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James Cumberland made me this Kirtland warbler sitting on a rowan branch:

Right foot nearly superficially healed. Ready for more tattoos, but it'll be a while. Had to replace my vehicle since it was totaled. Oh, surprise life expenses, how I dislike you!

Got back from a holiday in Jamaica and upgraded my tan. Dragon Ball by Scott Rusnak at Lucky Strike Tattoo, Edmonton, AB. FYAH BUN came pretty close to passing out on this one, stressful spot for both me and Scott, but we did it !

Hi all. I'm Patti. For at least 20 years I've wanted a tattoo. Between worrying about the pain and not knowing how to find a good artist, I never got any ink. A couple of months ago I met a guy who had two awesome colorful sleeves. I asked him who and where his artist was, and he gave me her name and the LOCAL shop where she works. I sent her an email telling her my idea and asking if she'd be willing to consult with me. I figured if i never heard from her, it would mean the universe was telling me I wasn't supposed to get a tattoo. Surprisingly, she contacted me and we set up a consultation appointment. Once I got the nerve to walk into a tattoo shop for the very first time, we had a good discussion and agreed on a design and placement. I knew she typically had a 5 or 6 month wait list, so I knew I had several months to work up my nerve. But, she had had a cancellation for a slot THE FOLLOWING WEEK! I probably turned pale, but I decided to put on my big girl panties and accept the appointment. Getting my first tattoo was the best thing I've done in years! I sat for 2 1/2 hours. The pain was a lot less than I expected. I did say "Ow" inside my head a couple of times, but I stayed perfectly still. I love my first tattoo, and I got the first part of my second tattoo two days ago. The first tattoo represents a panda that I took care of on a volunteer trip to China. He actually sat cross-legged when he ate so that he could recover any crumbs that fell on his lap.

Hey welcome! That tattoo looks great! "Ink" is one of those slang terms that is widely used to describe tattoos... outside the industry. You see it used on TV a lot, and by people who are tattoo novices (not shaming!) but it isn't used that much in actual tattooing circles, except as kind of a joke. I really like your panda. Who's the artist?

Welcome! I don't have either of the Lost Love books but I've heard nothing but excellent things about them, and from what I've seen of Yellow Beak's other publications it's all first rate stuff. Your friend will be extremely psyched on getting that as a gift. I'd also recommend the Tattootime set published by Hardy Marks if your friend doesn't have it, because it's one of the best things ever published about tattoos, but you won't go wrong with Lost Love either.

When your first post is this, don't expect to be taken seriously. I kind of just said not to put anything else around what you have. If you aren't happy with a tattoo, adding more stuff around it rarely fixes the original problems you had with it. It just makes the problem tattoo bigger. Again: if you don't like what you have, laser it or cover it. Do your zodiac one somewhere else, but be creative with the subject matter and let an artist come up with a cool concept for you. What you have now looks poorly done, so if you ACTUALLY did it yourself, go to a real artist. If you went to an artist and they did that for you, don't go back to them.

Sounds like a GREAT vacation to me. Good stories, too. You earned this one, right? @Synesthesia

I think I made things worse for myself. I got it on day 4 of my vacation and on days 2 and 3, I drank an ungodly amount of beer and we walked all over the city the days before doing tourist-y things. So I was pretty sore and probably slightly hungover. Not ideal conditions for tattooing...but a fun vacation!

I use Aquaphor very lightly that first week. Works like a charm for me... @Boiled Dove Lord, @Synesthesia, you sound like you are having a good time healing! Hang in there!

I think Aquaphor isn't even that highly recommended anymore because it's petroleum based and can suffocate the tattoo. But I don't care, I find it really soothing for those first couple days. My latest is in uncharted territory for me, I finally broke down and went to the forearm. Healing has been a whole different beast. I never realized how much your forearm twists throughout the day. Between the swelling and scabbing (also hadn't considered gravity making it ooze nonstop unless I propped my arm up!), I couldn't fully and comfortable rotate my arm until a few days after having it done. I also usually dry heal (or mostly dry heal) but this one was so scabby and constantly uncomfortable that I had to break down and use Lubriderm once or twice a day. I'm on my second peel now and the itchiness is in full swing.

Not for me personally, I bleed like crazy all the time. I've had a couple doctors look into me being diagnosed with hemophilia but I guess it isn't bad enough to be considered that lol. I think acetaminophen (Tylenol) doesn't thin the blood like ibuprofen does so it shouldn't even really be a concern.

Starting my 1st side piece with Pauly Lingerfelt tomorrow evening. Ugh.

I wasn't trying to be snarky, either. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. :-)

I have both of the Lost Love books and they're great ways to learn some of tattooing's long and varied history. They're also really nicely put together. I'd also recommend the books put out by Isaac Starr and LLL Books (The Rose Book, The Skull Book, The Girl Book, and The Cat Book) since each has a different lineup of artists and you get to see a lot of different styles.

Thanks, @Devious6. Toyota is sending an engineer to take a look, but they never admit fault. Ever. Even though nine people have died from this issue. My car was totaled on Wednesday, so I had to go out and find another car this weekend. At least that is sorted out. Got a great deal with 0% financing, so I actually have lower payments than before. Hope everything is going OK, @Gingerninja.

Thanks, Ginger! I'm so glad I found this forum. I think my friends are tired of hearing me talk about my ink, and I'm far from tired of talking about it.

This was done late last night, still needs a little finish work. The reaper is clutching a human heart, homage to my close call last October.

So, for years here I've heard y'all talk about Aquaphor and didn't think much of it. I didn't think it could be much different from anything else. Well I was walking through the drug store the other day, just as my ribs were getting crusty, and saw that it was on sale so I grabbed a little tube. Holy crap, that make healing a whole different experience. Why had I not listened to you guys sooner?

I had a shoulder piece done 4 days ago... the itching is not actually too bad (hope I haven't cursed it by saying that now!) and it's just starting to peel, so is looking a little grim. It's not finished, still got the majority of the colouring to do but I couldn't take the pain any more It's still very tender and I can't even stand to have a loose, light t-shirt over it. I know it will be worth it in the end though!

Lower leg tattoo blues right now. Inside of my ankle, swelling is bad, and I dread moving from a sitting to standing position. Don't want to get out of bed in the morning Delighted with the result though, I've been sitting on this idea for 7 years. Every time I looked at my Basket Case t-shirt, I was reminded to get it done. Better late than never.

so I had this done yesterday. This time the pain was quite strong. My first tattoo was on the opposite side of this tattoo, but then the pain wasn't strong. Could it be because of lack of sleep? Because there were moments, when I tought that I will not handle this:D

i think this one wins the prize for "someone who doesn't actually want tattoos" tattoo.