We all know that students are desperate to raise extra money when they can. Stefan Pretty, a civil engineering student from Perth, Scotland, is hoping to raise £25,000 by transforming his body into an advertising billboard.

However, the money is for the Oxfam Haiti fund, not himself. Stefan – who states he would never have dreamed of having a tattoo – was so overwhelmed by the plight of the Haiti people, he’s prepared to permanently mark his body in order to do his bit for the cause.

He recently launched his website yournameonme.com, which encourages both individuals and businesses to buy a ticket for £1.25, with the winner’s name/brand having their name tattooed on his back. Not only that, but they will be flown to Scotland to watch their ‘prize’ being applied to Stefan!

Image by www.oxfam.org

“I came up with the idea in the shower. It started off with ‘That would be smart, that could work’, but thinking I could never actually do it,” says Stefan. “Once I came up with the idea to contribute to charity, I saw the devastation in Haiti and this is why I chose the Oxfam Haiti fund.”

Support Stefan’s unusual but brilliant campaign by visiting www.yournameonme.com

With Valentines Day just a month away, you may already be asking yourself what to get your loved one this year.

Couple’s who are advocates of Valentines are often the ones who don’t necessarily struggle for inspiration when it comes to finding an intimate or cherished gift for their other half, it’s the ‘non-believers’ who are left in the wake of their romantic endeavours. That’s not to say that these cynics are lacking romance in their life, far from it; it’s probably more a reflection of the commercial clout that Valentines has on most of us – so romance certainly isn’t dead.

The true question is then: how can you make Valentines special or different, without breaking the bank or, ultimately, your relationship? We’ve been firing this question around the office at Tattoo Fashion all week to see what’s on our mind as closet romantics. Questions have included: Would you suggest your partner go speed dating in order to highlight how great your relationship is? Would you buy them a star? (yes, an actual star) and our personal favourite of course, would you get a tattoo?

Maybe the option of stars AND tattoos don’t necessarily work together

Now as you know getting a real tattoo, particularly when you’re young, is a big decision, so make sure you have a long hard think before committing. However, we can’t deny that a couple getting a cute tattoo to symbolise your relationship is pretty cool – just make sure you stay together long enough! No pressure…

If you’re not sure about going for the real thing this February, then check out our fantastic selection of temporary Valentines Tattoos for hours of fun with your loved one!

We appreciate that the world of tattoos and art often merge, but this has to be one of the most bizarre fusions to date.

Retired teacher Geoff Ostling (below), who currently lives in Sydney, Australia, intends to donate his colourful, and clearly costly, tattooed exterior to the National Gallery in Canberra when he dies!

As much as we love tattoos, we think that hanging the skin of a deceased tattooed man for all to see may be taking contemporary art to the extreme. That said, it would look rather nice in the office….

If you’re not keen on having your entire body covered in permanent tattoos, then you can always have fun with our temporary Flower Tattoo Designs and many, many more great patterns!

In one of our March blog posts we informed you that household favourite Barbie would be celebrating her 50th birthday with a collection of temporary tattoos that can be applied to her body.

Well, we now have pictures of her sporting her new tats and doing so with the glamour and professionalism that we expect from her!

The doll’s maker, Mattel, are adamant the move will bring Barbie, and her brunette rival Nikki up to current trends, although there are no plans to give Ken any tattoos!

We appreciate that this new look Barbie has divided the world with peoples views, but temporary tattoos have been around for decades (who remembers having hours of fun with the pop star tats you got free with Smash Hits?!), so as long as children are careful, safe and educated then there is nothing wrong with a bit of harmless fun!

Check out our temporary Celebrity Tattoos and Fairy Tattoos for even more ways to have fun!

Pop princess Kylie Minogue won’t be asking herself “Je ne sais pas pour quoi?” after her boyfriend, Andres Velencoso Segura – the Spanish Supermodel – has expressed his love by having her name tattooed below his hip.

What she may ask herself, however, is what will happen to the tattoo if and when they break up? A close source to the Aussie singer has retaliated to people commenting on the 10-year age gap, by stating “Andres knows how insecure the 10-year age gap makes her feel and this gesture has really boosted her happiness.”

