AAAAAAAHHHHHH !

shoes : poetic license

I dont wanna....

This is a post that has been a long time coming. This is something that is hard for me to discuss. I have decided this year, 2012, is a year that I am going to stick up for myself and take care of myself. For the longest time I just went with the flow. I work very hard for what I have and what I do. How do I even start with this post?
I love hair, It is my passion. There are so many reasons as to why I don't do hair full time, I want to but I don't. Maybe it is that I cant. It just isn't in my cards at the moment. When I started doing hair I always told myself that I would keep prices affordable. I wanted everyone to have the chance to feel as good as I do when I get my hair done, even on a budget! so lets just get to the point. I need to get some things out that are not easy to say. I don't want to point out one person in this situation but these things happen all.the.time.

• First off I wanna say that there are no longer going to be 'family' or 'friend' discounts. The prices I will set will be the same all across the board for everyone. 

• I will also no longer do trade work. I don't want anyone feeling that they are getting the raw end of the deal including myself.

• I will also now start charging a service fee for any product that one may need. It will be around $5 per item, the more you get, I will lower the service fee. I worked very hard to become certified in what I do and I don't want to be giving product out at my cost (I haven't ever charged for my time or gas).

• I will now put into effect a cancellation fee. I get alot of cancellations and hour before appointments and those are impossible to fill. The cancellation fee will consists of the price of what you had scheduled (if it was a color and cut, it would be the price of that color and cut) You must cancel 24 hours prior to your appointment.

• Payment is due at the time of service. I will no longer accept IOU's. I have too many people do that and I tend to forget with all of them. If you forget cash or check you will be required to run to the ATM or home to grab money. Please make sure you have money with you to pay for the services. 

• Because I work a full time job please allow 1 to 2 week to get scheduled, especially with color. Haircuts are a bit easier for me to fit in and don't always require as much time to schedule.

• I try really hard to fit hair in on the week days (Monday - Thursday). I feel that I deserve the weekends off since I am working 60 plus hours a week. I appreciate all that my clients do for me and sticking it out with me all of this time.

So lets get to pricing:
Cuts

• Men $5
• Women $8
• Shampoo and style with any cut $4

Color

• All over 1 color $40
• Half head weave one color $45
• For every color added to half head weave will be an additional $5 (if you have 3 colors the total is $55)

• Full head weave will be an additional $20. (If you have a full head weave with 2 colors that will be $70
• Color corrections will be $100 an hour (color correction is applying the color - usually bleach - and washing the hair more than once. This is a tedious task and time consuming)

All of my colors include a cut.

Updos/down dos - starting at $45 (Contact me for high school proms. Those will be a tad bit lower for a high school budget)

Perm - call for details. It will depend on length and type of perm you want.

 Wax

• Lip $5
• Eyebrow $5
• Nose $5
• Underarm $10
• Arm half $10
• Arm Full $15
• Leg Half $15
• Leg Full $20
• Bikini $15
• Back $10

*I will not be doing Brazilian wax at this time.
**If you don't see something on the list please ask! I may have forgotten some things.
*** bundling is accepted so please ask!
****Prices are subject to change.

Goals

My month is coming to an end and I still have no idea what my goals are going to be. Most of the things I would say would be half-effort. Really they would. I am trying hard to figure out what my yearly goals would be but most of them dont just involve me and I cant make commitments for other, I can only make them for myself (i.e. change positions at work - I am SICK of the phones!). So I sit and ponder. What do I want for the year of 2012? Here is what I want...
I wanna go back down to the Paiute. That is already in the works
I wanna go to Island park. I have been talking about this for 2 years. This is already in the works. I have spent the majority of my day today and countless hours on Friday looking for an awesome cabin that we would call home for a few days.
I wanna do something different, fun and for myself. That is already ongoing (my cake decorating class)
I wanna get back to grocery shopping bi-weekly and doing night dinners... my week off accomplished that one.
As I said, half hearted? yes.. I think so. It is kind of the easy way out since I have put all of those to action. So again, I asked again what I would like to accomplish this year...??? and again I am BLANK!
So here is what I THINK I want to do. It may change in the next week but we will try:
I want to get back on weight watchers and lose 20 pounds. So pathetic but yes, 20 pounds. and I wanna keep it off.
With that one said I am going to do my not-so-remembered goal from last year of getting back to kick boxing. Not to lose weight but because it is something I truly enjoy and it gives me a sense of empowerment.
Again, another not-so-remembered goal from last year, wearing makeup at least once a week. I have some awesome makeup but I don't care to put it on for work. I rather get that extra 10 minutes of sleep. Now I am using a product called 'la lash' that gives me incredible eyelashes so I want to flaunt them!
one more goal for biogsphere. I want to start doing 'my favorite things' post. I don't want to put a restriction on how often because I never know when I am going to start this but just like Wednesday wonders, I wanna put out there things that are currently my favorites must haves or new tries.
The next two goals are purely selfish! the first one. Buy a cute pair of shoes (and take a picture) every other month. Yes that is 6 new pairs of shoes. No I am not telling Bryce :)
The second one, Try a new restaurant every month. Lately, I have tried some new amazing places that I would never think to try and I love them! I want to share them with everyone. This will be a little bit harder since Bryce is so sensitive we are apprehensive to go to new places but I am sure I can find someone to go with me. (Takers??? anyone???)

