Monthly tattoo roundup graphic featuring a blackwork magnolia chest tattoo overlayed with floral linework background and bold text reading “Everybody I tattooed in May 2025,” created by a top floral tattoo artist in Toronto

Everybody I tattooed in May 2025...

Hi everyone,

How was your May? I hope you had some sunshine wherever you are.

My May has been really busy. At the beginning we had a lovely visit from my partner's Mum. We did lots of fun things, like going to a baseball game (never been before, and the Blue Jays won), seeing the Nature in Brilliant Colour exhibition at the ROM (it's on until August 17th) and lots of long walks. There's nothing quite like having a visit from someone to make you look at the place you live a little differently, noticing at all the good things about it.

I did get hit by a nasty bug just after, which laid me up for quite a few days. I hate being ill, it's the worst (I mean everyone does, but still). I had to rearrange a few clients, and I'm so grateful to them for being so understanding, and can't wait to tattoo them soon!

Now that the weather is starting to improve here in Toronto I've been spending a lot of time in my local park (Corktown Common), drawing the flowers that are starting to bloom. Annnnd I've been playing around a little bit with watercolour! Unusual for me but I'm having a lot of fun with it. After spending a couple hours in the park doing nothing but looking really closely at plants I feel so happy and relaxed. It actually shuts off my brain for a while.

It's mostly motivated from a new book I picked up - Nature Drawing and Journaling // John Muir Laws. I highly recommend it if you're interested in that sort of thing 🙂.

Anyway, more on what I've been up to later, let's get into what you're here for! Everybody I've tattooed this month...

Tattoo Time

Josh

Josh and I started working on his arm at the beginning of May! We've got a long way to go, but made a really great start 🥰🌿. You might remember that I tattooed his feet a while back - this one and this one. Next time he's in I'll get some healed photos of them!

Work in progress blackwork sleeve featuring a mandala around the elbow and gardenia floral elements, drawn with dotwork shading by a Toronto blackwork tattoo specialist

Katy

Funny how just adding a few flowers can transform a whole arm 🥰🌿. We did the top of her shoulder 3.5 years ago (here's a healed comparison photo), and her forearm has a collab with @jayinkytattz and is just over 2 years healed. And then we added in the flowers between to bring it into a sleeve. Katy also left me the most wonderful google review 🥹.

Healed blackwork floral sleeve tattoo with soft fine line flowers and leaves wrapping around the arm, created at a custom feminine tattoo studio in Toronto

Wendy

Wendy has to honestly be one of my favourite clients! She grabs my cancellation spots, we always have the best chats when she's in, and I LOVE that she's still getting awesome tattoos at 65!! We freehanded this addition to the peony on the top of her shoulder, which we did a few months back. Who else thinks she should extend it into a full sleeve? 🥰

Blackwork tattoo sleeve featuring acanthus scrolls, peonies, and delicate floral details, custom feminine design by a top blackwork tattoo artist in Toronto

Emily

This beaut was Emily's first tattoo! I love being asked to do people's first tattoos. It really is such an honour, getting your first tattoo is nerve-racking and requires putting a lot of trust into a stranger, so I never take it lightly (not that I take any of the tattoos I do lightly). I particularly love how much meaning this one has. The sea holly (aka, blue thistle) is one of the flowers her sister grew and incorporated into Emily's wedding bouquet ❤️🥰🌿. So pretty.

Thistle flower tattoo in fine line blackwork, featuring sharp botanical shapes and long stems, feminine floral design by a custom tattoo artist in Toronto

Courtney

I've been lucky enough to tattoo Courtney right from when I first came to Toronto in 2016. One of these days I'll get some healed photos of my older work on her, but she comes down from Ottawa so I don't get to see her that often! We've been working on this blastover // coverup project lately, and added the details to ditch dahlia (as well as t/up her elbow and wrist) all the rest is 6 months healed.

She had a bunch of smaller tattoos that she didn't love anymore, so we kept her favourites and covered the rest. You can see some before photos here. We will continue it up her arm as well, can't wait.

Unique blackout sleeve tattoo featuring negative space dahlia, leaf bug, citrus slice and flowers, healed custom blackwork design from a Toronto tattoo artist

Sam

“Birth is painful and delightful. Death is painful and delightful. Everything that ends is also the beginning of something else. Pain is not a punishment; pleasure is not a reward.” - Pema Chödrön

Sam's sparrowhawk skull & spring flowers echo a tattoo on her other arm and symbolisms the cyclical nature of life. I love projects like this, and was so happy she chose me for this piece 🥰. More photos here.

Blackwork tattoo on upper arm featuring a bird skull surrounded by peonies, crocus, primrose, and pansies, designed in a soft fine line floral style by a Toronto tattoo artist

Tasha

What a great day this was!!!!! We freehand these parrot tulips based on one of my want-to-do projects from my newsletter 🥰🖤. She sat INCREDIBLE well for this, there are more tulips on the other side of here leg, so it was a BIG project - extra photos here!

Large-scale tulip tattoo with bold blackwork stems and leaves wrapping around the thigh and calf, custom botanical tattoo design by a Toronto artist

Jess

Jess is my new favourite client, thanks to here jumping in last minute via a cancellation in my newsletter, and jumping in head first with this huge thigh piece!!!

