iowagirl

Oh boy isn't that such an awesome feeling? When you can finally look at your piece and just be like ahhhh yeah this is fucking awesome! I want to wear strapless tops all the time and walk around w/my arms out so the undersides are visible. I feel complete now w/the underside done there. I like to look down and not see bare skin there. 

Thanks for the tip! We still have Ivory so I'm ok for a while. Just used it a couple times now and wow the difference is amazing-it feels like it should've felt last Friday. Finally. Whew. Will be interested to see how the birds eye looks once all the flaking is done. I'm worried some of the color came out but can't tell for sure yet. 

Today I celebrate Scab Free Day!!!!!! The last of the scabs flaked off when I was in the shower this morning. Now it's smooth sailing as I heal this awesome tattoo. I'll be dropping by the shop to talk with my artist on Friday and have him look it over - then schedule for touch up as necessary. Woo Hooo!!

I did a search but didn't see anything more than "getting/just got my first tattoo" type threads. 
Wondered about everyone's first ever tattoos. Do you still have it? Do you still like it? Do you feel attached to it? Etc. 
I got my first two days after I turned 18, on Halloween, 1992. My best friend and I got matching tattoos-a rose off the wall. Hers is teal, mine is purple. We were the only tattooed students in high school, and were considered huge bad asses. People remarked about how large it was and I thought, really? It didn't seem large to me, but, yanno, then party dots became like the "cool thing" to do, so if you put my rose next to a party dot it looked like I had a full bodysuit to those people I guess. 
As I've gone along in my tattoo adventures, I had one of mine covered, which ended up turning into this big Japanese wind/water deal, and now I'm looking at my first few from my 18-21 year old self and wondering if I want to keep them like they are, rework them, incorporating them into something new either way..or remove/cover them w/something else that fits me now. 

OMeffingG this tattoo is thwarting me. I don't know that I've had this hard a heal since starting this method. I thought I maybe had too much cocoa butter on it or that I was reacting to the cocoa butter-even tho I've been using that for the last 5 years but ok..so i quit using it and thought I'd let it dry. That didn't help. It ended up cracking in two spots, not horribly, but still. So tonight I looked at the ingredients in the "free" soap I am using this time. Different than the Ivory we've been using for the last 5 years. So I wondered if I was sensitive to something in it, even if it's a "free of everything soap", who knows? Was telling husband and he said the first few days every time he washed w/it he got immediately itchier than crazy. I put some coconut oil on it this morning b/c where it cracked hurt. So, getting ready for bed just now, I used the Ivory. We'll see. It feels better already. Before, it felt "prickly" all the time, like that piercing stabbing pain toward the end of the tattoo when everything's raw. My poor bird. Everybody's been freaking out to see him and a peeling/not wanting to heal tattoo just isn't as purty to admire. 

just for reference, pics off the whole thing

My big piece was finished last night. Sooo now becomes the deliberation of what I want to do next, where I want to do it. I'm stumped. Was going to talk to my artist last night but I was so focused on pretending it didn't hurt..
Husband has put his leather armor on hold and went w/a new artist, starting this tiger. He loves the new artist so that's great. A dragon is going on the back of the calf there and everything will be in color.

I'm to the point I'd rather just fast forward to the tattoos and skip the crap between. I get tired of the "game", the alliances, purposely trying to submarine the other contestants w/the skull picks. If you can't win by doing what you're there to do, and let your work speak for itself, then you shouldn't be there. A couple years ago, I happened upon another tattoo show..Tattoo Titans or something. It had Ami James on it and a pretty tattoo model. But it was just three artists, they tattooed and they either went home or stayed. I set it to record on the dvr but there was only one season--I'm guessing b/c there wasn't all the gawd awful drama.

My big piece was finished last night. Sooo now becomes the deliberation of what I want to do next, where I want to do it. I'm stumped. Was going to talk to my artist last night but I was so focused on pretending it didn't hurt..
Husband has put his leather armor on hold and went w/a new artist, starting this tiger. He loves the new artist so that's great. A dragon is going on the back of the calf there and everything will be in color.

got my brown belt in Taekwondo a couple weeks ago. 
performed my second wedding ceremony. 

