Saraya - Tattoo Artist | Owner
@SarayaSunshinee
About Me
After growing up in Alaska, I moved to Idaho in 2019 and started my journey into tattooing in 2021. As soon as I got into the swing of things, I knew I had found what I was meant to do—and I haven’t looked back since.
Before that, I spent two years looking for an apprenticeship, eventually landing one at an old-school biker studio. They only took me in after I convinced them I wasn’t a cop—which pretty much sums up how wild that chapter was. Even though I work in a very different environment now, that gritty start shaped me into a versatile artist with a deep respect for the craft.
I love working across a range of styles and pushing my skills to create intentional and meaningful art that resonates with my clients. Tattooing means way more than just a job to me—it’s an honor to create something permanent, and I don’t take that responsibility lightly. Guiding clients through their tattoo journey is something I truly value and I show that value by consistently building my own knowledge and putting the time and energy into the work I do for others that it deserves.
After working around Boise—and taking my partner on a few adventures back to Alaska—we realized that Alaska was calling us home. Now, we’re back in my old stomping grounds, both bringing our respective trades with us and building a studio that takes care of it’s clients as much as they take care of us.
My Goal
My overall goal is for my clients to leave happy with what they are getting and that they feel like they were able to make informed decisions about what is happening with their bodies.
I don’t expect anyone coming in to know correct terminology or know exactly what to do, or anything of the sort. It’s my responsibility as a professional to guide you through this process. My love for tattooing (and probably more so the caffeine) will mean that I’ll explain a lot at the start and I always encourage questions.
I try to put as much thought into my work as I can, whether it’s a sleeve or a small flash tattoo, they all matter. That being said, because I put in a lot of this work behind the scenes, you may not hear from me until your appointment day, rest assured, I always come prepared and the final touches are solidified during your appointment.
What Booking with me looks like
Questions
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The more I’m tattooing and expanding my skills, the harder this question is to answer. I genuinely love tattooing and it doesn’t matter if it’s small or large, I’m probably going to be stoked about it and I just want to do good work. The big thing though, is that I won’t do a tattoo that I don’t think that I can do justice or that I don’t think will heal well.
Styles I love to tattoo in: Black and Grey Illustrative, Blackwork, Fine line, American Traditional, Microrealism, Ornamental
Things that I love to tattoo: characters/portraits, mythical creatures, book characters, mythology, tarot cards, botanical prints, floral, animal portraits, baroque/rococo fine art.
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Things I don’t tattoo: portraits of family members, watercolor, hate speech, most norse/viking ruins (unless well educated), racist tattoos, hand/foot prints.
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As a general practice, I start drawing your piece a few days/the day before your appointment, as I have received a lot of last minute design changes in the past. Your art will be shown to you during your appointment and any changes needed can be made during that time.
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Yes, I do. I approach any sort of cover up and rework seriously. The last thing I would want is for you to need a cover up of a cover up. I want to be as transparent about how I approach cover ups because there are so many things to consider when taking them on.
1) I generally say that I can’t guarantee exactly the thing that will cover it. I take the time before the appointment to trial and error as much as I can to come up with the best design in my ability to get as close to your goal as we can. I usually have clients send me several things they wouldn’t mind covering it with so that we can make the best cover up option possible.
2) Cover ups generally need to be 3x larger to be able to cover properly and this becomes more difficult when there are other tattoos nearby or the tattoo is in a difficult spot.
3) The style of tattoo that we’re looking to cover with and what is currently there makes a huge difference to what our options are. I often get asked to cover tattoos with fine line flowers and it just isn’t possible. I do have a process where I can lighten certain spots of an existing tattoo, but I don’t have the ability to make it disappear altogether. If you aren’t sure what can cover what you have, I encourage you to book a complimentary free consultation when wanting to start large cover ups to go over the options.
