the fact, these hurt so bad I mentioned them in the "most painful tattoo" thread. This is the un healed picture, but they healed nearly perfectly. This is just the only picture of them where my actual feet(not the tattoos) don't look super gnarly because I can't take a good picture of them with my phone, and I don't want to bother anyone else to take pics of my big gnarly man feet.

or just pound dayquil edit: seriously hope you feel better though and i am totally looking forward to seeing some cool tattoos coming from the weekend cant lie very excited to see Graeme's tattoo

The guy at work who swears it's infected is an idiot. It's fine.

Well, my 2nd session with Garver went down this past Friday. This pic was taken right when it was done. Best part is, he asked if I was interested in sleeving out my arm. I obviously agreed and more sessions are to come. Going to connect my Back to the Future portraits with some other elements.

Give it time to settle in. Black and grey, especially with the lighter grey washes, can take weeks or sometimes even months to settle in and the red to fade from it. I don't see anything there to worry about.

Let's wing it. I'm getting tattooed at 11 and A. is getting tattooed at 3 so there will be a baby handoff happening sometime there and a lot depends on his mood/napping. It's not his first convention though so hopefully he'll be okay. I'm sure we can make some kind of hanging out and sharing tattoos and stories happen at some point.

How lovely and inspiring, Mark. *faith in humanity restored* @Devious6

What are you getting? How big and where? Best advice: get plenty of sleep, eat a lot of food before you go, bring water (and a snack if you'll be there awhile), and just relax and enjoy it. Everyone has their aftercare routine, but mine is first 2-3 days lots of washing and very light aquaphor, then switching to lotion once the peel starts on day 3-4. That's it.

@BrianH Not that you asked for advice about how to feel better or anything but.... Get four bottles of echinacea tincture (preferably the root and aerial portions), take 1-2tsp every 2-3 hours for the next two days, then reduce to 1tsp every 6 hours for as many days as needed until you feel better plus an extra couple of days thereafter (you may need more than 4 bottles!). If you feel warm and icky (ie you are hating on anything that makes you feel warmer), drink strong peppermint (hot, like 3-4 teabags per cup - steep for 20 mins covered before drinking) then get into warm covers to sweat it out. If you feel cold/cool and icky (ie you can't stay warm enough), drink strong ginger (fresh grated, 1-2TB/mug, steeped for 20 mins covered) and also get into warm covers to sweat it out. You can also use scallions for this purpose, same method of prep and sweating it out! Once you are done sweating, have a bowl of soup (chicken, bone broth, miso, etc.) to help replenish your body. Between the echinacea and the tea, you should be feeling a lot better soon!!! In any event, I hope you feel better soon!!!! Thanks @Graeme for brunch arrangements!

Very new here and I have to say I find the honesty refreshing. There's too much BS in the world as it is. I'm here for quality advice and insight, not hand-holding. I've been cruising the initiation threads the last few days (got to page 71...geez) and I've seen a few threads where people just seem to be fishing for some kind of therapeutic approval. I'm all for supporting each other, but I'm glad to see this isn't a place for coddling the attention-grabbers. I like the honesty of LST. Keep it real. Just my two cents.

suck it up ;)

Got this yesterday! A lot of firsts for me here. First real post on this forum(barring the introduction thread), first real large scale custom piece for me. It was also my first time under a rotary, and first time trying a new healing method. The machine felt quite a bit different than what i was used to, but this was my first leg tattoo, so that could simply have been the tighter skin on my legs. In general, more of a light pressure, then a pinpoint stab. James Mullins of Lotus Tattoo, Hemet CA, was very patient with my 3 or so hours embarrassingly twitchy leg, and constant nervous tattoo chatter. (Also my neurotic aftercare questions, and emails.) Obviously, yes, I'm a Fallout Fan. I put a mid way tattoo up because I honestly thought he was nearly done here. I laid back and let him finish the final pass without looking too much. When I saw the final pass, I was pretty much giddy. He asked, just before I sat down, if he could go a little crazy with the color. I was super glad that I agreed. I hope it's ok to post this pre-heal! If not, I can pull it down and repost when it's done!

Totally spontaneous addition today. Had the day off so I stopped into Royal Tiger in Austin to drool over BHR's new flash sheets. Bailey was there with nothing to do sooooo about two hours later, I walked out with this beauty.

Gday all, In total I've got three tattoos, two of them are brand new this week, and one I've had previously. The tattoo I got on my inner bicep has bruised, and is slightly tender in comparison to the one I got the day before. One of the guys at work swears that it's infected, but I swear that it's not! I do plan on getting the rest of this armed filled in. Love this tattoo!! It has a slight blowout, but it doesn't bother me. Does it look infected? to me it's just bruising. This tattoo I'll be getting fixed up so that the blue shading is all the way through. When my arm is bent, it does make the tattoo stretch a little, so it makes it look uneven. Hopefully when the rest of my arm is filled in, you won't notice it as much. Thanks heaps guys!

I enjoyed Friday night last year, but it was far from quiet! It was quite packed with a mega lineup to both buy tickets and get in the doors. The mad scramble for all the six pm appointment holders haha.

I don't think the banner lines are fine. But he should absolutely do whatever he wants to do. :-)

Its just normal bruising. Both your new tattoos look great. Relax guys, the lines are fine. @Jason687 go back and see whichever tattooer you jive with. Or try someone new, enjoy your time at the shop.

I've done that before,it turns out pretty good ! super tender.

Your kid screws up brunch meetups like it's his job! Two years in a row ;) Saturday convention meetup it is. Do we plan a time/place or just wing it?

I'm sure that this is barbeque sacrilege but I did baby back ribs in the slow cooker the other day. I made a spice rub, baked them for a bit before tossing them in the cooker then finished them under the broiler. Stupid easy and seriously yummy.

