A field guide to making things

Making things,
making a life.

Adventures, foibles, and the art of bringing craft everywhere — homes, kitchens, and a slightly over-packed suitcase. Told in pictures, mostly.

Analog heart, broadband life.

Travel · Slideshow

Week One of Our Summer Abroad, or: The Art of Self-Sabotage

Kellie Hartwell · Venice → Tangier, 2026

The stories

All stories →

The Clay Kitchen

The whole pretend bakery, in build order: sushi, donuts, cupcakes, cookies, macarons, the burger — plus the potted cactus that snuck out of the kitchen. Air dry clay, no special tools, and the mixing is half the fun.

The whole series →

On the table this fall

Rotates with the calendar. Right now: pumpkins for the table, something that glows for Halloween, and the appetizer that gets you out of hosting trouble.

Collections — follow one thread all the way through

Every story so far

The full archive →
Crafts

Toilet Paper Roll Yarn Pumpkins, and the Cheap Trick That Gets My Kids to the Table

Crafts

How to Make Glow in the Dark Slime, and the Rule That Keeps It Out of Your Carpet

Crafts

Easy Clay Cactus in a Tiny Pot (Video + Visual Guide)

Crafts

How to Make Rainbow Rice (Cheap, Eco-Friendly, and Oddly Entrancing)

Crafts

How to Make Mini Clay Erasers: Cute Food Set (Egg, Popsicle, Milk Carton)

Crafts

How to Make Mini Clay Erasers: Animal Set (Duck, Bear, Giraffe)

Crafts · Slideshow

The Pebbles I Carried Home from the Mediterranean

Crafts

Paper Gondola Lanterns: The Low-Mess Craft That Filled a Whole Ski Afternoon

Crafts

DIY Clay Sushi: Three Kinds, One Afternoon

Crafts

DIY Clay Donuts in Six Flavors

Crafts

DIY Clay Cupcakes with a Powdered Sugar Finish

Crafts

DIY Clay Chocolate Chip Cookies for Absolute Beginners

Crafts

DIY Clay Macarons in Five Pastel Colors

Crafts

DIY Clay Burger, Built Layer by Layer

Home · Slideshow

The Mammoth Kitchen, Before and After

Home

The Mammoth Kitchen: What I Would Build Again, and the One Thing That Warped

Travel · Slideshow

Week One of Our Summer Abroad, or: The Art of Self-Sabotage

Travel

How to Pack for 40 Days in Europe — Honest Capsule Edit

Travel

I Started to Overpack for Travel and Came Out With a Stripped-Down Closet

Recipes

The 10-Minute Appetizer That Looks Like You Tried - Whipped Feta with Lemon and Peppers

Travel

The Passport Mistake That Left My Son Behind

Home

Eight Years of White Walls. Then I Found My Nerve.

Home

The Counter That Screamed "Pile Things Here!!" Is Now Our Stylish Little Coffee Nook

Recipes

Citrus Herb Grilled Chicken with Gremolata Drizzle

Home

A Literal Glow Up — How Layered Lighting Transformed My Patio Into a Nighttime Sanctuary

Home

I Thought One Egg Chair Would Be Enough

Crafts

How to Make a DIY Cardboard Dog House (Three Ways, Zero Dollars, Seven Years Strong)

Home

Four Kids, One Hippie Bus, and Zero Regrets, A VW Bus Restoration

Home

We Rebuilt a 1980s Mammoth Ski House From the Studs Up — Here's What We Made

Home

How I Transformed a Cluttered Side Yard into an Outdoor Sanctuary (And Why I Listed a Free Play Structure for $100)

Travel

A Love Letter to the LA Flower Market

Crafts

DIY Cardboard Dog House: A Cozy Retreat for Your Pup

Family

Creating Meaningful Moments: Thoughtfully Crafted Date Ideas to Keep the Spark Alive

Travel

My Favorite Travel Tools: Must-Haves for Every Traveler

Family

Who's Your Favorite Child? A Parent's Perspective on the Concept of Favorites

Travel

OKVall de Nuria + Cremallera

Travel

Tossa de Mar

Travel

Jurmala, a gem on the Baltic Sea. (Latvia)

Travel

Gouda Cheese Market

Home

Transforming My Bedroom with a Rebel Wallpaper Mural: A Step-by-Step Journey

Travel

15 Creative Activities to Do While Traveling

Home

Busting Myths: The Sustainable, Affordable Beauty of Modern Fake Flowers

Travel

Family Ski Trip Packing List (With Kids)

Travel

Family Ski Trip Packing Tips: Must-Haves for Slope-Side Sanity

Travel

Unlocking the Secrets to Travel Like a Local

Home

The Challenges (and Surprises) of Building in a Mountain Town

Travel

Take your Travel Planning to the Next Level with these 5 Travel Tools

Family

The Myriad Benefits of Parents Playing with Their Children: A Holistic Approach to Development

Travel

Simple Hacks for Making Airport Travel Easier

Family

How Arts & Crafts Can Benefit Your Child’s Development

About

About Me

Kellie Hartwell

Hi — I'm Kellie.

Former mobile-gaming exec, current maker of things: homes, dinners, cardboard architecture for the dog, and one slightly over-ambitious European summer. Craft & Bond is where I practice bringing art and craft everywhere — and show my work, foibles included.

Follow along on Pinterest →
Coming soon
The Craft & Bond Shop

Made by hand.
Sold by me.

The things I actually make — prints, small-batch craft kits, the patterns behind the projects. Built right into the stories, so a project you love becomes a thing you can hold.

Notify me when it opens
Made & used The paint I swear by The patio lights that earned their keep My travel duffel
Each one links to the story it earned its spot in. A few links there are affiliate — only things already in my house. No sponsored clutter.