She sat like an absolute champ, and we added three bleeding heart flowers for her late doggos 💔.

Video here!

Highly detailed ornamental blackwork tattoo with acanthus scrolls and floral elements on the thigh, incorporating fine line and dotwork techniques, custom tattoo in Toronto

Matthew

I can't explain how delighted I am with Matthew's tattoo project. Also let's have a round of applause for Matthew for sitting for two days for this 👏👏👏 I'm sure you can imagine it was no easy thing to get through!

Click here to see the before, but keep in mind rather than a rejection of his faith, this cover-up is a celebration of his personal and spiritual growth and letting go of the need for overt declarations of his beliefs. And we used southern magnolia as an homage to the places he’s called home 🙂.

He also had laser on his existing tattoo, before we did this, which gave us more room for details in the cover up. The before photo is after the laser treatment.

Blackwork floral tattoo of magnolia branches and blossoms wrapping across the chest and torso, fine line custom design by a Toronto tattoo artist known for bold and elegant botanical tattoos

Tim

Tim wanted to get these amaryllis and freesia for his wife, as he can't wear a wedding ring due to his work. She's a gardner and grows both of these flowers 🥰🌿. We freehanded these to fit and flow perfectly, and we're planning on adding to them in the future with more meaningful flowers. More photos here.

Blackwork forearm tattoo of an amaryllis and freesia with flowing fine line detailing, floral design created at a custom tattoo studio in Toronto

Olivia

I had the most wonderful day tattooing Olivia 🥰. She travelled all the way from Pennsylvania and trusted me to freehand this gorgeous dahlia, peony and poppy tattoo (click here to see the 'before' drawing). And then genuinely sat better than I think anyone has ever sat for me before, what an absolute star 🌟🌟🌟. The poppy is for her Mum so is extra special.

Large blackwork floral tattoo sleeve with dahlias, peonies, and poppies wrapping around the shoulder and upper arm, custom design from a top Toronto tattoo artist

Kaitlyn

Super sweet freehand peonies for Kaitlyn 🥰🌿 click here to see the 'before' drawing.

She's going to build up a sleeve over time, and we made a great start, I love the lil' ant 🐜🖤. Peonies aren't peonies without ants.

Elegant peony flower tattoo on the inner forearm with fine line blackwork detailing, a feminine floral piece created in a Toronto blackwork tattoo studio

Christina

The last tattoo of May, but probably the cutest...

The sweetest little addition for Christina's patchwork leg sleeve, a sleeping junco bird with californian poppies 🥰🌿. I sketched this one out in my sketchbook first, you can see the drawing of you swipe through this post. I just love how peaceful this one is.

Fine line blackwork tattoo of a sleeping junco bird nestled in poppy flowers, with a moonlit forest scene in the background, custom feminine tattoo by a Toronto tattoo artist

In Other News

Besides, all the tattoos, spending as much free time in the park as possible, and family visits....

I've been...

playing Hogwarts Legacy, on the switch. I am NOT a gamer, so I was pleasently surprised by the fact we could connect my partners switch to our new TV (yes I am that naive) and I can finally play Hogwarts Legacy. I am now obsessed, although all I want to do is wander around at collect things and not have to do any duelling 😂. And yes Baba has been helping me - photo below.
spent an evening at a secret speakeasy in the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). They opened The Grange Library for a special 125th anniverssary event. You couldn't take photos inside the library (which I kind of loved) and we had the best night.
enjoying Doors Open Toronto (the one weekend a year businesses and buildings in Toronto that are normally closed off are open to the public). We made it to Dine Alone records, which was really fn cool. Like, the owner is living the dream. And also to 401 Richmond, because I wanted to see Open Studios printing studio (and I got to make a print! - below).
seeing the MOST beautiful sunsets, the photo below has no filters or anything! (and you know photos of sunsets never do them justice so you could just imagine how spectacular that evening was).

Reading...

Fields Notes from an Unintentional Birder // Julia Zarankin - I loved this, made me want to start birding, plus she lives in Toronto so it's always nice to read about the place you live.
Remarkably Bright Creatures // Shelby Van Pelt - yes it's as good as everyone says!
Good Girl // Aria Aber - Not a lighthearted read but really good.
The Seven Year Slip // Ashley Poston - A very lighthearted read, super sweet romance, might be a new comfort read.
Little Weirds // Jenny Slate - Love, love, love her.

Watching...

Handmaid's Tale - Season 6, was I happy how it ended... not really. Would I ever be happy with how it ended... probably not. Had a lot of fun studio 'movie nights' watching it with Stacy though!
Sinners - The new Ryan Coogler movie, I was apprehensive about this one as I don't really do horror, buuut I wasn't that scared in the end. It was actually kinda slow paced, and the music was soo good.

Listening....

Selena Gomez & Benny Blanco // I Said I Love You First - I did not expect this to be my album of the summer, but here we are 😂

That's all the news I have for now!

Thanks for reading, have a great June,

PS. Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter if you want my round up straight to your inbox!

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