Cameo

For those out there that are as easily excitable as me, I did my first chest piece today! A friend of mine came to me with a really sweet idea. Now, we all know I salivate over anything that has to do with ornate frames, birds, and ribbons. At first she only came to me with a picture of a cameo necklace. She sort of dabbled in the idea of birds, a girl, and anything else that would tie it together, and when she sent me a picture of a cameo, I had the perfect, yet simple, idea. And voila! This is what I came up with and she loved it. I also love it. So much that I would get it done on myself, if it were my tattoo. Either way, I had a lot of fun designing it, and we just did the outline to start, but I cannot wait to shade it in! My friend, on the other hand, did not have the time of her life, but she was a trooper! It was well worth it.

Zombified

Today an old coworker came by for a consultation. She brought in two classic portraits of a boy and a girl (not sure exactly who they are, but I've seen them before), in these awesome ornate frames. My initial reaction was, "Awesome! This is going to be cool!", then she said that she wanted them on either thigh, and she wanted them to be zombified. FINALLY! Someone comes in with a kick ass idea! This is totally up my alley; ornate frames, vintage portraits, and zombies!? Too good to be true. So I sat down and immediately started sketching, and I must say, this is going to be a fun challenge! Here is a sneak peak!

I hope she wants to get them done soon, cause I can't wait! In the meantime, here is a Kirby tattoo I did on our piercer Christian yesterday.

Doesn't Hurt Any Less

A year ago today, I lost a dear friend. Cayley and her three friends were driving back into town when their car lost control and hit another car. The only survivor was a baby in the other car.

I have never lost a friend before, so it has been a pretty rough year, but not only for me. My friends and I at work have been supporting each other since the accident, and Cayley's best friend has become a part of that family. She is probably one of the strongest people I know, and I'm sure the girls couldn't be more proud to have such an amazing friend. My heart definitely goes out to her and Cayley's family, especially today.

It was hard not to love Cayley. Right off the bat you could tell she was the sweetest thing to ever walk this planet, but she was also a little firecracker. She would make wise remarks when needed (also when they were unnecessary, but they were hilarious), and she would never fail to make you laugh. Her smile was the biggest, brightest thing, and she had the most beautiful big blue eyes. She could seriously sell clothes to you just by smiling at you. I never understood how she did it. Now I know that no one else could ever match her, she was truly one of a kind.

It has only been a year, but just thinking about it makes it feel like it was yesterday. It won't get any easier anytime soon, but we just need to stay strong and appreciate the time we had with this very special girl. Cayley, you are truly loved and missed (but you already knew that! Obviously!), and I can't wait to see you again someday. Always thinking of you. Love you baby girl!

Gorgeous girl

The Return of the Sickness

Winter never fails to make me sick. More than once. Right before Halloween I became very ill and couldn't make it to work for a couple of days, and now I'm sick again. Thankfully I have two days off this weekend, but I have to go back to work tomorrow. I really hope I feel better by then. Today seems to be a bit better so far, so we'll see.

As I think I have mentioned before, I never go to a doctor when I'm sick. Unless I feel like it's something totally out of the norm, and I might die, then I'll go. But honestly I haven't gone to one in years. They terrify me. And usually I just catch a cold or a common flu. I feel like it's just a cold this time, and it's making my body all achey (which I think it the worst thing ever). I would rather be all stuffed up and coughing than to feel all achey and feverish. I hate being immobilized and stuck inside, on my days off! So frustrating. At least I just get to sleep and drink lots of tea and read or play video games. Now it doesn't sound so bad. Especially when I have my fantastic mug collection to drink tea out of! And by collection, I really mean my two awesome mugs; my Robot Attack mug and my vintage Batman mug. They make being sick a whole lot better.

You can tell I'm not feeling well. I also just rolled out of bed!

Oh yeah! Tattoos!

It has been awhile since I have posted any tattoo pictures! I haven't done anything quite as epic as that sleeve since, well, the sleeve, but I have done/started a few cool ones! It has started to snow here, so business has been pretty slow for us, but I am expecting at least a few people to make appointments for December. Let's hope! For now, here are some recent tattoos!

I had to re-outline this one because it did not heal very well, but all that's left is some more shading and we're throwing some red in there!

First script piece that I had a lot of fun designing and tattooing!

I was obviously so stoked to do this one!

This is on an old friend of mine, Mel. Her friend lined the top part in her basement, and she wanted it fixed/added onto. Of course I was more than happy to. So I added more (below the banner) flowers, some butterflies, and we started shading. This is going to be one colourful piece!

And this is probably one of my favourites so far! It turned out better than I had expected, and it's totally my style (which people don't get enough of these days!)

The Long Day Adventure

Yesterday was an extremely long day. Usually, for me, I consider a full day to be from 12pm-1am. Yesterday was 8am-3am. I am so tired. What happened? Well, let me tell you!

