Archive for the ‘New Kits’ Category

Easy Ways to Fill Your Summer With Creativity!

Thursday, June 21st, 2012

Are you kids home from school and in need of engaging activities?  Or maybe you home school and want to add a little extra creativity to your summer days?  Art projects are the perfect way to fill up long, sunny days on the deck, rainy days indoors, or vacations on the road.

Projects that can go from indoors to outdoors are ideal.   One fabulous summer project for little ones is to make fairy houses and bug habitats out of natural materials.  You can start inside by sketching a design and making a list of materials, or just improvise while you look around the backyard or a nearby park.  Then pick a location where you can imagine fairies nesting or bugs working, and make them a house with natural found items.  Here’s a paper version of a bug habitat we made with our Wool Felt Bug Kit and some other supplies (imagine what you could make with branches, stones and leaves!):

Inspiration for your bug habitat!

Our Bubble Wands Kit is another great example.  You can design and make the bubble wands inside or out, and then play with them outside for hours.

Bubble Wand Kits

Image via Magic Cabin

Art journaling is a great way to keep the creativity flowing all summer.  You can set a goal of one page a day, and throw it in a purse or tote bag to bring it along on vacations and long car rides.

The Perfectly Portable Art Journal Kit

Art journaling is great for all ages, and doesn’t require a big investment in materials.  The Artterro Art Journal Kit makes it especially easy to get started, with helpful tips and inspiring examples included.

Exploring Their Art Journal Kits

We love to decorate our gardens in the summer!  Whether you have a small patio garden or a flourishing urban farm, your already-delightful garden will be even more beautiful with some garden art.  We put copper wire and glass beads in our Garden Art Kit, which are perfect for reflecting light and adding visual interest to a potted plant.  You can also make decorative plant labels out of recycled materials and collect stones to make small garden paths.

Add some art to a potted plant!

What are some of your favorite creative summer activities?

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Art Journal Kit, Creativity, Eco-Friendly Materials, Kids and art/creativity, New Kits, Recycled Paper, Sustainable Business, Uncategorized, art education | 1 Comment »

Introducing the Art Journal Kit!

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

We’re so excited to finally share a behind-the-scenes peek of our newest product with you: The Strathmore® Art Journal Kit designed by Artterro®.

Five beautiful colors to choose from!

I say finally because it’s been over a year in the making!  We met the Strathmore Artist Papers team at the National Art Materials Trade Association show a few years ago, but it wasn’t until last year that we realized there was exciting potential for collaboration.   In case you’re not familiar with their products, for over a hundred years, Strathmore has made exceptionally high-quality paper for a wide variety of media, everything from charcoal to watercolor.  We looked at their lovely line of art pads and sketch books and thought about our mission of inspiring creativity in everyone.  How could we make a plain pad of paper more inviting and exciting for people of all ages who don’t necessarily have a lot of art training but still want to create?  How could we transform it into a special, engaging place to explore your creativity and try out new-to-you art techniques?

After a little brainstorming and lots of conversations back and forth, we realized that the product we were imagining would combine tips and suggestions for beginners, along with a beautiful selection of papers to inspire mixed-media collage, doodling, drawing, painting and even writing.  In short, our dream product was the Art Journal Kit.

Happily, the team at Strathmore gave us the go ahead to design the kit and write the project sheets.  We handed out prototypes to friends and family, kids and grown-ups, novices and art school grads, and turned all that feedback into the great product you see here:

Tons of project ideas to get you started

We’re so proud to see the results of our collaboration with Strathmore.  The kit includes a cover you can decorate and make your own, pages full of project ideas and tips, a pocket for scraps and found objects, 100% recycled, handmade papers from Shizen Designs (they make all the beautiful paper in our kits) and Strathmore’s bright construction paper and fine art drawing paper.

Mixed-media collage in progress…

It’s perfectly sized for portability, so you can always have it with you when inspiration strikes (and you really never know when that will be).

Where will you take your new Art Journal Kit?

They make wonderful gifts for all the creative people in your life, or for those who may need some creativity in their lives.  Spark Blog readers can take 20% off with the coupon code 20OFF, so pick one up from the Artterro Store today!

Tags: , , , , , , ,
Posted in Art Journal Kit, Creativity, Eco-Friendly Materials, New Kits, Recycled Paper, Uncategorized, shopping | No Comments »

Artterro Wins Eileen Fisher Business Grant!

Friday, February 11th, 2011

We are thrilled to announce that Artterro has been chosen as a recipient of the 2010 Eileen Fisher Women Entrepreneur Grant!

Eileen Fisher Inc. only gives out a handful of these awards each year, with the goal of nurturing and energizing women-owned small businesses.  It’s one of the many ways the company gives back to entrepreneurs and communities, with a special focus on women and leadership.

