Another fun competition can be found at tigerprint. This time it is all about design Christmas-themed wrapping paper. Your design could end up in stores nationwide. Just make sure you don’t submit a design that is currently for sale or has already sold. Submissions must be original or unpublished work. The closing date is November 10 so don’t delay.
Spoonflower is an online service that allows you to upload your patterns and have they printed on several mediums – fabric, wallpaper or gift wrap.
Fabric choices include basic combed cotton, Kona cotton, performance pique, cotton poplin, poly crepe de chine (for a limited time), silky faille, performance knit (a fave of mine), cotton silk, linen-cotton canvas, organic cotton interlock knit (another fave), organic cotton sateen, eco canvas, heavy cotton twill, faux suede and silk crepe de chine.
Wallpaper choices include smooth and woven wallpapers with adhesive backing or peel and stick wallpaper.
Gift Wrap is available in matte or satin.
It is a great community offering weekly contests to participate in and be inspired by the great works of others.
Not ready to design your own? You can browse other people’s designs or check out their design tools to lead you to your heart’s desire.
For Mother’s Day, I received the best gift – a year’s worth of learning. Creativebug provided a great price and my family picked up on my not-so-subtle hints — $50/year which provided me unlimited access to all workshops. Looks like the annual subscription is still available!
Creativebug offers online craft classes, with classes added weekly.
So far I have learned basic embroidery stitches, crochet stitches, strung bead and leather bracelets, and free-form machine embroidery.
Some of my favorite designers are instructors – love being inspired by them:
One of my favorite reads at the moment is the one that led me to the Global Talent Search. “I Just Like to Make Things” is written by Lilla Rogers who heads an agency representing leading artists in the surface design, illustration and other designed goods field. Her book, as well as the website, provide a wealth of knowledge with insights of the field and art markets.
Invested $40 this summer and enrolled in the Lilla Rogers Global Talent Search. They email you a creative brief. You have two weeks to complete and submit for consideration. I only had 999 other eager candidates vying for the 50 spots for the second round. I didn’t make the cut, but it did set me up with a network of wanna-bes that inspire me each day. Check out the 50 semi-finalists.
So I just couldn’t make up my mind and started looking under crochet. Found many adorable free patterns. Unfortunately, my skills didn’t match the cuteness. Twice I pulled the plug while watching college football. May go back to the sewing choices…
No, not mine! Have a co-worker who is expecting and just got the shower evite. Of course I had to scour the internet and Pinterest to find some ideas. Came across a lot of cuteness and haven’t decided yet. Part of the fun (most of it) is in the planning. Here are some possibilities I came across.
