It’s been a while..5 yrs, oops!

Wow it has been quite a while. I’ve honestly forgotten about this vlog and I do apologize for anyone who were avid followers. Seems I just fell off the face of the planet huh?! Going back through previous entries, looks like I left off at the start of my Vampire Girl piece on my calf. She has since been finished and many new projects started. MANY!! The tattoo world has seemed to have improved quite a bit in the last few years as well, which, really isn’t a bad thing either though we all know how the last year has gone which is thankfully almost over!

I have managed 3 tattoo appointments within 2020 even though it’s been a dumpster fire type of year. Following my Vampire Girl being completed, I started the process of completing a full sleeve on my right arm and also working on starting a full sleeve on my left arm that began earlier this year. My left arm is a work in progress as we will also be fixing the upper portion of it as well. Once that arm is completed, it’ll be on to other parts of the body. Got plenty of room left! Right now the only plan once my arms are done will probably be a chest piece of some sort but who truly knows. Pictures will be shared later!

I’ve come across a lot of new artists out of nowhere. The Ink Master shows have helped open my up to other forms of tattoo art and other artists, some I never realized were local. A new shop just opened recently near by as well, Rebel Muse Tattoo in Denver and the art I see coming out of that shop is amazing! We’ve found a pretty awesome realism type artist located in Colorado Springs, Colorado that produced a beautiful American Flag and Eagle piece for my husband that I will share as well. He’s even planning on more work but hasn’t fully decided on what yet but probably going something Nordic related. I am still working with the same artist I have been. He always produces amazing work for me and I likely won’t go anywhere else unless absolutely necessary even though there are plenty of other amazing artists out there! Guess that shows the loyalty I have for his work right?!

I’m going to try and get back into this. New topics, new everything. 2021 approaches quickly and hopefully I can get back into things I once loved. It’s been a rough few years to say the least but I’m still here and moving forward as best as I can. Feel free to subscribe, or resubscribe in hopes of new exciting things! It is Christmas Eve, hoping everyone who celebrates has a amazing holiday as well 🙂

Tattooed makeup and sessions

Today I had an interesting conversation with one of my customers. I’ve had alot of tattoo related conversations with customers lately actually. Today in particular it went from tattoo sessions to tattoo makeup. For those who don’t know me outside of here well my makeup style is quite unique and different then what is usually seen on women. Yesterday and today I was asked if my makeup was permanent. I’ve been asked this alot surprisingly but no its not. I’m not sure if that’s something I would really consider. I love my tattoos and all but I know I’d never do anything like that. Plus I like to change my makeup looks every day, mostly to go along with what I am wearing. I’d go crazy without being able to change it up every day! This is my unique makeup style for those who are curious:  

Now another subject that came up between a customer and I was the amount of time spent on my tattoos. Her young son originally complimented me saying he loved the decorations on my skin. His mom then proceeded to ask me if all of my tattoos were done at one time. I told her most of mine were done in multiple sessions. Both of my sleeves were at least 4 to 5 sessions. The memorial on my left calf was the only tattoo of mine that I did in one sitting. I’m still waiting to finish my most recent project on my inner right calf. I told her it depends on the person and the artist. I know a few people have done big pieces all in one sitting. My body seems to tap out around the 4 hour mark and that’s pushing it. I’d love to go longer and I probably could after a long break and a meal.

These are definitely subjects I get asked about alot.  For those of you who have tattoos like myself, what is the biggest question you get about them? I get alot about the meanings or if they hurt which I think everyone with them deals with. I think everyone has their fair share of questions they receive. Share themail if you wish!

My vampire girl

It’s been forever and a day since I decided to update this thing, guess you could say I forgot about it a little bit?! Can’t say that I have a ton of new ink to show off besides one. Wish I had more than this one but that’s alright and it’s still not done!

On Sunday, June 28th I got my newest piece. I had the hardest time trying to figure out what it was I wanted next after my back piece was completed over a year ago. Yes, I went a whole year without any new ink and it drove me crazy!! In the end I decided on a portrait style vampire girl. I sat for 4 hours and needless to say, with the area it’s located that was the longest 4 hours ever. Tattoos on the lower and back of the leg are not pleasant though I managed. I have my ways of coping with the pain as the process goes on. On June 28th we focused mostly on getting the black areas completed and we would focus further on the details and colors on a later date which will also tie it into my Ankh tattoo on the opposite side of it.

