Introducing Amanda from Qhearts handmade. Where every item is handmade!! From her home in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Amanda has a love for creating handmade treasures and is passionate about sustainability.
Find out why Amanda started creating and why she is so passionate about the value of handmade.
Tell us about your creations and your handmade process.
My creations are born from a love of storytelling, sustainability, and the beauty of imperfection. I work with fabrics that have been gifted, 'end of bolt' and/or salvaged pieces that might otherwise be forgotten. Some are vintage, some are quirky, and others just bring me a lot of joy. A huge part of my process is creating and sketching new designs. Each piece is handmade slowly and thoughtfully. I cut, hand and machine stitch depending what the item is. Hearts - in whatever form - are added wherever I can place them.
My process is guided by eco-conscious values: reusing materials, honouring their history, and ensuring that nothing goes to waste. The tiny bits left over go to feed my worms. Becoming a handmade artisan started as a gentle way to restore balance in my nursing life, with creativity becoming a kind of therapy for my own heart. My first creations were dolls, lovingly stitched as gifts for friends and for my daughters when they were born. Those dolls were completely handmade and one of a kind, and there is so much love paid forward in making something by one's own hands. From there, my bunnies range evolved. These bunnies are the oldest original design that I still create today. Over time, the bunnies evolved into cats. Each little bunny or cat has grown and changed with me, uniquely becoming a cherished part of the collection.
Never being content with just doing one thing and not wanting to work on large projects (with work and small children at the time), I started knitting and crocheting teapot cosies to celebrate my love of sitting, talking and drinking tea. Importantly, from a teapot with tea leaves, along with family and friends. The collection then grew into practical treasures-eye pillows and eye masks-bringing comfort and handmade charm together. Each year, my aunty would save tiny pieces of Liberty fabric to craft the most beautiful Christmas baubles. Continuing her tradition, I began making baubles myself, carrying forward her legacy of turning tiny pieces of material into something magical.
Spurred on by my desire not to waste any material, last year I taught myself free-motion sewing on my sewing machine. This created a whole new artistic outlet., I started making beautiful cards featuring handmade paper with fabric elements of birds, cats, and dogs. Each one is unique and stitched with care. What started as an experiment has now become one of my most popular items. Every creation I make begins with fabric or yarn. Transforming what were mere remnants into treasures that bring joy and comfort is really important to me.
Tell us a bit about your journey to becoming a handmade artist.
Growing up, my great-grandmother tried to teach me crochet-though her hands moved far too quickly for mine to follow! My grandmother and mum taught me to knit, and by my teens I was making my own jumpers. That love of working with my hands soon expanded into cross-stitch, embroidery, and any craft I could try. Five or six years into my nursing career, I began working in Oncology. It was incredibly rewarding, but an area that also carries a lot of sadness. Thankfully, I realised I needed an outlet to cope. My aunty and I enrolled in a patchwork quilt course in Brisbane, which started a family tradition of creating many beautiful things together, including quilts.
Four years ago, very close friends opened a beautiful handmade and 'local only' artisan shop and invited me to become one of their stocked Makers. I started small, but have expanded my collection to a large range - making me able to share my handmade treasures more widely. Two years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and now, more importantly than ever, my handiwork is my sanctuary. To create with my hands is an amazing distraction and a source of personal healing. I was honoured to be invited to speak at the last Australian Cancer Conference about the Role of Art and healing and to talk about my personal journey. Being a handmade artisan has saved me many times. It allows me to transform material/yarn into something beautiful, and to share my love, comfort, and joy. My creations are all made with love - the stitches hold my imagination, my time, my skill, and a piece of my heart.
What is your inspiration or where do you find inspiration?
My inspiration comes from both my nursing career and the life I now live in our Ecovillage. For nearly thirty years, I have cared for cancer patients in their most vulnerable moments, in Australia and England. My work was incredibly rewarding, but also filled with much sadness. These experiences inspired the importance of compassion, honesty, self-care, and living each day to its fullest. My father also instilled in me a great passion for travelling. As I have travelled around the world, I have been inspired by creations handmade hundreds of years ago to the latest works of art.
When my husband and I returned to Australia, we chose to settle in an Ecovillage-just down the road from where we grew up on the Gold Coast in Australia - to embrace a life that honours sustainability and community. Living sustainably motivates me to be conscious of waste. This has led me to a lifelong habit of collecting fabrics from family and friends, saving tiny pieces left over from projects, and sourcing materials that are destined for landfill. What started as a simple act of reusing and upcycling has turned into creating treasures that carry warmth and meaning. I also found beauty in the fabrics no one else wanted - the quirky prints, odd colours, and forgotten patterns. On their own, they didn't shine, but I transformed them into tiny hearts, bunnies, and cards, which became much treasured. Each creation I make carries its own story, proof that even the most unexpected material can bloom into something meaningful.
Where did you learn your craft?
I've always loved learning by watching and being hands-on. Many of my skills have been passed down through family and friends, or picked up along the way as I tried new things. I like to change what I'm doing often, so my inspiration comes from many different directions. The real turning point for me was learning how to make a patchwork quilt. It taught me to be more precise, and I discovered how much joy there is in taking unique materials and combining them to make an incredible piece. That experience deepened my love of creating and gave me the confidence to keep exploring new crafts.
Why is handmade artistry so important to you?
Handmade artistry is important to me because each creation is more than fabric and thread - it's a way of balancing the heaviness of my nursing years with self-care and joy. By turning fabric into treasures, I find love in the smallest details. All my handmade pieces are stitched with care, eco-conscious values, and a desire to share beauty that lasts. It also allows me to share something meaningful with my daughters and their friends, showing them that handmade gifts carry far more than the item itself-they hold story, memory, and love.
Creativity runs in my family, and making has always been my sanctuary.
From oncology nursing to living gently in an Ecovillage, I've found joy in transforming material (no matter how tiny) into treasured items. Handmade art has saved me many times, and each piece I create is stitched with love, story, and renewal. I also feel grateful that I (and the makers in my family) have passed cherished skills to my daughters. I hope that my legacy is that I've enriched their lives with my own passion. Try anything and everything, you won't know until you try. Mistakes and failures make you move forward. Never put things off. If you want to do something, go and do it now. In a world filled with mass-produced products, handmade artistry is like a gentle reminder that uniqueness, sustainability, and connection really matter.
Amanda is a much loved member of the MadeIt Collective, posting regularly in our Facebook Group ~ The Handmade Marketplace of Australia ~ and sharing their new creations as they are released. If you haven't connected with Qhearts handmade, make sure you join our FB Group and say hi !
