Design Challenge

Announcing July’s Design Challenge Themes

June 2, 2017

Circus elements designed by Jennifer Sbranti of Hostess with the Mostess

Ladies and gentlemen, step right up to the greatest design show on Earth! Grab your peanuts and cotton candy because we’re heading under the big top with our July design challenge partners, Operation Shower®! While there’s no limit to your creativity, this month’s challenges will highlight four different limited color palettes to coordinate with Operation Shower’s August circus inspired baby shower. As a big top bonus, all of the top 3 winners from each design challenge in July will automatically be in the running to be selected as a featured design at Operation’s Shower Under the Big Top baby shower during the PGA TOUR’s The Northern Trust tournament.

Get to know Operation Shower
Operation Shower hosts joyful group baby showers for military families across the country. The showers are an opportunity for military families to leave the stresses of deployment at home, come together and celebrate. Learn more about Operation Shower.

Sunshine safari baby shower tablescape by Operation Shower

With a baby shower theme like Sunshine Safari, we can just imagine what a bright and festive celebration it was! Photo by Jackie Culmer Photography

Operation Shower and their talented team use table decor to tell a story at an Operation Shower celebration. Photo by Uptown Girl Photography + Designs

So come one, come all – It’s time to head into the design ring for July’s weekly design challenges!

Announcing the Whimsical Watercolor Cityscapes Design Challenge Winners

June 1, 2017

“Holland in royal Delft blue watercolors” by heleen_vd_thillart is the winner in the Whimsical Watercolor Cityscapes design challenge!

After seeing all of the entries in this week’s design challenge sponsored by our friends at Skillshare, we had to call in a friend to help with judging because we caught the travel bug! Luckily, our special guest judge, Samarra Khaja, best known as SammyK in the Spoonflower community and city motif expert, was ready to help!

A big congratulations goes out to this week’s challenge winner, Heleen van den Thillart (aka heleen_vd_thillart) for her winning design, Holland in royal Delft blue watercolors! Inspired by the 9 years she spent in Delft, Holland, Heleen’s design has won her the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit and a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription. The 2nd place winner, sarah_treu, will receive $100 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The 3rd place winner, torysevas, will receive $50 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

1. 376 votes for Holland in royal Delft blue watercolors by heleen_vd_thillart
2. 361 votes for Salt Lake City by sarah_treu
3. 358 votes for norden_city by torysevas
4. 356 votes for New York watercolor by scrummy
5. 315 votes for CITY by j9design
6. 292 votes for Pastel City by miranema
7. 242 votes for in the Spanish South coast by analinea
8. 239 votes for Once Upon A Time by ceciliamok
9. 227 votes for La Nuit Parisienne by susan_polston
10. 223 votes for City Life by Friztin by friztin

What’s Inside Our Biggest Design Challenge Prize Package Ever!

June 1, 2017

Picture yourself laying in a palm tree-shaded hammock, an umbrella cocktail in your hand and not a worry in sight. Thanks to the generous support of our June design challenge partners at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, your dream vacation to Waikiki’s only resort destination could become a reality! Take a closer look at the June weekly design challenge winner prize pack below, and don’t forget to visit our design challenge timeline for important entry deadlines. With our biggest prize package EVER, this is one design challenge you don’t want to miss. We can’t wait to see you in Hawaii!

A view from the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Your entry in our June design challenges could send you here! Photo via Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort

Announcing the Whimsical Watercolor Insects Design Challenge Winners

May 25, 2017

“Butterflies_and_bugs” by flyinglizard is the grand prize winner in the Whimsical Watercolor Insect design challenge!

