nickishine

I thought this might be a fun "thread starter" for this weekend....

The ONLY tatoo I have is on my ankle. It's a 'lil Snowman kicking up his legs and throwing up his arms after letting go of 3 hearts.

The Snowman: Noah, my boy who passed on

Two Pink hearts: My daugher and me

One Red heart: My son

The design was made by my "adopted" dad who is an artist. It's original and it's COOL and most of all.... it represents the people I love so much!

And now you...............!!! :ghug

yeahgr8

Grim reaper at 20 years old. Had it done because i could not make my mind up what to have and it was the only medium sized tattoo that caught my eye in the book.

Got it covered up when i was 30!

JigOvLife

My first, 14 years ago, on my left shoulder blade, was an attempt at a circular pentagram (Hard to describe), surrounding a Yin Yang. The idea being that the pentagram is traditionally the symbol of man, Yin Yang symbolising balance...Balanced Man!

I was a pagan, skater boy then...It made sense at the time. Unfortunately I had 4 double vodkas before getting it done and not realising that alcohol thins the blood, I bled everywhere and it looked a bit of a mess.
(Still trying to become a balanced man).

Last year I had a penrose triangle in a circle inked onto my forearm (It's on the tattoo group's thread photos) To remind me of all I learned in AA and the 'impossibility' of me submitting to AA's spirituality...Still had some relapses since but I am getting better.

I'm currently in the final four, for a much coveted tattoo apprenticeship with one of Yorkshire's best, bespoke artists...If I get it and the ink in my head makes it onto my hide, modesty aside, I'll look bloody ace! My detail designs and portraits are good...my tribal needs some work though.

AlkalikeH

..........

mamabin

hmmmm...

When I was 15 (1979) I tattooed my boyfriend's initials on my ankle. Back then we did it ourselves with india ink and a needle and thread (can anyone relate?). Then I tattooed both my wrists, my parents forced me to have them removed and at that time they cut them out, leaving big scars.

I married a jerk who somehow controlled me without me knowing it (can you say CODEPENDENT?) and he wouldn't "let me get one". So I thought it was a good idea to get a heart and ribbon on my hip with his name and my name on our tenth anniversary. Didn't go over so well. It has since been covered with a rose.

Now that I'm stronger and I am who I want to be (not what others want to see), I'm on a roll. Let's see, next was a vine and flowers around my ankle (a gift)...

a star, sun and moon on my neck (girl's night out)...

butterfly on my shoulder, just because...

big heart with a ribbon and sparrow with my daughter's name on my left arm...

dragon with my son's name on my right arm...

my stepson's name and three stars under my daughter's name (unfinished)...

a flower on my left wrist covering up the scar from when I tattooed myself...

a sankofa on the inside of my right wrist to remind me of past mistakes and not to repeat them...

a bean sprout on the inside of my left wrist (my earth day tattoo)...

a honey bee on my foot for my friend who moved to OK, she got a ladybug (the honeybee is the OK state insect and the ladybug is the NH state insect)...

a huge fly on my chest (my Dad was a fly fisherman) and now we're working on the scenery behind it (this one will cover my whole chest (literally))...

a horseshoe that says good luck that I got when I visited my friend in OK...

a big pink ribbon on my left leg with my version of Rosie the Riveter...

and now I'm saving up for my favorite artist (one of the best in the world IMO) who agreed to tattoo me at some point. I'm saving my beer money for this one and it will be a high point of my life. It's an honor to be tattooed by an artist of this caliber (yeah, I'm a groupie).

and I probably missed something

KenL

My first tatoo was a frog or something out of a Cracker Jack box. I was a kid and it seemed cool. I don't have any others.

nickishine

OMG, WOW!!!

You're a vision of poetry in motion... of art... of color!!! Good for you, Girl!

There's GOT TO BE a ton of $$$ invested on your body, huh?!!! I like the "meanings" that go with your tattoos!

TTOSBT

My first (and only) tattoo I got on my 40th birthday. I had been sober for a little over 2 months and it is a Tree of Life to symbolize my new life, new growth, new spiritually focused life. It is unlike anyone else's tree of life though as I got it from an Australian artist that penned it last year. It is high in the middle of my shoulder blades and fairly large. There is a pic of it on the tattoo thread. I love it!! Now, my one year sobriety birthday is coming up in a couple months and I am trying to decide what to add to it to celebrate my birthday. Any ideas?

nickishine

TTOSBT.... I have no ideas, sorry! I love the tree of life you described and what it symbolizes!!