Now for our goal as a couple:
We are trying to go out on a 'date' once a month. Dress up, look nice and spend the entire night out together with no one else. We go out, but on a whim or we do a grab and go because we are both so busy. We spend alot of time with each other but it is doing other things. We put half effort and go to applebees or villiage inn. This will be a nicer place like the outback or cheesecake factory.

I think that should cover my goals for the next year. It looks like i have alot to accomplish, for now I will take it one at a time. Here is to 2012!!!

FIVE NEW HATS IN MY SHOP

www.frolleinvonsofa.com

A Spot of Hawaiian Ink on the New York City Subway

Earlier this week, I posted about my experience on Ink Master, getting a tribal tattoo that was inspired by my upbringing in Hawai'i. Do note that I have not referred to this as a Hawaiian tribal piece, which is a whole different thing altogether.

Just to illustrate, one of my "leftover" posts from 2011 is this tattoo:

This was a real treat for me, spotting an authentic Hawaiian tattoo, in New York City of all places.

Looking back to last June, I had just attended a networking event at Bowlmor Lanes in Times Square and was headed home to Brooklyn. On the 8th Avenue subway platform at 42nd Street, I spotted a bunch of folks with t-shirts bearing Hawaiian names. I got to chatting with them. Turns out they were affiliated with Na Keiki O Ka Mo'i, an outrigger canoe club from Wai'anae, Hawai'i, and they were in town to compete in the 2011 Liberty World Outrigger Competition. 

I was shocked. Outrigger canoes in the East River? I've lived in New York for almost 15 years and never knew that this existed in the Big Apple!

There was a whole lot of local folks from Hawai'i on the platform, and when an express and local train pulled in simultaneously, chaos erupted as the visitors scattered into both downtown trains.

I sat down on an "A" train next to a handful of the group and struck up a conversation with a few people. I spoke with one guy, in particular, named Sam "Kamu" Kapoi. Go figure, the talk turned to tattoos and Sam stretched out his left leg to show me his ink.

Sam and I have kept in touch, so I was able to get some additional information on this piece.

Sam is a filmmaker and was accompanying the group as they competed in New York.

The art of Hawaiian tattoo has deep roots in the culture of the islands, and every aspect of a tattoo has personal meaning that is often held very privately by the tattooed individual. You just don't go up to someone with a Hawaiian tattoo and ask, "So what does it mean?" 

 

Sam said it himself in a message to me, "the tattoo itself ... is my family design, very sacred." He credited his artist as Keone Nunes, who specializes in traditional Hawaiian tattoos and uses the tapping method.

Here's a nice clip on YouTube with Mr. Nunes discussing the art of kakau:

The juxtaposition of this illustration compared to my own experience getting a tribal piece on a tattoo reality show is stark. Whereas I love my new tattoo, I in no way hold it in the same high regard as the traditional art of kakau in Hawai'i. I feel honored to have been lucky to come across an example, by chance, in New York.

A big mahalo nui loa to Sam for sharing his traditional Hawaiian ink with us here on Tattoosday.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Wednesday wonder....

I wonder why companies now feel the need to overstep boundaries when reminding you of an upcoming bill. I mean one call, text, email or letter is fine.. Sometime you forget. But what about the other 500 email, texts, and call I get BEFORE my bill is even due? I really get annoyed with those, I know my bill is due. I know that it is coming up. Call me when I past the 5 day grace period. It makes me not want to do business with them.

