Colorbök

Welcome to the team!

We've been going through many changes in our design studio over the past few months. One of the most exciting changes was the addition of another designer to our Memory and Craft team. Maureen O'brien is a super talented designer and illustrator and we're glad to have her! We're all so excited to see what she creates in the coming months. Get to know Maureen below and get the low down on our other designers here!

 

I am an avid tea drinker which stemmed from my former coffee addiction. I have a passion for oil painting and would love to paint portraits all day while drinking hot tea and listening to Chris Bathgate. You may find me cruising around town on my bike or on the back of my boyfriend's scooter. 

What inspires you?

 I find a lot of inspiration in nature. I love interesting plants, birch bark, and wood grains. 

Five things I can't live without:

family/friends
tea
GPS
a jacket
my computer 

Heidi Grace Project Pad Giveaway

We have a great new product line hitting Joann Farbric and Craft larger Superstores this week! Be sure to look for them soon!

Our new Heidi Grace Accent Pads are perfect for all your home decor crafts. Each pad contains clear removable word and phrase stickers to be used on posters, paper crafts or as wall art. There are also great punch-out projects and instruction for beautiful crafts like garlands, pennants, flowers, banners and more. These quick and easy crafts are perfect for parties or everyday decorating!

 

To introduce these awesome new products, we're giving away one of each Project Pad! Tell us which of these six themes you'd like in the comments below to enter!

 

Imagine: makes a dimensional shadowbox, pinwheels and more!

Celebrate: makes a decorative banner, party decorations and more!

Laugh: makes a flower garland, dimensional flowers and more!

Dream: makes a wreath, mini pennant garland and more!

Create: makes a family tree, flower garland and more!

Baby: makes a growth chart, banner and more!

Contest ends on Friday, August 31st. 

No international entries, please!

Sunset Glow Wallpaper Freebies

As we transition from the dog days of August to the changing colors of autumn, your desktop is probably ready for an update! Today's freebie is a desktop wallpaper that evokes the warm feeling of Indian Summer. Whether your trying to hang on to the sunshine a little longer or ready for the changing leaves of fall, this lovely desktop is sure to please.

Add a wallpaper to your smartphone and take this lovely look with you on the go! If that's not enough, be sure to pick up the coordinating Sunset Glow Premium Paper Pad at Walmart.

Find these great freebies and more in our Wallpaper Gallery. Enjoy!

 

Toot! Toot!

Not to toot our own horn, but we're just SO excited about our latest news! Three of our awesome National Geographic craft kits have been singled out and awarded prizes by Creative Child Magazine! This means so much to us because these awards are chosen by moms, music educators and early education professionals rather than stuffy old judges with no knowledge of what kids LOVE!

Receiving the 2012 Seal of Excellence, our Sumi-e Artist Kit explores Japanese painting techniques. Your child can create a one-of-a-kind scroll masterpiece using an authentic bamboo brush and ink. They can also stamp their finished piece with their own personalized chop! This kit takes refrigerator art to a whole new level!

Next up is one of my personal favorites! Our Confetti Sculpting Paper-mache Kit rocks and Creative Child thought so too! They awarded it the 2012 Preferred Choice Award. Included is an instruction guide to create an erupting volcano, but if you're not interested in fiery explosions, we also showcase a bunch of other ideas to get your imagination going. 

 And lastly but by no means leastly (leastly?), only one product per category can win the coveted Toy of the Year Award and WE DID IT! Our Dinosaur Fossil Sand Clay Sculpting Kit is just so cool! You can create your own dinosaur fossils using clay that looks just like sand and if you really want to show off, you can make a dinosaur tooth necklace that will wow everyone you meet!

Check out these and many more National Geographic craft kits at your nearest Walmart or JoAnns Superstores!

What crafts do your children LOVE to create? Answer in the comments below for your chance to win one of three fabulous National Geographic craft kits.

Up for grabs are the Stencil Artist Kit, Junior Botanist Set and the Dinosaur Fossil Kit.

Contest ends August 22nd, midnight est.

Good luck!

Intern Spotlight

As you know, we've been featuring some of the lovely interns that spent this summer in the Design studio with us. Up next is Mary! Get to know her cute and quirky style below...

 

My name is Mary Kinsora, and I'm just entering my senior year at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit. I have a passion for all things cute, and I love creating whimsical illustrations that tell a story. I'm secretly an animation/cinema buff, and I have a super huge crush on Cary Grant. 

