Creativity for Life

Hi everyone, Mou here! How do you stay creative during summer break? This question particularly applies to all who get extra busy during summer as the kids stay home. I am one of you, so staying creative during summer can sometimes be a slight challenge. I try to be creative daily and sometimes that means I am sketching on the go, making use of small pockets of time. I find that creating on the go is easier with the appropriate tools and here are some of my favorites:

Bullet Journaling ® is more than it appears to be at first glance. Behind all the visually appealing journal pages that we see on social media, The Bullet Journal Method ® is a very sophisticated methodology for organizing everyday life. Before you get carried away in doodles and designs, it is important to learn and utilize the basic structure that Ryder Carroll, inventor, and author of “The Bullet Journal Method” advises Bullet Journal ® creatives.

As that first day of school keeps getting closer and closer I keep asking myself if I am ready? I teach 2nd grade so I made this cute and easy “First Day of School” sign for my students to take a picture with! I used the Albrecht Durer Watercolor Markers.

Over the years, we were asked to help set expectations about how long it will take to complete a Creativity for Kids® arts and crafts activity kit.  Each time, our team sits down and talks it over – the pros and cons of labeling each product with an expected time to complete the project.  Ultimately, our conclusion is always the same…  We will not add time limit expectation labeling to our products. In this article, our awesome Development Team tells you why.

If you have school-aged kids, you already know that DIY Slime is a super-popular craft. Kids are making it for fun, for fundraisers, and at parties. This recipe has only 5 common ingredients that you can find at the drugstore or dollar store.

Today we are going to make an easy Sparkly sun catcher- and guess what? You probably already have everything you need. We build it off of a recycled plastic lid, so it’s an earth-friendly craft, too! This would be fun to make and give as gifts for teachers, Dads, or anyone special!

Did you know that you can make your own paint with only TWO ingredients- shaving cream and food coloring! How about some messy fun today? 

We are making DIY Bubble Wands that are both perfect for making bubbles AND for imagination play the rest of the year! It’s summer and one of the great joys of the season is getting outside! What better way to have fun in the sun than by making bubbles? Let’s get started.

As a German company with a global expansion standing over 200 years, history is ingrained in the physical and metaphorical structure of Faber-Castell. Established in the aftermath of the Renaissance period, our past, present, and future are strongly influenced by cultural and artistic movements of the 18th century. No matter the era, our products hold a standard of the highest quality, influencing why our professional-grade watercolor products are named after Albrecht Dürer; artist and Renaissance pioneer.

Summer is winding down 😥 and it's time to prepare the kids for the next adventure. We are preparing for Kindergarten and with this milestone transition comes some new and possibly scary experiences. While my daughter is excited to ride the bus for the first time, she can't help but be a bit apprehensive about it. I am hoping this cute paper plate school bus craft will generate curiosity and excitement!

What comes to mind when thinking about the month of July? Of course, we have the summer essentials; fireworks, barbeques, and warm weather. For those with an artistic side, July is officially declared World Watercolor Month thanks to founder Charlie O’Shields. Creator of the watercolor blog “Doodlewash,” O’Shields founded World Watercolor Month to unite artists in celebrating watercolors while sharing their artwork, as well as raising awareness of the need of children’s art supplies and art education.

The practice of expressing our thoughts and needs on paper has been around for millennia, but when a concept called Bullet Journaling® was introduced, journaling as we knew it shifted. Throughout the last few years, the popularity of Bullet Journaling has flourished into a lifestyle, having all of those on the outside of the trend curious. What even is Bullet Journaling? Why would I need a Bullet Journal®? The man behind the method is Ryder Carroll; digital product designer, New York Times best-selling author, and inventor of The Bullet Journal Method.

In a world full of color, perhaps the most powerful pen an artist can use is a white Pitt Artist Pen ®. Adding a white Pitt Artist Pen to your collection brings the opportunity to add dimension and character to your images as well as alter the appearance of other colors. Made of India ink and available in four nib sizes: brush, calligraphy, 1.5 mm bullet nib and 2.5mm bullet nib, Faber-Castell’s white Pitt Artist Pen offers professional grade quality in a versatile artist marker.

Artist ink pens and markers adapt fundamental artistic expression through ink with the modern world. Sequential art, illustrations, drawings, portraits, fashion design, and canvas paintings all can be created using an ink pen or marker. The make of artist ink pens and markers vary with different colorants and solvents being used. They can be alcohol-based made with dye or water-based made with pigments. Before you get creating, make sure you know the properties of the ink you are using.

With every product made, we at Faber-Castell live out our dedication to being your companion for life. Our Pitt Artist Pen ® embodies this mission with its reliable India ink and flexible talent of being the go-to tool for a multitude of artistic outlets.

Discover the process behind creating Faber Castell’s quality colored pencils, carefully crafted to best serve the vision of the aspiring and professional artist. Providing quality color pencils is a craft we’ve mastered and have been dedicated to for hundreds of years. Born from wood growing in our FSC certified forests, every step in the manufacturing of our color pencils promises a quality result.

Understanding the best paper to use for art is crucial to the quality and success of your work. The paper you choose affects how your medium of choice will perform. Watercolors and color pencils both have a specific paper designated to enhance and protect the qualities of that medium.

Faber-Castell’s collection of colored pencils coincides with our passion to support your creativity at every age and skill level. That is why we created our Polychromos artist’s color pencils and Goldfaber color pencils in our Art & Graphic and Creative Studio lines. Every colored pencil of ours is manufactured for exceptional performance with high-quality pigments and SV bonding but hold their own unique build and qualities.

Faber-Castell offers Albrecht Durer Artists’ watercolor pencils and Goldfaber Aqua watercolor pencils. Both watercolor lines are created to capture your creative visions but have a few differences in their design and delivery. Regardless if you create your art on a hobby or professional level, watercolor pencils are an excellent tool to express your artwork in a unique way and bring your colors to life!

One of the many reasons we at Faber-Castell are proud of our Pitt Artist Pen collection is the versatility it provides, all while delivering a high-quality result. With every line drawn in reliable and richly pigmented India ink, the result is unmatchable. Add texture, density, and more personality into your work by practicing different techniques. Whether it be hatching, compressing, or highlighting, incorporating these drawing techniques will add the perfect finishing touch to your image.