A 40th Birthday Surprise!

Ever see something so perfect for someone that you had to get them it? I had that moment in October 2014 when Lawrence Canham posted a sketch of a tattoo design he wanted to do on facebook. As soon as I saw it, I knew what I was getting for Stu, my then-boyfriend and now-fiance, for his 40th birthday in April 2015!

This is the photo that he posted. Perfect! It has a skull, dot work, and a beautiful death head moth. Stu has been admiring Lawrence's work since my first visit to Loaded Forty-Four in May 2014, and had been desperate to get something by him. I messaged Lawrence as soon as I saw the design, and asked if he would be prepare to hold it for such a long time for me and explained why. He was super sweet and eager to help. An hour later, Stu noticed the photo on facebook....

Too late though Stu.... I had already paid the deposit and it was booked, but not till April! I spent ages debating how to tell him and when. In the end, I settled on the night before the appointment, which was a week before his birthday.

In the end I opted for this, a little heart made out of paper, with the photo taken from facebook, and a little message written on it too. 

I was so nervous, but thankfully Stu was so totally thrilled! Yay! So the next day we got up and got ready and drove to Swinton to see the crew at Loaded Forty-Four.

Lawrence spent a bunch of time getting the stencil just right, with it having straight lines he wanted it just so. We naired Stu's legs the night before and Lawrence remarked that they were the 'smoothest men's legs he'd ever encountered' haha. And off they went!

Lawrence tattooing Stu.

Getting there!

Half done and time for a break.

Thanks to Lydia (I think it was Lydia, sorry if it wasn't!) for grabbing Stu a straw so he could comfortably sip his Relentless. We nattered most of the time, and towards the end I sat reading Game of Thrones on my Kindle and he played Cookie Jam haha.

The finished piece! Seriously, how amazing is that? The detail and dot work is just incredible. Stu loves it so much which makes me super happy. He's been living in shorts since he got it done to show it off and is already planning what he wants Lawrence to do on his other calf.

And now, the tip! I take tipping tattoo artists very seriously, I like to buy them little gifts and presents, and as soon as I saw this I had to get it. It's a cake, that's a pie, a pie, that's a cake!! With chocolate gravy and icing chips and peas. Amazing!

Thank you so so much to Lawrence for helping me surprise Stu, and holding this design for over 6 months. I cannot recommend Lawrence and the whole crew at Loaded Forty-Four enough. They are a seriously talented bunch and I hope we will be back over to them soon to get more work done.

And here is healed photo!

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

PS. Don't forget to enter my blog giveaway!

Tattoo Tea Party

For the first time ever, I went to a tattoo convention! I went to Tattoo Tea Party in Manchester and it was fab! As soon as I knew Keely Rutherford of Jolie Rouge would be there, I knew I had to be there. We booked in advance, and got there a little early. Once we were let into EventCity it was really well organised and well run. I was booked in with Keely first thing, so I went straight on the hunt to find her!

Keely was sharing a booth with her lovely fella Jethro Wood, another super talented tattoo artist.

Opposite was Rizza Boo, an artist I'm a huge fan of so I couldn't resist sneaking over to her stall to have a peek. I want something from her so bad!

Keely is working on my leg, this adorable leopard print moth is the last large part of it, next up is background! The colours are inspired by True Romance, mine, Stu's, and Keely's fave film.

It is super hard to take a photo of your own leg! It's on my inner calf, so tricky to photograph without it looking distorted. I love it so much!

Next up we wandered around and I took some snaps of awesome stuff we found around the event.

Relics 'N' Rust

Mrs M Vintage

I loved that painting so much, it's beautiful. 

Burning Sensations 

Aurora Tattoo

Le Segaula Tatau

It was incredible to get to see an artist working in a traditional hand tapped tattoo method. Stu has always wanted a traditional hand poked or tapped tattoo.

Rusty Pistons

Oh that car. Now that is proper car porn. Nom. How amazing would it be to get to have a go in this?!

Dr Phantasma's Side Show

I only caught a brief glimpse of the show, wish we'd had time to see the whole thing!

I bumped into the lovely Melissa Hayward. I photographed her about 4 years ago so it was lovely to catch up. She is a real sweetie, and such a babe!

I also wanted to go over and say hey to Shelly D'Inferno. I've photographed her clothing range with Maja Stina and I love Shelly's modelling. She was at the convention with Pyrohex, the fire performing troupe she is in. The blue haired cutie is Katherine Suicide, and the red head is Cervena Fox.

I somehow ended up in a photo with Shelly, Cervena and Katherine. Do excuse how tired I look! I'd been up since 6:45 and had driven 2 and a half hours to get there, then spent 2 and a half hours in an awkward position getting tattooed.

Cranfield's Curiosity Cabinet

A booth full of incredible taxidermy and my personal favourites, moths and butterflies! I've always wanted some framed moths and butterflies, I was so tempted by their Oleander moth, because it's one of the ones I have tattooed on me, but I couldn't justify the pennies right now.

Handmade By Me

I was actually wearing one of HMBM's pieces without even realising it. The Star Trek insignia necklace Stu got me for Christmas was from them. It seemed appropriate to wear after hearing the heartbreaking news of Leonard Nimoy's passing.

The Painted Skull

Now this is the stall I was determined to find! I follow The Painted Skull on instagram and had fallen in love with their death head moth deer skulls, so took the opportunity to get one in person! I can't wait to mount it on our bedroom wall.

And of course, I had to visit the lovely folks from Loaded Forty-Four. I bought a moth print from Lawrence Canham, and creeped on the amazing work Hannah Von Farren was doing, a palm piece!

I couldn't resist sneaking back to see Keely and to take a few snaps of her working.

Me and my lovely Stu <3

It was an awesome day, and I hope to go again next year!

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx

ps. How adorable is this little guy?!