Bartlett & Craft

My family recently moved to Wisconsin, just outside of Milwaukee and we are absolutely loving it!  We lived in Lansing, Michigan for almost 7 years, and while there are friends/family there that we miss, there isn't much else about the place that I have found myself missing.  Don't get me wrong, I love Michigan, and if we had the chance to move back closer to my family or in a different city, we would likely do it, but Lansing was just not it for us.  Milwaukee, however, I feel is like this hidden gem...it is such a cool place but you hardly ever hear about it.  It has its problems, for sure, like any larger city does, but for the most part the people I have encountered here really care about the place they live, which is so refreshing. Being in a place that we love has really increased my desire to make my mark on my place, to settle in and get involved.  So I find myself not only coming up with more creative outlets, but I actually have great motivation to g...

Someone dear but not so near to me anymore is having a baby shower and I was asked to design the  invitations.  The theme is based on an old children's book about a crocodile, I had fun recreating the illustrations. Take a look: Can you guess the book? Are you looking for some custom graphic work done?  I'd love to help!  Feel free to connect with me here. Or visit my Etsy Store .

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

 Had some fun making these office paper accessories. A desktop weekly calendar and some notepads.  All up on the shop!   www.bartlettandcraft.etsy.com

I had time today to start assembling my center quilt block (for you newbies, like me, a quilt block is basically the basic pattern on a quilt that is repeated.  For this quilt, it is my center design that will help communicate my design aesthetic, colors, etc to the next person in line to add to my quilt). I decided to do something a bit challenging and something that reflected who I am.  Luckily I was able to find some super cute fabric at JoAnn Fabrics and I did some searching online to find a pattern that I liked.  I landed on the Scandinavian Star block - getting back to my roots!  (pictured below) I had chosen four different fabrics for my quilt block, though, so I had to improvise a tad, which I liked...more of an adventure :) I followed some of the directions from  http://www.aquiltinglife.com/2014/07/scandinavian.html  for this block.  While it was helpful to get an idea of what pieces I needed, I needed a little extra help actually as...

So the new year has me super energized with lots of new projects in the queue! A few of them are: create a few original prints develop an advent calendar and regular year calendar get a membership at the local makerspace so I can use the laser cutter! display art in at least 4 art galleries this year make a traveling quilt! a traveling quilt? What is that? Well, I'm not entirely sure myself, but I have a few ideas. Here is a teaser for the fabrics that I will be using. Super cute!

I'd seen a number of DIY projects for children's play kitchen on Pinterest and thought I would take a stab at making one for my daughter for Christmas.  Thankfully, my husband and I don't ascribe to any traditions about WHEN we give each other gifts (before, on, or after Christmas) so I asked him to get me a jigsaw this year to help with cutting.  I'm sure it will come in handy for other projects down the road.  So Merry Christmas to me about a month early :) Next I have to find a nightstand.  Craigslist was being no help (people don't know who to sell/barter/etc on there, it was frustrating!).  So I went to Goodwill on a whim, thinking they probably wouldn't have what I needed.  But low and behold, there it was.  A perfect nightstand to tear apart and re-use, and at the sweet price of....$3.99!!! Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of it when I bought it, but here is a similar design. I stripped the nightstand of all the ornamental trim, s...