Animal Jewelry Inspired by North American Wildlife: Possums, Armadillos, Alligators, Raccoons, and More

The Fauna Collection is artisan jewelry inspired by North American wildlife. All your favorite wild animals are in this collection of animal jewelry.

My Fauna Collection of wildlife jewelry is dedicated to the squirrels who nest inside the hollow of my oak tree, the snakes who hide under the oak's fallen leaves, and the snails who forage at its mossy roots. I designed this collection of animal jewelry after taking a few months off from creating, where I sat on my porch a lot and thought about what I really wanted to make. While I watched the squirrels fuss in the trees, discovered snakes under rocks, and helped turtles cross the road, I considered how much joy it brought me to be among nature’s living creatures. I started with the Armadillo Necklace because I’ve always loved Armadillos, and I had so much fun carving the little feet and hands that I decided I needed a squirrel. then a raccoon, then an opossum. I knew I had to have snakes in this collection. I have snakes in nearly all of my jewelry collections. I added a turtle, an alligator, and a frog to the menagerie for all the underrated crawly critters that live beside us. This collection of animal jewelry is my favorite collection I have ever designed. Each creature was designed, carved, and sculpted painstakingly in precious metal clay, and I made a mold of each one to be able to reproduce it. Bronze is my favorite material to work with. It feels luxurious, but it’s affordable. Each gold necklace is made with quality 14k gold-filled chain, and the pendants are solid bronze. Each silver necklace and pendant is solid sterling silver. And everything is nickel-free. I hope you have fun visiting my zoo!

Trash panda alert! This little Raccoon Necklace features a tiny raccoon poking its head out of a trashcan. I carved this tiny sculpture by hand before casting it. The gold-colored raccoon necklace features a solid bronze raccoon in a trashcan pendant on an 18-inch paper-clip-style chain. The silver raccoon necklace features a solid sterling silver raccoon charm on an 18-inch sterling silver paperclip-style chain.

This squirrel necklace is cast from an original tiny sculpture I made by hand in bronze. The little squirrel pendant is 3-demensional and depicts a squirrel holding a tiny acorn. The gold-colored version of this necklace features a solid bronze squirrel on a gorgeous 18-inch 14k gold-filled twisted rope chain. The silver version featues a solid sterling silver squirrel on an 18-inch long box-style chain.

here’s maybe nothing cuter than having a little frog hanging around your neck. My Frog Necklace is playful and fun, featuring a frog reaching up to grab onto the chain and accented with a little green glass leaf. Gold frog necklace features a solid bronze frog charm on an 18-inch 14k gold-filled twisted rope chain, and silver necklace features a solid sterling silver frog charm on 18-inch paper-clip style sterling silver chain.

Keep a little rattlesnake wrapped around your finger. This hand-carved rattlesnake ring wraps its body around your finger and is sizeable. The outside and inside of this snake ring are both detailed, with diamond-like patterns on the outside and belly lines on the inside. The rattle snake ring comes in solid bronze or solid sterling silver, both nickel-free. You can stretch and shape your rattlesnake ring up to about a size 10 or shape it down to about a size 2.

Welcome to Gator Country! I had to pay homage to my favorite animal, the living dinosaur, the alligator, with this Alligator in the Swamp Cuff bracelet. On the outside of the cuff, an alligator swims partially submerged in water. Alligator bracelets come in solid bronze or solid sterling silver and are nickel-free. Cuffs measure approximately 6 inches in length, with about an inch of an opening as they come, but they are sizeable and can be adjusted smaller or larger. These alligator hoop earrings are cast from a sculpted alligator pendant I carved by hand and are 3-dimensional, with scaly details on the belly and back. Gold-colored alligator earrings are made with solid bronze alligator charms on 14k gold-filled huggie-style hoop earrings. Silver alligator earrings feature a solid sterling silver alligator pendant on a sterling silver hoops. This alligator necklace is cast from a sculpted alligator pendant I carved by hand and is 3-dimensional, with scaly details on the belly and back

These adorable Snail Hoop Earrings look great with absolutely anything. They’re dainty, yet super cute and interesting. I can’t stand to make a boring piece of tiny jewelry, so even when I go small, I gotta make it fun! The gold-colored snail earrings feature a solid bronze snail charm cast from a tiny charm I sculpted by hand dangling from 14k gold-filled huggie-style hoop earrings. The silver snail earrings feature solid sterling silver snail charms on sterling silver hoops. Earrings are nickel-free and come on a cute card back that makes them great for gifting.