We certainly hope so. With so many celebrities having tattoos applied to express their undying love and lust to the world, we just hope that Kylie and Andres go the distance, or there could be some “tears on my pillow”. Well, maybe not…

Well, it may well be for Lindsay Lohan. After her very public split from DJ lover Samantha Ronson recently, the Hollywood socialite has got herself a new tattoo as part of her rehabilitation.

The 22-year-old actress has had the words “Everyone’s a star and deserves the right to twinkle,” surrounded by yellow, blue and green stars inscribed on her wrist.

The words, once spoken by dazzling starlet Marilyn Monroe, is yet another tribute by Lohan who last year recreated Monroe’s famous 1962 nude photo shoot for a New York-based magazine.

We think that Lohan is a star, but let’s just hope that she doesn’t twinkle too bright and burn out…..

We probably all know someone who has either a Chinese or Mandarin character for a tattoo, as these designs are perfect for illustrating a name of a loved one or a favourite saying with an air of mystery.

In Asia, however, the trend is the exact opposite as the tattoo population are choosing English characters and translations due to it being more appealing, both aesthetically and stylistically.

Zhang Hui, who lives in Beijing, has the name of his ex-girlfriend in Roman letters between his shoulder blades. “It’s better looking and is simpler than Chinese,” he said.

It is only in the past few years that tattoo parlours have become more mainstream in China’s capital, and although the industry is still unregulated, it is thriving with scores of tattoo enthusiasts now making the most of the fad.

Some of our favourite pop stars, including Britney, Justin and Angelina sport Chinese-themed tattoos, while celebrities in the East are opting for English and Greek letters to exhibit to the world.

Whatever your preference, we just love the fact our alphabet is in such high demand!

People will go to great lengths to make some cash, and when it involves tattoos, we like to tell you about it! So, when we found out that a tattoo artist offered his bald head as potential advertising space to raise money to clear his debts, it did make us smile.

Thomas Tanriverdi, an established tattoo artist from Coesfeld, Germany, was so concerned about his mounting financial problems that he thought he could raise the 50,000 euros (£53,000) by auctioning his cranium online to the highest bidder.

Unfortunately for Tanriverdi, the bids only reached a miserable 355 euros, and rather than give up on his quest altogether, he decided to restructure his initial proposal. With the new opening price of 500 euros, he now has renewed optimism due to interest from a number of Internet shops and tattoo companies.

We understand that his noodle is still for sale and is willing to take nearest offers. Watch this space, or his head, I guess….
 

When we heard that Barbie was celebrating her 50th birthday this year we imagined a glamorous, limited-edition doll that parents could buy their children to love and cherish forever.

Well, not exactly. To mark this momentous occasion toy maker Mattel will launch the ‘Totally Stylin’ Tattoos Barbie’ in California this month, which comes with 40 miniature tattoo stickers that can be placed all over her body. The box-set also includes a faux tattoo gun and temporary tats that children can apply to themselves.

The landmark anniversary of one of the world’s most well known and collectable dolls has caused controversy among parents who have made their thoughts clear on a host of blogs in America, with one mother stating that “’Totally Pierced Barbie’ would be the next to roll off the assembly line”; while another claimed that we could soon see “’Divorce Barbie’, who would take possession of Ken’s accessories.”

We just hope and recommend that children use the tattoos responsibly – at least for Ken’s sake!

We don’t think that any animal should ever be tattooed, but we wanted to share this bizarre and, quite frankly, unethical story of a cat that received a new body design from its owner.

Mickey, a rare Canadian Hairless breed, more commonly known as a Sphynx cat, spent three hours under local anesthetic while the vivid Tutankhamun tattoo was being inscribed to his chest.

His unnamed female owner who lives in Moscow said: “I’m delighted with the design and I wanted something different for the times we live in.”

Animal rights campaigners, however, condemned the act as “barbaric” and are concerned that further controversial body enhancements would catch on with rich pet owners in the West.

We also believe that pets shouldn’t be used as fashion accessories, so if you want to see a beautiful, colourful Egyptian design – go to a museum!