Kurgana

I've looked at LST for a long time and have always been interested in tattoos/tattoo culture in general. I only recently took the plunge (at 30) and got started on my first tattoo. So far I've only got an outline done, I'm going in for shading in a couple of weeks. Look forward to getting more and being involved with the community here. Work was done / will be done by http://www.utilitytattoo.com/kaitlyn.html

@a_beukeveld I've used tegaderm twice and have been really happy. Mine have filled up with fluid as well and I was advised to just leave it alone. one of them filled up so much that it busted a leak out the bottom. Then it stopped seeping altogether and dried out like the poster mentioned above.  Once it finished leaking it sealed back up again. Yours looks no different than mine have.  I've left both on for 5 days. Seemed to work out fine. 

Of course it will, but not by just anybody . . .

why wont the fox face work?

@a_beukeveld That looks pretty much like my two 'dermed tattoos were on day 3. Mine dried up within the following day or two. Once it starts to dry up it does it pretty quickly, and it'll seem like the 'derm gets hard and you will probably see some fun looking cracks appearing underneath the 'derm. Mine also started to itch during this process. I personally found it better to remove the 'derm shortly after the fluid dried up - with the first one I waited until day 5 if I recall correctly (a couple of days after it had started drying in any case), and it wasn't fun taking it off, and the tattoo was extremely dry to the point that I probably should have filled the tub with lotion and kept it submerged for a day or two... The second one I removed as soon as the 'derm hardened, and continued with lotion from that point on. If you're going for a "full" derm heal you'll want to be sure to remove the 'derm only when the tattoo is done peeling - and no, I have no idea how to know when that is :). 

I definitely agree with the previous two replies, do get it checked out by someone asap. It looks a lot like the beginnings of a cellulitis (a family member of mine once had it), and it's not something I'd personally want to delay getting treatment for. Hopefully it's just an allergic reaction though.

See a doctor. Or go to an Emergency Room. Now.
Might just be an allergic reaction....but better safe than sorry.

hmmm - i'll be honest - thats an interesting reaction that your leg is showing - i might wanna see the doc on this one to be on the safe side   
anyone else have a thought on this pic
good luck of course fingers crossed for ya
would like to see a healed up / better view / pic of this tattoo later on
looks like its an interesting one

Bl**dy hell@Gingerninja, you were busy there... Tattoo hopping queen :-) All awesome, happy healing!

Pagoda was good...
Peony by Rubendall, fall botanicals by Grez, Sailor Jerry swallows by Scott and filler peacock feather by Virginia Elwood. Sorry that the color saturations are all over the place (the peony and feather look pretty normal). Butt tattoos hurt!!

Those sleeves look so beautiful together. 

Kim Saigh @ Memoir in L.A. added on to my half-sleeve to match my other arm. Impressed by how seamless she made it look. Healed pics by @TrixieFaux.

Started my Japanese crane arm with Yutaro at Seven Doors in London yesterday. Pic nicked from his instagram as I don't have one and the arm is wrapped atm. There is a second crane on the lower arm and more finger waves. 
As I don't have to travel and I'm not in a hurry, we decided not to stress it but do the whole thing in a couple of nice short(ish) sessions. 
Really enjoyed the time at the shop and look forward to going back!

Isn't it great when one's ideas are met with enthusiasm? The artist I saw was also stoked with my idea - but he only had an appointment available in a year and really, I will probably change my mind two dozen times before then! I'm thinking 6 weeks though is a pretty good waiting period - as well as the date being so significant to you.

No, I'm using Chrome on a Mac. 

PREACHER!! Can't wait for season 2.

Confirmation bias may be a factor, although I tried to count men's tattoos too, but yes, I do tend to notice other women with tattoos more than men, and it is probably because I have them myself, and because I am currently very aware of the issue of displaying public tattoos (see below)
I'm still in the gradual process of "coming out" and getting comfortable letting my tattoos show in public. At this point, I tend to like it when people make comments (thus far they have mostly been positive), because it makes me feel better about "going public" with my tattoos. Maybe I will eventually tire of it.
I get very interested when I see another woman with an interesting tattoo, and I almost always want to compliment her or ask about it. I just like talking about tattoos. But I do struggle because I'm always thinking that maybe the person doesn't want to be bothered.

I noticed that I appear to be logged out when visiting the home page. But as soon as I continue to any sub page, I'm signed in as myself again (without actively signing in!). Odd, but means that I don't actually have to sign in, just click anywhere. Does this work for anyone else with the sign out problem, too?
On a sidenote, it just so happens that right now, instead of being signed out, I appear to be Graeme on the homepage. Back to omeletta on any other page. I can even go back and forth. Funny that.

Tell me someone is watching Stranger Things!!!!
 

