Where and When Does Learning An Appreciation of Art Begin - 100 Days of Tombow

Ever wonder where and when does learning an appreciation of art begin?   While it can happen all around us, where ever we are, most of us had the good fortune to get our first exposure and appreciation to art and creativity at a very early age, commonly in grade school.  Unfortunately, our economic times have frequently resulted in financial cutbacks of our schools, that have often resulted in the elimination of programs that lead to artistic creativity and appreciation.  So, when SewCalGal heard of an opportunity that could help, of course, she wanted to help increase awareness of it.  And, I hope you too will be interested in spreading the word, as well as creating with some fun products.......

Tombow is market leader for arts, crafts and office products, which serves creative people around the globe.  They were first established in Japan in 1913 as a wood-case pencil provider for Japanese students.  Over time, they have grown to having a large product portfolio that provide crafters with such items as glue sticks, liquid glues, adhesive tape, ballpoint pens, drawing pencils, dual brush pens and more!  And they are celebrating 100 years in business with a special program  called "100 Days of Tombow", which kicked off on March 9th, at the National Art Education Association Conference in Fort Worth, Texas.  

Tombow's "100 Days of Tombow" program is committing to provide up to $10,000 of Tombow art products to the  Council for Art Education, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting and supporting art education and quality art programs nationwide.  Tombow will donate $100 for every blogger that participates in this program, up to $10,000.  SewCalGal signed up and hopes you'll want to sign up too.

Within a short time of signing up, SewCalGal received a Tombow Starter Kit, containing Dual Brush Pens, Irojiten Color Pencils and the Stamp Runner Adhesive.  I have used Tombow products for doodling, scrapbooking, cardmaking and crafting for years and always have enjoyed them. They are high quality and great value.  And I found this Starter Kit to be of excellent quality too!  But, as most of us are quilters first, I do want to clarify these products are not intended for use on fabric (not permanent), but could be used on mixed media projects that are not intended to be laundered.  And they are absolutely great for those that enjoy Zentangles, doodling of a variety of forms, as well as those practicing free-motion quilting designs by drawing out a design on paper.

{above} The Dual Brush Pen Set comes with six pens, each having two tips: one tip is a fine point perfect for drawing fine lines and writing, whereas the other tip is a brush which is perfect for painting colors and filling in designs.  The colors are vibrant and acid-free, making them excellent for use with photographs.  Definitely fun to doodle and create with.



{above} Irojiten Color Pencils are high quality colored pencils perfect for doodling and sketching.

{above}The Stamp Runner Adhesive allows a fine layer of adhesive, perfect for papers and photographs, with an easy to hold adhesive transfer tool. 

My Starter Kit arrived and I quickly had fun doodling, sketching, making greeting cards, scrapbooking and more.  With Easter coming, my mind also wanders thinking how fun it would be to be a kid and find such a kit inside of an Easter Basket.

{below} I had fun playing with the pencils and pens to blend colors on cardstock, folded to make a simple greeting card.



{below} And, of course, I had fun doodling with pencils to practice various free-motion quilting designs. I also used card stock and plan to turn some of my doodling into greeting cards, bookmarks, etc..  I certainly am going to have more fun practicing free-motion quilting designs on paper using Tombow's beautiful colored pencils and pens in the future!



{below} The Stamp Runner Adhesive works great when layering multiple sheets of papers, photographs, etc..  It is also an easy to use adhesive runner tool that even children can easily learn to use when crafting.

What would you like to create with Tombow products?  Is there anything crafty that you'd  like to teach young kids, with Tombow products,  to get them to learn and appreciate art?

Would you like to help celebrate "100 Days of Tombow"?  Anyone can have fun creating with Tombow products.  You can typically find them at JoAnns, Michaels and other craft stores.  And, Tombow is looking for 100 bloggers that would like to create with one of their Starter Kits.  If you are a follower of SewCalGal, leave a comment on this post and let me know you are interested in participating in this celebration.  I'll submit a list of bloggers to my contact at Tombow on March 3rd, for you to fill any empty spots in their call for 100 bloggers to help spread the word...and to help raise $10,000 for Council for Art Education, a national nonprofit dedicated to promoting and supporting art education and quality art programs nationwide.  Pretty cool, to have a chance to create with fun products and help get products donated to help with Art Education too! 

I can't guarantee how many slots are left for the 100 bloggers to help with the 100 Days of Tombow, but I'll definitely submit the contact info for any blogger that is a follower and leaves a comment to let me know they are interested in participating in this event, by creating and blogging about Tombow's products.  As previously mention, SewCalGal has been a long time fan of Tombow and would love to see others have a chance to create with Tombow products too!

www.tombowusa.com.