That's one of the most meaningful tattoos I've heard about. And how creative. I'm sure those daffs and words will always make you happy.

I know you work in the legal field, do your employers have any issues with or rules against visible tattoos? If, no rules against, do you cover them up at work voluntarily or not worry about them? Curious how things are changing or have changed in a professional environment.

I haven't worked in Legal for a couple of years. And there is no issue with my tats in my current job.

Thanks, Bumblebeez. I'm really excited about having this latest work completed.

I've found the popularity of tattoos over the past few years to be interesting and definitely a generational thing.

My oldest son is interested in getting one, but wants something very meaningful and unique and hasn't quite come across anything that really speaks to him. I think it's a nice tribute to your Grandma and very unique.

I'm a needle phobe and the idea of someone stabbing me with a needle over and over really freaks me out. I'm also concerned that you really need to be sure you want a tattoo of whatever you've chosen forever, so I am happy my son is putting so much thought into it!

If you do have a tattoo, have you ever regretted getting one later in life?

One of my DH's friends has Yosemite Sam tattooed right above his wrist and below it the initials "FTW" Which stood for "F*** the World". He had some anger issues when he was young.

He's now 51 years old, married to a great woman and has two small children. He wears a lot of long sleeves!! :-)

I've only got the two-one is Bernie, the Annie's Organic bunny...slightly modified on the inside elbow of my left arm. It represents the nickname for my DH. On my right wrist, it's on the left side of my wrist is 3 dancing chickens. They're linked by their wings and the 3rd has part of his shell on still. That tat represents my children...my 'chickles' I get A LOT of comments on that and it's always positive, everyone says they've never seen dancing chickens before.

I chose to put my tats in a visible location, I got them when I was well into my 40's, so a lot of thought went into them. I wanted them where I could see them. My job puts me in contact with a wide variety of people, and I interact with legislators frequently. When I know I have to be in a 'professional' capacity, I wear long sleeves.

I have designed a new tat but cannot decide where to put it. It will be an Italian horn with a banner reading 'Sempre nil mi cuomo' Forever in my heart-and have my maiden name in the center. I'm thinking of my left forearm. I also want to get some dog paw prints on my shoulder some day.

DH just had a cover up tat done that honors his father. The artist who did it was amazing, and I'm hoping to have him do mine. It's an image of his father with an Indian Chief's headdress. He's sitting on a horse and there is also an eagle incorporated. It sounds soooo cheesy, but it's so well done and it completely represents my late FIL.

I recently read an interview with one of my favorite rock musicians. He has no tattoos, but the rest of the band all have them. He noted that it was because he just never found a reason to get one. He does, however, have MULTIPLE piercings in both ears.

Like Pesky, I was 40+ when I got mine -- I intended to do it for my 40th birthday but at that point I was still obsessing about where and what. So I did it for my 41st! I figured after all that planning and plotting, I'd put it somewhere so that everyone would see it. So mine is on my wrist, on the top, and it can be covered up by a medium-sized watch if I want to (haven't done it so far). Mine doesn't have significant meaning; I just found a picture online and had the guy copy it. It's a daisy, with a bit of green stem-type stuff on either side. At one point I thought I might go back and have him continue the "greenery" all the way around, like a bracelet, but I never have. I feel like my tattoo is like a permanent piece of jewelry. I wear a delicate bracelet on that wrist every day too.

Pesky and Sue, I love that you both put so much thought into your artwork! Pesky, isn't it fun to contemplate new designs? I've had several brewing in my head for a number of years, and who knows if I'll actually commit to them -- but I've really enjoyed thinking about them! Sue, I really like the way you envision your tattoo as a permanent piece of jewelry. Exactly! And if it's something that you really love - just like a treasured bracelet or ring - you want to wear it every single day, for the rest of your life!

I too was in my 40s before I got my first tattoo (and I have a number of them now). I can't say that getting inked earlier in life is a bad idea -- I have many young friends with beautiful, meaningful designs on their bodies. Of course, I think most of us probably know someone who did something they have later regretted (the "FTW" mentioned above - or, like one man I know, a toilet bowl with wings. Yep. Nothing says "I gave this a lot of thought" like a flying potty.)

My new design will go up my inner forearm, so will definitely be visible - when I want it to be. I can always wear long sleeves if I ever feel there's a need to cover my work. I responded to Chispa's question above while on my Kindle, so didn't really have a chance to type out a lengthy response, but like I said, it has not been an issue in my workplace. I do work for a multi-national corporation, but there are quite a few tattoos (and nose rings) in this environment. I think anymore, those things are just not a big issue provided that they are tasteful and not "in your face" (and I think we would all probably at least generally agree on what constitutes "in your face" as far as skin art goes).

I have a few tattoos done when I was in my 20's so they don't have much meaning - ivy around my ankle, spider on my foot, fairy on hip, heart on my upper arm.

This year, however, I finally decided to get an "epic" tattoo. It takes up my entire upper back. Each element has meaning for me.

