Design Resources

Turn Your Hand Lettering into a Fabric Design: Backgrounds and Repeats

May 2, 2018

Kathy Glynn, the author of Hand Lettering Step by Step: Techniques & Projects to Express Yourself Creatively, is back to share the second part of her DIY hand lettering tutorial. By the time you’re done, you’ll be ready to digitally print your calligraphy onto your favorite fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap. If you missed part one, digitizing your lettering, of Kathy’s two-part series, be sure to take a peek before you get started today.

Kathy: Designing your own fabric is a fun way to share your lettering with others or to incorporate your lettering into your craft projects. Before you get started, decide on the elements you want to use, keeping in mind that the design will be repeated. Today I’m using a calligraphic phrase I previously scanned and a scanned watercolor swatch to color the lettering. I used the watercolor swatch to create a custom pattern in Photoshop that gives the lettering a subtle gradation effect. [Read more…] about Turn Your Hand Lettering into a Fabric Design: Backgrounds and Repeats

Turn Your Hand Lettering into a Fabric Design: Digitize your Design

April 25, 2018

Have you tried your hand at calligraphy, the DIY trend that’s adding a personal touch to projects like wedding invitations, wall art and even fabric? If you’ve been eager to give this trend a try, you’re in luck because we’re excited to welcome Kathy Glynn, the artist and author behind Hand Lettering Step by Step: Techniques & Projects to Express Yourself Creatively, for a two part series showing you how to transform your hand lettering into a fabric design.

In today’s installment, Kathy will share the first step of this project: taking your lettering from paper to pixel.

How To Personalize Baby’s First Blanket with Photoshop

March 30, 2018

Stefanie from The Style Safari is back for one last DIY nursery project! Whether you’re a mom or dad-to-be or are simply looking for just the right gift for an upcoming baby shower, Stefanie’s custom blanket tutorial will show you just how easy it is to personalize what’s sure to be baby’s favorite blankie.

How to Customize a Baby Blanket with Photoshop | Spoonflower Blog

Vintage Roses by andrea_lauren

How to Create a Seamless Repeat from a Drawing

January 29, 2018

Surface pattern design is not just for the professionals! If you’ve ever browsed our Marketplace for unicorn, confetti or even motorcycle fabric, there’s a good chance you’ve been curious to know how designers have created their seamless repeats. Today we’re putting the tools into your own hands (professional, aspiring or otherwise) with a simple step-by-step tutorial that shows one way to create your very own seamless repeat design, no fancy editing software required!

Tools required:

Tape
8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper
Pens, pencils, markers or crayons
A straight edge or ruler
Craft knife or scissors
Optional: Cutting surface
Access to a scanner

Step 1: Create your drawing. The key is not to let any of your artwork go off the page—keep it contained!

Budget-Friendly Tips for Printing Photos on Fabric

December 15, 2017

Calling all photographers! If you’ve been dreaming of a unique and affordable way to print your photos, we’ve got just the thing for you. With the help of Spoonflower team member Todd, you’ll learn all the ins and outs of printing your precious photographs on fabric to showcase your memories, and all for a fraction of the price.

Making Spirits Bright: DIY Paper Snowflake Table Runner

December 5, 2017

Are you ready to take a stroll down memory lane for today’s Handmade Holiday Blog Hop project? With a little help from Spoonflower designer Anda Corrie, you’ll be channeling a classic childhood holiday project for this stunning Celosia Velvet™ table runner! Don’t forget to add an extra dose of festive fun with handmade tassels following Anda’s helpful photo tutorial. See how easy it is to create this statement holiday décor project using paper snowflakes and get an inside look at Anda’s holiday celebrations in Berlin, Germany.

Behind the Seams of the Renegade Craft Fair

November 21, 2017

Close your eyes and imagine a space where your favorite makers all get together in one place for you and your friends to shop. Lucky for you, and thanks to the Renegade Craft Fair, you don’t just have to imagine this magical place! The Renegade Craft Fair is the world’s largest curated showcase of independent crafters and designers, now with fairs in 12 cities across the world. Today we’re so pleased to welcome Madelon Juliano, Associate Creative Director at Renegade Craft Fair. We first met Madelon when she started printing the fair’s event banners on Spoonflower’s Poly Crepe de Chine. and today we’re so pleased to welcome her to the blog (and now the Spoonflower Marketplace!) to learn more about her involvement with RCF and find out how her custom designs went from paper to poly.

Behind the Scenes of Renegade Craft Fair | Spoonflower Blog

Using Poly Crepe de Chine, Madelon turned her artwork into event décor for the Renegade Craft Fair. Photo via Renegade Craft Fair

This DIY Photography Hack is Off the Wall!

October 27, 2017

It’s no secret the Spoonflower team is comprised of talented makers pursuing their personal passions outside of the office. During the day they might be busy shipping orders, helping customers or dreaming up the newest fabric to include in our lineup, but by night, they’re hard at work in their studios passionately producing new products for the small businesses they’ve built from the ground up. Today we’re excited to welcome one of these makers and small business owners, operations team member and creator of Pink Moon Ceramics, Jenna Leitner. The first time we saw how Jenna incorporated Spoonflower’s Smooth Wallpaper in her product photography, we knew we had to learn more. If you’re a maker looking for an easy (and affordable) way to highlight your work, Jenna’s photography hack could be the answer you’re looking for!

Featured designs: line_mandala_dark by holli_zollinger & Scaterred triangles by sunny_afternoon

From Fridge to Fabric: Turn Artwork into an Adorable Apron

September 21, 2017

As a parent, one of the most joyful and fulfilling experiences is hanging up artwork created by your kids. But as the holidays stack up, so do the drawings, pictures, and art projects. Looking for a better way to hang onto your kids’ creations instead of a revolving cast of fridge decorations? One of our favorite projects is the DIY Adjustable Apron (click here for the apron tutorial). But how do you get from artwork on the fridge to a custom, DIY apron? In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to scan, isolate, and arrange a classic kids holiday art project, the hand print turkey, into a seamlessly repeating pattern. Kid’s will love seeing their work in a new way, and you’ll love having something functional that still shows your love and pride for your little one. So grab a turkey drawing (or a couple!) and let’s get started. [Read more…] about From Fridge to Fabric: Turn Artwork into an Adorable Apron

How-To: Posters and Prints with Spoonflower Gift Wrap

September 6, 2017

Have an empty wall at home that needs some love? Spoonflower designer, Anda, has the perfect remedy in her easy to follow tutorial that turns Spoonflower gift wrap into beautiful works of art giving your bedroom, living room or hallway walls a major uplift! For designers and makers alike, read below to see how she does it.

I recently remodeled my children’s bedroom. Okay — I actually just bought them a bunk bed and found a couple of new places to shove toys from immediate view. But, it’s like a whole new world in there! Somehow the process of rearranging a room always makes me want to revamp the artwork on display as well, so I started combing through old drawings for interesting kid’s room decor. Spoonflower’s gift wrap opens endless opportunities for inexpensive DIY artwork, and you can print several posters on one roll. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through two ways to set up files with multiple images using Adobe Photoshop or InDesign.