Raven

Booked in for November for a full shoulder cap/shoulder blade tattoo. I know elements of my design, but that's it right now. Super excited. Booked slot on a whim. So glad I did.

Sure thing. https://twitter.com/CallamGodley If anyone thinks I've made a mistake, tell me, but I'm quite happy he'll do an awesome job.

I've just booked in for my next tattoo. Considering I wasn't expecting this to happen anytime soon, I'm pretty pleased.

Well, turns out it will be quicker than I expected. I'm booked for November. Can't wait.

Thanks for all the nice words. I've been thinking a lot about what I want to do next and I may have a plan. It changes on a monthly basis, because so many tattoo styles and designs appeal to me. But, I think I'm actually decided now. The first plan is to design a shoulder cap tattoo incorporating moths. I'm thinking full colour. I don't want to come too far onto the arm, but will touch onto the collarbone and spread out further at the back onto the shoulder blade. This led me to plan two - I already have swallows on my other shoulder blade (15 yrs old and in need of touching up--I think one is missing its beak), so I'm hoping to do a similar shoulder cap tattoo on that side, but with birds. I have an artist in mind (found via The Brag Art List), so I'm currently collecting pictures to begin the big design. It's not going to be a quick thing, and I doubt I'll be getting new ink soon, but it's exciting thinking I'm starting down that path again. It's two years since my last tattoos!

Absolutely stunning.

I've got Watchdogs... really enjoy parts, but struggling to get into it in the same way I have with other games. At the minute, I feel a lot of my gameplay on this is luck rather than skill...

The conversation went something like this: Monday- Me: Hey mum, I really want a tattoo. I know I'm underage but I REALLY want one. My mum: Hmm, I'm not sure. Let me look into it. I'll make enquiries at the shop where you-know-who went. It's a big decision, blah blah. You're only sixteen, blah blah blah. Me: Okay, I wasn't expecting that. She's just pacifying me. She'll never go for it. Tuesday- My grandmother: Hey grandaughter, look at this cool tattoo I just got. Me: That must be fake. Me: Rubs tattoo - not a transfer. WTF? Grandmother: Your mum got one too. Me: Okay, now I REALLY REALLY need one. My grandmother: We had to beat you to it. Me: Gutted. Friday- My mum takes me for my first tattoo. (My grandmother was in a biker gang in the fifties so I should have figured she'd continue to be a rebel with her first tattoo at 60)

I have to admit, I have a thing for bearded men and tattoos, so I'm not going to complain about the current trend of models. It's big here in the UK, so there's plenty of eye candy.

I've been lurking for a while, just soaking in the atmosphere, but I suppose the time has come to formally say hello. So, hello! I'm tattooed (a little), but I have bigger plans (don't we all?). A little background - when I was in my mid-teens I decided I wanted a tattoo. I was underage, but I approached my mother and told her. I'd grown up around tattooed men (think old Navy type) so to me marked up skin was the norm. My mother said she would consider taking me to get a tattoo. The following day she and my grandmother came home, both sporting tattoos of their own. Apparently they wanted to beat me to it! I was so shocked and actually thought they were transfers to prove a point. No. My grandmother had got a tattoo. Needless to say they couldn't stop me after that. I was taken to the same shop five days later and got my first one. It was flash, not what I would pick now if I could go back, but hey, we live and learn. Anyway, great forum and community! I love the banter and knowledge you guys seem to have. Hopefully (when the time comes) I'll be showcasing my own new ink. :)

Sticking with tattoo themed books - I can recommend, 'A Good and Useful Hurt' by Aric Davis. It's a tad gruesome in places, both with the serial killer and the descriptions of the body modifications in the shop... It's an interesting premise and an enjoyable read. Blurb: Mike is a tattoo artist running his own shop, and Deb is the piercing artist he hires to round out the motley crew at his studio of four. The last thing either expects is romance, but that’s exactly what happens when they follow their off-kilter careers and love lives into complete disaster. When Mike follows a growing trend and tattoos the ashes of deceased loved ones into several customers’ tattoos, he has no idea that it will one day provide the solution—and solace—he will sorely need. And when the life of a serial killer tragically collides with the lives of those in the tattoo shop, Mike and Deb will stop at nothing in their quest for revenge, even if it means stepping outside the known boundaries of life and death. Ink that is full of crematory ashes, a sociopathic killer, and pain in its most raw form combine for one of the most imaginative, haunting thrillers in recent memory. Full of wit and heart, A Good and Useful Hurt delivers the goods with the pain of a needle in skin.