How I make my houseplant leaves!

This is a little weird but I find it normal. Ha! I am surrounded by all kinds of creatures where I live. Some of them even live inside with me! I am going to tell you a little secret that most people don't know. I live with bugs. Now, hold on, hold on! They live in wonderful live planted terrariums with mosses to nibble on, sticks to chew, and leaves to explore. The little pill bugs, or rolly pollies, that you used to play with in your back yard as a child? Yeah, there are also fancy ones with some of the neatest patterns and brightest colors you could imagine!

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As you might know, isopods live on the forest floors and work together with lots of other tiny critters eating and breaking down dead plant matter leaving behind fertile soils. What they do is wonderful and so necessary! Often times these little pill bugs will eat away at a leaf and only leave behind the most intricate and detailed skeleton leaf. You can see just the tiniest bits of veining left behind when they are finished with it. For the heck of it one day, I took one of these leaves and pressed it into a piece of annealed sterling silver to see what would happen. During the rolling mill process, the strong rollers will destroy the skeleton leaf but it does leave behind a most wonderful pattern! And, because you need to use a new leaf every time you want to make a pattern, each one of them is one of a kind just as in nature! Many, many of my jewelry pieces have used leaves left behind by my isopod friends. Sometimes I use them in ways that you wouldn't even guess! These are some of those pieces. 

Every monstera deliciosa leaf for necklaces, earrings, or bracelets that I make are made with leaves from my isopods. 

This maple leaf design with the mother and baby mouse and mushrooms is made with a leaf pressing. 

Not only were the lily pads all each given their own leaf for their delicate designs, but the wings of the dragonfly were also made with leaf impressions. I thought that the life giving veins of a tree leaf also resemble the veining of the dragonflies wings.

The dogwood flowers were each given unique leaf textures. 

This adorable little Makar korok from the game Legend of Zelda has a face patterned from a leaf, as well as the leaves in his tiny plant propeller! Every one of them is unique and one of a kind!