Now I’m sure I’ll get questions about why I got this specific tattoo. I am a big fan of vampires and anything related to that. I love anything gothic related whether its art, clothing, music, etc. I wanted to incorporate my likes into one piece which helped inspire the background elements I wanted of something cemetery related. I also wanted it to incorporate bloody aspects, like you would think of with vampires. She is holding what will be a bleeding heart with blood around her mouth and dripping from the heart. Didn’t really get any process pictures of this one, only after we were done for the day. There are plenty of elements to still add but without blabbering on any further, this is what I have so far:

I realize the fingers of both hands are a little weird looking currently and they will remain that way until the piece is finished. I knew a lot of people would get on me about that but everything will look better in the end.

Hoping to get back into posting things here as I miss writing (well in this case, technically typing!). If you’re a new follower, welcome and please continue to read as I post. If you’re custom to my postings then I say welcome back!

My most recent tattoo and Life Stuff

So it has definitely been a while since I posted anything here. I guess you could say I sort of forgot about my blog for a while, at least since I posted about Father Sebastiaan and getting my fangs done back in February. I do have new ink but I know many of my followers already know about it but regardless, to those who don’t I finally got my upper back worked on and completed. On Friday April 18th I started the first portion of it. This piece was a combination of a memorial of my late uncle, as well as something for me in a way. There are elements that tie in to remember him by and then elements I personally wanted for myself. We started with the left side of my upper back before continuing to the other side at the end of June.

I’m sure plenty of you may ask, “Did your back hurt?” The answer? Sure it did, in certain areas. The spine is not a pleasant area to be tattooed, nor is the top of your shoulder but the rest is all fairly bearable. None of my tattoos have ever made me feel like tapping out or even crying and at this point, I doubt any will from here on out but I won’t toot my own horn on that one. So here is a peek at what I started back on April 18th:

Let’s start with the stencil. I knew when going into this piece I wanted it to attach to my half sleeves on both arms. My artist did an awesome job incorporating elements from my sleeve into the tattoo itself.

 

Then the outline got started. I honestly thought the pain would be a bit worse than it was but I knew I needed this. I do apologize for the picture quality, my back got wrapped before we could get pictures of the outline.

 

The shading I’ll say hurt a little bit, but not as much as the outline. I can’t decide which hurts the most out of the two.

With this one I sat about 3 1/2 hours or so. We added what color we could in the time we had but I knew I would have to go back at a later time to finish it anyway. Regardless I loved where it had come to an end on April 18th and then it was up to me to figure out what else to add to the other side since there really wasn’t much room left with such a large piece. This was the finished product as of Friday April 18th.

 

Now to go a little into detail with what’s going on. The owl itself I found is a symbol of Guardianship. It also has so many other meanings but guardianship really stuck out to me. It is holding a pocket watch in which the time reads 5:04:57. The number 5 represents May, the number 4 represents the 4th and the 57 seconds represents 1957. It is the birth date of my uncle whom passed away a year ago. He was also into trains as I’ve previously mentioned and I figured the pocketwatch was the perfect little detail. Then the leaves that are uncolored in these images would eventually be colored in the tradition autumn coloring which combined both mine and his love of the Fall season. So like I said, it’s something to both memorialize him by as well as something done for me.

 

Now after this part of it was done I got to thinking what I wanted to add to the other side. My artist suggested maybe a moon would look cool or something to that effect. I got to thinking and eventually agreed with myself that yes, that would work out perfectly. Of course now that the upper half is done I’ve had people ask me if I plan to do a full back piece. Eventually I would like to but with other things going on I’m not sure when that will happen..yet. Anyway so come Sunday June 29th I went back to get this piece completed. Now that it’s done I absolutely love it and love how it came together. I love the colors chosen and the detail. I really don’t have any progress pictures with the newer half of it, mostly just the finished product as there wasn’t much to take progress shots of. This second half took about 3 hours to add to it as well as color in what remained still from the April appointment. This is the finished product right after it was done:

And here it is healed as of July 20th

As far as any new tattoos go I’m not sure as to when I will be getting anything. My other half and I are finally planning to move into our own place, a house none the less and that’ll take up much of the extra money I had for tattoos and other things. I would love to be able to get new tattoos as frequently as I was but I’m definitely ready to have my own house and be able to start my life with my future husband after being together 8 years, going on 9 next March. I am glad though that I can pretty much get touch ups on my current tattoos for free whenever I feel the tattooed itch again and I’m sure it’ll creep up again soon! So with that being said I will close this post and I hope I will get back into blogging again soon!

