Bartlett & Craft

 In an effort to be more environmentally friendly this year (and because we ran out of time to send anything before the New Year), we have transitioned over to a e-Christmas Card!  And now you get to see more pictures of our beautiful faces (a win, win!).   Enjoy our Bartlett 2023 by the numbers and a few photo favorites. The kids took up rock climbing lessons this year, and it has been fun for the whole family!  Here we are 'topped out' on the bouldering wall. The kids have been enjoying their 1st and 4th grade years, its been smooth sailing so far with some pretty awesome teaching staff. We had our first family ski trip this year, we are hitting a sweet spot with kids enjoying activities that challenge them and us at the same time.  Eli lost his first tooth! Our 2023 garden at its peak! And a new pantry designed by yours truly to showcase our bountiful squash harvest :) Happy New Year!

This past year I had the opportunity to illustrate my very first children's book!  A local couple reached out to me to help them illustrate a story the husband wrote for his grandchildren.  It's a wonderfully sweet story about the grandpa's wayward golf ball and the adventures little forest creatures have with it when they find it. Here are a couple of my favorite drawings from the book.    

 In 2019 I was hired on as Communications Manager for a college campus ministry.  It has been a really exciting job as the department I work for has a great need for visual communications in a variety of different formats and target audiences within its ministry.  Here is a sampling of graphic work I did for some of my favorite projects: SMALL GROUP GARAGE: a training program for college student small group leaders that involved a social media campaign that coordinated with an interactive training interface I created on Miro. COVID Bible Study: When college campuses essentially shut down in March 2020, our team had to quickly shift to online content.  Many college students were reeling from the abrupt shift in their college education environment and I helped develop graphics for a bible study focused on suffering, perseverance, joy during hard times and turning to Christ for comfort, support, guidance, wisdom.  These images were from the social media campaign to...

A Collection of Christmas cards I have designed over the years for my family 2017 2018 2019  

I took a break from renovating rooms in the February after we moved in.  It was a particularly bad winter.  Very, very cold with a ton of snow.  So we were stuck inside quite a bit (it was just too cold to venture out for long). I needed a project to distract me and bring me joy, so this is what resulted!  I drew inspiration from my favorite illustrator/small business owner Anna Rifle Bond from Rifle Paper Co. I just love all of her stuff and color palette. If my budget were limitless, I would just own everything she ever made. I used the same color I had in the library/office as the backdrop (Balmy Night) and went to town. It brings me joy each time I see it. The process wasn't super involved.  I bought three paint sample size cans in red, blue and yellow and mixed the colors myself.  Eventually, once the kids playroom moves to the third story, I want to add some built in shelves on the left side wall, framing the window with a padded bench for sea...

This summer I was given my grandmother's stamp collection (she is the sweetest!) and I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it, but there were so many wonderful stamps and she organized them so well that I just knew they were destined for something special.  Fast forward a couple months and I've now found the perfect use!  A Michigan Vintage Stamp Map.  Up on the shop!   www.bartlettandcraft.etsy.com Lighthouses - $50 LOVE - $50

So I've been trying to decide what the next project will be in our house (after we figure out the water problem and redo the basement).  While I really love the house we bought, I'm trying to find ways to make it feel more like us.  It has some great elements but is in desperate need of a few updates. My first idea was to redo the stairwell.  It's a great structure, kinda funky layout and was something that really drew us to the house.  But those handrails? Yuck.  I'm not one to like a lot of ornate things, so those wooden dowels (I think that is what you call them...I don't speak staircase) with their intricate carving was just not speaking to me.  It said Victorian meets Country...and those two things are NOT me.   Before So, I decided to snap a photo and head to Photoshop to create a new look.... After Wa-la!  An updated stairwell!  I kinda wish I could do all my home improvement projects this way.  No mess, no...

A fun little project I was given recently was to redo the front cover of the Capital Area Parks & Trails brochure.  It's front cover was a mish mash of pictures and didn't give enough attention to the sponsor logos.  After doing this project, I thought I might start a new series on this blog called Before & After.  We'll see what happens...  For now, here are some pics ('Before' on left):

I recently had a friend ask if I could make her wedding invitations for her June wedding (which I am solo excited about, by the way!). I've had a calendar hanging up in my kitchen from Rifle Paper Co. that I really love, and was the inspiration for these invites.  Check them out:

My new 2013 Calendar Art is just up on Etsy.  Be sure to check it out! Just follow this link  to check it out in my shop.  All of the artwork below is copyrighted Rebecca Bartlett 2012.