Tuesday, March 08, 2011

Emmitt's Zen Garden

Hi everyone!

I am so excited to show you the Zen Garden I am making for Emmitt.

It lives right in the center of our home.
I smile every time I look at it!

Here is a close up of my favorite photo of Emmitt walking in his new harness that I took of him in December 2010.

I placed his custom urn with his new pug & teddy bear sculpture right in front!



To make my Zen Garden, I bought some preserved moss rocks & clay mushrooms from one of my favorite shops on Etsy ~ Teresa's Plants & More.

I get all of my completed terrariums, clay mushrooms and presevered & live moss from Teresa.

**(Next week I will show you some new terrariums I recently made with some fabulous vintage spice jars I found!)**



Here is a close up of one of the Zen gardens.

Melanie got me this magical fairy from Two Left Hands , and I think he looks perfect exploring in the garden!



I add something new to the Zen Garden everyday.

I feel very close to Emmitt when I focus my attention on his new "playground."

I just ordered a few more things to add from another one of my favorite Etsy shops, The Felt Planet. :)

I will show you more updates to the Zen Garden next week. :)

If you would like to, please leave me a note telling me what you do to feel close to your loved ones in Heaven.
I would love to hear all about it!
xoxoxo
m

32 comments:

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

The Zen Garden is such a very nice idea, Melissa. And you have crafted it so well.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Lisa M Griffin said...

Oh Melissa this is wonderful, what a beautiful, peaceful and treasured reminder of this special love! I had a lump in my throat reading your post and looking through these photos. It is nice to know that he will continue to inspire and bring beauty into your lives. ((Hugs))

Uji, Angel Izzy, Ziggy, Angel Bean, Angel Hiro and Momma Tea said...

Ohh Melissa that is just so lovely and perfect for Emmitt too. Molly is always with me and I do talk to her especially when Richie is being a tinker, she chose him so I laugh and tell her look what he is doing now, you chose him on purpose to keep me on my toes. I do find I miss certain things so much though, the noises she made when she sleeps and her 'Oh my gosh I am so happy to see you dance', her little bark, the way very occasionally she would forget how many stairs she had climbed and just sit there waiting to be rescued but I miss her smile the most. I have never met a more smiley dog in my life and I don't think there will ever be one.... she was unique.
I have strings of little heart mirrors in out garden that catch the light and send it twinkling and sparkling round the garden and it just maes me think of her and smile. I think it is good that when we think of them we smile, we still feel loss but the fact we can smile is testament to how much they gave to us.

Lots of Love
Momma Tea

Ritaestelle said...

Melissa, I love the picture of Emmitt in his new harness! Hugs to you and Fred!

The Daily Pip said...

What a lovely idea. We have pictures everywhere, especially next to the bed so that they are the first thing we see in the morning.

Pip & Kristin

Jennifer Sneed said...

I love this, how sweet. My pug Maxwell and I are keeping you all in our thoughts and we love Emmits garden. Its amazing how they touch our hearts. My grandmother passed away 8 years ago and she was my favorite grandma, she still guides me in life today. I wear her necklace that she never took off a day in her life around my neck and keep her close to my heart.
Love!

www.teresasplants.com said...

Thanks so much for sharing this with me...I am glad you are enjoying the items you purchased and I LOVE the way you used them. I will be listing assorted colors and sizes of the rocks too on my website.Be sure to see the Specials for March www.teresasplants.com

Meredith LeBlanc said...

Every night after I kiss Scarlet good night I kiss Nicki in her box and ask her to watch over her little sister. I still keep her picture on my desk at work on on my dressing table. I also kept a couple of her toys and let Scarlet play with them. Also, I my avatar on Twitter is still her.

After we got her ashes back we planted some under a beautiful yellow Peace rose; every time it blooms it's her essence shining.

xoxo,
M & S

Unknown said...

This is wonderful Melissy, and it will comfort you for many years to come. Your sweet boy loves this and maybe he would add an easy bake meaty loaf oven in there somewhere...it is almost time for me to put new flowers in Winnie's Garden in the back yard. I always think of happy times with my baby girl when I see the red geraniums and the little pink tea roses growing.
xo

Laura said...

Emmitt is inspiring you from the bridge - beautiful Zen Garden. I have wonderful framed photos (everywhere!) and gorgeous paintings of some of my furbabies that constantly remind me of them. We also have our dogs' ashes buried in a couple of cemeteries on our property, so I enjoy planting flowers and placing statues around them.

Kelly said...

This is so lovely, Melissa. I know it would make Emmy boy so happy!

Writing has always been an outlet for me and it's a special way for me to share memories of my loved ones in Heaven. I love to write down even the tiny memories that make me smile- that way they will never fade from my memory!

We love you guys!!!!!!

xoxoxo

Puglette said...

i love your zen garden! it looks so peaceful and relaxing. we have a pug cut from sheet metal and painted with daisies in memory of our first pug, daisy. we bought it from a vendor at a pug gala. i have the collar tag from my old kitty, hobbes, in my jewelry box. he was 18 when he passed.

for months after hobbes passed, i could feel his presence. i could feel him jump on the bed at night and felt his weight on my side. sometimes i still feel a little thump on the bed, i think he's just checking in.
hugs,
judy
:o)

Mare said...

