growltiger

There's a myth about not being able to have an epidural if you have a lower back tattoo. It's not true, but a lot of people who should know better seem to believe it (midwives, strangers on parenting forums, my mum...) My anaesthetist didn't even blink at my "tramp stamp". No barrier there :)

Just googled those cats, they are brilliant. Is is a particular one you fancy getting? Well, I'm all peonied up :D The whole not too visible placement thing didn't really work out. He showed me how the design wouldn't work where I wanted it (I'm quite small so the design would have taken up 1/4 of my back and either always looked distorted or had a bra strap right over the kitsune thus ruining his good looks). I had to make a snap decision... so it's on my arm! I've had a few days of wavering between "what have I done" to "oh my it's awesome" and now I'm into "well now I've started..." Anyway thanks again for all the advice and suggestions. I'll post a pic when it's healed. :D

Made it to the big city, sat carb loading and main lining tea. I read a load of threads on the train. All these preparations some of you go through. Arnica, ibuprofen, home baking etc. I've brought a kit kat and a bottle of coke! I feel very unprepared. You know that analogy about swans being all graceful on top but below water they're paddling like mad? That's me. Seemingly cool on the outside, inside going bugger bugger bugger bugger. Exciting though. See you at the other end :-D Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

Cool, thanks. I've got some thin long sleeve T's that will be great for around the house. I have to come to work on Tuesday so I might have to rewrap then (day 3) but I can let it breathe for most of the week.

Great advice re bras. For afterwards, I have plenty of feeding bras which look like little girls training bras but are incredibly supportive. One in particular is racer back so should be grand. When I'm at home I can whack the heating on and let it all hang out anyway. (It's really cold here, despite it allegedly being Spring.) Clothes-wise - I guess simple cotton t-shirts that don't have fibres that might irritate? Any advice on how to stop them sticking? Also, how do you prepare your skin in advance? Should I avoid moisturising on the day?

You are not listening. Take a step back and reread what people are trying to tell you. You don't have to agree but trying to understand might make this a more productive argument. Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

I'm going to go for on the back of my shoulder. It's a great spot for showing something off, but also not prone to weight gain or stretch marks if/when I have another baby. The one up my side has blown a bit (I had the BIGGEST belly last time, I looked like Violet Beauregarde after she eats the sweet) so I'm very conscious of having this one in a sensible place.

@HaydenRose Yep, getting peonies. You, @beez and @Pugilist convinced me :D I think they'll be gorgeous to be going on with, then easyto add to at some point in the future. I do really like the design he posted with a cheeky little kitsune peeking out (Instagram). I was thinking I'd like a peony with something, like a bee or bug, but the kitsune seems more in keeping with the theme. I like the nod to the mythology.

Yikes - being tattooed on Saturday! I'm going to have it on the back of my shoulder, so all this bra talk is very handy! I'm another one that can't manage without a bra so it is going to be interesting. Will a halterneck vest and bra be okay for the appointment? I can take the strap off, so leave my shoulder completely free for the appointment then slip it back on and throw a tshirt and jumper over for the journey home. For healing, I might be able to get away with wearing a regular bra with one strap left down - has anyone tried that?

BLOODY HELL. Guess what I'm doing on Saturday... I was browsing instagram yesterday admiring this guys work, in particular his peonies (Instagram), when he posted a cancellation spot. I slept on it, mentioned it to my husband this morning who made me go and email right there and then, and I just had my appointment confirmed. They were so lovely, they actually rearranged his appointments on the day to fit in round my childcare. Thank you all for your help and suggestions, in particular to @Joe Shit who pointed me to this guy.

That sentence still stands if you remove the word "love".

Those paintings are so beautiful. Really inspiring. Thank you for posting. I should NOT have googled the artist on my work PC. Goodness! :eek:

Great idea :D Is it a good idea to link to previous threads that might be useful? For example, the fat people thread was nicely body-positive: fat-people-tattoos-your-thoughts There's a pretty cool one about whether ladies should get dragon tattoos. It can be summed up as "Yes". I'll dig it out. Here be dragons: dragons-women

How do we feel about peonies? I reaaallllly like @beez's peonies. Are they considered a classic like roses? I've seen a lot of love for them here, but they don't have their own thread like roses do.

They're quite pretty They look lovely on the book shelf, they prop up the Shaun Tan's nicely. Shame about the gap waiting to be filled with #3...