Yeah, I spoke with the guy who did the tiger, and he's happy to add some background work to it, plus fix it up at the same time. Give it about three weeks, and it'll have more added to it :)

No, I mean the line work. It's not great. Maybe skip that artist next time you head to that same shop.

Like the tiger. The line work on that scroll is all over the place. If you go back, stay with the guy who did the tiger. :-)

@fala @marley mission feeling normal today. probably just needed to catch up on sleep and hydration after flying to a wedding last week

Just to add to this, I've had good luck on my back tattoo with shirts made for hiking -- lightweight, breathable, soft material. Don't wear anything that has fluffy bits on the inside that could get inside the open wound for the first few days. Also, always dry your tattoo with paper towels. Same concept. Regular towels can have fluff that can get into your tattoo (also they can harbor all sorts of nasties even when they're "clean"). Good luck, Devious! Have a great time Saturday! :)

Make sure you listen to your artist. He/she will give you instructions on aftercare as well. My only alteration was to use Aquaphor instead of A&D for the first few days - and VERY light is truly the key for both the Aquaphor and the lotion until you are healed and the peeling and any scabbing is gone. Your skin needs air to heal - one of the major factors behind the many folks who advocate for a dry heal. Whatever you wear it should cover the tattoo to protect it from the sun and the poking of curious people, but not be constricting or chafing. I'm scheduled to be in the chair on Saturday so I'll be right behind you in the healing process!! Enjoy the experience!

I'd agree to all of this. Make sure the aquaphor is definitely VERY light, you want the tattoo to breathe. I don't know where your placement is, but I also like to give my tattoo lots of air time. Once the (light) aquaphor is on, I let the tattoo breathe whenever I can. Not sure if this actually does anything, but I'm a pretty fast healer, so maybe it helps (?). Also I'd say whatever snack you bring, make sure it has some sugar in it -- depending on how long you're sitting, you'll want to keep your sugar levels up so you don't crash out. Keep those glucose levels up! Dress comfortably, and enjoy the ride :). Good luck and congrats!

In Ep3 I can't really understand the girls are complaining about regarding skullpicks... Who was supposed to be assigned the shitty canvases when they are all on your team?

It wasn't the photo -- zooming in on the scroll, the line work is iffy. Obviously not the same guy who did the tiger, right?

This is the scroll with my arm straight Thanks for the info guys And that was straight after he'd finished

I got this on Saturday. The photo was taken the same day.The bruising on top is now gone.

Please tell me you're going to Jason Kundell!

I edited the quote intentionally so that the info didn't remain in my post. It's not really a big deal. Also nothing wrong with talking about tattoo experiences at all, in my opinion. It was just the brand of rotary that was mentioned, which falls under the technical equipment umbrella.

totally looking forward to seeing the tattoos that you guys get in Montreal - should be nuts - hope you all enjoy the LST meetup - wish I was going - maybe next year

Small intentionally blurry pic of my new tattoo (to match his madness :p), but i'm so excited! Will come back when i have good shop pictures.

@Isotope when you described your idea to me, I have to say that I was thinking, hmm...okay. That worked out in the best possible way. The weird thing is that the roses just might be the toughest thing about that tattoo.

So I wasn't expecting another large scale piece. But Steve Byrne loved my basic idea, and I DID specifically tell him, apparently, quote "go nuts". I am a wreck this morning kids. Link to video:

Session two with Horitomo! Almost done with the lining and am looking forward to the shading.

my girl Zephyr,those eyes :)

An update on Rocky. He is healing well, but still seeping badly from under his left armpit. He wears a tee shirt to keep him from scratching that area with his hind leg. He only has to wear the cone about 25% of the time, when it is pretty obvious the itching is really bad - so we rub for him. I don't think smacking is the right thing for this kind of itch!

The longer I've had a tattoo and the more I'm focused on the next one the less I care about small imperfections. If anything they can along with fading be beautiful like a well worn pair of jeans. Tattoos are hand made. That's why I like 'em. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Are you for real? This is supposed to justify not going to a tattooer? If you had any respect for getting tattoos, you would want to soak up the whole experience and process for getting a tattoo. I love consults and mulling over designs the weeks/months before. Even if a cylon was able to draw up a sick "tat" for you, it seems like you have a clear direction to what you want anyway. Just take it to a human and save us from a nuclear war with machines FOR FRACKING SAKE. /end battlestar rant/cylon fears.

you just hit the nail on the head. here's the thing, most of us don't talk about all aspects of the industry, especially those of us who don't tattoo. it's kind of like a secret recipe, you might get most of the basic ingredients, maybe even their amounts, but the spices or the signature ingredient is left out. because why pay for the milk if you can get the cow for free? most of us (at least i think) are perfectly fine with not knowing every single detail about what it takes to make a tattoo if we're not tattooing. there are aspects of the industry that i'm curious about, and if i asked an artist in person about them, i might even get an answer, but if i was told "sorry i'm not going to answer that", then i would respect it and back off. while your statement about the internet is true, that you can learn just about anything from searching around, this community is not the answer to all of your questions, and if someone says "no" then you should also respect that there is a reason why they said "no". it's ok to ask, and i agree, if you're new to something, you may not be aware of boundaries, but when someone says to "stop", then you should stop. this goes to most situations in life, online and off.

I got this Baphomet head from Tim Lehi last month. Why? Easily my favorite tattooist, and I think he understands what I am going for. He has tattooed me a few times and always gives me suitable tattoos for me, like he knows me, ha.

While I was at Frith Street my beautiful squeeze had her second session. A really stunning Day of the Dead Girl, tattooed by Stewart Robson.