Tree Frog art pendant

THIS PENDANT WAS SOLD and has been STOLEN FROM THE NEW OWNER

I made this little tree frog pendant this week and put him up on Ebay.

I think he turned out really cute! His colors are very vibrant.

I've been really fighting hard to NOT dress these pendants up with additional adornments like beads and stones. I have a habit of overdoing it sometimes with the extras, and my goal with these is to keep a simple, clean line look, with the art being the focus.

Last night I was looking in my jewelry box. Now I don't have a whole lot of jewelry left (in my personal jewelry box) because I've had to sell most of it to survive. I have a few CZ jewels left, and I'm keeping them. I sold my whole CZ collection I'd built up about 1-2 years ago to get the money to live on. Afterwards, I wish I hadn't of done it, so I'm keeping the few I've collected since then.

Anyway, in my jewelry box, I noticed a wooden pin which is carved in the shape of my name. This pin was purchased just a few years ago (cough cough) when I was 13 and my family went on a trip out west to Disneyland, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Las Vegas, Colorado, etc. The pin was bought from an artist along the way....I believe it was bought in Wyoming. It bought for me as a gift on this trip. To this day, I still have that pin. (We're talking almost 30 years!)

The interesting thing is, I used to buy a LOT of costume jewelry when I was younger. All of that jewelry is gone. Most was old/worn/broken and it was just tossed. This wood pin has a slight crack in it, and I don't wear it anymore, yet I still keep it. So I was thinking about that as I looked at it, and I realized I keep it because an ARTIST made it. It wasn't some mass-produced K-mart special. It wasn't made at a factory. It was made by his hands and his saw. And because of that, it's more meaningful to me.

I decided quite some time ago, I wanted my creations to be meaningful and kept by those who buy it. Over the years, the customers who have purchased my handcrafted jewelry have kept it. At least many told me they still have pieces I made 7 to 8 years ago, and they will always keep them. That's kind of a neat feeling. I guess it's my way of leaving a piece of me behind in this world. Just like the artist who made my wooden pin. I don't know his name, and I have no idea where he is now. But a piece of him has been left behind for me to treasure, and that's just pretty darn cool.