My tattoos

I had always wanted to get a tattoo since I was roughly 16 years old, but obviously for legal reasons I couldn't get it done until I was 18. This gave me plenty of time to think about the designs that I wanted to get and I'm glad I did wait because what I wanted when I was 16 were very different to what I finally decided to get. 

I had my first tattoo done in October 2014 just after I had turned 18. The design I chose was 3 roses consisting of my parents, my little sister's and my birth dates inside the petals of each rose to symbolise how much they mean to me and how close we all are. When I have children I want to get an extension from the rose with my date in it to include their birth dates as well.

I had this tattoo done in Bedford at Triple Ace Tattoo Studio. As soon as I had it done I loved the design and the placing of it as it's hidden on a daily basis and I didn't want anything visible. However after a few months I noticed that sections were starting to fade and in other sections the ink had bled out due to stretch marks on my hips. I am going back this January to get it re-done by the same tattoo artist as they offered to do these touch ups free of charge.

In September this year I moved to Northampton and after extensive searching, I found a tattoo studio called Fat Fugu in the town centre. After looking through portfolios of the different artists I decided to go with a lovely girl called Amy who has done my next two tattoos for me, both on the same day. The first design is my watercolour elephant which is now called Edgar (super cute I know). I went for a cartoon sketched look of a baby elephant which Amy drew from scratch to make it individual to me. Again this January I am going for touch ups at Fat Fugu on the colour sections as I'd like them to be a little brighter than I first thought. 

My last tattoo is an unalome which is a Buddhist symbol representing the reaching of enlightenment. The path starts at the centre of the spiral, and as you continue down this path you are wandering. When you reach the top of the symbol (the straight line) you have reached enlightenment. I thought that this was quite a nice representation of someone's life, especially mine, as there have been many ups and downs but I think I'm finally becoming more settled and happy within myself.