(I don't know if I'll ever get my elbow filled in I always get asked about it haha but I have a great idea for it so I'm still debating.)
Part 3 is going to be all about my "sleeve". I can't really remember in what exact order some of them came in so that is why I wanted to dedicate this post solely to my arm. After I finished with my left thigh I began on my sleeve but did take small breaks to get other small pieces done as well. Sadly I don't have original photos for a lot of the tattoos since I didn't want take photos of my arm until it was completely done. I will show bits and pieces of what I got so I may be a little scattered and all over the place during this post. I also didn't include my Matryoshka since I already spoke about her on part 2.
I remember I really began on my sleeve on July of 2013. I began with adding three piece such as the big rose that is on my shoulder along with three butterflies that's scattered through my arm. (I started with outlines a lot on my sleeve before I got them colored in.) I knew that I really wanted my arm to be very colorful, fresh and floral. I wanted something kind of like a garden and gardens are filled with butterflies flying around. I like butterflies and I remember when I was a kid I was always outside in my parents backyard in the Spring/Summer time playing with my sister and constantly seeing butterflies everywhere. I used to love to catch them and just study the way they look and then let them go. My mom always told us that butterflies are a sign of good luck but I'm not too sure how accurate that really is.
One day while browsing through Instagram I had came across a photo that a girl I followed sketched of a gorgeous rose and inside that rose was a eye. I instantly admired that picture reminded me of the all seeing eye which is probably what she referred to. I saved that photo and a few months later showed my tattoo artist (Jason) the photo. I thought it would have been a wonderful addiction to my sleeve because I love roses. I had him change things up a bit, and of course I messaged the girl for permission to use her art as a reference for my tattoo and she was so sweet about it and approved. Once I finally got it colored months later it looked beautiful and finally complete. I like how this rose has a eye inside of it. I like to look at it and remind myself to always keep my eyes open with my surroundings. It's a constant reminder which has helped me out a lot in some cases. The pain tolerance wasn't bad at all. The only one that I would complain about is the butterfly that is closets to my bicep/elbow fold. That area is so sensitive for me and I always manage to bruise really badly from tattoos.
While my tattoos (All seeing eye rose and butterflies.) were still outlined I had Jason add tons of cherry blossoms through out my entire arm. This one felt never ending haha especially once I had it colored. I even got them colored in before I got the rose and butterflies colored.
(This is such a difficult spot to get a good photo of these two pieces! Grr)
(Another difficult spot to get a good photo.)
(Not sure why in the picture it doesn't look straight but it really is in person.)
On the back of my arm right in the middle I got a heart with scallops going around it. Inside it says 'Be Kind'. I think this is just a nice reminder to always be kind to people regardless. I like to be the bigger person in most cases so wether it calls for me being kind to someone that isn't doing the same back or completely removing myself from the situation (which I do a lot). When I first got this done I just got the outline because I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to get it shaded in or not and if so what color to shade it. Eventually in 2015 I got it colored in purple. Since my sleeve is filled with color and this was the only piece not colored it only made sense. This spot stung a lot and was very uncomfortable since I had to lay on my stomach for it.
(I had to flip photo around a couple times.)
A couple months later I went to Disneyland and showed Alice my rose tattoo and loved it. She mentioned to me that I should get the rose bud, she said that one is her favorite because she thinks Alice is pretty. Right there I knew I wanted to get that next and so I did! I went back home and had Jason add the little rose bud right by my red rose and she is such a cutie. Then on my next trip to Disneyland I showed Alice (I always see the same Alice so this one already knows who I am.) I had pointed out how when she saw the red rose she mentioned I should get the rose but and she remembered and absolutely loved it. It's always the cutest to see her reactions every time she sees me. She'll even grab me to go show the Mad Hatter all tattoos, she always remembers them. Then the Mad Hatter always asks me where is he on my arm... Uh oh haha.
This is probably the longest part of my tattoo collection series. I still have a few small blank pieces to my arm and I don't know if it'll always stay that way or if I will eventually fill it up. Only time will tell and as of right now I don't have any plans... Yet ;)
Xo
Juliana
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