Spoonflower’s Weekly Design Challenges encourage creativity by inviting our community to submit designs around a theme and vote on favorites to win weekly prizes. See what design challenges are coming up and which designers were crowned grand-champion in past challenges here.

Be sure to visit this post to learn more about Spoonflower’s Design Challenge rules and moderation process.

Design Challenges Will Now Honor the Top 100 Designs 

As Spoonflower Design Challenges grow, we are seeing more entries than ever before. Therefore, we’ve decided to expand the winners’ circle to represent this growth and celebrate more artists each week! Starting in August all challenge results will now recognize the top 100 designs. The top 100 artists will have their designs made for sale for free, without having to order a swatch. 

This group will always be listed as a flat 100 and will not fluctuate to include ties. This will allow Design Challenges to run more seamlessly, while making it possible for us to reward more artists than ever before! There will be no changes made to how prizes are awarded for the top ten, which will still recognize ties.  

Thank you to those artists who have been a part of these challenges from the very beginning helping to make them the Spoonflower fixture they are today, and welcome to those newer artists who have more recently joined in on the fun. We are so grateful you all are here and will continue to look forward to your inspired creativity each week. 

Ready to celebrate the first group of top 100 designs? Check it out now for The Skies Above Bedding Design Challenge. 

Vintage Sportswear | Entries due by August 29, 2023 

A man stands at the top of a mountain with his back turned to us, looking out at the view of mountains covered in trees with leaves beginning to change to beautiful hues of red, orange and yellow signaling the beginning of autumn.

Celebrate Polartec® Fleece with vintage sportswear-inspired designs.  

From colorful abstract ski suits to outdoor-themed vintage pullovers, reference sportswear of the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s to create a new design fitting for Polartec® Fleece apparel and cold weather accessories. 

Remember that while designs with images from the public domain are allowed on Spoonflower.com, they are not accepted in Design Challenges. Read more about challenge rules surrounding copyright and original artwork.   

Entries will be previewed on a Fat Quarter, cropped to an 18×18” square from the bottom left corner. Submissions close August 29 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins August 31. Winners will be announced September 7. See official rules.

Submit a Design



Whimsigothic Wallpaper | Entries due by September 5, 2023  

The image is cropped in on a dark room, focused on a woman’s hands with long black nails and stacked silver rings holding a clear crystal ball. In front of her are blue candles burning with wax dripping down the sides, a deck of cards, dried flowers and small bags tied with red cord.

Sneak into spooky season by channeling your inner goth with a bohemian twist. 

Whimsigothic style is a blend of whimsical and gothic, where boho nature-inspired elements collide with dark and moody sensibilities. Envision your whimsigothic wallpaper adorning the walls of a witchy cabin in the woods, a gothic getaway in the city or a spooky spot in between.  

Entries will be previewed on a Wallpaper Roll. Submissions close September 5 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins September 7. Winners will be announced September 14. See official rules. 

Submit a design



Lake Life with Creative Studio Collective  | Entries due by September 12, 2023   

The rectangle image is spit in half diagonally from the top left to the bottom right. In the lower left half is a two-dimensional design featuring sage green illustrations of tents, binoculars, thermoses, campfires, rope, compasses and other camping accessories on a cream background. In the upper right half is another two-dimensional design featuring rust orange canoes and oars on a cream background.
Featured designs: Camping Trip by hufton_studio and Lake Life Canoe and Oars by charlierowandesigns

Immerse yourself in the serene beauty of lake life where joy, adventure, and nostalgia await.  

Imagine a charming lakeside scene with cozy cabins, golden sunsets, and laughter-filled days of boating, swimming, and water sports. Embrace the lake life spirit in your designs, where fun and enjoyment are at the heart of every moment.  

Fleur Crawford and Ryann Scrafford of Creative Studio Collective, this week’s challenge partner, have put together a creative brief with inspiration to get you started. Sign up for the Creative Studio Collective newsletter for even more resources. 

Entries will be previewed on a Fat Quarter, cropped to an 18×18” square from the bottom left corner. Submissions close September 12 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins September 14. Winners will be announced September 21. See official rules. This challenge includes additional prizes, scroll to the bottom of this post to learn more. 

submit a design



Classic Cartography Throw Pillows | Entries due by September 19, 2023   

From a bird's eye view you see a vintage hand drawn map, stained and wrinkled, spread across a table. On top of the map sit a handwritten note with torn edges, a magnifying glass, a wooden ship’s wheel, three rolled up maps and a small model ship.

Cartography is the art of mapmaking, so dust off those vintage drafting tools and chart a course towards your next throw pillow design. 

Whether you’re inspired by classic tools used to create maps, mythical creatures that often decorate the margins, or the geography of the map itself, this week you’re challenged with incorporating those ideas into a throw pillow design you’d be happy to encounter after returning home from an adventure. 

Remember that while designs with images from the public domain are allowed on Spoonflower.com, they are not accepted in Design Challenges. Read more about challenge rules surrounding copyright and original artwork. 

Entries will be previewed on a Throw Pillow. Submissions close September 19 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. Voting begins September 21. Winners will be announced September 28. See official rules. 

submit a design





Grand Prize

One Grand Prize Winner each week will receive $200 in Spoondollars. The winner will also receive additional exposure in our email newsletters and social media mentions.

The 1st place winner for the Lake Life Design Challenge, chosen by Creative Studio Collective, will receive a $200 Spoonflower credit and the following additional prizes supplied by Creative Studio Collective: 12 months of Monthly Portfolio Building Creative Briefs, the Art of Pitching Workshop, Roundtable Insider Access to POD brands, makers, & artists, a one-hour coaching session with Fleur & Ryann and a feature in the Creative Studio Collective newsletter. 

Second Place

The 2nd place winner will receive $100 in Spoondollars.

The 2nd place winner for the Lake Life Design Challenge will receive a $100 Spoonflower credit and the following additional prizes supplied by Creative Studio Collective: 12 months of Monthly Portfolio Building Creative Briefs, Roundtable Insider Access to POD brands, makers, & artists and a feature in the Creative Studio Collective newsletter. 


Third Place

The 3rd place winner will receive $50 in Spoondollars.

The 3rd place winner for the Lake Life Design Challenge will receive a $50 Spoonflower credit and the following additional prizes supplied by Creative Studio Collective: 6 months of Monthly Portfolio Building Creative Briefs and a feature in the Creative Studio Collective newsletter. 


The rest of the top 10

4th through 10th place winners will receive a $20 Spoondollar credit.

The 4th through 10th place winners for the Lake Life Design Challenge will receive a $20 Spoonflower credit and 3 months of Monthly Portfolio Building Creative Briefs suplied by Creative Studio Collective. .


All of the top 100

Each of the top 100 entries, determined as set forth above, not receiving one of the foregoing prizes will be automatically proofed for sale in the Spoonflower Marketplace (approximately a $5 value) (the “Runner Up Prize”) if winners are verified sellers.