We are deeply saddened by the reports of the recent tornadoes that have devastated communities in Oklahoma. The American Red Cross continues to expand their efforts to provide shelter, food, and emotional and health care services, so in lieu of our weekly giveaway, Spoonflower is sending a $200 donation to the American Red Cross to aid the disaster relief.
The winner of last week's giveaway for two rolls of custom-printed wallpaper is Eleanor Ramsay. Congratulations, Eleanor!
Spoonflower crew member Allie wallpapered her entryway with Spoonflower removable wallpaper for an exciting pop of pattern perfect for any rented space. Check out the how-to for this simple Renter Dec project!
Living in a rented home usually means a lot of white or beige. In my rented townhome, most of the walls are stark white, and while I'm lucky to have a couple of colorful painted accent walls, the amount of plain white walls is a bit unbearable, so this past weekend I decided to wallpaper my kitchen entryway. This simple project packs minimal time investment and fully removable results, and the little bit of fun pattern adds major interest to my space.
Choosing which small space to wallpaper and what design to use was the toughest part of my entire project. I knew I didn't want to tackle covering an entire wall, but I wanted to do something creative and impactful. I chose my kitchen doorframe since it is right by the front door and the paint was looking a little sad.
Lately I've fallen in love with Mummy Sam's design style and had the hardest time deciding which of her fun designs to use. I chose to go with Pomegranate Envy since the colors tied in well with the colors already in my space.
Supplies:
First I cut strips of wallpaper slightly more narrow than the width of the doorframe. I cut two pieces the length of a standard roll of wallpaper (24" by 144") to just under 4.25" wide. This was more than enough for the project.
Following the instructions included with my wallpaper roll, I folded the wallpaper and submerged in water for 15 seconds.
I then applied the wallpaper to the wall, starting at the bottom and working my way up. Once it was on the wall I used a damp kitchen towel to smooth it out and remove excess water and adhesive.
I did the two sides first, then the top.
Lining up the last piece to create a seamless pattern was the most difficult part of applying the wallpaper.
I'm pretty excited about the finished project and am loving the new pop of pattern!
When Allie is not working as a part of Spoonflower’s marketing team, she can be found crafting, studying for her Masters in Textiles, or snuggling her dog Grace.
The contest participants this week are:
1. 2013-04-08_08-ed
by sam_bw
2. 3 Fates
spin, measure and cut by halfaringcircus
3. A Toile:
Dionysus by vo_aka_virginiao
4. A Twist
of Fate by anniedeb
5. All the
Pretty Horses by sammyk
6. Ancient
Goddess by ringwraith
7. Ancient
Greek Gods and Goddesses by lollyposh
8. Ancient
Greek Monsters by antonybriggs
9. aphrodite
by hezzie
10. aphrodite
by anieke
We're very excited today to announce the Fabric8 finalists, eight talented designers whose designs won the most votes to go on to the final round of our competition. Each of the eight finalists will develop an additional three designs to form a collection for the final round. Voting on the finalists' collections will begin June 6, 2013, and the winner will be offered a contract to design fabric for Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Congrats to the final 8 and to all the semi-finalists!
The finalists are:
We're not planning to post vote totals for the semi-final round, but we will post the rankings. All of the fabrics in this round received lots of votes, so the competition was fierce. All of the designers deserve a round of thanks and congratulations, as do the many, many talented designers who entered and were not selected for the semi-final round. Well done!