 

Father Sebastiaan and Getting my Fangs

I know it has been a while since I posted any sort of entry here. This entry will really have nothing to do with tattoos but more so an experience I am likely never to forget and hope for another in the future.

This past Saturday, February 22^nd, I was able to meet someone who I have been following for many, many years. Like many I have had an obsession with vampires and nightlife for as long as I can remember. I’ve loved the gothic subculture from all over the world and have become to have some interest in steampunk as well. At 6PM mountain time on Saturday February 22^nd I was able to meet someone who is fairly well known in what he does, at least by those much like myself. Father Sebastiaan is a unique individual though he was so welcoming as far as what he does. He is well known as master fangsmith, author and Impresario. He creates custom fangs for clients all over the world. He is leader of the Sabretooth Clan, a group of people who share in the same state of mind and are his past and present fang clients.  Every year he also hosts multiple Vampire Balls throughout the United States and Europe. Recently he just held the Anti Valentines Day Vampire Ball in New York City Valentines Day weekend of this year. You may have also heard of another ball by the name of the Endless Night Vampire Ball. He describes it as a Venetian Masque Ball, meets a Vampire Court, with the energy of a rock concert and the elegance of a Burlesque Cabaret.

He has published and written many books on the subject of “Vampyrism” over the years including Sanguinomicon “Lexicon of the Living Vampire” published in 2010, “The Sabretooth Clan Book” also published in 2010 to thesanguinarium.com press, “Vampyre Virtues The Red Veils” In 2010 and his more recent one of Vampyre Magick “Grimoire of the Living Vampire” published in 2012. You may also recognize him if you ever saw the TV show titled Vampire Secrets on the History Channel that aired in 2006. More information about Father Sebastiaan and what he does can be found at the following: http://fathersebastiaan.com/ which is also where this more current information came from.

I contacted Father Sebastiaan back in late summer of last year on Facebook after finding his page there. I asked if he would ever make a trip out to Denver and he informed me he was planning something at the end of February. I kept a close eye and finally an Event was posted on facebook a few weeks ago. At first I was unsure if I was going to be able to attend but thanks to his help we were able to agree on an appointment time that would work for both of us! The excitement grew more and more each passing day. I was finally going to be able to do something I had wanted for many, many years. So at just a little past 5PM we traveled to downtown Denver for my appointment at 6PM. Once I arrived and made it to the room he was staying in I felt a great sense of welcoming. He had a few clients already there waiting to be fanged and it would soon be my turn. I decided on the Lilith fangs, teeth that were formed over the Laterals. He has a few different fangs to choose from but these are what I decided on for the evening. It didn’t take very long at all nor did it hurt as some might ask. These fangs can be taken out at any given time though it is not recommended to eat or sleep with them. I know I plan to wear mine out whenever I get the chance!

I had such a pleasant time and will definitely love to do it again if he makes it back out to Denver. The girls he had accompanying him were all friendly and welcoming and I was definitely comfortable in my surroundings which for me can be a little hard. So without further ado, here are a few pictures. I was able to get a picture together with Sebastiaan after my fangs were completed as well as one of me and the fangs themselves. Check out his page, he is one unique person. Again all of this information about him and more can be found at http://fathersebastiaan.com/.

My newest tattoo

While I don’t have any new tattoos to post as the title may lead on, I have decided on what I want next. I’m unsure as to where I plan to place it though as of right now but I’m glad I’ve got a while to decide before I go and get it. I’m not going to post what I’ve got planned, only a few people know what it is thus far. It’ll be something special, something that will hold plenty of memories, both good and bad. This’ll probably be my shortest blog entry but I’ll definitely be posting my new work once it’s been started and completed. At this time I’m unsure as to when I’ll be getting it, maybe after I get my tax refund, maybe sooner I haven’t decided. As far as placement goes, like I said I’m undecided. I’m debating between either the inside of my leg or my shoulder but when I want something across my back I’m not sure if my shoulder will be the right place for it but I definitely want it to be seen!

