Tattooed Dolls

There is an amazing doll maker in Boston by the name of Mimi Kirchner that I may of just fallen in love with. She uses recycled, recused and vintage fabrics and she's made some of the raddest tattooed dolls. I wish I owned all of them. But they seem to be already sold from her etsy. Booo!

Pirate love

Sleeve started thanks to Dave.

3 Most Popular Sanskrit Tattoo

For a while, good taste in tattoos seemed to have disappeared. Tribal tattoo designs can be very beautiful, when done right. But then I started seeing more and more poorly executed examples appear. These seemed to emphasize size over quality and looked more like someone threw paint on the skin. Instead of getting a big, cheap tattoo from an unskilled tattoo artist, why not pay a little more to get a beautifully done, small tattoo from a good artist? You can find many elegant and small Sanskrit tattoo designs, Celtic cross tattoos and even dreamcatcher tattoos.

Talking about small and beautiful Sanskrit tattoo designs, here are three of the most popular:


Om/Omkar Symbol

The Om symbol is one of the most popular symbols in Sanskrit tattoos. It is one of the primal sounds of Creation, and can be heard in the mantras of many meditational systems. In the Hindu religion, Om both corresponds to the three states of human consciousness (waking, dream and deep sleep) as well as the three main Hindu gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva). Om is often drawn together with the lotus flower in tattoo art.

When used on its own in a tattoo, Om is drawn as the Omkar symbol. This symbol is based on the form of the Hindu elephant-headed God, Lord Ganesha. There are 4 parts in the Omkar symbol:

• the upper curve represents the head


• the large lower curve of the belly


• the side curve is the trunk


• the semi-circle and dot of the sweetmeat ball held in the hand

Unlike the Om symbol which represents three ideas moving in a cycle of destruction and creation, the Omkar symbol usually represents a duality of opposing ideas:

• Goal and Purpose of Life


• the Material world and the Sacred world


• Form and Formlessness

Padme, the Lotus Flower

The lotus flower is called Padme in Sanskrit. It is a holy flower in Hinduism, and because of its behavior is said to represent the cycle of destruction followed by creation. At night, the lotus flower closes and sinks underwater. The next morning, it returns to the surface and blooms again.

The lotus flower also plays a part in religious mythology - Brahma, the Hindu God who created the world, was born from a lotus blossom which sprang from the navel of Vishnu, the Hindu God who maintains the world.

In Sanskrit tattoo designs, the lotus is not drawn like a real flower. Instead, it is drawn in a stylized manner, resembling the bright colorful Mandalas used in Hindu religious celebrations.

You often see both the Om and Padme symbols together in Sanskrit tattoos, in various combinations.



Trishula, Lord Shiva's Trident Symbol

Lord Shiva's three-pronged trident is another popular tattoo image. This trident is called the Trishula. It seems that Shiva cut off Ganesha's original head using this trident.

Although the Trishula is a weapon, it is also the symbol of Shiva. As such, it is more than just a tool of destruction. One of its meanings actually represents the cycle of creation, maintenance and destruction of the world. Another meaning is the past, present and future.

If you practice Kundalini Yoga, the Trishula represents how the three primary energy channels in your body come together at your brow. However, I wouldn't recommend tattooing the Trishula on your brow, not unless your Kundalina guru says it is okay to do so.

Are you overloaded by the meanings of all these popular Sanskrit tattoo designs? Don't be. Just have fun with your tattoos, and if you actually remember the meanings, fine. You'll have something to talk about. If not, so what? They are still beautiful pieces of body art.

Tribal backTattoos

Back tattoos

Ear tattoos

Henna Tattoo Designs for Men

.

Steeped in tradition, henna tattoos or mehendi as they are known, is an ancient Indian body art used for creating intricate tattoo designs on the hands and feet of women especially at the time of marriage. This non-permanent, painless method of acquiring great tattoos is as close as you can get to the real thing. The henna tattoos are made using a pigment paste made from the henna plant and painted on the skin. For this the leaves and stems of the plant are dried and crushed. The ground green henna powder is then mixed with an acidic liquid such as lemon juice or a strong tea to form a paste that creates red, brown and orange stains on your skin. The designs usually fade away in a few weeks. Although usually used by women, henna tattoo designs for men are equally popular. The henna tattoo designs can range from being small and intricate to large, mystical and whimsical. Here is a look at some henna tattoo ideas for men.

Henna Art for Men: Henna Tattoo Designs for Guys

Tribal Tattoo Designs: The single most popular tattoo designs, tribal tattoos draw inspiration from the tribal art and culture of Maori, Haida and Polynesian origin. Characterized by the stark black, arching lines the tribal tattoo designs usually consist of parallel or intersecting lines and curves that are thick on one end and come to a point. The patterns consist of shapes of scorpions, fish, skulls and many other interesting shapes. They curving arched lines not only look great on the arms and legs but also make for great tattoos on the back and the chest. Henna is a popular way of getting tattoos made as they are reminiscent of the ancient tattoo art followed by the different cultures.