On one side, close to my shoulder, is a portion of the painting by Peter Paul Rubens, "The Last Judgement." If you look at the painting, on the lower right side is a demon carrying off a Rubenesque woman. My husband and me.

On my back, the demon is walking into a nebulae abyss - a swirling space scene with planets in the background. My interpretation of life and death.

On the other side of the woman and demon and below are cascading poppies. The beauty and contentment of my life.

So far, I've done three sessions, each three hours apiece. I have one more to go and it will finally be finished.

Nothing here to add to the discussion---- but I wanted to say that at the bottom of this page is a huge ad for tattoo removal in the nearest big city. Garden web is certainly pinpointing the ads by key words in a thread. I guess that's why I see so many curtain ads. I never connected it before to the discussion, as curtains have obvious appeal on a decorating forum. But when I saw the ad on this thread I realized what GW was doing.....yes, I AM slow!

Tattoos are not for me. However, if I were to get one, I'd get one of these, based on children's books. I like Where's Waldo the best.

Good luck with your tattoo, Sunny. My son has a dolphin on the back of his right shoulder.

Here is a link that might be useful: cool tattoos

Good timing on this topic for me. I have wanted a tattoo for probably 25 yrs. I could never settle on something that I felt I could live with forever though. I think I have finally figured out what to get. :) I am thinking of getting a c with a circle of dates around it. My 2 sons birth dates and my mothers birthdate. Their names all start with c. My mom died about 15 yrs ago and I still miss her so and wish she could have met her grandsons.

I have been thinking of getting it on my wrist and wondered how painful it would be.

I also can't figure out if I shou ld do any color and how that would work with the design, and if it is small if I can put hearts in between the dates.

Any ideas? How painful is the inside of your wrist as opposed to other areas.

Back when I was in HS, I could not wait until I turned 18 to get a tattoo. I loved the punk movement, and that was part of it. Then I went out with my parents to a diner, and our waitress who was a senior lady had a rose tattoo on her arm, and I felt it looked so horrible I never ever got one!

Probably a good thing since back then there were not the hygiene procedures for Hep C, HIV etc. that exist today.

It's very weird because when DH and I go to a rock concert, we are are the only non-tatooed persons there. DH is very hairy, so a tattoo would look weird, but he has mentioned getting one of little kitty.

My friend got a tattoo of her late dog's paw on her wrist, scaled so that she could cover it with a watch.

Kellyeng, I doubt you'd want to post a photo, but I would love to see your back piece when it's finished. It sounds absolutely gorgeous, and I love the symbolism and meanings attached thereto. Twelve total hours in the chair ... Now that's commitment!

Dedtired, I too have considered a tat from a children's book. Mine would be something from "The Tall Book of Make Believe" which was published in the early 1950s. I spent many hours as a child fascinated by the illustrations (I had my Mom's copy that she had loved as a young girl) - wonderful artwork like this:

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Boop, I love your idea! What a wonderfully meaningful piece that would be for you. Of course, whether you decide on color is your personal choice. Aside from the lettering in my Grannie's handwriting (which I did get inked last night), all of my work is in color, with the exception of the black and gray Anasaszi pottery sherd on my lower right leg. I really like color myself! As for the pain factor - well, I've got ink on both legs, my shoulderblade, and now on my wrist extending up my inner arm. It all hurt, but none of it was unbearable. And I figure I can endure anything for a short period of time, if in the end I get what I want. :-)

Gsciencechick, I love that your DH would consider getting a tat of your kitty! That's a man after my own heart! (Although I know he has yours. ;-)) My DH has no tats either, although he does talk about it from time to time - mostly after a couple of beers, but never when stone cold sober. Must be the Fireman's 4 talking. ;-)

This is the tat DH just got recently. His father wore sunglasses all year round and only removed them when he went in the house. So they also seemed fitting to add to this tat.

Pesky, that is a masterpiece! Wonderfully realistic execution and I love the symbolism! Thanks for sharing the pic!

When I was in my 20s I got a tattoo in memory of my dog. He was the first dog I had once I was out living on my own, and so precious to me. He died suddenly while still young and I was devastated.

The tattoo is my dog's initial and a symbol from an alchemy book that represented my feelings about life at that time. They are both black.

I don't regret my tattoo and I like the fact that the black has held up well over the years. If anything, I wish I had gotten more while I was young.

My daughter got her first tattoo after graduating high school. I did not want her to, even though I don't regret mine. She got her sisters' initials. Since her sisters are still alive I thought that was kind of creepy, but at the same time nice that she feels so attached to them.

Leafy, what a delightful tribute to your beloved dog! I also love hearing someone say that they have no regrets for something they had done in their younger days. So many people seem to think that tats are something that will be regretted at some point in life, but that's just not necessarily true, as your post clearly proves.

I think it's incredibly sweet that your daughter inked her sisters' initials onto her body. I don't find it creepy at all, but a very loving, sentimental gesture that indicates how close they are. :-)