Yeah, I fancy something simple, timeless and classic. I want something that will be cohesive with whatever I get in the future. Especially since it is a spontaneous decision. Roses/flowers seem a good choice, they go with everything right! I've been eyeing up the moon thread too. Actually, I've been eyeing up a lot of threads. We're planning on having another baby pretty soon and I just really feel like having one last hurrah before I go back to the fog of having a newborn. "For me". I'll be sure to get it upside down, just for you guys ;)

Thanks so much everyone :D This will keep me quiet for quite some time! In all likelihood, it's going to be close to two years before I'm ready to get the epic tattoos. But I really do have a fancy for a little something much sooner. I've found that Frith Street often have walk-in slots and post their cancellations on Twitter so I'll keep an eye on it. Does anyone know of a good thread for ideas for one-shot small pieces (subject and/or location)? I've tried searching, but not come up with anything in particular.

The problem is that when you are in a vulnerable position, it is pretty difficult to speak up. Calling misogynistic behaviour out rarely ends with the perpetrator apologising and reflecting on what they've said/done. At best, you might get a patronising 'lighten up' type response, at worst an aggressive response. "Silence is consent" is victim-blaming bullshit. This is far more offensive than I think you realise, and is scarily close to blaming her for what clothes she was wearing.

I'd heard that stalking her on twitter was a good way to get time with her! I'm slightly too far from London to do walk ins. It's easily a day trip (1.5h on the train) but not just on the off chance. My town doesn't have anywhere great (that I've found anyway). Sent from my GT-I8190N using Tapatalk

Valerie! I know. That back piece that won the February competition was incredible. I'm going to take Pugilist's advice about my "we're not worthy" attitude to heart and add her to the list. One of them must say yes, right? What do you folk do when you get "the itch"? You know, you just really fancy a little something. I've seen some of you mention popping into shops and things, how does that fit with waiting lists etc? Sorry for poorly worded question! Edit: I just remembered there is a whole thread on spontaneous tattoos. I'll go read it, I bet the answer is in there. Sorry, I'm shattered. Poorly baby and all. Send me off to mumsnet :p

@Pugilist: You're right. I'm being all English and self-deprecating. It's a bad habit.

I think there's a sort of ironic cool thing that teenagers go for, in the UK anyway. I remember all the goths used to have muppet or teletubby backpacks, but they'd give them modifications like piercings. There was a craze for teens to wear dummies (pacifiers I think you'd call them) on necklaces round their necks. (I'm ashamed to admit it - I used to wear a cat collar for a necklace, including the bell, as a necklace. I thought I was so clever for subverting the dog collar thing. I see now why my dad just rolled his eyes at me and made no comment.) Anyway, my point is that teens watching MLP might be trying to be cool rather than a bit behind.

Wow! Feeling the Claudia love :D Okay, you've convinced me, I'm going to consider her my 'dream' artist. I'm not sure people like me get tattooed by people like her though. I imagine there's some sort of invisible force field that would bounce boring middle of the road people like myself back into the street on their arses if they tried to enter the shop :p @Joe Shit Thank you for those suggestions - beautiful stuff! I've come across Cassandra Frances before I think. I've added them both to my stalking list. I'm not entirely sure what I want yet. I'm like a kid in a toy shop - too much to choose from! I suppose I'm thinking that the beautiful should be along the lines of flowers/birds etc, but maybe with a fairy tale theme. I've been scouring book plates and art from fairy tales for inspiration. The bad-ass: dragon? Octopus sinking a ship? Tiger? I suppose a lot will depend on the artist I choose, and what best suits their style. I would like roses with a bee as well, in a sort of botanical style. I think that is why I listed the one artist with a very different style to all of the others. I'm not sure where that would go though!

What an idiot, horrible man. I once had two full afternoon appointments booked with an artist guesting at a local studio. She cancelled the first one last minute. I turned up for the second one, got left in the waiting room for 2 hours before she even came up to say hello. She was pretty dismissive of me, of my idea... everything. She hadn't prepared anything in advance, then everything we discussed she sucked her teeth over. By the end of the afternoon we had a design that was nothing like what we'd talked about that really didn't work for me at all. The saving grace was that she had no more time to actually do the tattoo. She told me I'd have to fly out to Poland so she could do it, I politely declined (by email afterwards, I'm a coward and she was really quite fierce!). I felt so discouraged by the whole thing. I'm so glad I didn't go through with it, I would have so regretted it now! Nowhere near as bad as your story though Stacey Stormcloud!

Please can I ask why? Because she is the best of the list, or because the others aren't good, or...? I'd probably go to two different people so it would be interesting to know your reasoning.