Back to School

August Weekly Prompts

July 19, 2016

This month we celebrate the back-to-school season with our friends at Plum Print. Plum Print is the easy, super smart way to turn the piles and piles of artwork your children create (and perhaps you too!) into custom coffee-table books, digital archives, home décor and other gifts. This month, we’re partnering up to offer you great prizes for your fabulous weekly designs!

How it works: To participate, you’ll simply upload your design to Spoonflower, make it “public” and add in that week’s specific tag. Each week will have its own special tag, which is how participating designs will be found on Spoonflower.

Top 10 Backpack Fabrics

August 14, 2014

You may recognize this week’s winner: Andie was the 2012 Fabric8 contest champion! From fashion to fabric design, she can do it all. You chose her brightly patterned backpack fabric to top this week’s contest. Don’t miss the rest of our super smart designs!

SEE THE TOP 10!

Here are your voting results:

1. 337 votes for Back-pack_to_School by anderson_lee
2. 312 votes for MonstersGotoSchool_Mayes_copy by laura_mayes
3. 280 votes for backpack woodland style by laura_the_drawer
4. 279 votes for Backpacks by mariaspeyer
5. 261 votes for Bike Books Backpack by katerhees
6. 260 votes for School Daydreams by belinda_sigs
7. 254 votes for polka dot backpacks by catalinakim
8. 226 votes for Recent Arrivals by christinewitte
9. 222 votes for We’re All In This Together by runningriver
10. 221 votes for Backpacks in the Cottage by thepaperdrawer

Vote For Science Fair Designs

March 21, 2014

Who will take home the blue ribbon prize? Vote for your favorite entry in the Science Fair Design Challenge.

VOTE NOW!

Pencil Case Tutorial + Learn to Sew a Zipper

August 31, 2013

Spoonflower team member Michelle shows us how to sew up a quick pencil case using one of her favorite cut & sew kits from our recent design challenge. Pick your favorite kit, learn how to install a zipper, and fill your new handmade pencil case with back to school goodies!

This tutorial shows you how to create a pencil case using one of my favorite designs from the top ten Pencil Case Cut & Sews from our recent design challenge. Even if you are a little nervous about installing a zipper, these bags sew up fast and easy! I taught students how to whip up these sweet bags in a class our community crafting space, The Greenhouse, this past Tuesday. Even the most apprehensive students walked away with an adorable bag. If you’re nearby, check out the schedule for more fun classes in the Greenhouse!

Once you learn to make a lined zippered bag, you will be dreaming up all of the possibilities– from coin purses to large zippered tote bags!

Back to School: DIY Book Spine Cushion

August 27, 2013

This month on the blog we’ve been sharing back to school DIYs for a creative start to the new school year. Emma Jeffery, author of Hello Beautiful blog, visits to share a design tutorial for cushion covers featuring your favorite book titles, perfect for your study nook!

Since it’s back to school season, I started thinking about a design that might appeal to teachers and children alike. I came up with the idea to create a book spine image (made to look like books on a shelf) with the authors being the names of children in the class and the titles saying something about the child, their interests, personalities or hobbies. I wanted to make it fun and quirky since I imagine this design being used on cushions in a reading corner of a classroom. I think kids would get a huge kick out of seeing their name on a book cover (even just an illustration of one) and I hope it might inspire a lifelong love for books and reading.

book spine

I have been desperately wanting to improve my design skills so that I can make the most of the array of options and possibilities Spoonflower has to offer, but until now I’ve been hesitant at trying my hand at using professional design software. For this project however, I had a clear idea of how I wanted my design to look, and I figured that with its straight lines and simple graphics, it might just be the project that introduces me to the world of Adobe Illustrator.

I downloaded the trial version of Illustrator, available here. The following tutorial is an absolute beginner’s guide to some of the most basic tools of the software, written by an absolute beginner (me). But hey, if I can do it, you can too!

