My New Tattoo!

Ah lads and ladies I finally did it, I got that new tattoo I talked about in my last tattoo post. If your new here, hello and welcome! Go check out my other tattoos here. For all the rest of you fine people, I will do a little show and tell. You wouldn't guess I'm dreadfully excited to share this at all would you? Theres an internal battle going on inside of me while I'm typing this. 'Do not use too many exclamation marks Cat! Don't dare do it!' (see what I did there? Think it filled the craving somewhat.)

Here we have the latest edition, my beautiful daisy chain.. Le sigh. I got this back at the very start of June. This is dedicated to my dad who passed away a few years ago, hence the 'J' charm. After popping into a load of tattoo shops to talk with artists about designs and the prices, everyone said the same thing. It would cost a small fortune, hurt (ha a tattoo hurt? News to me!) and could take up to 6 hours to complete. Total fail and off I went back home feeling sorry for myself. That was until I remembered a friend who was a tattoo artist and after a little phone call I was off to get needles stuck in me for the craic. (The puns!)

Looking scary with my tattoo healing

V tattoo is the name of the place, its in Temple Bar across from the Mezz bar, its a bit tricky to find if your not looking closely. Philip was the name of the artist and he was great. He drew up a design for me, spent ages redoing it when I got fussy and was a fab guy in general. It took about 6 hours to do with one smoke/food break in between. I also went back 2 weeks later and sat for about another hour and a half getting things touched up and a little redoing on some parts. I found the healing on this difficult and a little tender for longer then any of my other tattoos. I also have gotten some spots scattered over and around the flowers that hasn't died down with time which is a bit of a pain. Guess its more reason to go shopping and try new spot treatments, what a cough shame.

Pain wise it was about a 7 out of 10 at its worst points. Because it was over lots of different parts of my arm it was hard to get a decent pain level rating. My bone and wrist hurt the most. (I shudder at the thoughts of my wrist.) Also it was my first ever colour piece and man, I really felt the difference! Some people think different colours come with a different amount of pain but for me it was all the same. I'm very sure the pain level wouldn't have been as bad if it had just been in all black but what the hell, it was so worth it!

My Tattoos

I have loved body art since I can remember and if I'm honest I think I loved it all the more because my mother hated it. But despite that little truth thats not the reason I have gotten any of my tattoos or piercings (Scouts honour!) I will am some point put up a post on my many many piercings, but for now lets talk about my tattoos.

I got my very first tattoo when I just turned 18. It was something I had thought about for well over a year and knew what sort of style I wanted and why it meant so much to me. However I must admit it wasn't the best first experience I have ever had. I wanted 'rams horns', a four spiral West African symbol meaning strength and humility that would be placed near my wrist so I could always see it and be reminded that I was a strong person - Of course there is more of a meaning to it then that but all my tattoos are gotten for very personal reasons so I'm not going to go too much into them. 

But because this was my first tattoo and I wasn't very preped on the how to know if the artist/shop is up to the standards, I went to the one in Dublin that was getting the most hype and that everyone else was going to. I had previously gone into them to book the piece and show the design I wanted. I now know I was quoted a mad price but sure lets take that as a lesson for future reference  Other then that, when the day came I went in and waited.. And waited.. And well you get the point. I was told they were running overtime and would I come back tomorrow instead. After all that, I was so drained from being nervous! But I came back again only to be told they hadn't preped my design and didn't even know what I wanted. Luckily I had the symbol handy in my bag and after showing them they said they couldn't do it because it was too complicated. In the end I did something silly. I was so upset and stressed out from all the crap that I took their advice, went online right then and there and picked a more simple design. And here it is, my wonky but much loved Irish triple spirals. The symbol is found on the walls in Newgrange and I take my own meaning from it. Also its nice to have something on me that represents where I have come from. All in all a 50/50 good bad experience. Oh and despite me thinking that my arm would fall off from the pain, it wasn't as bad as I expected. Like a 3 out of 10.


Next came my little lower back piece. I was very close to my granddad and when he passed away I knew I wanted to get something to keep him near me always, so I got a quote of something he always said at the end of the day when we drove home and got out of the car. It was a running joke with my family to say it and tease him. ''Home again, safe and sound, thank God.'' Out of 10 I'd say it hurt about a 4 1/2. I went to Snakebite in Dublin for this and the next piece. I'll recommend these guys til the cows come home. They are honest with their prices, super clean and oh so lovely friendly people who will bend over backwards to make sure your sorted if you have any issues healing or if your ink needs to be touched up. A girly called Denis did all my back and she has an amazing portfolio.

Lastly (well, for now anyway) I decided to add to my little quote and get some swallows. Bird tattoos weren't big when I got this done let me just add. I lived on a farm growing up and my granddad used to leave the animal doors in the sheds open in the summer so the birds could fly in to make nests. Since I can remember he always used to tell stories about them and explain about their journey and their special tails. I have six of them, each one to represent a family member who I grew up with at home. This one goes from where my quote finishes up to the right side of my shoulder blades. You can't see from my poor quality picture (sorry!) but the birds differ in size and go right across my back. I'll admit, this one hurt more then I like to normally say. Getting your spine tattooed is not a nice sensation and I had a bad reaction to it. But after several lollipops and some sugary drinks I was much better. A 8 out of 10, mostly toward the top part of my back and my spine was a big 10.

My next tattoo will be on the same arm as my spiral. I want to get a full ring of big colourful (oh, look at me not going with my normal black, fancy!) daisys that go up my arm. Thats all to report for now, but never fear, I will always want/need more ink!

Do you have any tattoos?