June June June, where did you go.... I know I know, I always say it, but it's gone by sooooo quickly. We're past the longest day of the year, folks, getting closer to Christmas every day… yes I'll drop it now, sorry.
Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely June with plenty of sunshine. My June was busy, full of fun tattoos, drawing in the park, sunshine, and a dinosaur themed trip to Alberta!
Side note: someone asked me to make my Spring flash sheet into a print, so I did! It's 14x11" and you can pick your own up here.
That isn't a crease btw, it's a reflection 🙃
Alberta
Last weekend I took a weekend trip to Alberta! I've only been once before and that was to the Calgary tattoo convention many years ago. I tend to be very anxious when I travel to tattoo, so it was so nice to visit without that added pressure this time.
Side note: There are magpies in Alberta and England but not Ontario???????? Anyone know why???
Anyway, this is what my trip looked like…
- DRUMHELLER - the cutest rural dinosaur-themed town of all time!!! I loved it here. I didn't want to leave. We went inside the giant T-Rex, got amazing sandwiches from Heller Good Sandwiches, got the best pancakes at WHIFS Flapjack House (and watched the model trains go around), checked out alllll the dinosaurs around town (probably not all of them, there were a lot) and then….
- Went to the ROYAL TYRELL MUSEUM. The best dinosaur museum of all time. Like, you know when you go to the dinosaur area of a Natural History Museum and most of the fossils are casts, well this museum has the real deal. Some of the highlights were the Ornithomimus that had the first sign that there were feathered dinosaurs, the Borealopeltamarkmitchelli the world's best-preserved armoured dinosaur, and only example of the species ever found, with fossilised scaly skin intact, the Hypacrosaurus nest with embryos in the eggs. Sooooo cool.
- The next day was the reason we were in town ….. DINOSAUR PROVINCIAL PARK!!!! We did the explorer's tour, which was so interesting, and the guide Emma was so enthusiastic. I was disappointed that there wasn't space on the fossil hike when we booked, but turns out this tour included finding fossils in situ anyway! As well as seeing an (almost) entire hadrosaur skeleton where it had been excavated. We even drove past a live dig!!! And then we did a bit of hiking. It was so quiet and peaceful, there was also an epic storm just as we were leaving. Happy times.
- The last day we took a drive to BANFF, but it was not my cup of tea. To be fair we went on Canada Day weekend, on a Sunday, on the first weekend of school break. So it was busy. But I wasn't expecting it to be sooooo touristy, even more so than Zion national park, and the juxtaposition between there and Dinosaur Provincial Park was just so stark. We did a nice drive along Bow Valley Parkway and saw some gorgeous views though.
- Annnnd we did all this while staying in a freaking WINDMILL!!!!! In the cutest little hamlet called Rosebud (Stars Hollow vibes). It was soooooo cute and there was a secret library in the top of it 💀. I just wish we had more time there.
Tattoo Time
Enough rambling about my trip, let's get into the important stuff … who I tattooed this month!!! I'm trying to keep my notes brief this time, or this newsletter is going to be really long 😂.
Kelly & Ash
Best friends are the most important!!! Kelly & Ash's pet name for each other is 'plant' so they got these matching tattoos 🥹🥰🌿. We also did some super cute pride tattoos (click here to see).
Lynzie
Gillian
Gillian sat like an angel for this inner thigh piece, which is a very tender area to get tattooed obv. You might remember this lavender and asp design from a newsletter a while ago, check the process video HERE for a reminder 🙂.
Jayne
The sweetest badger, dahlia and snapdragon tattoo for Jayne. It's a spicy spot and she sat like a total champ. Click HERE and swipe for those up-close photos I know you wanna see 🥰🌿.
Ysabela
I tattooed the florals around the figure (not the figure itself) on Ysabela's outer arm around 9 years ago, which you can see in this IG post!!! And this month I got to fill in the last space on her sleeve. It's amazing how time flies.
Josh
Healed!! Just a month since I tattooed this elbow mandala for Josh, but I love how it's settling in 🥰🌿. HERE's how it looked fresh if you want to compare. We finished the other side of the mandala and some more on his ditch area in this session. One more session next month to finish the flower!