You guys are mean. I'm originally from Finland, which is basically (wild) berry country. Every year around this period I get the worst craving for just about any berries picked fresh from the forest. Although we've managed to grow some raspberries and currants (we do have a couple of young blueberry bushes as well but no berries so far, and they really don't seem to like the Sicilian summer), it has been a really bad year for them for some reason. Only managed to freeze white and red currants. Besides, picking berries in May-June is somehow not the same :D.

Thanks for making me want PIE at 10:00 am on a Monday morning. *shakes fist* @Devious6

We have wild raspberries and huckleberries all around our farm, too. Makes for an enjoyable walk around the property. Most of our blueberry bushes are 20+ years old so the smaller critters can't reach the berries - we do share with the birds however. The deer don't seem to bother them - maybe because there are so many wild berry bushes around. And the bees from our hives pretty much ensure every flower and bud is pollinated so our garden is also overflowing this year.

We have many wild blackberrys, and a bunch of rasberrys that are either wild or spread from a long-ago resident in the area (story goes that the hermit/mountain man that owned this side of the mountain had a brother living with him who was an amateur horticulturist. There are evergreens around where his cabin stood that are not native to the area. All bushes seemed full and near ripe one day, stripped bare the next. I suspect lot's of critters with belly aches.
Devious, we have huckleberrys up in the mountains. 1/3 the size of blueberrys and 3X the flavor! Problem is, there are natives that love them, too. And right about the time the berrys ripen, those natives are very hungry! One person picks while the other stands lookout.

Out this morning picking blueberries. This year has been tremendous - we've got about 20 bushes and they have been loaded with berries. We're at the point where we are just picking them to give them to friends and family - way more than we can use or even freeze. Not sure why it's been so good - haven't had a lot of rain until the last two days. Perhaps the 11 hives of honey bees is helping.   Wanna come pick some?

Hi all,
I have been lurking here for a while, and finally decided to join!
I have always loved tattoos, but have really lacked the financial means and/or access to skilled artists until recently. I have a couple of ok-ish small pieces (upper arm and chest) that are around 15 years old - small being they key word plus the style is not really "me", however they are special memories and as such I'd never even consider covering them.
Around three years ago, while abroad, I got my first relatively big tattoo (palm sized on the upper back). This was sadly done by someone whose technique was ok but artistic talent a little less so. I learned a lot from the experience, plus I'm not really staring at it all day (it also actually looks ok unless you are quite close), so I'm still happy I had it done as it has really pushed me to continue getting tattooed AND to find a great artist.
This brings me to my latest tattoo which is a black/dotwork piece on my inner forearm, done about a month ago by a local artist I found just before Christmas and immediately knew to be "the one" to execute an idea I had been thinking of since my previous tattoo.
I am booked with the same guy for the 15th to tattoo my other inner forearm with a different, but complementary, design.
Funds allowing, I'll probably add several more tattoos to these. At the moment, my specific plans include a large piece on each (outer) upper arm (one will have to fit around the old small one). These will probably not be done by the same artist though since I'm looking at a different kind of style from the forearm ones. I'm sure there will be more as I come up with other designs that are meaningful to me. However, I'm not planning to go for a seamless sleeve look since the styles I like are rather graphic and, IMO, need the negative space to frame the single tattoos for maximum impact. Also, at least at this stage I'm not really comfortable with having work done on my torso and on the fence even about the upper tighs, so space is a bit of an issue.
So, taking into account these factors, I have been toying with the idea of adding a short script to the outer edge of my forearms. Bold, graphic, straight lined font as opposed to handwritten/calligraphy. I have at times had the impression that script is frowned upon by the more serious tattoo artists, but I have always been deeply affected by lyrics/literature and certainly see the beauty in words as much as in any other kind of visual art.
What I am concerned with is whether I'll regret using up the space later on (although you can probably see from my post that I don't really "do" regret :)). At the same time, I can't really visualize any other tattoos on my forearms without loosing the framed-by-skin look I prefer, so maybe it is a good thing?
I'll post a link to my newest tattoo in a bit, plus a reference pic to show where I'd like to get the script. I'd really love to hear what you think 'cause I really don't have any visually inclined friends/family who are willing to nitpick tattoo placement with me lol...
- - - Updated - - -
Wow, sorry for that huge block of text...
Anyway, here's my forearm tattoo (link to artist's insta):
https://www.instagram.com/p/_7uBENEW0Z/?taken-by=elzingales
If it's unclear from the pic, it basically takes up all the inner forearm (pic cuts off at wrist/elbow crease). The wings wrap up some onto the sides of the arm.
This is a Googled image of the script placement (slightly shorter phrase and not this style of font):
http://www.tattoosdesign2016.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/outside-forearm-script-tattoo.jpg