So keep an eye out my friends for the post that’ll reveal this new tattoo of mine. I can’t wait to see what my artist has drawn up for me when the time comes.

Chest and Back Tattoos

Now that both of my half sleeves are completed, I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what I want to do next. Ideas have included going to my thighs regardless of just how much I hate my legs. I’ve also considered going to my back and starting something there or going across my chest. Lately part of me is afraid to choose the wrong design to go in a spot that has so many possibilities. I have every ounce of faith in my artist that he would give me some guidance and give me his own ideas when it comes down to it and what we decide to do.

Lately I’m not sure why but there has been a lot of chest pieces posted on the many tattoo pages I follow on facebook. It has really started to make me lean towards a chest tattoo first before I do anything else. I’m still undecided of course which makes me glad I won’t be getting any sort of new work done for a while because I just can’t decide. So basically this entry will consist of chest and back tattoos, some of my favorites that I have found over time. I know some of these I have posted before but they always deserve to be posted again.

Now keep in mind none of these pictures I own personally. These are all pictures courtesy of the artists who have taken them. I will try my best to add in the artist who created the piece. There are so many, it was so hard just to pick a few. Regardless, enjoy! I am hoping I can decide on something awesome soon!

 

This first piece will ALWAYS be a favorite of mine and I would definitely consider something similar! This one is by Tim Kern as is the next:

This next artist has become a favorite of mine. She was on season 2 of Best Ink and even won the series. Miss Teresa Sharpe, I’d love something from her!

Then these next artists are random. Images I had found like I said on the many facebook pages I follow that relate to tattoos. 

By Jessica at Capital Tattoo

Artists Unknown for these next ones

By Don Younie

By Jak Connolly

 

By Jessica Mascitti Ellis

By Johanne Finne

By Johnny Domus

By Kevin Dickinson

This one is also one of my favorites I have ever found. I’d definitely do something like this! By Led Coult

By Neon Judas

Now this next artist is another favorite of mine. Nick Baxter, he does some amazing work!

This next picture never really specified who the artist was. Just said “Club Tattoo” So I’m guessing it is by someone who works/worked at that specific shop

You’ve all seen this one before. I would definitely do something like this, its beautiful! By Sebastian Zmijewski

And finally one of the last ones I found by Sergio, no last name was listed

 

I’ve definitely got a ton of possibilities and I can only hope my ideas can turn out just as awesome as some of these. Of course every artist is different so I’m looking forward to working with my artist on something awesome. Maybe I’ll even give him free reign to create something for me, we will see how time plays out. Hoping you all enjoyed the few pictures I was able to collect, hoping I can find more later on! I will be sure to keep everyone updated on the progress of what my next tattoo may be!

 

First tattoo ideas

So as I have mentioned, my tattoo passion and obsession started quite a few years ago. I grew up with a sister who had tattoos which I think is what got me into them for the most part. Of course back then my ideas for tattoos were quite questionable to say the least. Some of them weren’t terrible while others I am glad I haven’t gotten done. I have a few pictures of some of my first ideas in terms of what I wanted before I was even old enough to get tattooed but I’ll save those for later.

While in High School I was a big fan of the band Slipknot. I thought it would be cool to get their “S” Symbol tattooed somewhere but needless to say I’m glad that didn’t happen considering I’m not as big of a fan as I once was even though I still like their music. Other ideas included a spider web over my shoulder. I was also once a fan of the group called Insane Clown Posse and considered getting their little hatchetman symbol tattooed but made to be more feminine. DEFINITELY glad I didn’t go that route as I don’t care for the group any more in terms of the music I listen to. I think a lot of my previous tattoo ideas included mostly things incorporating bands and music I liked at the time.

Now one of the main designs I definitely considered getting originally came from a temporary tattoo design I had gotten out of a machine somewhere. It was an armband that included a tribal design and black roses. I’ve always loved the idea behind black roses and did really consider getting this after Eddie got his done the first time around. I had even talked to his artist about it but never went through with it. I still have this temporary tattoo somewhere around here to this day but now than both of my arms are filled it’s not going to be happening but it’s always kind of cool to have this sort of memento of your younger years!