Tattoosday Goes Tribal on Ink Master

What’s the hardest thing about being an ink-blogger and getting a tattoo on a televised competition show? Keeping my mouth shut for almost six months about the experience.

This is the tattoo that  I received back in August in the course of my stint as a "human canvas" on  the set of Spike TV's Ink Master.

What you didn't see on the show (if you watched last night) was the consulting session in which I sat down with the artist and hashed out the ideas and concepts that I wanted represented in this tribal piece that ultimately ended up on my left thigh.

The two main elements are the honu, or Hawaiian sea turtle, and the hibiscus, which is the state flower of Hawai'i. Having grown up in the Aloha State, I wanted something that represented my childhood home.

  
The end result far exceeded my expectations. I want to again thank Heather Sinn, my artist, for giving me an exceptional tattoo under less than ideal conditions. 

I also want to share a little bit more about how I lucked into being tattooed by such a wonderfully talented artist.

The episode that aired last night was dubbed “Botched Head Tattoo” by the network. Fortunately, mine was not the botched head tattoo, although I have stayed in touch with the human canvas who chose to have his scalp inked and can say, with 100% confidence, the only thing botched about it was that it wasn’t completed in the five-hour time limit. The artist, Bili Vëgas, ultimately finished the piece at his shop in New York, and Ryan, who shared one of his other tattoos with us here on Tattoosday back in August, is very happy with the end result.

Photo Courtesy of

Bili Vëgas @ www.bilivegas.com

Back in July, I wrote here about Ink Master’s call for candidates looking for a cover-up. Shortly after posting the piece, I sent in my own idea for a tattoo for the show, thinking it was a long shot.

Within the hour, I got a response asking if I could come in and discuss the idea in person. Fortunately, I was off that day, and I went into Manhattan and met with production staff, discussing what I wanted in terms of a memorial piece for my step-father, who passed away in April 2010. This discussion also included a mention of my almost having been tattooed with a Hawaiian tribal memorial band.

Things moved quickly from there and after a series of phone calls, my original idea was scrapped and I was confirmed to be a human canvas on an episode dedicated to tribal tattoos. I am not generally a fan of tribal ink, but I thought that if I could get something with a Hawaiian influence, I would be cool with that. Having grown up in Honolulu, and with family still in the islands, it made sense to get something along those lines. I was concerned, however, whether whoever was tattooing me would approach the challenge with an understanding and respect for the culture of Hawai’i.

On the designated day, I met at the rendez-vous point with three other human canvases near Times Square to be transported to the set by shuttle. The studio was set up at an old church building in Newark. We were shown to a holding room with five other canvases and, as is typical in television production, we waited.

We didn’t know who the judges were until moments before being led to the set, which was quite impressive, as is evident on the show. I was initially happy to pick the skull with artist Heather Sinn’s name on it and, after our consult, during which I threw idea after idea at her about what would be ideal in the tattoo, I was excited to see what she would come up with overnight.

On the shuttle from Manhattan to the set the next day, we all chatted about our artists and talked about how we thought it would go. Ryan, who was about to have his head inked, was chowing down on a big bowl of red jell-o, a trick some tattoo artists recommend to minimize bleeding (the gelatin aids with blood coagulation). We were also still abuzz about the one canvas who was dismissed because of his psoriasis. The guy had been a veritable comedian in the holding room, and his absence was surprising.

After getting miked up and led to the set, we met with the artists in their work rooms and saw our designs for the first time. I was blown away by what Heather came up with, especially having looked at her online portfolio the night before, and noticed that she wasn’t an artist that did a lot of tribal work.

There was one glaring concern that I did have, however. Heather was not a happy camper. This was episode 2, so they had just started production, and one show was already in the tank. Mind you, they don’t wait a week between episodes, they are often shot in succession, and the hours are long and grueling, even to artists who spend hours on delicately maneuvering a vibrating machine doing meticulous work on a canvas that moves.

Heather did not hide this sentiment from me, the client, and I was concerned, especially since the challenge was rigorously timed, and had dropped from 6 hours to 5 hours after the initial cover-up challenge of episode 1.

She assured me that she was going to do her best under the not-so-ideal circumstances. I would direct readers to this interview that recently ran with Heather in the LA Weekly. She wears her emotions on her sleeve and does not back down from her feelings.

