'I had a handy idea to help me measure things - tattoo of a ruler on my finger'

A man has come up with a handy way to help measure things using just his finger - a tattoo of a ruler.

Steffen Karlsen, 31, asked his partner Julie Strømsnes, 35, to create the fun inking on his right index finger.

After some convicing, tattoo artist Julie inked the design onto his finger - drawing 10 lines 1cm apart from each other.

Delighted Steffen says he "loves" his tattoo - branded "genius" by some social media users - and can't wait to use it whenever he wants.

Steffen, a navy officer, from Trondheim, Norway, said: "I always wanted to use my fingers for measurements.

"I thought about having lines on it for centimeters.

"I love it. It's a useful tattoo that I can use for something."

Wife Julie said: "I was skeptical of the asthetic but it turned out so cool.

"I was so happy with how it turned out perfect."

The couple met when Julie was an apprentice in 2011 and hit it off when she tattooed Seffen's back in 2021.

They are now expecting a baby together in May this year.

Tattoo lover Steffen has inkings covering his upper body and one on his foot, but suddenly had the idea for a ruler tattoo last month.

When the pair were in the AvantGarde studio last week, Steffen convinced Julie to tattoo his design.

He said: "I said since we're here shall we make that ruler tattoo."

Julie spent 10 minutes sketching out the measurments and five minutes completing the tattoo.

Steffen said: "30 per cent of the comments say 'that's genius'.

"Others say that's stupid - your finger is going to grow."

Julie said: "A lot of people say I'm a hair dresser or I'm a civil engineer - it could be handy."

Steffen has yet to put his new ruler tattoo to use but loves that he can.

He said: "It's nice to have the opportunity.

"It's intended for artwork."

Social media users were split on the inventive ink, with some praising Steffen's idea and others calling it 'stupid'.

Follow Julie @msjulieink for more examples of her work.