This week’s challenge transformed some of our favorite ( and not so favorite!) creepy crawlies into beautiful watercolor renditions fit for any habitat! Three cheers for our FIRST-TIME design challenge winner, Cas Smirthwaite Walker ( aka Flyinglizard)! She fluttered into the winners circle with her design, Butterflies_and_bugs, and will be taking home the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit and a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription. The 2nd place winner, thestorysmith, will receive $100 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The 3rd place winner, sarah_treu, will receive $50 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

1. 292 votes for Butterflies_and_bugs by flyinglizard
2. 290 votes for Catching Fireflies by thestorysmith
3. 261 votes for Sweet Dreams Caterpillars & Fireflies by sarah_treu
4. 255 votes for Insecta_Nocturnus by j9design
5. 242 votes for Dragonflies and tea roses by laurawrightstudio
6. 206 votes for Whimsical Watercolour Butterfly Whirl by stitchyrichie
7. 205 votes for Busy Bees – Watercolor by heatherdutton
8. 199 votes for Dragonflies in My Garden – Large Size by y_me_it’s_me
9. 198 votes for colorful butterflies by camcreative
10. 197 votes for watercolour bees on white by bethramsden [Read more…] about Announcing the Whimsical Watercolor Insects Design Challenge Winners

A Closer Look Into June’s Design Challenge

May 19, 2017

Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort design challenge FAQs

Tropical Palms by fable_design

Aloha, design community! Earlier this month we shared exciting news about our upcoming June design challenge sponsored by Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. We hope you’re as inspired by the surroundings of the Hilton Hawaiian Village as we are! While you may already be sharpening those pencils, sketching your design ideas and dreaming of the sand between your toes, we’ve been rounding up a few FAQs regarding the official rules and prizes for our biggest design challenge yet!

Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Fruit Design Challenge

May 18, 2017

“watercolor pomegranate” by nadja_petremand is the grand prize winner of the Whimsical Watercolor Fruits design challenge!

Nothing says spring better than a big bowl of fresh fruit and beautiful textile designs to match! This week, we’re celebrating the sunny weather and our Whimsical Watercolor Fruits design challenge winner, Nadja Petremand (nadja_petremand), who took home first place with her delicious design, watercolor pomegranate! The fruits of her labor really paid off. Nadja will be taking home the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit and a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription. The 2nd place winner, alenkakarabanova, will receive $100 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The 3rd place winner, holaholga, will receive $50 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

1. 361 votes for watercolor pomegranate by nadja_petremand
2. 360 votes for Fragrant peaches by alenkakarabanova
3. 331 votes for lemon by holaholga
4. 325 votes for Summer fruit by adenaj
5. 315 votes for blueberrybushes by ldpapers
6. 314 votes for vijgenblad by hanneke_binnen
7. 300 votes for _TK-Blueberry_Bird_Whimsical_Watercolor by doodledoer-teresakelly
8. 292 votes for watery watermelons by karismithdesigns
9. 272 votes for Watercolor plums by peachbloom
10. 258 votes for Summer Slices by digidivagraphics [Read more…] about Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Fruit Design Challenge

Announcing June’s Design Challenge Themes

May 12, 2017

We’re packing our swimsuits, putting on the sunblock and saying Aloha to our friends in Hawaii for June’s weekly design challenges! Throughout the entire month, enjoy design themes inspired by the serene surroundings of our design challenge partners, Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort. We are beyond excited to announce that with the generous support of the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort, the grand prize winner of each design challenge throughout June will receive (2) five night stays (one for promotional use and one for vacation) at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort and $1,000 towards your airfare! That’s right: your design challenge entry could lead you to the beautiful white sand beaches of Waikiki, where your only worry will be deciding whether you enjoy your tiki drink with or without a paper umbrella.

Before you start packing, it’s time to start designing! Read on to learn all about our island inspired themes. [Read more…] about Announcing June’s Design Challenge Themes

Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Abstract Design Challenge

May 11, 2017

Abstract deep blue by selmacardoso is the winner of the Whimsical Watercolor Abstract design challenge!