Of course over time my ideas changed. I eventually played around with my own designs and drawings and because of my passion for Vampires (even to this day I’ve got this addiction to the undead creature) I came across this idea. I added the middle piece because I thought it was to empty. I had originally thought about maybe placing this on my upper back eventually if I went through it. After this design, there came other variations as well. Don’t think I’ll go through with anything like this now but I still find it somewhat cool anyway, not so much with the pentagram in the middle but it’s still unique.

After playing around with the second idea I came to find out that I liked that one more than the original I had drawn.

After that phase of my life I got into keeping reptiles. I owned two Rosy Boas, a male and a female. Eddie kept the female at his house while I had the male here at mine even though later on they both ended up coming to stay at my house. I have a friend whose drawings are pretty much amazing and I asked her to draw me up this next idea. I thought it would be cool to incorporate our snakes together in one tattoo and hence this next idea came to be. This was also the idea I originally came to my current artist with before I could even afford to get a tattoo. I had planned on doing it in color of course, their specific colors in particular. I played around with placement and just couldn’t decide. Eventually this idea I got talked out of and it was put aside. I still have the original drawing and everything. I no longer keep my two snakes, I sold them both about 2 years ago or so now.

The tattoo drawing:

The snakes themselves. The orange one was the female (Limburg Albino) while the brown one was the male. Miss these two some days but I’m glad I don’t have to stress over them any longer. The male unfortunately passed away not long after I sold him. As far as I know the female is still alive and doing well.

I’m sure everyone’s first tattoo ideas were as questionable as mine were. I had so many it was crazy and I’m definitely glad I never got them done since I’m sure now they’d be covered up with something else. I do not regret any tattoo I currently have now and probably never will. My current tattoos have been a journey and I can only imagine what these ideas would have been had I got them done. Of course I was young, dumb and not to educated on tattoos anyway. So I am curious, what were some of your first tattoo ideas that never ended up happening? Do you think you would regret them now if you had got them done? I’m interested in reading what my followers had planned before tattoos were a major thing. Thanks for reading!

Half Sleeve Completed and Future Ideas

As of October 31st, 2013 my “Life After Death” sleeve is complete. It took a few months but in the end it was all worth it. We started March of this year, doing a session almost every month to every other month. It’s a little bittersweet to think about it but then again, I’ve still got plenty of space left on my arm if I ever wanted to extend it further down. I’ve definitely thought about it but unfortunately, with the uncertainty of my job future, I don’t want to do anything to drastic. This sleeve really doesn’t have to much meaning behind it as it’s just something I found appealing. When thinking of what to do for my right arm I knew I wanted something a little darker, something a bit more grotesque in a way. When I came upon the image that inspired it all I knew that was it. I titled this sleeve “Life After Death” mostly because that is what the title of the image was that shows the butterflies coming from the head of the skull and everything else just ended up working well with it. We didn’t have much left to do going into this final session. We had a few leaves to color in as well as the candle and then coloring in the hour glass on my inner arm so the session was over quicker than I had expected it to but regardless, I enjoyed every second. So without further ado, the pictures of it finally in it’s completed stage!

 

 

Now with that sleeve finally complete, it opens doors for new tattoos. I’ve already started thinking of what I want next but those ideas are quite jumbled and I’m unsure of them. One of the tattoos I’ve been thinking about is actually a quote, thinking maybe putting it across my chest or something. I’d also like to incorporate something Autumn related a long with it as it’s my favorite time of year as well as my late uncle’s so it would kind of be a not so obvious memorial in a way also. Here is what I have in mind:

Quote: “I know I was born, and I know I’ll die. The In between is Mine.”

Then I’d like maybe a few leaves going from shoulder to shoulder to accent the words. I’m not a fan of just plain text work so of course I’d want something else to go a long with it. Now, I’ve also thought of other ideas in terms of chest pieces but right now that area is definitely just a thought and nothing is for sure. 

The other idea I have right now kind of goes back to my Digoil Renowned posting. I would love something Day of the Dead related and his work is pretty much awesome. As far as placement goes for that I don’t know, was thinking maybe my thigh even though it’s an area of my body I don’t really like much. That idea is kind of just being thrown around currently and it’s not a for sure thing. I don’t plan on doing anything new until after the first of the year since we’ve got the Holidays to worry about now!

