SeeSea

@DeathB4Decaf - awesome! Love the bathing suit shots. So cohesive!

Mine with all the breaks removed was about 80 hours needle time. The fine detail just blew it over the top. I am flabbergasted at a backpiece in 10 hours.

Boy, I disappear for a couple weeks and come back to several pages of kick-ass tattoos! You guys rock it!

@marley mission - that is so great! You have some awesome tattoos - such personality.

@sophistre - youre sleeve looks awesome! It is one of my favorite sleeves. I love how well all the individual tattoos are balanced with the negative space.

Happy to see that Coppertone Waterbabies SPF50 is still a top choice. I slather that on. And surprisingly, the NO-AD Sport 50 is right up there and Walmart Equate. Good prices!

@Killercook76 - wow! Awesome!!! - - - Updated - - - Cool - I love that feeling of crazy love insanity inside seeing the back piece design for the first time! I can still remember exactly where I was and what I felt when I opened the email with the design. I just went into brain overload. I am so excited for you!!! Don't think about the pain - it is what it is - just ride on the euphoria of the design. Oh, and ....https://instagram.com/seesealisa/...

@Spannah - welcome! Glad it all went well. Dresses are awesome - basically, anything that lets the tattoo hang free if you can. :-)

That is not sushi koi. That is Freddy Krueger Koi.

It's one thing to joke around with adults. It's another thing to do the same type of joking around in front of kids.

Why are you in desperate need - was this tattooed on anyone already? You might get some suggested translations here, but there are so many different interpretations for characters that providing a single concrete translation could be difficult. You'll probably get the advice that you should reconsider using Chinese or Japanese characters. Also, will you trust someone on the internet to give you an accurate translation? ;) There is a thread around here somewhere that warns against this if you use the search engine.

I have never heard this before and I love it!

...I can't believe this thread has been dormant for 6 months. Last night we went to a wedding. I wore a little black dress with thin straps so the top third of my backpiece showed. I had my hair up. Overall, I got positive reviews or no comments - it was very cool. However, "Jackass" (as he was come to be called), came up to me at the bar. Picture 60 y/o paunch, light pink button-down, partially untucked - all the guys were all still wearing suit jackets. Partially in the bottle. So he is chatting me up and then sees my tattoo. Him: Wow, I just saw your art. It seems like the entire back is a "new thing." The first time I saw one was when we took our son to a dude ranch in Texas and a girl had one. It was quite alluring. Me: ::eesh:: Him: So this was probably more than one session? Me: Yes, it was two. (Actually, it was 20). Him: So, how is your Hepatitis C? Is it under control? Me: Excuse me? Him: You know, your Hep C. And your Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B? Me (deadpanned): Everything is under control. Him: You know, I ask, because you had more than one session, so there was more than one needle. So you have to keep it under control. Me, (skeeved out and walking away): It's fine. So I tell my friends, and we all get weirded out. Shudders. So anyway, later in the night, I want to go back to the bar and get a drink for me and the Hubs. But Jackass is there talking with another guy I don't know. But I go up anyway and talk straight to the bartender and order. Him to buddy: There are a lot of women in those same little black dresses. They must all shop at the same store. Me: ::Stars straight ahead:: Him (announcing into the air): Well, I guess no one heard that. Me (walking away with my drinks): I'm sorry, it must be my Hepatitis C showing. Him: Excuse me? Me: IT MUST BE MY HEP C SHOWING. Him (huffed up and offended): I was just being concerned. ?!? Super shudders. Eeeeesh. One of my girlfriends said I should have rubbed my arm over his and "gotten my Hep C all over him." But I was too skeeved out to even consider touching him. I hate people who play these little word power games. I have to come up with a few more standard answers to assholes. Happily, I did get the chance to smack him back down.

What a cool site! I love sleeveless, but have to avoid that at work now. Adding little cap sleeves is a wonderful option! Thank you!!!

September 23rd. Tickets purchased, hotels booked, starting to plan day trips. I'll be there for 6 days!

@marley mission - Becca - love her stuff. Can't wait to see that one. So clean.

Increasing numbers for the SPF beyond 50 add very little to the protection. It is not a linear scale. 50 is a minimum but don't pay a premium for a higher number. If the tattoo is new and you really want to be sure, I did what my tattoo artist demanded ( :-) ) of me before he got the final pics - SPF50 slathered on thick covered by a UV rash guard.

@Graeme - I ditto the leaves - It really does something to the design. Which is pure awesomeness in itself. Home stretch, baby, home stretch.

@marley mission - oh yeah - I saw that in another thread. Pretty cool little dude. Your tattoos have great character. I didn't realize that was on your back. Good luck on the heal!

An update with respect to burning under a reasonably thick cotton T-shirt. Last week my husband had a sunburn and didn't realize it. I asked when he had been out partying in the sun without me, and he said he had been working outside all day sweating his head off. It was surprising to me how red his skin was, and he is Italian. So here's a real life example of burning through a wet T-shirt.

Check out this thread I started when I was initially extremely paranoid about screwing up my back. Somewhere in this thread I did a pretty detailed analysis of sunscreens, ingredients, UVA/UVB and many some comments about types of clothing. Especially that wet T-shirts are about SPF 4 or 8. Last weekend my husband was outside all day sweating like mad in the sun and he got a sunburn. He didn't believe be because he said he was wearing a relatively thicker T-shirt. But he was pretty red. http://www.lastsparrowtattoo.com/forum/tattoo-after-care/5584-sunscreen-sun-vacation-threads.html

That is just crazy!

Well, I use is for lotion application at the end of healing and after it's healed for suntan lotion. I never used it for washing. Hopefully you can muster enough flexibility to do the first couple washes by hand so you can feel when you've gotten through the gunk to ground zero. Have fun next Thursday! Did you happen to mention what you are getting? - - - Updated - - - Yup, right there is the problem. There is either the "black sheets" route or the "doggy pee pad" method. I prefer the latter since I tend to goop mightily the first night right when I get home from a session. And also so I can see the extent of the damage!

@2bacanvas - I'm really enjoying watching this piece take place - really great!

You said you want to represent your fears. Your first two ideas, the clock and the compass, are good strong images that are positive. And in the case of the compass at least, represent something forward-looking to help you address your fears. For the third fear - being alone - you might want to choose an image that conveys you overcome that fear as well, rather than an image that just conveys that you have that fear. I think that's why the clipper popped into my mind immediately - it shows movement and can represent moving away from your fears. I supposed that's all I would caution - maybe avoid images that would cement those fears in your mind, and choose positive images that help you look beyond the fear to help overcome it. Good luck!