I love the new Emmitt garden Melissa...and Katie and i have been playing with terrariums lately too. It's our way of gardening indoors with all the frozen tundra outside!

JJ Lynne said...

Emmitt's garden is so beautiful! I am sure that he will always be happy resting there.

When I want to feel close to my lost loves, I like to listen to songs that remind me of them. Sometimes it's a song that they sang, or with animals, songs that describe personalities like theirs. I always like to be alone, too, because then it feels okay to cry and get really close to them through music and poetic lyrics. Afterward, I like to write my own poems about them, too. It's an emotional experience, but it feels so wonderful, too!

Bonnie said...

That is so sweet! I'm sure Emmitt is loving it. When I am really missing Riley or Jack I tend to put their collars around my wrist or just hold them and rub their tags. It always makes me feel better.

Sketching with Dogs said...

Emmitt's Zen garden is so lovely, what a nice idea to keep adding to it, he must be so happy to see what you have done for him.
Whenever I complete one of my little knitting or sewing projects I can almost feel my Mum smiling with approval over my shoulder, we used to love doing crafty things together.
Sometimes (if I'm on my own, LOL) I say "what do you think Mum".
Melanie's little fairy is so sweet, he looks right at home next to his mushroom.
Hugs, Lynne xxx

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

I love the zen garden. Does
Emmitt come to you in your dreams?
My Wendell still visits me and sometimes I think I feel him jump up on the bed. We adopted two little girls and they are so like our departed cats that we are reminded everyday how dear they all are.
Hugs to you and Fred.

Smushie Ranch said...

Melissa, I love Emmitt's garden. You've given me so much inspiration from how you honor Emmitt. I'm still so sad about Betty I think I've focused too much on the sadness and not celebrating her life like you've done with Emmitt.

Love,
Shannon

Sequoia & Petunia & Emma said...

His garden is so sweet and his urn is very special. I bet he loves seeing you have a special space just for him.

Hugs
Jenn Tuni and Sequoia

Liss said...

I like doing things that they once enjoyed doing. For example my grandmother LOVED to shop. I love to shop too. When I shop I think about her sometimes and makes me feel like she's still here.

I also like talking about my loved ones and sharing memories of them.

Molly the Airedale said...

Your Zen garden is just beautiful, Melissa! Emmitt must be smiling down on you and Fred.
Mom's brother passed 20 years ago and she still misses him a lot. She plays lots of classical music when she wants to feel closer to Stephen.

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Chicas Libelulas said...

Oh Melissa, we know Emmitt love's his Zen Garden! He will live always in your Heart.
We lost our Tita(mom's mom)2 yrs ago, everytime she crochet, we feel she is with her crocheting too.
Bechos
SPongy, Licky & Marcella

BriannaBlueStudio said...

Soooo beautiful, Melissa! Emmitt lives on in your very special zen garden for him.

xoxoxoxo,

Beth

Winston Wilbur said...

We luv this special garden.

Before Winston and the girls. There was an orange cat named Teakin. He passed away about 12 years ago. He has a special shelf right above this computer where I am sitting. His urn is there along with some of his possesions and my favorite photos. It is his shelf with a butterfly light and cat ornaments. He looks down at us everyday.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Emmitts zen garden feels like such a cheerful, and peaceful place.
I love looking at each little detail. I know Emmitt is really liking it.
In our home, we of couse have photos everywhere of past furries.. but mama- (not mommy)
she wears some of Doodles fur in a pendant necklace..
I have something special that I do.
I meet my old friends on the moon when it is full in the sky,,,
like for instance Stubby and Betty.
So now,, Emmitt will be there with us on the full moon. If you look at the moon when it is full, I bet you will see his face, and you will see all of us sharing love on the moon
love
tweedles

Kristina Zambrano said...

what a cute zen garden Mrs Melissa is lovely the feeling you get when you think in your past fuzzies friends they know we can't hide the sadness that they're gone but they also know we cherish the most wonderful and happy moments in our hearts with them ...

have a lovely day =0)
Kris

Kristina Zambrano said...

what a cute zen garden Mrs Melissa is lovely the feeling you get when you think in your past fuzzies friends they know we can't hide the sadness that they're gone but they also know we cherish the most wonderful and happy moments in our hearts with them ...

have a lovely day =0)
Kris

Barbara said...

I love this! Emmitt would be so proud!

marianne said...

Hi dear,

What a great way to feel close to Emmitt!
Such a sweet Zen Garden and I like the fact you can add something every time.
When I lost some dear pets I painted them as in the beginning I could still feel their presence and when I painted them directly I could still capture their soul in the painting.
Glad you found your own way dealing with your loss Melissa. Bet you miss him dearly...... I do to.

hugs♥
>M<

Vito and Gina said...

Oh it's so beautiful. We love that picture of Emmitt too, and the urn. That blue looks so good on him!! So happy you are honoring him in so many beautiful ways! PS we love the pug doogles in the other post too - hmmmmm, maybe some new prints for sale?? ;)

Later!
Vito (and Gina too!)

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

That is an inkhredibly special place -

And so fitting of Emmitt!

Thanks fur sharing it with us!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Anonymous said...

My pug Gracie passed away at the end of July when Monarch butterflies are at their peak in my area. I now call them "Grace angels" and talk to her whenever I see one. I tell her how much I love and miss her and how grateful I am for the time I had with her. :)