Made in Ireland: A Few Irish Etsy Artists

On March 17, 2023 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review12 Comments

Top of the morning to you!

Like most Americans, I love learning about my heritage and ancestry. My ancestry hails from England, Scotland, and Ireland, with a teensy bit of Italian and an even teensier bit of Norwegian. Of them all, Scottish is the dominant force in my DNA – but it is St. Patrick’s Day so of course I am super Irish today! I have a whole day of shenanigans planned for Wyatt, and we started off the day with Leprechaun bread (pistachio pudding bread), which was delicious.

When I think of Ireland, I think of creativity, artistry, beauty. I think of magic and whimsy and fairy tales. Of poetry and literature. And today I wanted share a few really cool artists that I found while browsing Etsy! All are living in Ireland or from Ireland, and today seemed like an appropriate day to share them here.

This post does contain affiliate links. If you were to purchase something at no extra cost to you, I would make a small commission.

Cotton and Moonstone is the first shop I want to mention. The artist also does framed crystal work, but it is these macrame pieces I want to talk about! They are simply gorgeous, and the artist, Cathy according to her Etsy page, has a lot of Celtic inspired pieces but also boho and botanical inspired ones as well. The wall hanging here is her Irish Blessing Celtic Knot.

This next shop had so many pieces I was in love with that I had a really hard time deciding on which to share! Karen Pleass is a textile artist, and her work is so detailed and make me think of little vignettes, just looking out into the Irish countryside through a window. They are just so lovely and each and every one made me smile! This one is called Stargazing and I love the idea of these sleepy sheep enjoying the night sky.

Ok, Erin, step away from the textile artists for a minute! Let’s look over here…

… at PannaDraws! Panna Zsamba is a Dublin based artist, whose artwork is simply stunning. Her work includes nature inspired paintings and prints of birds and other animals, and peeking out from the hawks and robins are dragons and unicorns and other fantasy creatures. I am in LOVE with her unicorn. It is so majestic and the look in its eye! I am adding it to my hopefully one day I will buy it list. (I did not include a picture of it here on the blog per her copyright info, but bounce over to the shop if you want to check out her stunning art!)

Susan Meaney’s shop is full of the cuteness we all need in our lives! Sweet bunnies and adorable foxes, badgers, flowers, fairies – all available on cards and on tote bags, and even on notebooks, like the one pictured above. Her shop is Burren Flower Fairies and if you like whimsical woodland creatures then you need to check out her store!

Last but certainly not least is this Irish Wolfhound linocut by Wild Creature Cuts. I am a big fan of lino art work, and of Irish Wolfhounds. We have a teeny house or I would totally get one. I have loved them since learning of them in high school, when I read Finn MacCool by Morgan Llewelyn. Man do I love her books! This lino I think is so full of movement and intent, and maybe if I can’t have an actual wolfhound I could have a picture of one? Wild Creature Cuts features other animals as well, but this was my favorite of the bunch (pack?)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day all! Make some music, write some poetry, paint a picture, create something beautiful today!

Etsy Artists – For the Love of Rabbits

On April 2, 2021April 2, 2021 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn artist review9 Comments

Spring is here! That might be a bit optimistic of me to say, as we had snow all day yesterday, just flurries, but it is bone cold. However, it is spring. I am going to keep saying it until it is real. And if you have hung around here long enough, you might remember that I reread Watership Down every spring. And that I love rabbits. And that I would love to add a rabbit to our family but I don’t because cats. So I enjoy the rabbits I see outside (I still get so excited every time I spot one!), and also, add them into our house in different ways…mainly through art and books and jewelry.. and I love the work that these Etsy artists have created!

(Contains Etsy Affiliate Links)

Rabbit Art Print by artist FainaLorah – I am having a having a hard time deciding on which print to get for the office! I have found so many I love, including this one. I just recently purchased a fox print from this same artist, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I am in love with this one as well – her work is just so rich in color and whimsical, that it makes me happy to just look at her pieces.

Watership Down by RivuletPaperCompany – But then, this one is pretty amazing too. And Watership Down is my favorite book of all time. I am thinking maybe both? This one is smaller and would work on my bookshelves..and I am pretty sure I just solved my problem!

Rabbit Lover Watercolor by Alanna Cahill – I love the simplicity of this painting, and the story behind it is beautiful as well, about how animals help people to heal. This one shows life returning to the woman as she holds the rabbit, and is intended to convey comfort and healing and love.