The eight finalists are posted in randomized order. The rest of the semi-finalists below appear in order based on total number of votes in the last round:
9.Supernova SpiroGeekChic
by groovity
10. keyboard by botervlieg
11. Robot Rock by fourthirteen
12. motherboarder by
alicefukushima
13. Flower Circuit by candytree
14. Geek atomic floral by
dinorahdesign
15. geeky lace by spaldilocks
16. Piece of Pi Geek Chic by
joannepaynterdesign
17. modern geek by ottomanbrim
18. Geek Chic Smart is Cool by
fischtaledesigns
19. Chic chemist geek by kociara
20. little_chic_geeks by
stacyiesthsu
21. Old School Geek by molipop
22. Reboot by minglestudios
23. USB by ebygomm
24. Tec Tile by spellstone
25. Chic_circuitry by rjtext
26. Eureka! by brennas
27. cubic crystal atom structure
by darcibeth
28. All Things Geek by
littlerhodydesign
29. Geek Chic by ericwight
30. The Pixel Tree by addilou
31. A Mixtape Circuit by
orangeblossomstudio
32. Math Geek Chic by lauriebaars
33. Circuit Board by lauradejong
34. Super Geek Chic. . simply
brilliant! by mariafaithgarcia
35. Lithium Haze - Molecule by
pixeldust
36. Geometric_Spring by saltlabs
37. geek's addiction by
karman_valla
38. brain_detangeling_machine by
johanna_design
39. Geek_Chic_Alphabet_Print** by
pink_koala_design
40. Quirk by natitys
41. geek_chic_dolls by maeli
42. Retro Spaceships and Ray Guns
by diane
43. Reaction Orange on Gray by
violet's_pet_spider
44. Rubey by candyjoyce
45. Scattered Nerd Bird by auki
46. Geek Circuits by
katie_lou_creations
47. geekchic by nat_olly
48. Geek_Chic_Love by
sketchcreative
49. Chic Geek Chevron by
shelleymade
50. Retro Geek Chic by cjldesigns
51. Speak Geek? by amandamcgee
52. Parallel Universes by
blimblimb
53. Cast-A-Hex by wrapartist
54. geometry test cheat sheet by
smudged_textiles_studio
55. acute angles by armommy
56. Geeks Galore by zesti
57. Have you seen my glasses? by
motyka
58. love the odd one out by
studiodageraad
59. Retro Geek by snowflower
60. Pixel Flowers by demigoutte
61. pacMoon by magicforestsarah
62. Bow tie geek by akwaflorell
63. Très chic, très geek (mixed
faces) by gail_mcneillie
64. Reading List by kate_legge
65. Julie's a Chic Geek by
juliesfabrics
66. PixelGeekIcons by a_lark
67. spirographic by kateaurelia
68. A Nerdy Bunch by my_zoetrope
69. Owlbert_Einstein_Swatch by
iluvfabric
70. Do What You < What You Do
by jenimp
71. = HELLO by nadiahassan
72. Math Nerd by audreyclayton
73. What's in Your Pocket? by meg
74. Geek Chic by theboutiquestudio
75. BinarySolarSystem by fleureche
76. Jane-Farnham-Geek-Chic by
jane_farnham
77. Geek Chic by kristinnohe
78. argyle_geek by paintedstudio
79. Geek Garden by demouse
80. tea_towel_design by ck
81. geekery by antoniamanda
82. Dapper Geek by emilyannstudio
83. hip hip geek by scrummy
84. Geek hexies by katarina
85. Selfies by shannonkornis
86. CrystalWilkerson_GeekChic_Entry
by creativitybycrystal
87. GEEKCHICswatch by
shaleceelynne
88. Mac SEs by chris_jorge
89. Antiquated Audio GEEK CHIC by
jannasalak
90. network_color by kcs
91. hello world by ally&lucie
92. high school cool by
babysisterrae
93. Scatter-brain by
annelinesophiadesigns
94. Wardrobe_ by tisouri
95. Geek Chic by popenterprises
96. GeekChic by mrshervi
97. With_the_Program by
esilverdesign
98. geek_alphabet by roxiespeople
99. Musical gadget geek by
valley_designs
100. CHICKGEEK by tammiegreen
This week we're giving away two rolls of custom wallpaper! Our fully removable wallpaper is perfect for projects suited for rented spaces like those we've been sharing this month in our Renter Dec series. How will you use wallpaper to dress your space?
One lucky winner this week will get to choose wallpaper from the marketplace, or to create her or his own design. Spoonflower's removable eco-friendly wallpaper is PVC-free, durable, and self-adhesive -- just soak in water and apply!
Enter any time between now and Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, for a chance to win. The lucky winner of last week's book bundle giveaway is Sharon Thomson. Congrats, Sharon!
In the spirit of our Renter Dec project series, we found a handful of creative wallpaper project ideas from around the web that are perfect for temporary spaces!
Check out our Renter Dec Pinterest board for more removable wallpaper project ideas!
Guest author Emma Jeffery from the blog Hello Beautiful returns to share her freshly wallpapered closet for our May Renter Dec project series. With our fully removable wallpaper, this rental-friendly DIY lends a perfect pop of surprise pattern and color to brighten up your space!