Heather told me she would not be very talkative when she was doing the initial line work as she was not accustomed to this type of tattoo. Fine by me. The cameras were around us constantly and Heather was very concerned that she would not have the time to finish the piece. She also expressed to me that she was not very fond of any of the judges. After seeing the flash challenge that preceded our meeting, I can see why.

When all was said and done, however, she powered through it and knocked it out with time to spare. The result left me with an awesome tattoo, and I have nothing but praise for her craftsmanship.

As for the show itself, so much footage went unused, including scenes in which the human canvases saw their tattoos for the first time in a full-length mirror, met with the judges, and did candid interviews with the producers.

I can say that, despite all the tattoo flaws picked out by the judges in the show, none of the canvases on my episode were disappointed with the final result of their sessions with the Ink Master artists. And, as much as I would like to bemoan the massive amount of "canvas" footage on the cutting room floor, ultimately the artists were being judged on the quality of their work, not on the stories behind their clients' tattoos, or their feelings about the final product.

I think that this is one of the compelling aspects about Ink Master that makes the show so interesting from a technical standpoint. Sure, there's the reality show drama involving the artists' personalities, but the show seems committed, more than most of the other "reality" shows out there, to celebrating the tattoos for art's sake.

I'm not on any more episodes, but I'll keep watching. 

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

A VINTAGE BASKET TURNS INTO A HAT

Wesley Shares Two Significant Blossoms

I met Wesley in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, earlier this month, and she shared these two tattoos from her forearms:

These two flowers are (pictured from left to right) a Cherokee Rose, which is the state flower of Georgia, and a Nile, or Egyptian Lotus.

Wesley explained that the Cherokee Rose is generally white in color, but white flowers don't generally translate well to white skin. Fortunately, they can occasionally grow pink, so that's the shade she chose for the tattoo.


Wesley explained the whole process of these tattoos in detail:

"I was born in Macon, Georgia and my dad's from Georgia and the whole myth is that when the Cherokees were driven out ... by the white people, they cried ... The Trail of Tears ...and the flowers that sprang up where their tears [fell] were the Cherokee Rose. And [the flower on the left arm] is a Nile Lotus ... an Egyptian lotus, you see it a a lot on the sarcophagi ... Egyptian tombs, and it's about death and rebirth.... I got them ... in 2005 ...in Seattle by a guy ... Ian at Lucky Devil Tattoo in Capitol Hill, Seattle ... it was a year almost since I had been diagnosed and treated for cancer and it was sort of my celebration of 'I'm okay'  and I had some whole elaborate - I was going to have insects on the inside of my wrist and flowers on the outside, and there was a possibility of a snake, there was a whole big thing and ... the great thing about this artist was that he was like, 'here, let me do a temporary version of what that would look like,' and I was like, 'that would look really cluttered and ridiculous' ... and I realized that I really wanted them to be something I could see and I was more attuned to the flowers ... I wanted something that was close to home from my past and then something that was from another culture from farther away - there's the birth thing and the death thing. Yeah."

Thanks to Wesley for sharing her beautiful tattoos with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Simplify....