Six Rabbit Notecards from Alex Boon Art: From his Lapine Botanica series. These are gorgeous! They are notecards but would look beautiful all framed together, either as three or five. And then save a few to use, if you can part with them. (also available from this store are downloadable coloring pages from the same series, which I thought was cool)

Bunny Earrings from SeedandSky– I don’t normally wear a lot of jewelry but these earrings are just so pretty! I love how springtime and little and delicate they are.

Fern and Rabbit Terrarium Necklace by Ragana Handcraft – I love this unique piece that combines both rabbits and plants – two things I adore! Wyatt actually really likes this one too- he is sitting next to me today as I type and he commented oo mama when this was up on the screen. I have to agree Wyatt. It is very ooo!

Listen to the Moon pendant from Silver Wishes – I actually have this piece, Wyatt and Billy gave it to me last Mother’s Day and I am completely in love with it. I haven’t taken it off since I opened it up. Billy had it engraved to say “My son needs me” on the back – he said the rabbit’s alert posture made him think of me. I wanted to include it since I love it so much.

Teeny Tiny Bunny Knitting Pattern from Dot Pebbles Knits- What is this cuteness! It makes me wish I could knit but I lack the concentration, patience, and coordination. This is just so adorable!

Geometric Rabbit Etched Glass by Ausome Printing – Maybe I should start a collection of animal etched glasses, since we bought otter glasses for Valentine’s Day. If so, these are next on the list!

Hare Notepad by JoJo Stockdale – This is a definite for sure on my wish list. I think I need it to take on our spring and summer picnics!

Hare Cup by JadeFlower – I think these are so adorable! I might have to get one for the kiddo. He would love it; he says he loves rabbits too. But then the fox and owl are so cute too…

And wow that list got long fast! I didn’t include everything on my rabbits and foxes Etsy Favorites list, but if you are interested you can check that out here.

Do any of you have favorite animals? Or something you collect? I would love to hear!

An “Otterly” Fun Valentine’s Day

On February 18, 2021 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn day in the life, Detroit, Valentines Day10 Comments

Valentine’s Day began with pancakes. Heart shaped pancakes with whipped cream and M&Ms, to be exact. It was a cold cold morning, and these pancakes warmed up Wyatt’s little belly while Billy and I drank tons of coffee, which was needed to keep up with our sugared up kiddo. Billy and I decided to be a little silly this year and do a theme for gifts. We don’t even usually do gifts, but this year we are celebrating everything we can. I am going to share what we got each other at the end of this post, but let me tell you our theme…

Our theme? Otters. A little unusual, but perfect for our nature loving family. And otters, while actually sort of vicious little creatures, also do something so sweet and cute – hold hands while they sleep so they don’t drift apart. And I love that so much. So, because we were all about the otters this Valentine’s Day, we had to go to the zoo and see them!

It was very cold – like 20 degrees- but sunny with blue skies, and we bundled up in many layers before hitting the road. I was still a little nervous but I wanted to go. Our plan was that if it was too cold, then we would just head home. We have a membership, since we go so often, and I love it. We feel so much more freedom with a membership, and feel we can enjoy the zoo without feeling pressured to get it all done in one day. We can just take our time and wander around, see what we want to see.

Anyway, the day was gorgeous and once we were in the sunshine, it didn’t feel that cold. I won’t share too many photos of our zoo trip, as most did not turn out, but the day was amazing. We were only there about an hour but it was perfect. We pretty much had the zoo to ourselves, most of the animals were out sunning themselves, and we had so much fun. Our first stop was the otters – who was laying in the sun enjoying himself. (or herself, I don’t really know) We ended up seeing the red pandas, the tigers, the camels, and the arctic foxes before packing it in for the morning, but it was just enough time. We had wanted to see the wolves but they are all the way in the back and we decided we would come back and see them soon.

We stopped for chicken nuggets and fries on the way home since we are fancy, and ate them in the car on the way to my mom’s. I had a few things for her, including Wyatt’s homemade Valentine.

After chatting with my mom a bit we headed home and just chilled out. Later we ordered pizza for dinner and Billy and I got a chance to use our Valentine’s gifts to each other – matching otter glasses – a whiskey glass for him (although he had cider in his that night), a wine glass for me. They are adorable! We had read Wyatt his book before we went, but we read it again – Together by Emma Dodd. Also adorable.