4) When wanting to cover up with color or a color tattoo, we will need to keep in mind color theory. For example, I won’t be able to cover a dark tattoo with yellow or colors with a heavy yellow undertone as this will result in an olive green result. I usually suggest blues or opaque grays to cover with if we have a heavier tattoo.
5) Most cover ups need several sessions to complete and often tend to be time consuming. Due to this, I don’t do cover-ups/reworks on people that aren’t consistently in the area.
6) If the ink that is in the original tattoo is older or is bought off Amazon or another store that isn’t a legit tattoo supply company (most won’t sell to members of the general public and you would need to provide proof that you are licensed and/or in a professional studio), this can result in adverse reactions when healing the cover up. The short story is that the body is recognizing the new foreign object and the old foreign object and will send histamines to the area to expel it. Following recommended aftercare is very important when getting a cover up.
7) Cover ups and reworks almost always need to begin with a half day or full day session. They are very unpredictable so I won’t be able to estimate exactly how long the process for a quality cover up will be.
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Yes! I love being able to offer scar cover ups. I have an extensive background in covering scars of all types. Scars have a lot of different factors and approaching them intentionally is important for longevity. I also offer discounts for working over mastectomy scars as well as gender affirming surgery scars.
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I offer both in person and virtual consultations. While I don’t usually need a consultation and can work well with what’s communicated through the booking form, I never mind having them. They are great for cover ups, discussing what your options are, or just generally wanting to communicate in person what you’re looking to get and seeing if we are a good fit.
Policies
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I offer several booking options, all of which can be found under the Booking tab. Overall, my hourly is currently $200 and the shop minimum is $100. I do offer flat rate options for half day and full day.
All price quotes for tattoos are estimates. There are many factors in how long a tattoo will take to complete but I’m pretty good at estimating. Please note that the larger the tattoo, the more difficult it will be to estimate. Due to this, I do offer flat rate full day rates.
I value your time and money and will always do my best not to “sticker shock” you with pricing. I am comfortable talking pricing and budgets before the appointment so feel free to ask.
Please note that all estimates are only guaranteed for currently scheduled sessions. This does mean that estimates are subject to change if an appointment isn’t booked at the time of the estimate.
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All Deposits are non-refundable. After you book your appointment, you will be charged the deposit amount. If there is an issue with the design on, you will receive an email to give you the option to change the design or cancel the appointment. If you choose to not continue with the appointment during that email, then your deposit will be returned to you. This is the only time that a deposit will be returned.
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You are welcome to reschedule up to 3 days (72 Hours) before your appointment and have your deposit moved 1 time. To do this, book a new date within the open availability and message me the new date (this includes placing a second deposit). Both deposits will go towards the second tattoo appointment. Please note that you will need to book within the open availability to keep the deposit. If you are wanting to reschedule and there isn't availability that works for you in the open window, we will need to cancel the appointment and the deposit will not be transferable.
If you need to reschedule and it is within 72 hours of your appointment, it will be considered a cancelation and you will need to book a new appointment (you forfeit your original deposit).
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If you need to cancel your appointment, you forfeit your deposit. If you cancel 2x within 24 hours of your appointments, you will no longer be accepted as a client.
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I give a 15 min no contact grace period. After this grace period, you would be considered late. You are considered a no call no show after 30 min.
I do not accept no call no show appointments as clients further.
I’m human and understand life happens, but the big thing I need is communication. I respect your time by spending hours preparing for your appointment and ask you to do the same.
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Touch ups are generally complementary with my work. Tattoos over a year old may require a touch up fee and this will be decided on a case by case basis. If you cancel a complementary touch up within 36 hours of your appointment, a set up fee of $50 will be charged at your next touch up appointment. If you cancel your touch up appointment 2 times, this service is no longer free and you will need to book a regular appointment for this.
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I do not offer numbing cream and don’t accept numbing cream applied outside of the studio. If you show up with having applied numbing cream, your appointment will be canceled and you will lose your deposit.