I have had the last week off and it has been amazing! I have come to realize that I would NOT be bored if I didn't have a job. As a matter of fact I would still be just as busy as I am with working. This week was about refocusing for me. Not everything goes as planned but I tried very hard to refocus on more important things. Things I have let go of recently because I am too busy to do them (and people ask me when I am going to have kids!). Things I really enjoy.. but who has time for joy right? Anyways, I got alot on my list accomplished. There is so much more that I want to add. Yesterday, Bryce and I (and by that I mean mostly me - I still love him!) tried to tackle our bi-weekly menu and grocery shopping. I hate grocery shopping on Saturdays! I feel like a cow in a herd or something. This is where Bryce comes in - when he is with me I keep my sanity... If I was going to have to take on the burden of walmart, Sam's club, Costco and Harmon's on a Saturday Snowy afternoon, so was he. Before I left I mentioned to him that I wanted to simplify our meals. I have added a new thing to my schedules on Tuesday night (more on that to come) and that leaves 3 days to cram in hair if I want the weekend off. Things I love are becoming chores and I am getting to the point that I dread doing them. Like cooking for example. After working a long day at work, pulling in 10+ hours and then coming home for a 45 minute break of what is suppose to be making dinner and eating, then going back to work for 4+ hours is exhausting. Grab and go looks very enticing. Bryce tries so hard. He really does, but lets face it... chicken, rice and veggies is not something I wanna eat 4 nights a week. So here we are, on my getting back on track week off from work and work (hair), I decided I want to simplify more. How do I do this? Well here is how.... My list of bi-weekly meals consist of mainly this:
At least 2 beef meals, we eat alot of chicken in this household.
At least 2 crock pot meals
At least one meal that is a salad
At least 1 soup - if it is colder, I try to incorporate 2 soups
At least one meal has rice.
At least 1 meal a week is a new recipe
I plan 8 meals for 2 weeks. It gives us some freedom from not wasting food if we don't take some for lunch we can eat it for the next nights dinner or we go out to eat - stuff like that.
*If I have something like tacos - I will always have lettuce and tomato left over - I always try to incorporate another meal to use the left overs on... like a salad. If i do something like enchiladas, I will always have tortillas left over since I don't eat the corn and Bryce cant have the flour. So I will do another meal where I can use them: Breakfast burrito or fajitas. I am horrible at freezing tortillas and I try to use as much fresh as I can.
*I try to make fish for Bryce every now and then. I don't eat seafood so I will always keep a pizza or frozen meal in the freezer for myself. I am not a fan of cooking 2 meals but I will for fish, or I will go without. 
*Last but not least, I always make enough to take to work the next day for both of us - so it eliminates us eating out.

It seems like alot already as I am writing down - it took me a while to get into the swing of things but it is possible and it saves me so much money, compared to running to the store here and there. before I get into my 'simplify' I thought I would give you my bi-weekly meal plan that I put together yesterday so you can see what I am talking about (we did 7 meals because Bryce really wants pizza. and thanks to my sister who gave us a gift card to a GF pizzeria, we are going out to eat instead of making it in home):
Enchiladas
Crock pot Italian chicken
Taco soup
White Chili
Taco Salad
Hawaiian haystacks
Peppered steak

 *Peppered steak and Hawaiian haystacks are eaten with rice
* I made burritos a few days ago so I already have the tortillas - so we are doing enchiladas so we are not throwing away food.
* Taco soup and white chili are both soups.
* White chili and Italian chicken are both crock pots
* Taco salad is my salad and part of my at least 2 beefs (hamburger)
* peppered steak, taco salad and taco soup are my beefs
(no new recipe this week)

 When I follow my 'rules', making the bi-weekly meals is a snap! I just make sure to change it up as to what kind of 'soups' or what kind of 'beef'. Simple... right? Ok now to 'simplify'. Those who know me know I am crazy busy. Right now I am working 10 hour days only to come home and do hair for 4-6 hours a night. NOW I have added a class on Tuesday nights that not only require taking up a couple of hours on Tues (no hair on Tuesdays) but also require some time from me on Mondays prepping for my Tuesday class. To work a full schedule at work, come home do hair and cooking dinner and clean up seems impossible. Even with Bryce's help. So we had a discussion yesterday. I see simple as crock pot: Who doesn't love shoving raw food into a pan and leaving it all day and come home to a yummy meal that smells delish! right? But how many crock pot recipes can you take in a row. To live off of a crock pot would be pretty amazing. I also buy my beef in large quantities and separate it, date it and throw it in the freezer. Dethawing is part of the cooking process and sometimes I just don't have time. So this thought occurred to me.... We eat so much chicken, most of which has to be pre-cooked before we add all other ingredients. I have boiling chicken because it is a pain. Crock pot chicken always turns out nice, moist, soft and shreds itself. Beef - it is a pain to dethaw, only to have to ground it up afterwards. I am already separating it and throwing it into the freezer. So my 'simply' is to throw at least 2 meals worth of chicken into the crock pot with any kind of sauce: Ranch dressing, Italian dressing ( I keep alot of dry packets in my food storage since we use them so much - throw one of those in with 2 cups of water and there you have your flavoring!) or even bullion. Let it cook all day and come home and throw one part into the fridge for the next meal and use the other part for the meal that night. Like enchiladas... pull it out, put it into the tortilla, add toppings, and repeat til done and throw it into the oven to bake. Saves the hassle of me cooking the chicken when I get home and shredding it.  Next night: Hawaiian haystacks, the chicken was done in the crock pot the night before so I just have to pull it out, make some rice and chop up the fresh fruits and veggies to put on top and I am done! Saves me one again from having to cook chicken. This also gives me a whole night to throw the crock pot into the dishwasher and get it cleaned before I have to use it again. (we only run our dishwasher every other day or so because there is only 2 of us).
Now to beef. I am already prepackaging it all. Why not ground it before I throw it in the freezer? It saves me time from having to put it in cold water for hours to dethaw. If it is ground I can just pull it out and throw in in a pot/pan and continue on my way. Example taco soup - It already has to simmer for 30 minutes for best flavor. Throw in the frozen ground hamburger with the rest of the ingredients and I am done, instead of standing at the stove for 20 minutes while I ground it... not to mention waiting on it to dethaw.