Jay
Jay and I finished his cover-up project this month! We were dealing with a tricky piece to cover in my style, and we kept what we could. But luckily Jay was more than happy to give me the rest of his arm, so we could do this black out. More photos (including before photos) HERE. I am delighted with how this piece came together 🥰.
We also fitted in an extra freehand cover up that will be up on my IG soon!
Jess
IN PROGRESS snippet .... Just after I finish one big blackwork cover up project I get to start another 🥰🌿!!!
Jess unfortunately had some work added to her beautiful sunflower (by another artist) by a guy who was who was a total creep, so we're transforming the terrible work he did on her into a big blackwork sleeve!!! Tap HERE and swipe to see the before.
We still have a long way to go, but I CANNOT wait to continue this!
Bri
I'm in love with Bri's beautiful sweet pea tattoo, she decided to do her (almost) full arm kinda last minute, which was a wonderful surprise 🥰🌿🖤. Check out a video of the freehand process here.
Courtney
One sitting! Yeah I'm not sure how we did that either, Courtney sure is a champ for smashing this though. We went over time a little bit, but worth it to get it done 🖤🌿. More photos HERE.
Galen
Super sweet one for Galen. His wife, Amy, is a client of mine and this is a tribute to her…. so sweet 🌿🥰. More photos HERE.
Cheyenne
Cheyenne literally got married in the desert last month, so this flash piece couldn't be more perfect for her 🥰🌿. She grabbed this spot last minute through my newsletter too!
Jennifer
A beautiful addition to Jennifer's existing wrist tattoo (by another artist). This piece wraps, so check out everything HERE. We included a rose for her granddaughter, the daisies are her and her Mum's favourite flower, and the moth is for her to remind herself to always seek the light 🥰, plus her author name is Jennifer Bloom, so it couldn't be. more perfect.
Kim
Lovely freehand gap filler for Kim 🥰🌿. Her other gorgeous tattoos are not by me, but this piece fits in beautifully with them. Tap HERE and swipe to see the freehand drawing!
In Other News
I've tried three new matcha drinks!!!
- Tatsuro's (the new Japanese brunch spot in Leslieville) has a hibiscus matcha special, delicious! But they only had oat milk (I'm an almond milk person), it was still good though.
- Starbucks matcha with chocolate cold foam - As recommended by Kim - It's a winner, a very indulgent winner
- Matcha deerioca - The Alley - OMG I died, this is heaven
Malone…
- Is still the greatest being to ever walk this earth.
- Had a fun weekend with Uncle Jesse while we were away, and forgave us for leaving her (but has been super demanding since we got back, yup even more than usual)
- Still requires birdies (youtube bird videos) in the early hours of the morning, and has reverted back to nose biting (she did this a lot as a kitten), it's an interesting way to get woken up.
I've been reading...
- The Book of Doors // Gareth Brown - I really enjoyed this, I mean magic books, how could I not. I could easily overthink the time travel parts, but sometimes it's just nice to enjoy things and not pick them apart 🙂.
- I Who Have Never Known Men // Jacqueline Harpman - I binged this book, it's only a 6hr audiobook so easy to do, but the story is so captivating I couldn't stop until it was done.
- Death by a Thousand Cuts // Sashi Baht - I loved this collection of short stories. Not a lighthearted read (although fully laughed out loud at some parts) but so beautiful and timely.
- Finished the last two books in the Lyla Sage series - gotta have a healthy dose of cowboy romance in my life 😂.
I've been watching...
- Prime Target - Started watching this series but not sure what I think so far, gotta love a math genius though.
- Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning - I love the Mission Impossible series 😂. I only watched them all when the last movie came out, so was exciting to see the final one in theatres. Total Micheal Scarn vibes (IYKYK).
I've been listening to....
- Zombie // Yungblud - I don't know why I love this song so much but it's been on repeat. Also Florence Pugh is in the music video 😍.
That's all the news I have for now! Other than a reminder that my books will open next month!!! 1-3rd August, pop it in your calendar!
Thanks for reading, have a wonderful July,
Lu