I got up for work at 8, because it was an earlier day than usual on a Sunday, and did practically nothing at work all day. I had nothing to do so I just watch Wall-E. Sometimes, having no appointments can be fun. Anyway, then we had a staff meeting that went until 9pm. I love staff meetings, so that's ok.

Then I somehow got dragged out to karaoke night with everyone from work. First of all, I don't ever go out, I'm more of a hermit. Secondly, I especially don't go out if it's karaoke! I don't sing. Not in front of people. I have huge stage fright. So I was going with the intent of just watching, laughing, having a good time. Then I asked our piercer, Christian, if he would sing Purple Rain. He said, "Yeah! You and me!!". Just a moment before he was refusing to sing just as much as I was! So he put our names down, along with coworkers Manuela and Britt. I was terrified, I have never done this before. At least I was going up with more people. As we were nearing our turn, I decided that we should change our song. The one I was really hoping to do, if we were doing Prince, was When Doves Cry. Everyone said they didn't know that one as well, but what the hell! Then I started getting really nervous, and really wanted to back out. But, what can you do? Our turn came as I was in the bathroom, making sure I wouldn't pee my pants on stage, and I just ran out there without a second thought. Then we were doing it. We were singing karaoke. And everyone knew the song as soon as it came on. It was actually a lot of fun! I'm glad it's over, but there may be more chances in the future to sing, oh, some David Bowie perhaps?

After karaoke, Sarah was driving me home, when the lights inside her car started dimming out. She thought it might be because her car was almost out of gas, so we stopped at a gas station a few blocks away from my house. Thank goodness we did! She filled up her tank, but her car wouldn't start. Yikes. So we got the guy from the station to help jump her car. It worked! At least, until we got to the exit onto the road. Then her car just, died. We sat for awhile, trying to figure out what to do, until a very nice man came to help us push the car back into the parking lot. I had to steer the car while Sarah and the man pushed, but I have never been behind a wheel before (sad, I know) so this was terrifying. I almost steered the car into the curb, because it was in reverse and it was confusing. This is why I should never drive! But we got her car in a safe spot, and she called her service and they sent a tow truck. Luckily I was within walking distance to my house, but poor Sarah was not. It was 2:45 am by this point, so I decided to head home. Plus it was pretty cold, so I didn't make the walk at all pleasant, and I'm sure Sarah's ride with the tow truck guy and her poor car was the last way she would want to spend her night.

Needless to say, it was a very long, and sometimes grueling, day. But it was an adventure! Now I'm off to work again!

Crafting Bonanza

Today was my only day off this week, and instead of spending it with my boyfriend like I was supposed to, I spent it shopping for craft supplies with my mom! It was fantastic.

There is a local art market, called the Market Collective, coming up next month and my friend and I are planning on participating. I have done this market a few times, and every time it has been a huge success. Of course, that was a couple of years ago when it was just getting popular. Now it's huge! Instead of one day, they do it for a whole weekend. And in December they do not one, but two weekends! It's so awesome being a part of something that used to be nothing but a small group of artists under one roof, just trying to get the community involved in local art. The Market Collective has rapidly spread, almost like an epidemic, throughout the community, and even to other parts of the country. Being able to put yourself out there in an easily accessible local market; whether your are a painter, photographer, vintage collector, baker, or a musician, is such a great opportunity within itself. I can't wait to do it again!

I just made a tonne of hair flowers, and I will be making a crap load of magnets. I also have some prints of some paintings left over from the last market I did a couple of years ago, so that should be enough! The market isn't until December 11th and 12th, so there is still time, but I will definitely be taking some pictures! Until then, it will be non stop crafting.

The Walking Dead

On October 31, AMC aired a new original series called The Walking Dead. It is based on the graphic novel by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard. I was beside myself when I heard they were making this show, although I have never read the graphic novels (which I have been planning to do for a long time!), but because I am such a zombie nerd. When I found out that I did not get the AMC channel, I was very upset.

But not all hope is lost! Since I have my brand spankin new laptop, I can now successfully watch it online! Joyous! And, yes, this is what I am currently doing as I am typing this post. It keeps buffering every 10 minutes, but otherwise I am quite satisfied with both the show and how my computer is playing it.

Well, looks like another good chunk has appeared on the loading bar! I must disappear now to see how this concludes! I recommend you watch this show!!!

Brand Spankin New

If you have wondered where I have been, the answer is on my brand spankin new Macbook Pro!! But I can only connect to the internet if I plug in my cord from my living room, and sometimes I am even too lazy to do that, so there is my reason for delayed posts. Whoops! Not to mention that have been extremely addicted to the Sims 3. I will seriously play that game for hours on end, I will even bring it to work and play it if there is nothing else to do. That is my sad but awesome life.

Needless to say I am loving my new (and most expensive, EVER) purchase. I've been trying to save up for once since last year, but more important things kept popping up. This time I just said 'fuck it!' and went for it. Now I am next to broke, but I am ever so happy.

Just so you can get a taste of how much I am loving my new laptop, here are a few of some amazing pictures that Troy and I took in photobooth.

This one totally reminds me of Spongebob and Squidward!