What inspires you?

I'm very inspired by life in general. Animals, plants, the day to day things we as people will do; it's fascinating that everyone's life can be so differnt. I try to find the happiness in any situation, and make something based on that.  Happy art is my favorite kind of art, so I try to create as much of it as I can.

Five things you can't live without:




#1. My family; they're everything to me. I have my parents, my brother, and my grandparents, with which I am all very close. My brother is my closest friend. Without them, I would probably be a pile of mush.

#2.  Cute stuff, especially hamsters. Those lil' guys make me love life. Cute things just make me so happy. I see the world in flat color and everything has far apart beady eyes. It's awesome.

#3. I drink tea like it's my job. My blood is possibly 80% tea. I always request my brother make me tea, because it always tastes better when someone else makes is for you.   

#4. As a designer, of course art is a big deal. If I couldn't create things and get all of these ideas out of my head, I would probably explode. Or melt. Or something equally as gruesome... 

#5. I'm an incredibly picky eater. I think I mostly live on friuts and veggies. Since I've been staying in Ann Arbor, my sushi intake has increased. Not that I wasn't already eating enough of it before...

Fun fact, cheese is probably one of my favorite words EVER. 



 

Walmart Album Giveaway

I've been LOVING all the "Project Life" style layouts I've seen on pinterest lately. I decided that I could recreate the look for less with our NEW Mutipocket Page Protectors from Walmart. The pages have different sized pockets that can accommodate regular 4x6in photos, as well as other sizes like squares- perfect for your instagram pics! The multi-pocket protectors are ideal for fun and easy scrapping! I like to mix these multi-pockets in with regular 12x12in protectors for a uniquely custom album.

I created pages with photos from a weekend "up north" and placed them in our NEW 3 Ring Binder Album, also available at Walmart. This 12in album features the convenience of interlocking D-ring binding. This allows pages to be turned with ease and removed or rearranged in a snap.

What do you look for in an album?

3-Ring or postbound?

Solid color cover or patterns?

Do you like windows on the cover?

Let us know your thoughts on albums in the comments below and you will be entered to win one of our designer scrapbooks from Walmart.

Contest ends Wednesday, August 15th at Midnight est.

Good luck!

Cloud 9 and Xyron Giveaway!

This week Xyron is celebrating their 35k Fan giveaway on facebook. To help them celebrate this awesome achievement we're joining forces for two great giveways! One on their fb page this week AND one amazing giveaway here on the blog. Leave a comment below telling us how you became a fan of Colorbök to enter. 

Up for grabs is an impressive assortment of items from our newest collections, Fiesta and Nightshade. We are including a stack of chipboard alphas, patterned paper, glitter paper, diecut paper, die-cut accents, rub-ons, fabric flowers, stickers and MORE, MORE, MORE! Xyron has also generously included a 9" Creative Station for the giveaway. These things are amazing! My Creative Station has seriously changed my life and now I can't imagine crafting without one.

 

Contest ends Friday, August 10th at midnight est.

No international entries please.

 

Good Luck!

 

Intern Spotlight

We've been lucky enough to have five lovely interns working in the design department this summer. The influx of young creative talent has been great for the studio. It's wonderful to see the interns so passionate about design and enthusiastic about the work we do at Colorbök. The ladies have had the chance to work on many different design and illustration projects and have learned a lot! Before they head back to school, we wanted to share a little about them. 

 

First up is talented illustrator and fabulous intern, Lauren Hilliker...

I just graduated from the College for Creative Studies in Illustration and Art Education. I love creating illustrations that warm your heart and make you smile. In my spare time I like to go bike riding and practice playing my ukulele. 

What inspires you?

I am really inspired by geometric patterns. Anytime I am in search of a little inspiration, I search online for new blogs and artists to follow. 

What are 5 things you can't live without?

#1 My sister. She is best friend and has inspired me my whole life.

#2 My pup! I have a dog named Charles who is as cute as a button!

#3 Vintage clothes and accessories. I grew up going to car shows which inspired me to love poodle skirts and cat eye glasses. 

#4 Broccoli cheddar soup. When I was a kid my mom would take me out to lunch and we would get broccoli soup and color. Let's say I colored a lot and now broccoli soup is my favorite!

#5 Hazelnut coffee. I have a cup every morning.