DARE we dream that the terrible weather is behind us and spring is on the way?If so, there’s no better time to venture out and get up close to Scotland’s wildlife.

But if you’re stuck indoors – or, worse still, quarantined – you can have a menagerie of creatures delivered to your door courtesy of Scotland’s army of independent makers.

Our Maker of the Month Valerie Harrison’s beautiful Rie Design watercolour range includes cards, brooches, pendants, magnets and even wrapping paper, with her pine marten card and kingfisher pocket mirror among our favourites.

The National:

Pine marten card, £2.50, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RieDesigned

The National:

Kingfisher pocket mirror, £4.95, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RieDesigned

She has also produced an adult colouring book featuring the wildlife of Dumfries and Galloway.

READ MORE: Meet the Maker: Valerie Harrison, the artist behind Rie Designed

Galashiels-based fine art painter Sarah Cox specialises in animal portraits but also produces exquisite miniature works of art such as this deer brooch and a golden eagle necklace, both made from pebbles fished out of a river in the Borders. These are both one-of-a-kind, so you’ll need to be fast if you want them.

The National:

Pebble necklace, £15, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SarahCoxArtwork

If you prefer your artworks on the wall rather than on your person, take a look at the Etsy shop of Inverness-based artist Natalie Croft, who specialises in vibrant watercolours and whose prints include a mountain hare hopping through the snow; or Colourworx by Aberdeen-based painter Cally Smith, whose fine art prints include a majestic golden eagle.

The National:

Mountain hare print, £25, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/NatalieCroftArt

The National:

Golden eagle fine art print, £43, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/colourworx

READ MORE: Take a look at 14 perfect gifts made in Scotland's islands

The designs of Glasgow-based designer, illustrator and nature lover Louise J Browne have a strikingly original style and can be printed on everything from badges to coasters.

Among our favourites are her pheasant (available on a card, magnet, coaster, tea towel or lavender-filled sachet) and puffin (with the same items available plus a pocket mirror and a gift wrap set).

The National:

Pheasant card, £2.50, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LouiseJenniferDesign

The National:

Puffin tea towel, £9, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LouiseJenniferDesign

Cards from Hand Drawn Gifts By Amy combine wildlife illustrations with mottos; Rona Innes has turned her vibrant and dramatic animal paintings – including one of the elusive Scottish wildcat – into a range of cards, notepads and homewares; and the Thundercliffe Press card range includes a rather fabulous capercaillie.

The National:

Stag card, £2.50, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HandDrawnGiftsByAmy

The National:

Otter card, £2.50, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/HandDrawnGiftsByAmy

The National:

Wildcat greetings card, £2.80, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/RonaInnesArt

The National:

Capercaillie card, £2.40, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ThundercliffePress

For something a little bit different, check out Invernessbased Karen Van Der Zijden’s enchanting sculptures. These are made by needle felting, a process that involves using barbed wires to interlock wool fibres into a material ready for sculpting. Her peacefully sleeping red fox is our favourite of these furry friends.

The National:

Needle felted red fox, £39, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KarenVanDerZijden

No round-up of animal magic would be complete without some selections from The Canny Squirrel, the Paisley-based textile company of designer/maker Katherine Pentney. Her blackface ram cushion would be a talking point in any room, and her Highland Cow glasses case teams intricate embroidery with made with an earthy dark-green Harris Tweed.

The National:

Glasses case, £26, www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TheCannySquirrel

The National:

Blackface sheep cushion, £85, www.thecannysquirrel.co.uk