Ink Stories.

Anyone that knows me knows that I am in love with tattoos. And anyone that has a tattoo knows how addictive they are. Seriously!! What’s up with that? (Insert SNL skit here – please tell me someone knows what I’m talking about). It’s like Lays potato chips – I dare you to just get one. Here is my tattoo history:

1997- I got my first tattoo. It was a butterfly on my ankle. How can you tell I was 14? My mom got one with me (she’s an awesome mom, what can I say?).

1999 – My second tattoo went onto my ribs on my back and I almost fainted. The tattoo artist told me to lie down because you can’t faint when you are lying down (I know now this is a lie but it did help at the time). The pain of this was more than I can explain. All of this for a two inch crescent moon that turns into a horse head. Yep, that’s right. I would never get the same thing now but I was really into horses at the time and minus the near fainting moment this was my favorite tattoo experience. Myself, my mom, my grandma and my great Aunt all got tattoos together. I will always treasure this one because of that reason. Now that my grandma has passed it’s one more thing that reminds me of good times wtih her.

2001 – I had the Eye of Horus tatooed on the back of my neck. In Egyptian culture the Eye of Horus symbolizes protection and good health. I kind of love Egyptian culture. I’m not sure why but maybe it has something to do with a past life? I loved this tattoo then and I still love it now.

2008 – Yeah, you know that butterfly tattoo I got when I was 14? I got it covered up by a peacock feather. It’s much better now and so much more my style.

2009 – The sanskrit word for “Karma” was tattooed on my left wrist. I had a few struggles along the way (hey, who hasn’t?) but I do believe that if you do things from a good place it will come back to you. I let it serve as a daily reminder to be a do-gooder.

2012 – I had the words “I’ve known you before, I will know you again, our bond is eternal” written in a really beautiful script on my back/rib cage. After the last rib cage experience I swore I would never get another tattoo there but it’s funny how time can erase the memory of pain. I originally planned to get this much smaller but the tattoo artist explained to me that I don’t want the words bleeding into each other as I get older so I needed to get it a bit bigger. It’s pretty large. My fiance asked me the first night after I got it to flip over so he could read me a bedtime story before bed (what a comedian). It’s large and in charge but I love it.

2012 – Picture a macro shot of a green leaf. I had that tattooed in a box on my right forearm. It’s gorgeous and oh so me. Love love love!

2013 – TBA. My mom is coming into town soon and it’s kind of a tradition we get tattoos together. I have a bunch of ideas floating around right now so stay tuned!

I’m completely crushing on watercolor tattoos as of lately. I just can’t get enough of them! I love how tattoos have evolved from celtic signs and disney characters intricate and detailed pieces of art on the body. Here are some inspirations for my next tattoo: