The beginnings of the blast overs

So Thursday saw the beginnings of one huge tattoo project. Covering badly burned and scarred skin and bad existing tattoos.
I have previously blogged about this particular journey and I’m so excited to update the blog with the progress!
When I got to the shop I spent a long time discussing options with the artist, who I have full trust in! what the possibilities were. I had expectations of having to get two very large dark pieces (which I was totally
Okay with) and that would engulf all the bad stuff and finish my leg off.
But it turns out that I have more white space than I realised and so the decision was made to do lots of small blastovers. A blastover is a kind of cover up but it lacks the same “completeness” that a cover up promises. They are usually black in place of colour and occasionally the previous tattoos colours can be seen underneath. Some people perceive them as crude or unfinished but I really like them, and it’s my leg right?
I searched for designs and eventually chose a hand with a rose, and a heart with a dagger and scroll. I got my daughters name in the heart.
The hand made use of the most negative (white space) and the roses covered a large piece of scarring. The heart has some purple coming through it and it looks almost tye dyed.
I am so pleased with this project and it’s just the beginning. We discussed what to do next and in order to minimise large awkward gaps, the shin will be the next stage to tattoo. I think I’m going to get my knee and foot done too, because the other leg has those and I want to have some level of symmetry.
I feel very lucky.
Here are some fresh photos!
Tattoos by Joe Ellis at Sacred Electric, Leeds UK.

London

I went to London this half term, it’s about 3 hours from where I live now but it’s worth the trip. I’m still relatively new to London and there’s a lot more for me to see and experience. I loved seeing the Cutty Sark and the painted hall. I would like to go to Hyde Park and maybe the aquarium in the next couple of visits. My two year old did so well and only stayed in her pushchair for naps, she walked everywhere else! It was a bit of a culture shock for us, coming from such a small town. But it’s such a captivating city, we loved it there. I had my first rush hour tube experience (with two year old) and it was not something I will forget ever! I think we shall avoid rush hour in future…
We ate so much food which was all beautiful and amazing, and now we are on a bit of a detox

^_^

My top tips for taking toddlers on trains

I have a two year old daughter and I recently took her on a train for the first time. I was quite nervous about taking her on a 3 hour journey, on my own, but there was some helpful parent suggestions which I wanted to share incase they were useful to anyone else.
Obviously every child is different, so some of these tips may not work for you or your child, but I hope you find some of these tips useful:

1. Take activities! My daughter loves been given little tasks to do, she is especially fond of stickers so this book (above) was tons of fun for her, they also don’t take up too much room in a bag and can be used on a fold down train table. These books specifically are made by the same company who produce the “that’s not my …” Books (which we love!) and I would highly recommend them! Ideally for ages 2+

2. Stories, I usually have one book out with us wherever we are, but I got some train stories which made The journey really exciting for her. My daughter was quite nervous about seeing real trains because of how big and loud they are, but reading this book (maisy book) before we went helped her to be less frightened and more excited about our little train adventure.

3. Colouring books follow the same idea as sticker books, the only downside is that you’ll need crayons with you which requires more space and can be tricky if you have a particularly busy train (we went to London!) and I did find myself scrambling under our table for the crayons that rolled off when the train turned or stopped.

4. Headphones ! These ones (tiny phones by JVC) are specially made for children and have volume control so they cannot damage a child’s hearing. They come with stickers so your child can personalise the band and are the ideal size for toddlers (2+ years). We used these with the iPad – I bought a series of peppa pig for £7 from iTunes. Which has since been used very regularly during travelling! These worked really well and made travelling a pleasant experience for my daughter. The only negative I have with this tip is that if your child struggles with any kind of travel sickness I would not recommend the iPad and headphones as it can exasperate the problem.

These worked really well for us and we will be continuing to use them when we travel 🙂

I hope it helps!

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