I am sure that people are smarter than I am to come up with this idea. Scratch that! People have more time to sit around and come up with ideas like that. I think we already discussed how much time I DON'T have right now. I personally think it is a brilliant idea that I am going to put into action (even if someone came up with this years ago).


*If any of those recipes sound good or you have no idea what they are and would like to know, leave a comment and I will gladly email them to you. :)

Will Is Well-Armed for the Opera

Occasionally, one of my posts will fall through the cracks and I only discover it by chance.

For example, earlier this week I was passing through K-Mart in Penn Station when it struck me: the guy I had met several months earlier in there never ended up on the site! How did that happen? I'm still scratching my head over that one, because how could I forget this tattoo?

Will explained to me that he has the signatures of twenty-seven female opera singers that have, in some way, touched his life. The photo above is only a fragment of the whole array, which covers his left arm and runs down the side of his chest.

"I'm a big opera fan ...[it's] just a form of music and expression that has always meant a lot to me," Will told me. He explained how he had waited for two hours for a singer to emerge from a venue after a performance, but she never came out. That missed autograph opportunity gave him the idea to recreate the signatures of an array of great singers on his flesh.

Among the names visible in the photo above are Maria Callas and Grace Bumbry.

The signatures were inked by Dave Wallin at Eight of Swords Tattoo in Brooklyn.

Thanks to Will for sharing his operatic arm with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

UKULELE

Yeehaaaa !

My friend Enie got herself a Ukulele last week, in light blue. I just had to buy one, too.

I'll call her Violet.

Can't wait to play some Hawaiian tunes with her.

Have to start thinking about a name for our little girl-band.....

Ink Master Premieres Tonight!

Regular readers of Tattoosday may recall this post, last July, when I mentioned that a production company was looking for volunteers to get tattoos on a new reality tattoo competition series.

That was six months ago and the first installment of that project, Ink Master, is scheduled to debut tonight on Spike TV, at 10:00 PM (and 11:00) EST. 

I strongly encourage people to watch, as I’ve seen the line-up of artists competing, and know for a fact that they are a talented crew.

 Unlike New York Ink, which seems to have evolved very quickly into a faux-drama in a tattoo shop that just happens to have great tattooers, the focus of this show is about creating body art in a reality-competition setting.

That’s not to say there won’t be interpersonal conflicts - even shows like Master Chef and Project Runway have their share of drama. But, I am optimistic that this series will not disappoint.

Check out the trailer below:

SPIKE
Official Ink Master Series Trailer
www.spike.com
Spike Full Episodes Spike Video Clips Spike on Facebook

And here’s a bit of a tease ..... I know with 100% certainty that at least three of the volunteers on a couple of the episodes have appeared previously as subjects on Tattoosday. I’m looking forward to not only seeing who wins each week, but as USA Today put it, “who on earth decides to get inked as part of a reality competition?”  

This won’t be the last you hear about Ink Master on Tattoosday. Trust me.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Meister's Memorial Sparrows

Last month, I was leaving the Muhlenberg branch of the New York Public Library when I spotted a woman with two birds on the backs of her calves:

These two sparrows belong to Meister, who is also known as The Nervous Cook.

I love how these are not your typical tattoo sparrows, but are more lifelike than the traditional bird flash that is much more common.

She explained that these, two of her eight tattoos, are memorial tattoos, that she has "for three people that I lost, roughly around the same time." Meister elaborated:

"A best friend of mine passed away in a scuba accident - she's the female sparrow [on the left calf] ...

 

...and then two good friends of mine died within two weeks of each other ... totally just a a devastating series of unfortunate accidents."

