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Greetings! I just recently got my first tattoo (already planning on adding to it and getting more!) I'm thrilled to finally get my first one. I'm going to be 34 this year and have been wanting some for many years. Unfortunately, the reason for my first tattoo is a rather sad one. It's a memorial tattoo for my dad, who passed last August. But it was a big motivation to finally go and get it. Now, the floodgates have opened!

Hello, everyone. I am new here. I currently have seven tattoos. I attached photos of them but one is NSFW. I plan on getting more in the future.

It was removed by a moderator.

I got a panther rock kind of thing. He'd drawn my loose idea up before I arrived and it was perfect. He mentioned he'd be back at KA in August around the Pagoda convention. Super nice guy too!

I got my first tattoo last month at age 67. I didn't expect my mom to be thrilled, but I was disappointed with how negatively she reacted when I sent her a photo of my panda. I realize that she's part of a generation in which "nice" people, especially nice girls, didn't have tattoos. When I went to visit her a couple of weeks ago, she looked at my arm briefly and said "Oh." That was all--just a disapproving "Oh". She finally said that she guessed one tattoo was okay. I got my second tattoo last week, and I've booked several more appointments with my artist (it's true what they say about tattoo addiction). Lol. Fortunately friends have been very supportive of my tattoos. Family, not so much

Spent the last 6 days on an annual trip we make to the mountains of NC with a bunch of car-loving friends. We stay at a great Inn located on the Blue Ridge Parkway and drive the local twisty roads, head somewhere for lunch, drive back to the Inn, put up the keys and have a few adult beverages, dinner and then do it all over again the next day. Sunday was my 62d birthday - our day to start the drive home. We opted to stay on the Parkway as far north as we could - the weather was gorgeous and everything is in bloom, not to mention the spectacular views. We jumped off at Roanoke and then headed to where we stayed overnight in Lexington, VA. On the way in, we stopped at a craft brewery in Lexington and had a beer. It was a perfect birthday...despite the fact that I'm feeling ancient...spent with the love of my life. Cheers!

There is also a new book called Cor Mysterium put out by Neversleep Publishing. It's all about tattoo symbolism with original works and descriptions for each piece. Excellent quality, too. Good luck!

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 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.

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

I have a new little friend! Snake and cherry blossoms by Chris Garver. My homage to spring. She fits the space so perfectly. He drew it on, made the stencil and we were tattooing in less than 40 minutes. Boom. (I'm swollen AF but whatever).

Got this at the space city tattoo expo over the weekend. My artist is Cory Cartwright. I'm in love with it and can't wait for it to heal. I'm healing this one with tegaderm. I'm having a little trouble with it though. I put it on yesterday, it was juicy underneath it when I went to sleep. This evening though, it's all dried up underneath. I can't remember if it is supposed to dry up this soon or not. I've only used it once before on another tattoo. Anyone know if that's normal? I don't see any holes in it. I posted in the aftercare section too, maybe I'll get some answers. Anyway, thanks for looking!

From @monmoncats a couple weeks ago... https://instagram.com/p/1BJPmbxR2g/