• Teddy bear tattoos can be both cute and personally meaningfulTeddy Bear image by Allyson Ricketts from Fotolia.com
  
  Teddy bear tattoo designs tend to be cute and cuddly, but real bear images can be rich in symbolism. Ancient Greeks associated the bear with Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Native Americans associated bears with immortality because bears hibernate through the winter and come back to life in the spring. Of course, some people like the idea of having a teddy bear tattoo because they're fond of how cute these tattoos can be.
  
  

Friends or Family

• Find childhood photographs of someone important to you holding a treasured teddy bear. Bring it to a tattoo artist and build a design around it. You can add a more personal meaning by including a tattoo of a teddy bear or stuffed animal you played with as a child in the design.
  
  

Teddy Bears X-Ray

• Blend the cute and cuddly with the dark and dramatic. One side of the teddy bear's body is the usual furry bundle of love--the other side is skull and bones. The implication doesn't need to be cynical or ugly; you could be making a statement about how "real" your teddy bear seemed to you as a kid.
  
  

Real Bear and Teddy Bear Juxtaposed

• Find a photograph of a real bear cuddling a cub. Have your tattoo artist substitute the cub for a teddy bear. The design merges your sentimental attachment to a childhood teddy bear with your adult reverence for real bears.