Tornado6

I really like one of the apprentices(es)(es) this year. I hope it is good for her.

Fifth tattoo, fifth variation of this conversation. This time, we sorted out all of the sketch details, then the front guy told me how much it was going to be and asked if I was paying cash or card.

I've used coconut oil on mine. I figure it has less stuff in it than most of my lotions.

Here's my sketch to tattoo progression. When I got to my appointment, he had a drawing that was more like a dress form with a stand. He had a rose on the belt and an idea for the rose as a head as well. The first drawing was very cool, but I was worried that the stand was going to make it too tall. So I asked if we could trade the stand for terra-cotta pot. I think it turned out pretty awesome. He was fun to work with with!

Desert rose on my U2 arm. William Kasper @ Iron Tiger Tattoo

I'm putting a second tattoo on a theme on my left arm Saturday. That's "a sleeve" amirite? I'm working on my half sleeve on Saturday. :rolleyes:

The real story is kinda a bummer, but the tattoo idea is wicked!

@xcom are you going to have Jay Joree do it? Please have her do it!

Remind me - I'm doing that part of my arm Saturday. The front of my bicep didn't hurt at all. How about this spot? I'm already expecting a couple of annoying nights, because that's the side I sleep on. (place holder for a picture of my upper arm :) )

Crispy Cornell Chicken recipe My husband makes Cornell chicken. Nobody from the south would call it barbecue because there's very little smoke but it is the best outdoor chicken I've ever had. - - - Updated - - - We did pork ribs on memorial day. We have something in St. Louis called pork steak. That's what we're going to do this weekend.

This is difficult to selfie!

:cool: I watched - on TV. My YHEC team's state competition is in two weeks, and we're leaving for vacation in three weeks. (Eep - perhaps this is not so awesome. I only have three weeks to get ready!)

I don't normally carry cash, but I don't have a problem stopping to get some if I know I'm going to a cash only restaurant or tattoo shop. I do like to know ahead of time, so I can make the ATM dash (or go to the bank if it is going to be an amount over the ATM max.) I hate getting somewhere and finding out we only have $7.50 between us. I especially don't like carrying cash around casinos, or on the train, and I suppose in and out of tattoo shops could be sketchy too. The last place I got tattooed is in a pretty rough part of town, and I know the guys have had some hassle when they're shutting down at night before. It does put you on your toes. I've paid for all of my tattoos with cash, but I ran my debit card for my son's. He tipped in cash.

This has always been awkward for me as well. The first time, I got a sketch and a price. I said the sketch and the price were fine. I got a tattoo. The second time, I got a sketch and was asked, "How much do you think this should be?" I was totally unprepared for this question. The third time, I was asked if I had a budget. I mean, yeah, like under $1,000, but I want you to tell me how much it it going to cost. You're a visiting artist and I want X tattoo from YOU TODAY. I'm here to pay for it. Let's go! The fourth time, I got a sketch, then a tattoo, then a price when it was all done. I can handle getting a price, and if I think it may be too much based on the work I already have, I am ok with saying, "Hey, you only charged me $xxx for this one..." In any other situation, asking about my budget or how much I think it should be is an open invitation to haggle, which I'm told is not really ok with tattoo artists. So I'm confused when it happens, and I'm not sure what I'm really supposed to say.

So far my left side has been much easier than my right side part for part. I definitely prefer single needle work to fillers. And it is easier for me to watch than to not watch. My left bicep was by far the easiest. It did not hurt at all and it healed very easy. It is all single needle, and he has a light hand.

Heck, I just draw on myself with a marker. The swoop of my first tattoo made my ankle quite fetching, if I do say so myself. I'm pretty sure that the root part of that floral piece is my favorite tattooed thing on my whole body. The tattoo on the other leg is not very shapely, but I love it for entirely different reasons. Placement seems like it is going to be very important, and I'm very sure that if you go to the right artist, you'll come away with the most beautiful ankles in the world!

All of my tattoos are "custom" as in none of them are flash from the wall. Though I've seen some killer flash, and I've pretty seriously tried to talk my son into matching Hot Stuff riding a charging panther off the wall at Trader Bob's. Two of my tattoos are traced. It is obvious to me, as I provided the (non-tattoo) reference material. Both have additional elements added (my birdie reference did NOT have a French fry), but I absolutely know the artists did not free hand the whole design. I brought in a picture, and they made me tattoos of the pictures. I'm happy with them. One of them was drawn onto my skin, without any reference except what the artist had in his head at the time.

My nerdiness was school related. I got straight As, did Academic Bowl and Spanish Academic Bowl, and got a Golden Ticket out of my crappy home town. I was totally a nerdy red head with braces and glasses. :rolleyes: I still am, I guess. A nerdy red head with glasses and tattoos.

I've been on Remicade for several years now. It doesn't seem to affect my healing time for scratches (or tattoos). It does affect the amount of time it takes for me to get over something like a cold though.

This is the one the dogs got closest to. He was not hurt, so he got tucked back in the nest that day.

I really like Matt Stebly's work, and he does a lot of animals. Matt Stebly Tattoos : Of course, by the time you get to Ocean Springs, you're almost to New Orleans. For all that, Nashville is half the drive and is full of excellent choices, and lots of guest artist rolling through town on top of it.

Our dogs sniffed out a rabbit nest last Wednesday. We've been checking to make sure the mother is coming back, and we finally got solid confirmation on Sunday. Now we have six little babies under the bathroom window, and they're just starting to get a little active.

It sucks hard for a while, then it starts sucking less, then you get busy doing something else, then you realize it hasn't sucked too much lately. There isn't a timeline for this, and you sometimes take big backward steps. Don't feel like you're failing at having a broken heart. Each one is its own special flower. The best thing you can get out of it is to have learned something.