This little hand-carved Armadillo Necklace was one of my favorite things to make in this Fauna Collection of animal jewelry. Each necklace features an armadillo pendant on its back curved slightly as if it’s about to curl into a ball. The necklace is approximately 18 inches in length and is available with a solid bronze armadillo pendant on a 14k gold-filled chain or a sterling silver armadillo charm on a sterling silver chain. Necklaces are nickel-free and come on cute card backs perfect for gifting

Slither into a sumptuous snake necklace with my new Rattlesnake Necklace. This necklace is cast from a hand-carved snake charm I created with details on the inside and outside: the outside of the rattlesnake has a soft diamond-like pattern and the inside has a lined belly pattern. Gold-colored snake necklaces are made with a solid bronze snake charm on a 14k gold-filled paperclip-style chain, and silver rattlesnake necklaces are made with a solid sterling silver snake pendant on a sterling silver snake-style chain.

There’s just nothing cuter than a possum. That’s why I had to make our favorite neighborhood critter into jewelry! These Opossum Earrings were cast from a tiny opossum sculpture I carved by hand. Gold-colored opossum earrings feature a solid bronze opossum charm holding onto a 14k gold-filled huggie-style hoop earring with its tail. Silver possum earrings feature a solid sterling silver opossum charm on a sterling silver hoop. Earrings are nickel-free and come on a cute card back that’s fun to gift.

There’s just nothing cuter than a possum. That’s why I had to make our favorite neighborhood critter into jewelry! This Opossum necklace was cast from a tiny opossum sculpture I carved by hand. Gold-colored possum necklace features a solid bronze opossum charm holding onto a 14k gold-filled 18-inch twisted rope chain with its tail. Silver opossum necklace features a solid sterling silver opossum charm on a sterling silver 18-inch paperclip-style chain.

This adorable Snail Necklace looks great with absolutely anything. It’s dainty, yet super cute and interesting. I can’t stand to make a boring piece of tiny jewelry, so even when I go small, I gotta make it fun! The gold-colored snail necklace features a solid bronze snail charm cast from a tiny charm I sculpted by hand dangling from a 14k gold-filled 18-inch paperclip-style chain. The silver snail necklace features a solid sterling silver snail charm on sterling silver paperclip-style 18-inch chain.

Hop down the rabbit hole with my new Fauna Collection, featuring this whimsical rabbit necklace that comes in silver and gold. The Rabbit Necklace is cast from a hand-carved tiny sculpture I made of a rabbit holding a carrot. Gold-colored necklaces are made with a solid bronze bunny pendant on a 14k gold-filled twisted rope chain, and silver necklaces are made with a solid sterling silver rabbit charm on a sterling silver paperclip-style chain

I had to resurrect the snake cuff bracelet from my Creatures of Night Collection because it fits so perfectly with this new Fauna Collection of animal jewelry. This snake cuff is cast in solid bronze and sterling silver from a snake bracelet I sculpted by hand, featuring a rattle at the tail that was modeled after a real rattlesnake tail I made a mold of. The cuff bracelets are available in solid bronze or sterling silver and are adjustable.

There’s maybe nothing cuter than having a couple of frogs hanging from your ears. My Frog Hoop Earrings are playful and fun, featuring a pair of frogs reaching up to grab onto huggie hoop earrings. Gold earrings feature solid bronze frog charms on 14k gold-filled hoops, and silver earrings feature solid sterling silver frog charms on sterling silver hoops. Earrings are nickel-free and come on a cute card back with a picture of a frog.

I made this Box Turtle Necklace as an homage to all the turtles that used to wander into my backyard when I was a child and that I rarely see anymore. This turtle statement necklace features a tortoise pendant I hand-carved then cast and a green glass bead to add a pop of green like the grass these box turtles call home. Gold-colored turtle necklace is made with a solid bronze tortoise charm on a 20-inch 14k gold-filled chain. Silver necklaces are made with a solid sterling silver turtle on a 20-inch sterling silver chain. This turtle pendant is detailed at every angle and hangs in a way that shows off that aspect. It’s meant to spin around a little bit, almost like a tortoise on its back, and not to sit with the bottom against your chest. This necklace is also available without the green glass and strung with the chain through the charm to lay more flat I’d you prefer.

I hope you enjoy my Fauna Collection of animal jewelry! To peruse the whole collection and see detailed images of each ring, necklace, bracelet and earring, click here to visit the Fauna Collection jewelry page on my website, where you can order your new favorite piece of artisan jewelry made in Arkansas.

Arkansas Made Mother's Day Jewelry Picks for 2021: Birthstones, Florals, Customizable and More

Mother’s Day feels like it’s coming up faster than ever this year. Don’t let May 9 sneak up on you! Here’s a list of my top picks for handmade jewelry magic that’ll make moms smile, be fun to personalize, and is made in Arkansas so you can feel great about shopping small and local.

Whether mom loves to garden, hike, or just stop and smell the roses, my newest cast bronze jewelry embodies Mother Nature, and most of it can be personalized by adding birthstones. Find the cast bronze sunflower necklace here, the dandelion seed necklace here, the rattlesnake tail necklace here, and the bronze butterfly earrings here.

