Small Heart Tattoos - The History and Choices of Small Heart Tattoos

Heart tattoos have been one of the most popular tattoo choices for both men and women since the beginning of the 20th century. Small heart tattoos perhaps gained their intriguing popularity through military men going off to war and getting their girlfriend or wife's name emblazoned on their arms, in the middle of a bright red heart tattoo. Of course, as with anything, it didn't take long for this trend to move from the military to the mainstream. Today, small heart tattoos are as popular as they have ever been, with everyone from celebrities to high school seniors getting them as their tattoo of choice.

What is exciting about small heart tattoos is the sheer variation that can come with what should ostensibly be such a simple design. One popular version of the heart tattoo comes in the style of the Sacred Heart, a powerful symbol to those involved with Catholicism. Most Sacred Heart tattoos involve a heart and a flame, and are in use for those who wish to symbolize and proudly wear their devotion to Christ. It is unusual to see these tattoos on those with no religious affiliation, even if it is on a purely personal level.

Another version of the small heart tattoo is the locked heart combination. This involves a couple going out and getting tattoos that complement each other. One member of the partnership gets a tattoo of a heart with a padlock on the front. The other member gets a tattoo of the key that would unlock the padlock. Together, they are one. This can be a wise alternative to getting a tattoo with the name of one's loved one. In the event of a breakup, these tattoos can quickly lead to intense regret. Getting a locked heart tattoo sidesteps this potential disaster.

Of course, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the choices and selections one is faced with when wanting to get a small heart tattoo. There are broken heart designs, tribal hearts, hearts with names inscribed in the center, hearts pierced with arrows, and some even forsake the traditional heart design and go with a more realistic depiction of the human heart. Sometimes these anatomically correct hearts are used to symbolize surviving a heart attack.

If you've been thinking about getting a small heart tattoo but aren't sure where to begin, take a visit to your local tattoo parlor and browse through the design books they have. Chances are there will be plenty of heart tattoos to choose from.

Face Tattoos - Famous People and Fears

One of the most extreme areas of tattooing is the face area. Face tattoos bring an automatic "shrill" from people on the street, and right away these tattooed individuals are differentiated as the more extreme and shocking breed. Some would also say "stupid breed", as many people can't understand why an individual would adorn his face with ink.

Almost all areas of the body you are able to cover up with. But the face is an everyday visual mainstay, and unless you wear a ski mask, your ink will be front and center all the time.

Some famous individuals who have chosen face ink, also ironically happen to be world class athletes:

Mike Tyson: The most famous being that of the boxer Mike Tyson. He has a tribal like design on one side of his face, wrapping around his eye.

Lee Priest: Priest is a very popular professional bodybuilder who has won and ranked high in many major competitions. His face tattoo is also delegated to one side of his face and it has a tribal style to it.

David Clinger: Clinger is a professional cyclist and easily the most extreme of the face tattooed athletes. He has a full on tribal design, covering his whole face.

Fears of Face Tattoos:

There is, and should be much fear of getting a face tattoo. Unlike some other area of the body, you need to be extremely sure this is what you want to do as there is no covering up, and no going back. Unfortunately it seems many individuals don't heed the warnings and develop serious regret.

There used to be a statistic out which stated face tattoo wearers had a very high rate of suicide. For this and other reasons, many tattoo artists often refuse to give out face tattoos.

Butterfly Tattoos For Women

Butterfly tattoos are some of the most feminine tattoos out there for women! Butterflies look great on any curvy part of the part. Their gentle flight, delicate colors and beauty bring feminine charm to any tattoo. Also, there are hundreds of types of butterflies for you to choose from when considering a butterfly tattoo.

Upper back butterfly tattoos look great when you focus on quantity and detail. A collection of many well-placed butterflies mid-way in flight looks great as a full back piece. You can even use your shoulder blades as part of the tattoo design and have them flittering around them. For even more flair, use different types of butterflies to add interest to your piece. A collection of blue swallowtail and monarchs is breath-taking with their bright colors and interesting shapes.

Lower back butterflies look great when you use one large butterfly, or several large butterflies flittering to your hip or thigh. If you want just one large tattoo, a large butterfly stretched across your lower back is an excellent choice. The dip in your lower back is perfect for the natural dip of the butterfly's wings. For some uniqueness, add a splash of tribal lines to further enhance the curves of your butterfly.

Less commonly seen are butterfly tattoos that are on your arms and shoulders. Butterflies going around your biceps can be quite lovely. One of the best butterfly tattoos we've seen was a collection of small butterflies flitting about the back and shoulder of a woman in a sleeve 'tat. Once again, the smaller details highlight the natural feminine curves of your body and the butterflies themselves. It also looked great because it showed off her muscles!

Where can you find inspiration for what type of butterfly you want? I suggest looking at a naturalists' guide to butterflies! Remember, you don't want a moth-like butterfly! We're going to go over which species make great tattoos for their fun colors, and which species you should match together.

The two most common butterfly tattoos are the Blue Swallowtail and the Monarch butterflies. The swallowtails have very long wing tips, and are blue and black. The monarchs are orange and have a lot of black. It's a personal favorite of mine to match these two species because their colors contrast so well, and they even live in the same part of the world! So you're naturally correct when you pair them up too.

Another absolutely stunning butterfly is the Red-Spotted Purple butterfly. It has a lot of blue, purple and a little orange. You won't see many tattoos of this gorgeous less well-known butterfly, so you're certain to get lookers.

Another very unique butterfly is the Zebra Longwing Butterfly. This butterfly is very wide and long, with beautiful Zebra-like stripes running horizontally across it. It would make a wonderful lower-back tattoo, and is very curvaceous. Contrasting one of these beauties with a brightly colored Swallowtail would look absolutely delicious for a tattoo!

Another very uncommon butterfly is the Eleuchia Longwing butterfly. This is a solid black butterfly with a beautiful stripe of white along the outer edge of its wing. Close to its body, it has a wonderful splash of bright red that brings out great color and intrigue. This butterfly would also look great with a Red-Spotted purple or Blue Swallowtail.

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