If there were anyone in the world who deserves a tattoo in her honor, in our opinion, it's our grandma. She was an absolutely amazing "old broad" (as she referred to herself frequently) and made us feel more loved and understood than anyone else in the world. However, being very staunchly anti-tattoo herself (girlfriend was born in 1928, so we can't judge her for it) she's the last person who would want a tattoo done in her honor. It's such a catch-22! But at the very least, we can enjoy these brilliant, touching tattoos other people have had done to honor their grandparents. We're not going to lie: We totally teared up a few times writing this story because some of these tattoos are so sweet and full of lovely meaning. We love how international this list is too — there are plenty of grandparents from Italy, South America, and Thailand represented here!
Although our grandparents are wonderful people to represent in a tattoo, they're not the only ones who deserve this kind of honor. We absolutely adore this list of mom tribute tattoos, which honor another very special person in our life. Then there are these meaningful tattoos parents got to honor their kids and brilliant ideas for moms who want to get inked — and it's so sweet to see how different people go about showing their love for their families this way. Relatedly, we are so moved by these breathtaking mother-daughter tattoos, which make us feel wonderful. What a marvelous relationship to have inked! There's something really special about the mother-daughter bond. Although we've seen plenty of friendship tattoos over the years, friendships sometimes fade, but someone's mom is always that person's mom. Equally moving are empowering and beautifully meaningful tattoos, which aren't as much about family but are still very powerful.
This Letter Tattoo From Grandpa
We don't understand all the inside jokes in this sweet handwriting tattoo, but we don't need to — we love the long line of x's (our grandma did the same thing!) and the signature from "Grumpy Gramps," which is a status we aspire to achieve down the line.
Touching Tattoo That Honors Italian Grandparents
This grandparents' tattoo is so incredibly cute and personal. We love the fusilli, sewing needle, and big old-fashioned wooden spoon for nonna, and nonno's tomato, Italian espresso maker, and ace of hearts.
Tattoo That Honors a Grandmother
This tattoo is so lovely. The caption reads, "Hay muchas formas de recordar a quienes queremos. Manos que tejen para dejarlas en el recuerdo junto con sus flores favoritas, las violetas," which translates to "There are many ways to remember those we love. Her knitting hands remain in my memory, along with her favorite flowers, violets."
Beautiful Portrait of Grandma
This tattoo is so beautiful. We love the simple linework style, the joyfulness of the image, and the fact that grandma is just enjoying her favorite beverage in her favorite place. The caption reads: "Grandma in the garden with her delicious gin "
Beautiful Etched Boat
We love this charming little boat done in an old-fashioned etching style. The caption says, "Barquito hecho por el abuelo," which translates to "Little boat made by grandpa," which is incredibly sweet.
Lovely Grandparents' Sacred Heart
We love the bold linework of this sacred heart tattoo, which is done in a very traditional style. We love that it's tagged #grandmatattoo and #grandpatattoo, and that it's a loving tribute to some very important people.
Beautiful Old Photo
We love this realistic photo tattoo, especially because the creases from carrying it around are part of the image. The artist notes that it's not finished, but we can't think of anything that would make it better. It's a beautiful portrait.
Minimalist Grandma Tattoo
The caption here says "Homenagem às avos," which means "Tribute to grandparents." We love the perfect silver bun and the flowers, as well as the delicate script of the names. It's a beautiful piece with a lot of meaning behind it.
Charming Poppy
This beautiful black linework poppy is tagged #forgrandma, and we love that such a delicate tribute is given to someone who clearly made this person's life so much better. Although we love the literal tattoos, there's something beautiful about one that's symbolic.
Sailor Grandpa Tattoo
How cute is this Popeye-inspired American traditional grandpa tattoo? We love the very old-school looking sailor with the US Navy hat, and the bold, Sailor Jerry-style lettering. It's a really cute tribute.
Tattoo That Honors Grandpa and Grandson's Special Relationship
The text reads "Hasta al cielo. Gracias por la aventura," which translates to "Up to heaven. Thanks for the adventure." This reminds us a little bit of the movie Up and makes us tear up a little bit just the same way.
Beautiful Glass of Wine Tattoo
We love this grandpa tattoo. It reads "Abuelo," which means "grandfather" in Spanish, and we love that the image chosen to represent him is a glass of red wine. This grandkid clearly had lots of good memories of his grandpa, who was either a winemaker or just loved wine.
Cool Key Tattoo
Even though we don't know the whole story behind this wonderful tattoo, we do know that it's a memorial to the recipient's grandfather, who was presumably a chief engineer. We think it's a beautiful and unusual way to remember a grandparent, and we know he would be honored to be remembered this way.
Sweet Yarn Heart Tattoo
This beautiful tattoo bears the years "1928-1929" and two swallows with a heart made out of a ball of yarn. We love this pretty, crafty tattoo, which honors the recipient's grandmother, who was presumably a knitter — a craft we admire.
Sweet Signature From Grandma
We have such lovely memories of receiving a happy birthday card from Grandma with her big swirling script of a signature. The artist says, "Grandma’s signature from one of her cards. Got to do this on my lil sis." What a pretty way to remember a loved one!
Lovely Storytime Tattoo
We love this tattoo, which honors the recipient's grandpa. As the artist says in the caption, "'And paint me the picture of long ago…' what a fun little memorial piece for one amazing man! It was an honor tattooing this wonderful woman and I look forward to next time!"
Beautiful Fishing Tattoo
We love this incredible linework piece, which is both literally of the recipient's grandfather but also evocative of a whole scene. As one commenter says, "It's gorgeous and I showed it to Hannah's dad who said 'wow she really got him, even his posture is dad.'"
Unusual Portrait Tattoo
There are a lot of literal tattoos of grandparents' portraits, but we especially love this more unusual choice. We like that the glasses, collars, and hair stand in for the faces, which allows our memories and imagination to fill in what would be there.
Simple Grandparents Portrait
This portrait of the client's grandparents is done with such minimal lines but is so amazingly evocative of the people who inspired it. It was created in Thailand by a really gifted artist who works out of Bangkok.
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