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row row row your boat fabric textile deisgn

Day at the Lake: Spoonflower Design Challenge

I love to be next to water, whether it is a babbling brook, dipping my toes into the freezing lake Michigan here in Chicago or simply watching the waves roll in on the coast.

Even better is to be “on” the water, and for my “Day at the Lake” I turned to simple white rowing boats and lily pads. Row, Row, Row your Boat. I can almost hear the gentle splashes and drips from those oars.

row your boat textile surface pattern design

The design is perfect for a laid back lake house …from placemats to bedding

Voting starts on Thursday 16th July

Update

Wow this is the sixth week in a row I have placed high enough to earn an automatic proof! This week I came in at #21 out of 615 entries and got 201 votes, thanks everyone who took the time to scroll though all those designs a pick my “little o design” as worthy of a vote!

row your boat pattern winner
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reptile skin banner

Colorful Reptiles Spoonflower Design Challenge

I came up with two design for this weeks Spoonflower design challenge, Colorful Reptiles.

My first intertwined chameleons, geckos and snakes and I called it lizard licking (!)

and my second I went for a lizard skin texture.

lizard skin pattern repeat

I dilly dallied about which one to enter and turned to the Spoonflower Fan Facebook group for a bit of good old fashioned honest critique. The skin came out as the winner so in it went. I have a feeling the design is going to bomb but there we go!

Prove me wrong and go and vote!

Update

I seem to be on a roll with these design challenges as this is the fifth week in a row I have placed high enough to earn an automatic proof of my design!

I came in at 51/657 and got 164 votes. Thanks so much if you voted, I am in a happy mood for the rest of the day now!

lizard-skin-fabric-design
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smell those aromatherapy oils banner

Aromatherapy Design Challenge

I have a selection of beautiful blue glass bottles filled with sumptuous essential oils and these were the inspiration for my entry into this weeks Spoonflower’s design challenge, Aromatherapy.

I ended up producing two version of my design, a light one and a dark one which I selected to enters. It was a last minute switcharoo so hopefully I picked the best one!

aromatherapy oils fabric design

There are literally loads of different essential oils used in aromatherapy but I chose lavender, rose and eucalyptus to feature in my pattern. My seamless design “Smell those Aromatherapy Oils” features a soft soothing color palette and plays with transparency. It’s a shame it isn’t scratch and sniff!

It looks lovely as a pillow

smell those aromatherapy oils pillow

Voting starts on July 2 .. yikes are we into July already.

Update!

Hooray my design placed coming in at 36/684 and receiving 159 votes.

aromatherapy oils pattern design
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i spy ice cream trucks fabic pattern

I spy Ice Cream Trucks: Ice Cream Truck Challenge

This weeks Spoonflower challenge prompt is Ice Cream Trucks and I ummed and ahhed about what to create.

As a kid I always bought blue raspberry lollies and that was the inspiration behind my first design.

blue raspberry lollypops

and although I love it it didn’t really shout “Ice Cream Truck” so I went a more obvious route.

i spy ice cream trucks surface fabric

If you look closely you will see I actually incorporated my blue lollies as a background texture element!

The pattern is perfect for kitchen linens like placemats and looks equally happy and fun as bedding. What kid wouldn’t want to dive into and ice ceram bed?!

As always voting starts Thursday so why not sit down with something frozen and tasty and vote for I spy Ice Cream Trucks

Updates

Placed by the skin of my teeth but so grateful for all your votes. I Spy Ice cream Trucks came in at 60/629 receiving 125 votes

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tessellated tranquility

Quiet Space: Spoonflower Challenge

I have been playing around with tessellation recently and already have a couple of patterns accepted by Patternbank, check out Frenzy and Tessellated Dogster

So when the prompt of quiet space came up as a challenge my mind immediately went to the calming nature of positive and negative space that can be created with a beautifully tessellated shape.

I went for a soft flowing shape…no hard angles for an eye to stop abruptly at. And of course the design had to be a soft calming blue with the hint of a watercolor wash.

Presenting Tessellated Tranquility

tessellated tranquility wallpaper

Not sure on the reaction of this one…it may well bomb, but as always you will be a friend forever if you vote for me! – voting starts 11th June.

tessellated tranquility wallpaper

Update!

Tessellated Tranquility came in at 39/820 and received 141 votes you can buy it here

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midsummer floral banner

Midsummer Spoonflower Design Challenge

I cracked open my watercolor paints for this weeks Spoonflower Design challenge – Midsummer Festival and created a hand painted design evocative of pretty floral crowns. “Meadow Floral Crowns

midsummer wreathe

Once I got going I just let my paintbrush run wild and ended up producing an entire collection of pretty summer floral patterns.

Update!

My design placed 63/739 and received 134 votes. Thank to everyone who voted

You can buy the fabric here

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butterfly meadow toil pattern banner

Modern Toile Wallpaper

I took a more modern interpretation of toile for this weeks Spoonflower challenge. My Butterfly Toile design features whimsical butterflies fluttering between meadow flowers but in keeping with traditional toile I kept to a blue color palette. What can I say. I am a sucker for blue and will use it whenever I can!

butterfly meadow toil wallpaper

I might have gone too far out of the box of the challenge prompt but the design makes a pretty wallpaper!

Voting opens on May 21 and closes on May 26, all votes appreciated!

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prairie restoration is good

Designs For Good Design Challenge

This week the Spoonflower design challenge is to create a repeat pattern inspired by a cause that is close to your heart. The inspiration for me was easy and motivated by the habitat restoration volunteer work I do with Lake County Forest Preserve.

For about a year and a half I have been working with a great team at Cuba Marsh where we have been restoring the prairie back to it’s former glory by removing invasive shrubs like blackthorn and sowing native seeds.

The results are breathtaking!

and here is my design that they inspired, “Prairie Restoration is Good

prairie restoration is good

This week the winner will not only win Spoondollars but Spoonflower will also make a $200 donation to the winning designer’s non-profit organization of choice.

Update

Well I didn’t get that coveted first place but came in at a very respectable 4th!

with 279 votes, the most votes I have ever received in a challenge – even more than the challenge I won!

Many thanks to all who voted!

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