So small in fact, that I decided to wallpaper our downstairs coat closet! It’s the perfect size for a beginner project, and being a seamstress at heart, covering the inside of a closet with a bright fun wallpaper is akin to lining a plain jacket with a cool and funky fabric. You get glimpses of color every now and then, and, like a hidden secret, it makes me happy to know it’s there!
Our closet started off less than inspiring and with zero personality. It had hooks and screws drilled into random places that many previous owners added over the years. The hooks were too high for my children to reach, and hence, their jackets and school backpacks invariably ended up strewn on the floor, contents spilling forth and adding to the general ‘dumping ground’ nature of the closet.
So, I decided enough was enough! I emptied the contents of the closet, removed the hooks and screws and gave the paintwork a fresh coat of paint. I ordered two rolls of gorgeous Spoonflower wallpaper designed by Paper Sparrow , wiped down the walls and began the process of beautifying my closet.
I began by measuring and cutting the first length of wallpaper slightly longer than needed to cover the back of the closet wall. It helps immensely to mark the TOP of each of the strips of wallpaper you cut if you don’t have a directional pattern, so that you always know which way to hang it.
Our closet is conveniently located next to our downstairs shower room, so we filled the bottom of the shower base with water though you could use a trough, bath tub or very large plastic container. You need to loosely coil the cut length of wallpaper and immerse it in water for 15 seconds. I pulled the wallpaper out of the water by holding the top edge and allowing it to uncoil as I pulled it up and out of the water, therefore ensuring that all the wallpaper was fully wet. This is definitely a two person job!
We then ‘booked’ the ends (this is where it become hard to remember the top from the bottom, but if you’ve labeled it on the back, then there’s nothing to worry about!) and then simply hung the wallpaper. When hanging subsequent strips of wallpaper, be sure to pay close attention to correctly matching the pattern at the edges. When done well, the seams are almost invisible.
Leave the trimming until the wallpaper is completely dry otherwise it will rip and tear. I used a sharp craft knife to trim my paper after leaving the wallpaper to dry overnight.
We finished off by adding some new hooks - some at child height level so that my kids can reach to hang up their things.
The new closet looks great and the process was simple - it only took a couple of hours one afternoon to complete and out technique improved with each strip we hung.
In fact, the only problem with my closet makeover is that it’s so pretty I wish it wasn’t hidden! I wonder if we should remove the doors?
Hi! I'm Emma, and as well as working on the Fiskars Design Team, I blog over at hellobeautifulblog.blogspot.com/
I'm an obsessive sewer, often leaping into projects with more enthusiasm than talent, more bravado than skill and more good luck than anything else. This technique has worked well for me so far and more often than not, I make things I love, even if they're not absolutely perfect. And though I'm no expert, I have a passion for fabric, color and design. I know what I like and what I like makes me smile.
A coincidence that could only happen at Spoonflower HQ, Cat Shirt Friday.
The semi-finalists are:
![[button] See the top ten birthday gift wrap designs](https://d2q0qd5iz04n9u.cloudfront.net/_ssl/proxy.php/http/gallery.mailchimp.com/dee209d512d07ce1c58bd6a4f/images/SeeTheTop10.png){kind=small}
1. 444 votes for Party Animals by ttoz
2. 417 votes for Cupcake_Vine_WLIN by wendy_lin
3. 411 votes for Birthday Bunting by coggon
4. 398 votes for Lets go to the party by cjldesigns
5. 373 votes for Birthday Party Pets! by pattyryboltdesigns
6. 362 votes for birds & flowers by khandisha
7. 341 votes for Sweet Celebration by amandamcgee
8. 327 votes for stitch_gift by maeli
9. 321 votes for birthday by wiccked
10. 308 votes for Everyday Birthdays by juliesfabrics
This week we are giving away two books with beautiful fully removable home decor projects perfectly suited for rented spaces, just like those we're sharing all this month in our Renter Dec series.
The two books included in this week's book bundle are:
Enter any time between now and Tuesday, May 14th, 2013, for a chance to win. We'll announce the winner on the Spoonflower blog on May 15th. Good luck!
Last week's winner of 15 wallpaper swatches is Sybilla Fabrizio. Congratulations, Sybilla!