This necklace pays homage to Arkansas’s staple crop while giving back to the Arkansas Foodbank, the largest hunger relief organization in the state. The Arkansas pendant was made by casting real Arkansas rice flowers (from Cornerstone Farm, near Altheimer, AR) in bronze, and it’s also available in sterling silver. 20% of the sales of these necklaces go directly to the Arkansas Foodbank. Each bronze Arkansas Rice Flower Necklace sold raises enough money to fund 58 meals for hungry Arkansans, and each silver necklace funds 67 meals for Arkansans in need. Get the Arkansas Rice Flower Necklace here.

If your mom is as into cats as my mom is, she’ll appreciate the Leonardo da Vinci-Inspired Cat and Mouse necklace from my Gallery Collection inspired by art history. If you’re surprised to learn that the man who painted the Mona Lisa spent a lot of his time observing and sketching cats, I’m with you. “Even the smallest feline is a masterpiece of nature” is a quote attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, whose sketches of felines and studies for a painting he intended to finish portraying the Madonna and child holding a cat attest to the artist’s reverence for the animals. For my da Vinci-Inspired Cat and Mouse Necklace, I chose to focus on this playful fact and add a layer of my own friskiness. This necklace features a large cast bronze medallion impressed with the likeness of one of da Vinci’s cat drawings, and I added a hand-sculpted cast-bronze mouse connector charm above the cat to appear as if it’s stalking the mouse. Click here to get the Bronze Cat and Mouse Necklace.

If your childhood was filled with empty threats, immortalize them on a custom keychain to create the funniest Mother’s Day gift ever. Get the Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around keychain here, or click here to customize your own keychain.

The perfect gift for mothers, grandmothers or anyone with several special people close to their heart. Wear the birthstones of each little one in your brood. Each mixed stone birthstone cluster necklace is unique. You select up to seven (7) stones for your necklace. Click here to get the custom birthstone cluster necklace from my Birthstone Cluster Collection of jewelry. Be sure to order this one ASAP! The pendants take a few days to make.

If you love the custom birthstone pendant necklace but think mom would be more into a stackable strand version or you’re looking for a custom birthstone necklace that costs a little less, check out the custom birthstone strand necklace here.

And if you already found a necklace here and you’d just like to add a personal touch to it, it’s affordable and easy to add a birthstone or two or three to your necklace. These birthstones are gemstone chips, and they’re the perfect addition to a vertical bar necklace or charm necklace. Just add the necklace you want to your cart (may we suggest the custom vertical bar necklace?) and then add this listing with your chosen birthstone to your cart. Create your own custom birthstone jewelry! These birthstone chips look great with vertical bar necklaces and charm necklaces, but we don’t recommend them for horizontal bar necklaces. Click here to add a birthstone to your necklace.

These dainty, Art Deco Arkansas state necklaces and earrings are simple and beautiful. These little bronze or sterling silver Arkansas charms are cast with a beautiful Art Deco fan pattern and come as a dainty necklace or a set of hoop earrings. Find the Art Deco Arkansas Jewelry here.

Custom name necklaces are a great gift for Mother’s Day! Keep those you love close to your heart, figuratively and literally with this sweet, classic custom name necklace stamped by hand. Click here to get the Personalized Name Necklace.

Is mom your missing puzzle piece? Get a friendship necklace for you and one for mom with these puzzle piece necklace sets. Handmade bronze puzzle piece charms are about one inch across and hang from gold-filled chains. Please note that the pieces don’t fit PERFECTLY together, as is the nature of hand-cast charms (they’re all unique!). But they are cast from matching puzzle pieces. They are available with a decorative, Art Deco pattern or without a pattern and also available on 18-inch and 20-inch chains. Find the Missing Puzzle Piece Friendship Necklaces here.

Is your mom the queen of Bingo? Get her a trophy she can wear to let the world know she plays for keeps. Find the Bingo Queen Necklace here. It’s cast from a real Bingo chip!

My Rose Window Necklace was inspired by the stained glass windows of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and would make a perfect Mother’s Day gift for moms who love to travel and need to stop and admire all the beautiful churches when they do. Find the Rose Window Necklace here. It’s part of my Gallery Collection of jewelry inspired by Art History.

Is the mom in your life a total goddess? Then I bet she’d love something from my Siren Collection of jewelry inspired by Greek mythology. This necklace is the Hera Peacock Necklace inspired by the queen of the Greek gods. Find the whole Siren Collection here to see which god or goddess fits your mom.

If you’ve found a necklace mom will love, but you think she’d like a little bit longer chain for it, add one of these extenders to your order and I’ll attach it to her necklace so it’s ready to gift when it arrives! Get a necklace chain extender here.

Thank you for shopping small and shopping local this Mother’s Day!