I'm thinkin' about another one too! Just don't know what yet... maybe a dolphin, hmmm? I love Dolphins! They're smart and cute!

CAPTAINZING2000

I donate blood 5 times a year. Started many years ago for a blood drive for a little boy with cancer.

So, no I can never get a tatt. Too many people need blood

nickishine

So anyone who has ever got a "tat" can't donate blood???

Mariposa18

I think there has to be a certain amount of time between when you got the tattoo and when you donate blood. I went to donate after my first tattoo and they asked if it had been 6 months, I said no and was told I couldn't donate. They didn't say never though, they just said not now. Not sure if that has changed~

My first tattoo was of a pink unicorn =) I got it when I was 18 and I picked it because I love fantasy creatures like unicorns and my fave color is pink. Plus, I was 18 and thought it was super cute! lol I still love it though =)

mle-sober

I grew up very poor (no running water, no electricity, no phone) in rural KY where roses grow wild in the woods. When I was 14 (1982), my dad got a job teaching in Brooklyn NY. I had some serious culture shock, you can imagine. I was befriended by a group of Vietnam vets (alcoholics, heroine users - the beginning of my drinking career) who hung out on the beach near my home. They all had tattoos.

I went and got a pretty little wild rose tattooed on my thigh.

My "boyfriend" (not a vet but still part of the group - age 23) got a tattoo OF ME with my tattoo on his arm with my name underneath in script! OMG! Even at 14, I knew that was crazy. He's dead from a heroine OD.

Later in my life, after I'd been raped and I was recovering (age 19), I gave myself a symbolic tattoo in the shape of a spiral with some beams radiating from it, on my lower right abdomon. I used an exacto blade and india ink. It still helps me remember that my body is my own no matter what anyone else may do to it.

I also have the names of all 5 of my children (1 was a foster boy that I don't have any more) in distinct hearts surrounded by wild flowers that grow in Kentucky. This is starting on my shoulder and going down my arm to my elbow.

aasharon90

Let's see......At 49 I got a big red
heart on my right top arm with a
ribbon through it saying Harley Davidson.
3 different colored roses surround it.
Tibal looking.

Then I got a pretty bird with a
long tail on a branch on my left
top chest. Small red blossoms.
Very colorful.

Then a long stem rose on my
back left top shoulder with
2 butterflies and the words
Lady Rider written in script.
Very colorful.

Then on my lower right top arm
i have pink blossoms and a butterfly
wrapped halfway.
Very colorful.

The I had another butterfly and
a small vine and a single pink
blosoom on my top right hand.
Very pretty colorful.

At 50 I have one large red
rose with a bud and butterfly
on my lower left arm near my
hand.
Very pretty. Got this one Feb 14th
on my wedding night.

Its never to late to get a tat.

In fact im not done yet. More to
come later.

tellus

My first (and only, so far) tat is one I designed myself three or four years ago. It's a heart, in a line-drawing/doodle style (hard to describe). It's on my right shoulderblade.

I definitely wouldn't go about it the same way again: I didn't get a "real" artist's input on the design, and I designed it with a relationship I was having at the time in mind. No name or anything, luckily, but the meaning is there for me. I plan to have it reworked at some point, make it a little nicer-looking.

I also want to get this design tattooed on me at some point, maybe around my ankle or wrist. It's a crop circle in the shape of a double-helix (DNA).

Ananda

I'm getting one this summer! it will be a roman soldier...placement of tat is currently in question

nickishine

Hey Ananda....

Why a Roman Soldier... just curious.....?

CoF1984

Don't have any yet...but my first one is going to be a heart made of ice with the words "Cold Hearted" around it because I'm such a cold hearted a**h*le lol. And I guess I'll see what happens from there.
Wes

mle-sober

Wes. We see right through you. You're like a sweet, warm, cuddly puppy.

CAPTAINZING2000

You're required to wait 12 months now after a piercing or a tat to give blood now