These, along with most of her other work, were tattooed by Myles Karr, who works out of Three Kings Tattoo in Brooklyn. Meister indicated that these sparrows were done a while back, when Myles still worked out of the now-defunct 334 Bowery Tattoo. Work from Myles has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.

Thanks to Meister for sharing her beautiful sparrows with us here on Tattoosday! Be sure to visit her over at The Nervous Cook.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

BIG EARS & POMPOMS

Tattoosday Loves Friday the 13th!

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.....

My lovely bride is a Friday the 13th baby, so it's a lucky day for me, in general.

As for Tattoosday, my visit stats have already been robust since December, but this week they have shattered the records, with yesterday being the best ever. My sitemeter points out that folks are visiting our old Friday the 13th posts in droves this month, which is fine by me, but I thought I'd link them here for fun.


Our first Friday the 13th adventure was in 2009, on Melanie's birthday, as documented here.

And, in 2010, we got the readers involved, and started here, and documented my first (and so far, only) Friday the 13th tattoo here. And followed up with another one for Melanie here.

There was only one such day last year, back in May, and we missed it, but this year we're starting early and, I just realized, thanks to the Leap Year, there are two additional Friday the 13th observances in 2012!

We're planning on getting inked today at Hand of Glory in Brooklyn, and there are plenty of other options, as well, including Dare Devil in Manhattan and Three Kings in Williamsburg.

If you know anywhere else, in New York City and elsewhere, please post in the comments section so our readers can find a place to go.

Check back tomorrow or see when our Twitter page may light up for more details later today.

Have a safe and lucky 13th!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

MY NEW FAVOURITE

Little Darling's Ink: Pinups for Pitbulls

Last spring, I met Deirdre, aka Little Darling, as she was leaving Penn Station to cross Seventh Avenue.

I snapped these pictures of her upper right arm:

Deirdre explained that she is the president and founder of a non-profit organization called Pinups for Pitbulls.

The two pups pictured are portraits of two of her dogs, as interpreted by skin artist Jon Clue.

Little Darling invites people to check out her company's website PinupsForPitbulls.org if you are interested in supporting the ongoing effort to help fulfill their mission of working "to educate the public about the history and temperament of the American Pit Bull Terrier and pit bull type dogs [and] to raise awareness about Breed Specific Legislation and Breed-Specific abuse."

One of the ways that Little Darling and her company strive to "reestablish the defamed reputation of pit bull type dogs as America's premier companion animal, war hero, and therapy dog," is through fundraisers and the sale of Pinups for Pitbulls merchandise, such as their annual calendar. Many of these products can be purchased through Amazon (see link below).

Other Pinups for Pitbulls Merchandise can be found by clicking the hyperlink in this sentence.

Thanks to Deirdre for sharing her tattoos with us here on Tattoosday, and for waiting so patiently for this post to appear.

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

Medium Hairstyles- Options are endless

If there is one certain length of hairstyle that offers the most styling options, it would be the medium length hairstyle. This style is great for a workplace style and it travels well into the formal event and even informal occasions.

The style can be dressed up with hair clips or partial updos and it can be worn down and disheveled for an undone look. Besides the many options available from the medium length, the actual hairstyle can also be cut in many different ways.

Layers - The addition of long layers to the medium hairstyle give it a lighter, flowing look.  Ask your stylist if layers would work for your current hairstyle.

Bangs - Add soft sideswept bangs for a modern look.

Curls/Straight - Go all over curly or all over straight. These are styles you can create on your own and they offer great variety in your look.

See the latest in the ALL NEW Medium Hairstyles Gallery

Catfish

Meghann's Ink Inspired by Nikki McClure

This past November, I met Meghann in Penn Station and spotted this tattoo on her arm:

Meghann explained that this work is based on a paper-cut by an artist from Olympia, Washington named Nikki McClure.

There's no real deep meaning behind this. Meghann is just appreciates the art for art's sake: "I just liked the design a lot. I really like [McClure's] work."

The tattoo was done by Sam Gosson at Oddball Studios in Portland, Oregon.

Thanks to Meghann for sharing this cool work with us here on Tattoosday!

Cecelia's Trio of Bats, or, The Girl with the Dragonlance Tattoo

Back in October, I met Cecelia on the D train in Brooklyn, and she shared these tattoos on her left forearm:

Those three bats, named, from top to bottom, Ralph, Roberto, and John, were a birthday present from her friend Dan. Roberto, in the middle, was named after a fruit bat that appears in a couple of books by Christopher Moore (namely, Island of the Sequined Love Nun and The Stupidest Angel).