I have plenty of empty skin left that’s for sure. The possibilities are endless and I’ve seen so many awesome things by awesome artists. It’s so hard to choose just one design when there are so many options out there. Just wanted to kind of throw out what you might be seeing next in terms of new work. As I mentioned, it’s bittersweet now knowing both of my upper arms are done as are my calves. I’m looking forward to what the future holds in terms of new work and I can’t wait for that adventure to begin! So bring on 2014, it can’t come fast enough!

What has been going on lately

I want to say that I apologize for not posting. I was doing so well with an entry every day to every couple of days. It’s definitely been a little while since the last time I sat down and actually planned on typing up something here even though it wasn’t to long ago that I posted about Memorial Pieces.

So what’s been going on with me lately? Well, I’m just now getting over a pretty crappy sinus infection that I’m guessing I had the entire two weeks I was sick. Had it continued I would have had it 3 weeks today (Saturday October 12th) but thankfully I don’t. Actually guessing it came around September 21st, the day we held the memorial services for my uncle. Felt pretty good until after everything was done and the partying began. I’m not much of a drinker personally but that day I figured why not. Of course I hadn’t really drank anything at all during the day up until the alcohol later on. Bad combination with the altitude, lack of water and the emotional stress included in the day. Ever since that day I had been dealing with some major dizziness and finally after two weeks I got fed up and went to my doctor who then prescribed me antibiotics for a sinus infection. I’ve finally started feeling pretty good about 4 days ago or so. Glad it’s finally gone and out of my system, I was tired of feeling horrible every day I woke up. The joys of allergies and changing seasons!

As for tattoo updates well, yesterday (October 11th) I got a few of my more completed tattoos touched up a bit and added the background to my life after death sleeve. No pictures to show, at least not until they are healed to where you can see a difference with everything. On another note I will be going back to get my sleeve finished up on Halloween. Just have to add some color to the hour glass of my inner arm, the candle and a few leaves on my outer arm and we can call it complete. Yesterday my artist and I decided we needed to change a few things on my left arm sleeve and filled in a few of the negative areas. Might add a few little things later on down the road in some of the empty areas that are there and are just filled with background rather than anything else. The joys of a sleeve that was never intended on being a sleeve! As I mentioned above, once we were satisfied with what we had going on with my left arm for the day we moved on to the right arm. We completed the black and grey background up above the skull and behind the butterflies so now all we have to worry about now is the rest of the color and we can finally start thinking of new ideas. Then as far as my Ankh goes on my right calf, we fixed the little area where the ink had come out when the scab had come off. We also darkened a few of the other areas of the background, all of which hurt like hell but getting your legs tattooed just sucks in general. It does for me anyway, I suppose everyone is different!

My love finally, after 5 years, got his one and only tattoo fixed up and added to. He got his way before I could even legally get my own tattoo. December of 2008 we went to another shop that is pretty well known in my area. Unfortunately the artwork isn’t the greatest and there again we didn’t know to much about tattoos back then. The artist himself wasn’t the nicest dude, didn’t really offer any sort of other ideas in terms of changing it up or anything. He just took the design we came in with and copied it directly. Here is the finished product as of December of 2008:

Of course it looked awesome right after it was done. Sadly, it didn’t stay that way. The following pictures are a before and after the redo. The before I took yesterday, October 11th before his session started. A lot of areas were missing ink and were just pretty faded. Obviously you can see from the “After” image that it looks way better now!

Everyone thus far has agreed that the improvement was well needed especially after 5 years and it looks so much better. Glad he agreed to do it, now I don’t have to keep bugging him about getting it fixed up! We may add a hand to it so it looks like the card is floating in the hand but that’s later down the road. He’s pretty happy with it to say the least!

That’s really about all the updating I have going on right now. Seasons are changing quickly here in Colorado and it’s getting colder each and every day unfortunately. I hate the cold and the snow so I’m definitely not looking forward to it. Also in the process of rebranding my freelance graphic design stuff, a new name and a new logo hopefully soon. Also trying to get my Glass Etching business off to a better start besides things here and there. If anyone is interested in visiting those Facebook pages of mine please leave me a comment and I will leave the links in the comments.

Guess that’s basically it for this entry. I’ll be featuring more artists soon, maybe even the artist I go to personally, haven’t quite decided on that one yet! Keep an eye out guys, I’m trying to get back into it and I thank my followers for being patient with me.