'Explain' your tattoo

I have one on my back with no particular meaning. It's a vine with butterflies and roses. It was my first one I got when I turned 40. My second one is on my leg and it's 3 adjoining heart with my kids' names in each heart....the top heart (my oldest daughter) has two hearts that are joined to that with her children (my granddaughter's names) in each heart .....I guess if I have more grandchildren, I'll have to add to the tat.

I am getting a third one this weekend on my foot.....an infinity tattoo. I want something to represent my commitment to my significant other without the bad karma of having his name put on the tattoo.

I have a Japanese tribal piece, and inside it says"Made In Japan"...because (wait for it...) that's where I was made, while my parents were stationed in Japan. Curving under it is the copyright symbol and the year I was born. They always joked about tattooing me with the little rectangle, like a toy made in Japan. When I was 21 I got it done by a medic in Germany. He was able to take my dad's sketches from his scrapbook while they were overseas and turn them into the perfect backdrop for the words.

my first tattoo (i dont have a picture of) is my name Crystal & tribal on each side of it.. i didnt think i would ever actually get a tattoo so it didnt have any real meaning or anything. but i would still get it again. its on my lower back.

then i got my wrist tattoos when i weighed 250lbs. it was my first ultimate goal. something i didn't think i could ever reach. but i did. this is my left wrist. its an infinity heart. (yeah its a typical flash tattoo) but its my favorite. its a reminder to always love myself.. it also reminds me of a track.. which i started walking and jogging about that time. it was where i felt that i "found myself". so in a sense its also like im saying i love running.. (which i do). then also another thing is that the number 8 is my lucky number and is around me in alot of different ways.. well, an infinity sign is just like an 8 isnt it.



then here is my right wrist.. its the word believe with the b as a heart.. and then a butterfly at the end. i wanted to have something to look down to whenever i felt like giving up that would be a reminder to keep pushing on.. to keep believing in myself. so i got the word believe.. i wanted this whole heart theme (because under my first tattoo the Y to my name curls up at the bottom like a heart in my opinion).. so thats where i decided for the b to be a heart.. and then the butterfly.. well that was supposed to have to do with the whole "caterpillar becoming a butterfly" thing.. but also butterflies remind me of my grandma which i no doubt believe is watching over me 100% from heaven.. so it meant a few things too.. (but i actually hate how that butterfly turned out and plan on getting it covered up and made to a dragonfly or nicer butterfly... which would still be along the lines of changing from an ugly little caterpillar to something far more beautiful)

Mine is a purple butterfly with an eye in the wing. Got it after my divorce. Purple is my favourite colour and the eye in the wing is watching over me.

I want to get a diamond with a figure skate in it.

I have 2 tattoos and I got them because one is of my birth sign and I liked the quote for the other. No real deep meaning.

I have the face of a mountain lion on the top of my foot. I worked with rescued exotic cats for ten years, and the tattoo is an actual animal I worked with. The tattooist was a portrait artist ant, I think, did a great job with the shading to keep it realistic. I love it. If posting pics on this site were easier I would take the time to post it.

I've got a phoenix over my heart. The phoenix dies but comes back to life stronger and more powerful than before, an the cycle continues. Got the tat because despite all I've experienced in life thus far I'm strong, and though I should be dead, I'm still here.

Have a tribal butterfly my back that represents ambition and intelligence.

I am a Michigan block M with the words "those who stay will be Champions" It's a quote by legendary Michigan football coach Bo Schimbechler on my left calf. On December 9th 2011 I quit smoking. Every day I would put $6 in an envelope. The quote I put on post it notes all over my house. When I reached one month I went to tattoo shop. I say if I go back to smoking I have to cut my leg off!

I just have the one (so far... :P), the Triforce from the Legend of Zelda game series, on my arm. Because I like Zelda.

I'm planning on getting a geometric/origami style horse (which I'm designing) on my ankle, because I love horses, and a paper airplane on my wrist, because I love traveling.

My reasons aren't very 'deep', but I don't think they have to be :P

I also want the quote "I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world" somewhere, but idk, it's quite lengthy and I'm not sure where to put it.

The one on my back has great personal meaning, it's seven skulls with a dragon atop of them. Each skull represents a belief in life with the dragon as protection.

I have the word foundations on my ribcage in cursive. I've always loved the quote from Thoreau, "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost, that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."

The word "foundations" serves as a reminder to always do everything I have to do to achieve even my loftiest dreams.

On my upper left arm I have the POW/MIA emblem, which was my 19th birthday present to myself. My grandfather was a POW in Germany in WWII, and my cousin is still MIA in Vietnam.

I want to get a ring of Snoopys dancing around my ankle (positioned so their heads poke out over the top of my socks when I wear them!), but I haven't quite worked up that courage yet ... I've heard the ankle is *painful*! Maybe when I hit my goal, eh? =D

I spent 26 years, nearly all of my adult life, with a woman who loved me but didn't like me. We killed each other a little every day, for reasons neither of us understood. My tattoo is an homage.

I have a Legend of Zelda memorial tattoo on my arm. My nephew was 19 years younger than me, but we were both die-hard fans of the series. When cancer claimed him four years ago, I decided to get a tattoo. The tattoo is in the area that the cancer first started in his body and the tattoo is of the Master Sword and Hylian shield, battle worn and laid to rest.

Seemed like a good tribute for a kid too young to die. :P

Picture in my profile. The turtle on my left arm is for my daughter. When she was tiny, she would jut her neck out while trying to crawl, earning the nickname of "Turtle". The tattoo is on my left arm/shoulder because that is the side she would always fall asleep on when I would hold her as a baby.