The bats were inked by Steve Kane, owner and artist at A List Industry Tattoo, in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Cecelia also told me about another tattoo she had, but it was not one she could show me on the train, as it wasn't the day of the No Pants Subway Ride.

Fortunately, she did send us a cell phone photo later with this piece on her left thigh:

She explained:

"This tattoo was inspired by a Dragonlance book, The Dragons of Winter Night. Started in '95 by an artist from Buffalo, it was finished 10 yrs later by Seven O'Brien @ Tattoo Mania [Staten Island]. He is now at another shop.  He came up with the fantastic background and border."

Thanks to Cecelia for sharing her trio of bats and her dragon tattoo with us here on Tattoosday!

This entry is ©2012 Tattoosday.

If you are reading this on another web site other than Tattoosday, without attribution, please note that it has been copied without the author's permission and is in violation of copyright laws. Please feel free to visit http://tattoosday.blogspot.com and read our original content. Please let me know if you saw this elsewhere so I contact the webmaster of the offending site and advise them of this violation in their Terms of Use Agreement.

NEW TODAY :

Lots of new in-between-the-seasons-hats,

on

www.frolleinvonsofa.com

Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end...

Can I tell you I hate new year resolutions. You make them, within in 3 weeks, or if you are good 4 weeks, you break them. I try to myself to not make them. Instead I make January 'goals'. Maybe it is a mind set that if I make them at the beginning of the year I can break them as fast as I make them and fall in that category along with the other billion Americans. So at the end of every January I make goals. Since I need to start thinking of new goals (as I eat this yummy piece of chocolate cake) I remind myself that I need to see how I did on last years goals. So here we go....
1. Wear some form of make up at least once a week to work. Preferably eye shadow. Since my alarm goes off at 5:30 I would rather sleep that extra 10 minutes than put on makeup. I guess I pass it off well :) but I really need to try harder to put effort into myself. Consider that a dud! I don't even think I got a week into that one without breaking it. oops... I am NOT off to a good start.
2. 2. No texting while driving. I know I did this last year but I really need to buckle down on it 100%. For those who are keeping track - I made this one the year before too. I remember saying that I did great until the end so I completed this 85%. Well this year I did a few time (GUILTY!!!!) but now that I have this new smart phone, it does everything for me when I tell it to... no longer a problem. I say I completed this 99%. I know it isn't 100 but 99 is pretty dang good!
3. I want to start back up kick boxing. You always here 'I wanna lose weight' that is not the case here. I felt like I could concur anything when I went to kick boxing. I felt like I could take on the world. It is not a matter of losing weight, it is a matter of feeling better about myself. Simple enough, right? uhhhhhh was I on some sort of drug when I wrote these???? Because I do not remember writing number one or three... oops! Maybe I should have a 6 month evaluations on these. FAIL!
4. no soda. period. I have taken to soda more than water in the month of December and I am done. I don't need it. I wrote this post on January 26th 2010. I am proud to say that as of January 17, 2010 I have not had soda!!! (Thank you Wendy's for having fresh lemonade. You are my hero!!!!). well I lied again. About a month ago we went to go get something to eat after a long exhausting day and no dinner. it was 11 at night. I got my food with of course a fresh lemonade (Do you now know who the screw up was???) I took a swig with instant burning.... How someone got root beer from lemonade is beyond my knowledge. I was pissed... one swallow ruined it all, or did it? I dumped the rest down the drain. I am still mad.
5. I have several bank accounts and one in particular is not suppose to be touched. I even have it at a different credit union for the purpose of not going there and not using it. I have failed miserably so as of Feb 1st there will be NO TOUCHING it at all. That is suppose to be my new car fund for when my car hits the crapper (which I hope isn't for at least another 5 years , at least!)
5 is a good round number... Can we skip this one too????

Last but not least... our couple's goal. I had this written down on one of my post but I think I deleted it. It was to get our food storage going... How did we do on this??? By the skin of our nose we have it ordered and on its way. We tried really hard to get a few things her and a few things there but things always get in the way. Luckily we got a killer deal right before Christmas (yes I am such a smart shopper) and it is ordered and on its way. I am very excited! As my SIL says - 'you know you are an adult when you get excited about food storage!'

Stay tuned for this years goals!