Design Resources

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.

DIY Wedding: Turn a Love Note Into a Keepsake

August 29, 2017

When a Spoonflower team member gets ready to say ‘I do,’ you can guarantee custom fabric will be making an appearance. For DIY bride and Marketing team member Meredith, she knew fabric would play a big role on her big day. From customized bridesmaids’ tote bags to a handmade ring pillow, her guests got the full Spoonflower experience. When it came to the gift she’d give her husband-to-be, Meredith knew exactly where she’d find her inspiration. Using a twist on the always popular recipe tea towel project, see how this crafty bride created a handmade handkerchief to commemorate the special occasion for under $22!

Turn a love note into a keepsake | Spoonflower Blog

A surprise note on the inside of a handkerchief makes for a lasting memory.

Personalized Wedding Pillows for Under $10 [template included]

March 28, 2017

Earlier this year, we were feeling the love when we shared our Personalized Wedding Pillows for Under $10 DIY project on the blog. We received lots of excitement for this project and a handful of requests for a pillow template. The wedding bells must be ringing because today we’re excited to share four different pillow templates, ready for your customized details!

vintage airmail wedding pillow printed with Spoonflower fabric

Personalize your next wedding gift with a Lightweight Cotton Twill pillow. Ready to Fly wallpaper by Meredith Macleod

Skillshare + Spoonflower Present: Designing Patterns that Work – Creating Motifs for Products

February 14, 2017

We’re so excited to announce that we’ve teamed up with Skillshare, an online learning community for creatives, to bring you a new class on pattern design! Taught by designer, patternmaker and Spoonflower community favorite Samarra Khaja aka SammyK (creator of the adorable Hungry Monster Laundry Bags and so much more), this class is great for pattern makers and designers who want to explore their style and theme further- or just create a set of souvenirs representing their city!

Join Samarra as she walks you through her process of creating a souvenir set for New York City using a consistent motif to create a repeating pattern. Then, using Spoonflower, she’ll print out the design and turn it into a tote bag and a pillow that support the motif. We’ve taken the course, and can confidently say that it’s sure to get your creativity flowing and inspire you to make things that are fun and functional.

We can’t speak highly enough about this course, Samarra, or how excited we are to partner with Skillshare. So click the link below to get started and get your first three months of Skillshare Premium for FREE to access this class and 14,000 others:

Personalized Wedding Pillows for Under $10

January 24, 2017

Like many creatives, I often find myself daydreaming about my next big sewing project even before my current project is complete. Whether in the car, walking my dog or even brushing my teeth, custom fabric projects are always on the brain. While on a trail run, I dreamt up my race bib running top. Most recently, while getting the mail, the lightbulb went off for custom pillows inspired by vintage envelopes.

These pillows look great on Linen Cotton Canvas, Eco Canvas and Heavy Cotton Twill, but I was excited to try Spoonflower’s newest fabric, Lightweight Cotton Twill. This lightweight fabric is both soft and durable, is easy to work with, and is a perfect addition to your couch when made into a pillow.

Personalize your next wedding gift with a Lightweight Cotton Twill pillow. Ready to Fly wallpaper by Meredith Macleod

12 Days of Design: Day 11 Optimize Your Design for Selling

January 11, 2017

12 Days of Design: Day 10 Using the Color Changer & Hex Codes

January 10, 2017

Change Colors in your design with our color changing tool. When you click on this tool, you will be taken to a new page, where you can make color changes. You can select different amounts of color options depending on how many hues you have used in your design, then make changes to specific colors.

Computer monitors display millions of different colors. Since a blue color may be called teal by some and turquoise by others, there has to be a way to describe colors without being so subjective. Today, we’re exploring hex codes – a combination of six numbers or letters that identify a specific color.

Hex codes are often used in design software like Adobe Photoshop, and our Color Changer tool uses them too. Spoonflower color maps have their corresponding hex codes listed within each color chip as an easy reference. Color maps can be printed onto any of fabrics and wallpaper, so you’ll know what a specific hex code will look like on that particular substrate.

Here at Spoonflower we print in sRGB and identify colors using hex codes. If your heart is set on a particular color, like a Pantone color, for example, we strongly recommend that you find the closest equivalent hex code and order swatches to confirm the closest match. Test swatches are the best way to confirm how colors will look on the fabric or wallpaper you plan to use.

Now, onto changing colors using our color changer tool.

On the design page for the design you wish to alter:

Click ‘Change Colors’ for the design you want to adjust.
The color changer tool will convert your image to an image with 24 colors. You can now change any of the the colors in your design. See the flow chart below:

For more information and tips on using the color changer tool, follow this easy tutorial! You may also find it helpful to read more about the Spoonflower Color Map and the way we print colors. Check out this resource on downloading an ASE profile.

Happy designing!

12 Days of Design: Day 9 Discover Repeats

January 9, 2017

So — you’ve gone through all the hard work of creating a design and that’s great, but you’re not done yet! It still needs to repeat. A fun feature of Spoonflower is that you can set up your preferences on scale and repeat for each type of product (fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap). An image can be large scale for fabric and then smaller scale for gift wrap. We also offer 5 different types (basic, half-drop, half-brick, mirrored and centered) of repeats that let you use one simple element to create a fabulous design. Let’s go over each one.

This is an example of the basic repeat, which will be the default repeat on the design when you first upload it to your Spoonflower account. [Read more…] about 12 Days of Design: Day 9 Discover Repeats