The Majesty of Monarch Butterflies

When I'm not working at my day job, or working on my digital art and now pastel painting projects, I like to garden for wildlife.

My garden is registered as a Monarch Waystation and I've got lots of tropical milkweed, as that is the host plant of the Monarch butterfly, and the only plant that Monarch caterpillars will eat.

I was in the garden this weekend when I saw a Monarch butterfly flitting around.  I grabbed my camera, determined to get a photograph of it.

When I looked at the photograph full size on my computer, I could hardly believe my luck! Not only had I captured the butterfly, but right next to it on the same plant, there was a healthy Monarch caterpillar, munching away on a leaf!

I edited the photo by blending it with some texture for a more painterly effect and I'm very happy with how it came out.  It's been added to several items in my store, including this iPad sleeve.
 

Monarch Butterfly and Caterpillar iPad Sleeve by 3DDesignsByJayne
Check out more Monarch butterfly iPad Sleeves at Zazzle
 

There are lots of Monarch butterfly designs on Zazzle, so I'm going to showcase just a few of them.

I love the black and orange of the Monarch butterfly against the beautiful purple of the asters in this mousepad from CardsbyCarole.

Mousepad Monarch Butterfly on Purple Asters by CardsByCarole

This card from the very aptly named Butterflysarebloomin is made more dramatic by the way the background is black and white but the butterfly and flower are in color.

Madam Monarch Butterfly Greeting Card by Butterflysarebloomin
View more Butterflies are blooming Cards at zazzle.com

My final choice, among the myriad of Monarch designs on Zazzle, is this great bumper sticker from GardenDelightsArts which urges people to plant milkweed, to save the Monarch.  I need to get one of these bumper stickers myself!

Save monarch butterflies - Bumper Sticker by GardenDelightsArts
Make your own bumper sticker online at zazzle.com

Now it's your turn.  If your a designer on Zazzle and you have products in your store featuring Monarch butterflies, you are invited to your links in the Linky Tool below:

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.

Gifts for Gardeners

When I'm not working at my day job, or working on designs and artwork for my Zazzle store, I'm a keen gardener.  I'm proud of the fact that my garden is a certified Wildlife Habitat.

And being the beginning of a new year, I'm all itching to get out in the garden and get working.  But it's cold and windy outside today, which is keeping me indoors.

Okay, so we're not buried in snow as much of the country is.  But it's windy and in the mid 40's here.  Pretty chilly for Texas.

So any gardening I do today will be the armchair variety - looking through catalogs and planning etc.

Then I started thinking that considering I'm such a keen gardener,  I don't have much of a selection of gifts for gardeners in my store, other than some items featuring photographs of the birds, butterflies and flowers that I have taken in the garden.

Here's one of my current items, a Macbook Pro sleeve featuring a photo I took of a Swallowtail butterfly on some Dallas Red Lantana:

Swallowtail on Lantana MacBook Pro Sleeve by 3DDesignsByJayne

This beautiful daylily was practically glowing in the sun when I took this photo:

Daylily in the Sun Print by 3DDesignsByJayne

Here's another butterfly photograph from my garden. This time it's a Question Mark butterfly, available on a wrapped canvas or as a print.

Question Mark Butterfly on Lantana Wrapped Canvas Gallery Wrap Canvas by 3DDesignsByJayne
More Butterfly Canvas Prints

******

When I did a simple search for "gifts for gardeners" on Zazzle, I realized how much there is to offer. From three ring binders that can be used for garden journals (how come I never thought of that?) to fridge magnets, T-shirts and aprons. The list is endless.

Here are just some of the wonderful gifts for gardeners I found from the many talented artists and designers on Zazzle:

This three ring binder from TheBindery can be customized with your name and is a great way to keep all your garden notes together.

Garden Journal Custom 1.5" Binder by thebindery
View Garden Binders online at zazzle

This apron from designer Spice features a cute little gardener bear with a wheelbarrow and hoe, who says 'Gardeners know all the dirt'.

Garden Tips #1 - Know Dirt Apron by Spice
Create a one-of-a-kind customized apron at zazzle.com

This refrigerator magnet from earthdaygardens includes the phrase 'He who plants a garden plants happiness.'

Plant Happiness. Plant a Garden. Veggie Magnet by earthdaygardens
Look at more Vegetable garden Magnets at zazzle

I love the wording on this T-shirt by baxella - so true! We optimistically plant things, hoping they will grow into something beautiful.

Gardening Is An Exercise in Optimism Tee Shirts by baxella
Check out more For gardners T-Shirts at Zazzle

Gardeners don't really need an excuse to garden, but if they did - this mug from Quotings includes a good one. It's cheaper than therapy, and you get tomatoes!

Gardening is Cheaper than Therapy... Coffee Mugs by quotings
View other Garden Mugs

This postcard from Meg_Stewart features a cute little chipmunk and the phrase 'A garden is a friend you can visit any time'.

Gardening Chipmunk with Quote Postcard by Meg_Stewart
Create one-of-a-kind picture post cards at Zazzle

*****

Now it's your turn.  If you are a designer on Zazzle, you are invited to add a link to your gifts for gardeners and gardening related designs in the Linky Tool below.

Use Option 1 in the Link Widget on the page of the Zazzle product/design you'd like to add. It will show up below as a small thumbnail and when clicked on, will link directly to your product.