Tat-two.

I'm sitting here feeling pretty smug about that title, not going to lie.

As you may or may not know (most likely may, because I haven't shut up about it for months), Christie over here got herself tattoo number two. Despite my fear of needles and somewhat wimpy pain tolerance, a hip piece has been something I've wanted to do for about a year now, and I finally took the plunge (sorry, mum) just under a week ago.

Why did I get it? What is the deep and meaningful reason I decided to have this particular image etched in to my skin for eternity? Well, Sir. That reason would be because I REALLY like dream catchers. #Whitegirl. Deep, huh? Speaking from experience, I just think that the pieces that don't necessarily have a meaning are the ones you'll grow most fond of. So STFU.

See, I rushed in to my first tattoo. The concept of it all meant so much to me - the term 'Hope' surrounded by paper cranes is inspired by Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes and it is dedicated to my Nonna, amongst the other women in my life who didn't beat their fight with the cancer that runs in my genes. I was young and didn't research the artist, resulting in me being disappointed in the quality of their work.

An artist can never truly capture the importance behind something that has a lot of personal meaning to you and chances are, you're going to be let down, no matter how hard they try. Yes, I do regret rushing in to this, but I never ever will regret the content of the tattoo itself.

I understand that tattoos aren't for everyone (again, sorry, mum) and I acknowledge that you're either reading this in disgust or in awe. I personally love a good quality tattoo. I love Pinterest searching the shit out of tattoo designs, I love watching tattoo shows on TV, I love discovering new artists and admiring their work. It all comes down to personal choice. I for sure am itching for tattoo number three some time in the near future. All I can say, is RESEARCH YOUR ARTIST! I failed to do so the first time 'round and I was left disappointed. I learnt from my experience and did the research, and I couldn't be happier with the result!

Check out Vesna from Emerald Ink's work - she put up with my shit like a champ and did a top job of my piece. You're welcome, Perth.


What's your tattoo story?