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Some people go through life carrying the invisible weight of their mistakes on their shoulders. Others however choose to carry their mistakes on their body, physically etched into their skin to forever remind them of their respective momentary lapses of judgement. Take a look at these tattoos for example. As you can see however, their hapless owners were spared a lifetime of shame and ridicule thanks to the skills and imagination of some awesome tattoo artists who proved that when time can't heal something, good old-fashioned creativity can.

Have your own tattoo fails and cover-ups you'd like to share? Then add them to the list compiled by Bored Panda below.

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    #4

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a dark tribal design into geometric artwork on a person's upper arm.

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    John Kuki
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is it just me or do I see patterns beneath the earlier black tattoo? This looks like a tattoo on top of a tattoo on top of a tattoo.

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    #10

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a faded portrait into a colorful Day of the Dead design.

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    Marta Nejfelt
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's in Polish - "Żabka". It means "little frog" and is used as a pet name for beloved girls (daughters, wifes).

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    #13

    Creative cover-up tattoo featuring a transformed floral design and a mysterious face on the arm.

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    Teo Hoble
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    The scarf in the first picture and the context make it seem like she's wearing a bag over her head :))

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    #21

    Cover-up tattoo transforming a simple horse sketch into a detailed knight and horse design, showcasing creative tattoo ideas.

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    Petra Steenput
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Honestly who are those people who draw some of these left tatoos? (I thought the ones getting the tatoo are supposed to be drunk, not the one drawing it! ;))

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    #22

    Cover-up tattoo transforming faded design into vibrant flowers and a lotus.

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    Katrina Green
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Wow...Love how vibrant the colors are!! I don't even know what the before was supposed to be :O

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    #24

    Cover-up tattoo transforming old design into intricate black and grey lotus artwork on lower back.

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    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Tattoo: "Tramp-stamp!" *no one pays attention* Tattoo: "TRAMP-STAMP!!"

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    #25

    Creative cover-up tattoo transformation showcasing improved vivid art of a pin-up girl on an arm.

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    Ronja Rövardotter
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I think it is very well repaired. The first one's face is scary. The second one is like pin-up girl. Good job tattooer! :-)

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    #31

    Cover-up tattoo idea transforming a simple rabbit into an intricate floral design on the ankle.

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    Jessica Barnes
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I actually quite liked the first, and thing they could have easily had a smaller version of the same cover-up

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    #32

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a faded flag into an intricate owl design on the upper arm.

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    Ms. Demeanor
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Curious as to why someone would get that in the first place... But the owl is amazing!

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    #34

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming faded pink flowers into vibrant floral art on arm.

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    #36

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a blue abstract design into a colorful Day of the Dead-inspired art.

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    Two Replies
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    8 years ago

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    Día de Muertos and roses. Yeah, that's original. :-/ Granted, it's better than tribal b******t, but obviously some people don't learn.

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    #43

    Cover-up tattoo idea transforming a small black design into a vibrant floral neck tattoo.

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    Celine Bauduin
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It's aum, Hindus and Buddhists believe it represents the start of the universe. It's a powerful sign

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    #44

    Neck cover-up tattoo transforming offensive text into an Egyptian pharaoh design, showcasing creative tattoo ideas.

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    8 years ago

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    #30 AND #33? I have a feeling OP does about as much careful reviewing of decisions, as many of these people getting tattoos. 9_9

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    #50

    Cover-up tattoo idea transforming a faded butterfly into vibrant flowers and butterflies.

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    Rachel Holtz
    Community Member
    8 years ago

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    Not a fan of the cover-up. They should have just re-worked the butterfly. The cover-up looks as if the tattoo itself is being smothered by funky stretch marks. I get what they were going for. I've seen tats like this done right. This one is just poorly executed.

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    #56

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a faded design into vibrant hibiscus flowers.

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    #58

    Cover-up tattoo featuring a vibrant robot design transforming an old flame tattoo on the stomach.

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    Two Replies
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "Hi. I have a robot coming out of my pants." ... Yep... that's not going to be another regret...

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    #61

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforms a yin-yang symbol into a detailed skull with a rose on an arm.

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    #67

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a leaf into a vibrant flower and hand design.

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    Pobin Rice
    Community Member
    7 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    1 laser session would have taken the old one off in ONE SITTING..... a good tattooist would've told them that.

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    #68

    Creative cover-up tattoo of a panther under a tree, showing transformation from a faded design to a vibrant new artwork.

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    #69

    Arm displaying a creative cover-up tattoo with a stylized horse and rider logo.

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    Sherrie Johnson
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    dude could of covered that name up with literally anything else. now he's going to have to explain this thing.

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    #70

    Cover-up tattoo transforming old design into colorful flower on shoulder.

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    #72

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a basic neck design into an intricate, detailed artwork across the upper back.

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    #74

    Cover-up tattoo featuring a dragon design transformed into a rose on an ankle.

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    #76

    Creative cover-up tattoo of a feather with blue and red ink on a shoulder, transforming an old lettering tattoo.

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    #77

    Cover-up tattoo transforming "Destroy" with colorful artwork on the lower abdomen.

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    Meli Tanaka
    Community Member
    8 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    No Sherrie I'm starting to think two replies doesn't like tatts at all and is just trolling.

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    #78

    Creative cover-up tattoo transforming a tribal design into a detailed snake illustration.

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    Ren Hoek
    Community Member
    2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Stopped listening to Snoop Dogg and started listening to Whitesnake I guess

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