Celtic Tattoo Designs: A popular way of expressing the religious symbolism and the culture, Celtic tattoo designs consist of interwoven lines representing knots, crosses, mazes and spirals. The strong Norse design influences lend a sense of beauty to the crisscross interwoven lines. In fact the intricate lines crisscrossing in the design are indicative of the cycles of life and the seasons. Read more on Celtic design tattoos.

Skull Tattoo Designs: The famed crisscross skull tattoos and other tattoo designs have a visual appeal unlike any other. The empty sockets of the skulls are a symbol of eternity, knowledge and human vanity. Historically, during war time skulls represented victory and triumph. Signifying death, these skull tattoos can be crafted with mehendi using special skills.

Zodiac Symbols Tattoo Designs: Our never ending fascination with the zodiac signs and our lives influenced by the celestial heavens, makes zodiac tattoo designs popular among men. Since each of the twelve signs has an animal or character associated with it, zodiac tattoos are a great way of showing off your own personal style. So a Leo can get a fiery lion tattoo or a Scorpio can get a cool scorpion tribal tattoo.

How to Get a Henna Tattoo

Henna tattoo application is very simple and is usually divided into three parts: making the henna tattoo cones, application of the tattoo and after care.

Henna Tattoo Cones/Pens: For making precise, intricate mehendi you can choose henna pens available in the market. Make sure that you perform a patch test though, because these pens contain chemical preservatives which can cause skin allergies and irritation. Pens containing original mehendi colors last longer than the ones with artificial colors.

Drawing the Tattoos: Unless the skin is irritated by the patch test you can now start applying the mehendi and printing patterns. Make sure to clean the area with hot water and soap and then remove the excess oils with an astringent soaked cotton ball. While there are a number of designs that a skillful hand can create with a mehendi pen, beginners can stick to less complicated tribal tattoos.

Henna Tattoo Care: For longer lasting darker colors, the henna needs to stay on for at least four hours. Since warmer body temperatures produce better colors keep the tattoo in wrapped to increase the body heat after which it can then be brushed off. Make sure that the mehendi does not come in contact with water for as long as possible especially with chlorinated or salt water as it can reduce the vitality of the colors. Read more on henna tattoo care.

Henna tattoo designs for men are versatile and great for people who do not want a permanent tattoo but still love the idea of it. What's more it is easy enough for you to do it yourself, but for more intricate designs you might have to find a henna tattoo specialist to help you get a cool new tattoo.

neck tattoos

vine tattoos

butterfly tattoos

Butterfly Tattoo Design

Butterfly tattoos for most people, when they think about tattoo imagery, the subject matter of insects probably does not spring immediately to mind. In fact, it's probably not even a close second. Yet one of the most popular designs being done today, probably ranking right at the top of those being done on women, and a symbol that has even come to typify the tattoos of the 90s, is the butterfly. While tattoos that use butterflies surely do capitalize on their great beauty and diversity, they are also highly symbolic creatures in many cultures, including our own.

Tribal Butterfly Tattoos for all

This is not surprising that tribal butterfly tattoos often seen that both the tribe and made a tribal butterfly tattoos is so popular. As we have seen on the Internet, the symbolism that surround design attractive and may increase its popularity. Butterflies are often rebirth, renewal, perseverance and mental recovery. While the tribal tattoo, usually of human identification with the cultural heritage, beliefs or practices, and perhaps loyalty to a particular social group or culture.

We often see how the ideas of Polynesian tattoos, Celtic tattoos, Japanese tattoo, Ukraine, or even a Maori tattoos, they are in accordance with the criteria Tribe Tattoo. Tribal tattoos are usually found in an abstract form and black in the shadows because of its popularity, but in recent years, many of them are now being done in different colors.

Some of the most interesting projects that are available this type of tattoo because of the nature of artistic design. When viewing a tattoo eye accidentally caught up in the central icon of the butterfly design. Some types of intangible way that you probably can not understand the butterfly, at first glance. And this is what makes the tattoo more interesting and often attract the attention of the owner.

As in various designs butterfly, tribal butterfly tattoos looks great when placed in the lower back region. And furthermore, that the rates seen in men and women. Like all the tattoo design is important to follow the guidelines to start with an image that is clean, clear lines. You should make sure that the image has smooth curves.

The curve should not be too close to each other, if not the tattoos may have difficulties in implementing the project. You can get the image size Xerox copies as you want it placed on your body. It is very important, because design is good for larger sizes may not fit as a small tattoo because the image may be too much loss of detail. By Krystal Robbins