The Wood's Secret Garden

Okay - Not really.  But, I am so grossed out by these guys.  Michael came in with the camera and said, "Look what I found".  Well, I certainly won't be going over to the side of the yard where our neighbors tomato plants are hanging over our fence.  Yuck!  These guys gross me out!   Look at that.  They have fake little eyes all along the sides of their body.

I am so thrilled that my husband Michael and I both get equally excited about the smallest of things. When I get home from work, it has become somewhat of a routine to check the wildflower garden to see if any new flowers have bloomed.  This afternoon was no different.  However, this afternoon we had a new little visitor.  He was sitting on a broad leaf at the base of one of the wild flowers and hopped out of sight before we could return with the camera. A few hours later, after soaking the garden really well, we decided to take another look and guess who we found? This time he stayed put long enough for us to get a few pictures!

Before moving to our little mobile home in Rancho Cordova, we lived in an apartment that overlooked a creek and greenbelt.  During that time we must have seen seven different species of these little guys--more than I had seen during my entire lifetime.  I never dreamed that we might be visited by one here in the park.   But, to our delight, there he was.  I went out to the garden yesterday morning to water and as I moved a branch on the "bleeding heart" plant (that we had planted in May for our Anniversary) there he was!  

I am loving these "Keepsake/Memory Art Pendants".  I just finished another order.  These are so precious. Something really special (and affordable) that can not only be enjoyed as jewelry now, but passed down and cherished for generations to come.   Having so much creative fun!    

This is by far the best thing that has happened since I started making art pendants! One of my customers emailed me about doing a custom order.  She wanted to know if I could make an art pendant for her grandmother who would have been celebrating her 70th wedding anniversary this year.  Her grandpa had recently passed away and she wanted something special and meaningful to give to her grandma.  She sent me the picture below (which is her grandma's favorite picture) and asked me to make an art pendant using this image: The process involved sharpening the image and getting it to a point that I would be able to hand color the image in order to create the pendant that I had in mind.  I don't use a color printer for any of my design work.  One reason is because I don;t have one; but, even if I did, I actually want these to be little pieces of art, not just a printed image under glass. After getting the photo where I needed it to be, I printed it out and bega...

To see all my latest designs, visit:   https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheWoodsSecretGarden?section_id=10705918

I decided to make one SF Giants Logo pendant just for fun and post it in my shop last night.  Little did I know that within 10 minutes, I would have 12 orders!  Yikes!  Each one is hand-made and a little one-of-a-kind art piece. Making these requires a six stage process, but it's great fun and the layering of colors and sprinkling of diamond dust is what gives them the bling! Looks like we are going to have "Club Giants" over at City Hall and the Police Department.  Go Team! I am selling these for $19.99, so if you're interested, please contact me and I can make you a RESERVED Listing.   https://www.etsy.com/listing/194643638/art-pendant-necklace-sf-giants-glass?ref=listing-2