These were the requirements to enter: “The business must be innovative, 100% women owned and produce products or provide services that foster environmental and economical health in the community.”   Artterro definitely fit the bill, and we’re so glad we applied!  This generous grant will help us produce exciting new packaging and products, and offer us the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see a world-class company up close when Jen and Forrest visit their New York headquarters in May.  We’ll showcase our kits at a mini tradeshow with the other winners and get to know the people that make Eileen Fisher great.

This is a huge honor for all of us here at Artterro.  Thank you, Eileen Fisher!

Posted in Awards, Creativity, Eileen Fisher, Kids and art/creativity, New Kits, Sustainable Business, production, smart eco packaging | 2 Comments »

Artterro’s Second Debut at Toy Fair

Friday, February 11th, 2011

It’s that time of year again…Artterro is going to Toy Fair!  There’s a lot to be excited about as we set out for New York City and settle in at booth #6361.

For the past few months, our office in Madison has been positively bustling with activity, designing and assembling our brand new, smart eco packaging.  We wanted to showcase our kits in an inviting, attractive way, stay true to our sustainable values and answer a question we often hear from our customers: “What do I do with this art once I’m done?”  What we came up with is a beautiful, 100% recycled cardboard box that doubles as a fun bonus project—a frame that you can personalize and use to show off your finished artwork.  We produced the boxes with Green Bay Packaging and printed glossy paper bands with Green Solutions Printing.  We’re so proud of how they turned out.  You’ll be able to see it for yourself on our website next week, so be sure to check back!

We also could not be more excited to announce two new titles to our growing line of eco art kits.  The Wool Felt Bug Kit has all the felt shapes, fancy ribbons, sequins and beads you need to make creepy-crawly bugs, fuzzy caterpillars and fluttering butterflies.

Wool Felt Bugs
Wool Felt Bugs

We had a blast making the little bug friends in these photos.

Wool Felt Bugs
Bug Friends!

The Creativity Party Pack offers a unique opportunity for students, friends and families to get creative together in larger groups.  We’ve included enough materials for eight people to enjoy, so pick one up for your next birthday party or craft night!

Creativity
A sampler of Party Pack supplies.

We hope to reach a much larger audience at Toy Fair this year, not just with our high-quality products, but also with our message.  Our new motto is “Wake Up Your Creativity!”  We believe everyone is born creative, and anyone can be an artist.  Stop by our booth (#6361) to hear more, and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.

Posted in Creativity, Kids and art/creativity, New Kits, Sustainable Business, Toy Fair, smart eco packaging | No Comments »

Three for Three!

Friday, April 16th, 2010

The table at our booth displaying our "Best New Kid's Product "awards, 3 years in a row!

We’re here in Indianapolis for the International Art Materials Trade show (NAMTA) for the third time. It’s been a great show! We’ve met a lot of new potential customers and reconnected with friends from previous years. It’s always satisfying to share our products and sustainable concept of our company with new people, especially in the art community. We’ve gotten a warm reception, many appreciate the focus of providing quality art materials to children. They, like us have been frustrated by cookie-cutter kits overwhelmingly given to kids made of plastic beads, foam shapes, dried out paint pots and pipe cleaners!

And, we’re excited to announce for the third year in a row, we’ve been awarded the “Best New Kid’s Product” title for our new Wool Felt Bug kit! Check out the pics below. It includes an assortment of colorful wool felt shapes, fun ribbon, wire, beads, craft thread and needles. You can make 7 one-of -a-kind art bugs with one great kit!

Our new Wool Felt Bug Kit

Bug kit samples

We also introduced a few other new products, all of these will be available in stores this fall. For a couple of years now we have heard over and over again requests for a class-sized kit. So we’ve listened and delivered! The new Artterro Creativity Party Pack is a collection of decorative 100% recycled handmade paper, wool felt shapes, wire, beads, craft thread and needles. Enough materials for 12 people to make 2 projects each. This kit is perfect for birthday parties, classes, after school groups, camps, and family gatherings!

party pack

Our new class sized Creativity Party Pack has enough materials for 12 people to do 2 projects each!

And we’ve created a group of four Artterro Extras for all of you that want a little more beads, paper or felt to go with a project.

New Artterro Extras! Need a little more felt, beads or paper? We've got just the thing.

Over the past couple of days, we’ve talked to a lot of other exhibitors wanting to know where they can buy our products for themselves and their families. Our list of stores is always growing but we could use all of your help to spread the word about our products and company. If you have an art, craft, toy, gift, or natural food store in your area you think should carry our kits, please feel free to let them know about us!

Posted in Awards, NAMTA, New Kits | No Comments »