Creative Kids’ Desk Spaces

August 20, 2013

As they say, a well organized, beautiful environment makes for a clear head and more productive experience overall. We’re inspired by these creative children’s study spaces to make a fresh start to the new school year!

Messenger bag makeover

August 19, 2013

Mariah from Everything Golden visits to share a simple vintage army messenger bag update using a mix of custom and vintage fabric scraps. Get the how to and head back to school with a creative book bag to haul your gear!

Mariah: In the spirit of heading back to school, I thought I’d spruce up a vintage army messenger bag with some custom Spoonflower fabric. I designed the orange fabric and used a piece of vintage scrap fabric for the flap. You can purchase the orange design here, or design your own custom print!

What you’ll need:

1. Any bag you’d like to update

2. Eco Canvas fabric (or any other durable fabric such as Linen Cotton Canvas or Faux Suede), 2 square pieces and 2 triangle pieces

3. Snap or regular button

4. Needle and thread

5. Scissors

6. Iron

I wanted my pocket to fit my phone so I measured the fabric to ensure it would fit, leaving at least 1” seam allowance on all sides.

Place the two square pieces together, both right sides facing up. Separately fold the two top edges down using an iron and sew a seam on the edge that faces up. Then fold the remaining three sides under, and iron. Then place the triangle pieces together, right sides facing each other, and sew all sides leaving about 2” open so you can turn it right side out.

Place your square piece and your triangular flap together and pin to your bag. Sew the edge of the top back square piece with the triangle flap tucked under and sew the rest of the sides.

With a needle and thread hand sew your snaps and voila, you’re done!

Need more DIY projects? Check out our Back to School DIYs roundup for 41 awesome projects to get your creativity flowing!

About Our Guest Author

Mariah is a creative wanderer in design, photography, and style A nature lover to the core she grew up in Sun Valley, Idaho, spent some time in Colorado and is now happy at home in Bozeman, Montana, wher her laser physicist husband and a smarty pants border collie named Indie. Her biggest source of inspriation is found in the solace of the mountains.

Back to School: DIY Vintage School Chart

August 12, 2013

Vintage school charts make creative wall art whether you’re decorating kids’ homework spaces with tools for learning or filling your home with character-rich treasures. Anda, from Etsy, visits to share how she designed her own vintage-inspired school chart map of the US. Get the how-to and create your own scholarly wall hanging!

Anda: While I was pregnant with my son, “nesting” took the form of an intense addiction to shopping on my phone. Specifically, vintage shopping. I became hooked on collecting old school chart posters (Rollkarte in German) of out-of-date maps, botanical illustrations, combustion engine diagrams, snake skeleton illustrations and the like. I would spend hours lounging on the couch like a languorous walrus and buying/bidding on scenes of the water cycle or posters depicting song birds of northern Germany. By the time I gave birth and awoke from my consumerist fugue, I was the proud and broke owner of about two dozen Rollkarten.

DIY Inspiration: Back to School

August 6, 2013

Get inspired to hit the books with these creative Back to School DIYs. Check out more school-themed projects on our Back to School Pinterest board, and share yours with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with the hashtag #backtoschoolDIY!

School doodles on fabric

August 30, 2012

The winner of our school supply-themed fabric contest is PennyCandy, an amazing Seattle designer with one previous win to her credit (last year's tea towel calendar contest). It almost certainly won't be her last! Looking through the top vote-getters, I expect there are at least one or two kids out there who can expect an awesome new bookbag soon.

The final voting results:

1. 639 votes for Doodled School Supplies by pennycandy
2. 530 votes for Coloured Pencil Love by kayajoy
3. 499 votes for back_to_school by woodmouse&bobbit
4. 481 votes for Dancing School supplies by padeshahoo
5. 468 votes for pencil by policunha
6. 417 votes for Inspirational Pencils by jumping_birds
7. 379 votes for doodle_supplies by johanna_design
8. 338 votes for Pencils by mawaridi
9. 324 votes for a la rentree by minimiel
10. 313 votes for Draw, Cut, Glue by jennartdesigns