I've now lost 33 pounds and stabilized around my goal weight. I may try for another 5 pounds but, who knows? All of the college social functions make eating healthy difficult...but I'm determined to hold the line. I've learned that I can have a splurge from time to time, and then just get back to my routine. I am feeling so much better - but now need to buy some new clothes including 34" waist pants....which I have not worn since high school.
The weight loss and tattoos have made me much more confident to wear sleeveless shirts and tank shirts..something I've never done before. Why did I wait until I was 61 to do this? Ugh.
By the way, did I tell you how much I love this new tattoo?

@otisc, thank you! I posted the pics on FB and nobody commented on his tiger, they all made remarks about my hairy leg..so he's like what the hell? But, we don't really know many people into tattoos that can "see" what it's going to look like finished. I'm kinda jealous of how cool it's going to look as it progresses, and he's got sessions to look forward too..and I'm scrambling b/c I want more!

@otisc, thank you! I posted the pics on FB and nobody commented on his tiger, they all made remarks about my hairy leg..so he's like what the hell? But, we don't really know many people into tattoos that can "see" what it's going to look like finished. I'm kinda jealous of how cool it's going to look as it progresses, and he's got sessions to look forward too..and I'm scrambling b/c I want more!

Hey, fellow woman with an untattooed partner!  It's cool that it's working out for you guys. 
I tease my BF pretty often about what an ideal backpiece back he has (broad-shouldered, perfect skin).  If ever a back were made for a violent tengu slaughter, or a battle royale...

My big piece was finished last night. Sooo now becomes the deliberation of what I want to do next, where I want to do it. I'm stumped. Was going to talk to my artist last night but I was so focused on pretending it didn't hurt..
Husband has put his leather armor on hold and went w/a new artist, starting this tiger. He loves the new artist so that's great. A dragon is going on the back of the calf there and everything will be in color.

The pain creates vulnerability, it reveals your true self.
Through the pain you can receive clarity.
My tattooer and I were talking about the tattoo pain threshold yesterday actually.
We were discussing how everybody receives 'X' amount of tattoo credits, some receive more than others.
But once you're credits are used up, they are used up and tattoo pain will be worse for you moving forward. So tattoo and spend your credits wisely!

Being a tattooed old lady is one of the things that actually makes me look forward to aging.

got my brown belt in Taekwondo a couple weeks ago. 
performed my second wedding ceremony. 

just for reference, pics off the whole thing

My big piece was finished last night. Sooo now becomes the deliberation of what I want to do next, where I want to do it. I'm stumped. Was going to talk to my artist last night but I was so focused on pretending it didn't hurt..
Husband has put his leather armor on hold and went w/a new artist, starting this tiger. He loves the new artist so that's great. A dragon is going on the back of the calf there and everything will be in color.

man. if context isn't everything...

Do you know people w/tattoos? Can get some recommendations from them and you can look the shops up online. Do lots of research. Those here can give great recommendations based on your location, ideas etc. I found the shop we go to now by asking an artist who had done some work on me and then moved farther away than I was able to go. He recommended a place, I contacted them and they were not willing to work w/us on doing a deposit since we are so far away-we couldn't take an entire day off work to drive 2.5 hours to stand in line at the door on the day they opened up the artists schedule books b/c they book up so fast to hopefully not be so far in the line that we couldn't get an appointment. So, I asked for another recommendation, we checked them out online, and called them. Super crazy easy to work with, and now we've been visiting them as we can for two or three years. If anyone asks me about them, I tell them where we go, and why, and I give them a card.

just for reference, pics off the whole thing

Mine too. Mine was done Wednesday night (a bird in the same spot as yours but other arm) and Thursday I walked around all day at work w/my hand on my hip or held the arm out from my body like a bodybuilder. Stupidly went to Taekwondo class and yeah that was tender.