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Craft Life

Animal Lovers - Sunbeams of Summer Part 2

Amanda Coen

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Animal Lovers - Sunbeams of Summer Part 2

Hi, as I mentioned in the first part of this blog, this time in my gift guide, although florals will feature greatly of course, I have focused on creatures. Yes, animals, birds, insects, and such. I will gather all the lovely nature-inspired pieces on the website in addition to my new additions to create a beautiful guide through all of the unique handmade gifts and stunning art cards. It will be called, quite befittingly I believe, my ‘Sunbeams of Summer Gift Guide’. Having thought about and talked about it, I have decided not to include paintings in the gift guides...


Animal Lovers - Sunbeams of Summer Gift Collections

Animal Lovers - Sunbeams of Summer Gift Collections

Hi there, It's an overcast May morning in the west of Ireland. The cats are lazing dreamily all around, and there's that slow burgeoning feeling in the air that it's about to pour down with rain, but it can't, not just yet. I love this weather; it really reflects how I feel inside today. I'm so excited about my upcoming 'Sunbeams of Summer' gift guide that I can hardly focus on one thing at a time. I want it to burst forth on all fronts like the sloppy heavy rain of Summer, and it is, theoretically at least. It's all...


The Guises and Sources of Creative Inspiration

Amanda Coen

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The Guises and Sources of Creative Inspiration

Hi there, Are you feeling inspired at the moment? Let me tell you that I am, finally. Not for the first time, but for a while there I had been feeling a little worn out and lacking a little in the inspiration department. Inspiration can be nebulous sometimes. Don't you think? You can kind of make out what's there but on closer inspection it is nothing but vapour and too hard to nail down. I feel at odds with myself when I don't feel inspired because it leaks into all aspects of life. I fight to get back on track....


The Mystery in Whispers of Spring - Part 2

Amanda Coen

The Mystery in Whispers of Spring - Part 2

It's a mystery how things come to be, isn't it. Like us. The fact we were born at all, given the chances, is mysterious when you think of it. It's a bit like that for handmade creations and paintings too or anything at all we decide to put out into the world. To begin with only a fraction of ideas come to fruition & even considering that, there is an abundance of creativity on display all over the world. However, not every thought design or idea is developed into full being & for me there must be a good reason....


The Mystery in Whispers of Spring - Part 1

Amanda Coen

The Mystery in Whispers of Spring - Part 1

Hello there, I love giving thoughtful gifts. Do you too? At the very least I try. They should be relevant and even meaninfgful to the people they are for. That's not always an easy thing to figure out and worse, great gifts are not always easy to find either. I have tried to create a beautiful gift guide where you can find thoughtful gifts with particular things in mind to narrow down the search not for everyone in the world but for my particular customers. The detection has been done in preparation for my recent exclusive Whispers of Spring handmade gift...