Big bold strokes of watercolor genius took center stage this week during the Whimsical Watercolor Abstract design challenge! Please put your hands together for first time design challenge winner, Selma Cardoso (selmacardoso), who took first place with her design, Abstract deep blue! Selma will be receiving the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit and a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription. The 2nd place winner, appaloosa_designs, will receive $100 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The 3rd place winner, ceciliamok, will receive $50 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

1. 219 votes for Abstract deep blue by selmacardoso
2. 216 votes for Whimsical Orchard by appaloosa_designs
3. 215 votes for Daydreaming by ceciliamok
4. 214 votes for cosmic radiance abstract watercolor by mimipinto
5. 203 votes for Abstract watercolor waves by elena_naylor
6. 195 votes for abstract watercolour floral by cjldesigns
7. 185 votes for watercolour_voronoi by catashtrophe
8. 177 votes for Dreamy_Blue_Abstract by ed_designs
9. 172 votes for Abstract Watercolour (pastels) by cerigwen
10. 171 votes for Abstract Watercolor by minikuosi [Read more…] about Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Abstract Design Challenge

Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Fantasy Creatures Design Challenge

May 4, 2017

watercolor mermaids by mintedtulips is the grand prize winner!

While we can’t guarantee we’ll be seeing mermaids, yetis and dragons co-existing outside of the Spoonflower design challenge world, we can promise the winning designs will brighten your day with whimsy and fun! A round of applause is in order for FIRST TIME WINNER, Lindsey Marsh ( aka mintedtulip) for her design, Watercolor Mermaid! Lindsey will be receiving the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit and a 1-year Skillshare Premium subscription. The 2nd place winner, nouveau_bohemian will receive $100 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The 3rd place winner, heatherdutton will receive $50 in Spoondollars and a 6 month Skillshare Premium subscription. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

Don’t forget, for the first time ever, all submissions into May’s design challenges are automatically entered to win the grand prize full of design goodies worth over $1000!

1. 351 votes for watercolor mermaids by mintedtulip
2. 324 votes for Mythica (sea foam) by nouveau_bohemian
3. 313 votes for Under The Sea – Nautical Mermaid Watercolor Blue by heatherdutton
4. 267 votes for WatercolorFairies by blairfully_made
5. 263 votes for In the Garden by susan_polston
6. 255 votes for Fire dragons in orange and blue watercolors by heleen_vd_thillart
7. 252 votes for Merry Mermaids in Watercolor by micklyn
8. 250 votes for sea unicorn by bruxamagica
9. 234 votes for sweet mermaids by cjldesigns
10. 219 votes for Nessie by artfully_minded [Read more…] about Announcing the Winners of the Whimsical Watercolor Fantasy Creatures Design Challenge

Announcing the Winners of the Birds and Blooms Design Challenge

April 27, 2017

Nesting in Blooms by Susan Polston is the winner of the Birds & Blooms design challenge!

It’s been raining all week at the Spoonflower HQ but it stopped just in time to crown a winner of the Birds and Blooms design challenge! While the extra rain may have helped the blooms in the employee garden, no rain was necessary for the blooms featured in Susan Polston’s winning design challenge entry, Nesting in Blooms! This is Susan’s third time winning a design challenge – our hats are off to her! Susan will be receiving the grand-prize of $200 in Spoonflower credit. The 2nd place winner, ottomanbrim will receive $100 in Spoondollars. The 3rd place winner, laurenthomasdesigns will receive $50 in Spoondollars. The rest of the top 10 winners will receive $20 in Spoonflower credit. See all the top 10 winners.

1. 279 votes for Nesting in Blooms by susan_polston
2. 278 votes for Blue blooms and black birds by ottomanbrim
3. 272 votes for Blossom_and_Birds by laurenthomasdesigns
4. 264 votes for Poppy_Perch by divadeba
5. 255 votes for Lake Alexandra by melarmstrongdesign
6. 252 votes for birds, flowers and strawberries by mirabelleprint
7. 248 votes for Folk Art Birds and Blooms by j9design
8. 247 votes for Gracie’s Garden – Bird Floral by heatherdutton
9. 246 votes for Springtime Birds by sarah_knight
10. 245 votes for Spring Magpie by nicofennec