Fala

Full time @gougetheeyes and @MrsGougeTheEyes?! ;(

I have a friend who is an AMAZING massage therapist up that way, check him out: About

Yay @SeeSea!!! You did it and your back looks ahmazing!!!!!!

Congrats @Cork!!!!

Ooooh, don't start putting ideas into my head @Graeme!!! ;)

You can fold up, and pin, the sports bra to avoid rubbing against your new tattoo. This way, you still have the whole of the sports bra, but are avoiding the rubbing. You can also put a non-stick gauze pad between the tattoo and the bra to reduce the rubbing - just be sure to tape it well.

@Rikhall - Roxx needs lots of space for her work for sure! I don't think I've ever seen smaller pieces of hers. She gets the black so rich and deep.

You beat me to it @Rikhall! Roxx is amazing.

I highly suggest you check out a variety of shops and artists, since you have a general idea of what you like, now's the time to look at the plethora of artists available (online, and in person!) Once you find the right artist, you can trust them to create something that is just right for you.

And foot tattoos do not necessarily age well.

@BrianH - Yoshi!!!

http://fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/164/6/3/Laugh_Dragon_by_talpimado.gif

I think the mat should be shown as much as possible, and have a spacer (mat board) between the fabric and the glass so the fabric has space to breathe. The mat between the glass and material (paper, fabric, etc) is vitally important otherwise you get that flocking/foxing and discoloration from having the glass pressed up against the material being framed because of the fluctuations in humidity. It is recommended that it be hard mounted (ie on a piece of veneer wood) prior to framing this way.

If you were to get it soft-mounted you could have it prepared and then hang it like a scroll on the wall (vs having it in a frame.)

These folks might be able to help you out: Framing, Matting & Mounting

I'm sure everything will be fine, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for you, just in case!

Re: latex allergies - SOMETIMES people are allergic to the chemicals that are used to preserve the latex and not the latex itself. So, you can be allergic to latex and not have any of the cross-reactive fruit allergies. I used to have a fantastic document on this aspect of latex allergies, but lost it in a computer crash :(

@ironchef - how are you doing today?

Mangoes are up there on the food allergies list for sure, interesting about them being cross-reactive.

No more latex gloves/solvents for me! That was back in my printmaking days, before I discovered the beauty of thick nitrile gloves and these amazing silver colored gloves that block out almost all solvents.

I've done elimination diets before - are you doing 6 weeks off, 6 weeks on, then 6 weeks off again? Apparently, that's the ideal way to do one - lotsa work/time to do it!

@beez - I know which food, drink, other etc issues I have and how they're related - thanks though ;) I've had a latex allergy my entire life, and it has gotten worse with repeated exposure (think: wearing latex gloves for 8 hours a day whilst being exposed to gnarly solvents.) Yucko. Interesting about the avocado/mango cross-issue.

Have you been eating anything differently, or drinking more, etc recently too? I notice that when my eating/drinking patterns change my skin behaves differently. I have super sensitive skin too, and am allergic to latex!

I started getting tattooed when I was 32, and I went to all of the shops that I was interested in to check out the books of the artists and get a feel for the vibe of the shop. For whatever reason, I hadn't found LST yet, but I did enough homework that my first tattoo came out really nice.

Hope you feel better soon @ironchef! Contact dermatitis sucks!!!

My tattoo went through two peels overall, and a third peel in a heavily inked spot. That was new. Looks great though!

I think that's a fair trade!

Bummer @CShaw!!! Hope the car doesn't cost too much or take too long to fix!

Right on @SeeSea! There are no perfect tattoos either, just as there are no perfect people...

Hoping that my next tattoo is with Virginia Elwood, that would be awesome. I've only been tattooed by men thus far, and my husband's first tattoo is scheduled to be with a woman. Interesting dichotomy!

I had a similar in-person conversation as @rozone did with my parents.

I forewarned them that I had gotten a tattoo, and showed them the next time we got together. It was only a matter of time anyway as we spend a lot of time together in the summer. My mother is more open-minded than my father, and said "wow, it is so big! I am so glad that you can cover that up at work". My father said he appreciated the craft and quality of it and joked that I could always get it removed if I decided I didn't like it in a few years. He too talked about how he knows people who regretted their tattoo choices, and was concerned that "you'll want another new one when that one gets old". I have a family member that has some, er, not so awesome tattoos and my parents have been saying "please don't turn out like so and so", thus I've been able to use that as an opportunity to talk about good tattoos, how to make tattoo choices, and that it isn't a "light" decision for me. It's been slow going but I appreciate them trying and not freaking out the way I expected them to. My sister responded admirably by saying that she was surprised it took me so long.

My mother-in-law has no idea about my tattoos, and I plan on keeping it that way because I know it would not go well.

@keepcalm - I recommend a letter in a situation such as this. I've utilized that method in the past with a very difficult situation and it was just was we all needed.

@MrsGougeTheEyes - next time we'll have my non-LST member husband take the photo!!!