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Recently I’ve posted print designs with CRABS and SHRIMPS, so when I saw that the current Spoonflower Design Challenge is “Crustacean Core”, I thought, hmm, time for LOBSTERS! Public voting for this Challenge closes next Tuesday May 21, and I’d love your vote for my new “Lobster Dinner” design! You can link to the Voting Page HERE! . FUN FACT: The claws of mature lobsters are different, one is the larger “crusher” claw (this dominant claw can be either left or right) that moves slowly and is used to break up hard food; the other is a smaller “pincher/cutter” claw that moves faster and is used to tear up soft food (they can even catch small fish with it!) I wish I had known this fact before I finished my new “Lobster Dinner” print design because then I would have had fun exaggerating that difference...But I see that the claws did end up being different anyway!  And it just so happened that Uppercase Magazine and the website They Draw announced a joint illustration comp (entries closed May 10 2024), so I couldn't resist adapting this repeat pattern into an illustration in the required square format! Have a look at my "Lobster Dinner" entry below and on the They Draw website! 
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I DID IT! I managed to finish a new design to enter in the current Spoonflower “A Trip To The Beach” Design Challenge! I spent WAY too long revising my popular “Coastal Stories” Collection with brand new Seaside Colours because I was inspired by this theme, thus I nearly ran out of time to create a NEW design to enter. But I think these little “Shrimps” make a very nice addition to my (now re-coloured and expanded) “Coastal Stories” Collection! Public voting for this Challenge opens today Thursday March 14 and closes on Tuesday March 26. You can link to the Voting Page HERE. I would love your vote for this one just because I love these cute guys, and I bet they’d be tasty too! . See below for more print designs from my "Coastal Stories" Collection and you can check them all out in my Spoonflower Shop HERE. All are available on Fabrics, Wallpaper and Home Decor in several scales!  See below for more pattern designs from my "Coastal Stories" Collection! 
I've been super busy the last few weeks, so missed posting about the last four Spoonflower Challenges! I wanted to catch up with them, so I hope you enjoy this recap! Wedding Table Linens Challenge (June 8 2023): "Seahells" For this Challenge, I knew I wanted something not-so-traditional. So I decided to enter my "Seashells" design in the first Pink, Yellow and Green colourway! Maybe perfect for a "destination" wedding in some warm tropical beach locale? You can see all the various colourways in my "Age Of Aquariums" Collection in my Spoonflower Shop!
Tropical Fruits Challenge (June 15 2023): "Tropical Fruits With Lotsa Dots" Although I entered my "Tropical Fruits With Lotsa Dots" in the first Juicy Brights colourway (it's pretty fun on a Food Truck, right?) in the Spoonflower "Tropical Fruit" Design Challenge, I couldn't help trying this design out in a bunch of other colourways too: Earthy Brights, Mid-Century Vintage, Pop Art Brights and Postmodern. Should I keep going? Call me obsessed! They're all now available in my Spoonflower Shop in 3 scales on Fabrics, Wallpaper and Home Decor in my "Fruits and Vegetable Themes" Collection (with lots of other fresh designs too!) Click the images to go directly to that colourway in my Shop!  
Birds of Prey Wallpaper Challenge (June 22 2023): "Woo Hoo" Would these guys be what you think of when you think of "Birds Of Prey"? No?! Well, owls are birds of prey, even if they're funny and cute! I should know, one grabbed my head when I was running one dark morning, probably thought my ponytail was an animal tail (what would that have made my head?!) You can find my "Woo Hoo" design in my Spoonflower Shop in 3 scales; my TeePublic Shop for Graphic Tees and more; and in my Redbubble Shop on lotsa fun products! 
Buttercups Home Decor Challenge (June 29 2023): "Charmed With Buttercups" And FINALLY (for this post anyway)...After some last-minute mind-changing I decided to enter my "Charmed With Buttercups" design in the first moody Coral, Olive and Beige on Dark Purple colourway in the "Buttercups Home Decor" Design Challenge! I did create several other colourways for this design (see below), thus all the last-minute mind-changing, but thought the first colourway would be perfect for Home Decor! You can link to each colourway in my Spoonflower Shop by clicking on the images below! The links will connect you with the Medium-Scale versions (except the Duvet cover which is shown in Large-Scale), but these also come in both a Small- and Large-Scale too! 
PHEW! NOTE TO SELF: Don't miss posting about the Spoonflower Challenges each week! I'll try to keep up from now on. I hope you enjoyed this though!
My "Jellies" design is part of a new pattern collection that I first talked about in one of my Newsletters a couple months back, and one of my subscribers wrote back to me and said how calming and soothing the design was! So I thought it would be perfect to enter in this week's Spoonflower "Sweet Dreams Bedding" Design Challenge! This design comes in two colourways, but I entered the Blue version because it is much more calming IMHO! I'll just drift away now... . Public voting for this Challenge opens today Thursday May 18 and closes next Tuesday May 23. You can link to the Voting Page HERE, and see the Blue version in my Spoonflower Shop HERE! You can also link to these designs by clicking on the images below. OH and stay tuned for more from this collection!
One of my fave things to do is wander the nearby coastline and every once in awhile we spot orcas swimming offshore! Such a rare sight! So I thought I would celebrate that in this week's Spoonflower "Favourite Things" Design Challenge with my "Wild West Coast" pattern design featuring orca whales. And then, of course, I felt the need to play with Vintage 1950s Colours...Who said orcas always have to be Black & White?! I did decide to add a more "classic" Black & White version though, as well as a Blue version too (scroll down to see!) And they're all available in my Spoonflower Shop on Fabrics, Wallpaper and Home Decor in 3 sizes! Voting for this Challenge opens Thursday Dec 8 (and closes Tuesday Dec 13). You can check out all the entries at the Voting Page HERE! 
Some of you may have seen my "Sea Stars" pattern design recently in different colours, but here is the version I created specifically to enter in this week's Spoonflower "Petal Solids Coordinates: Pastel Comforts" Design Challenge! The challenge was to use 1, 2 or all 3 of the given colours (Honeydew, Lilac and Sky Blue, with Black and White optional) in a design. I ended up using a light turquoise instead of Honeydew (which is allowed)! It wasn't the easiest combo, but I hope you all like it! You can check out all the entries at the Voting Page AND DON'T FORGET: Everything in my Spoonflower Shop is 20% OFF until Sunday May 1!     Ever since I designed my "Akkorokamui" octopus pattern for the Spoonflower "Cryptozoology" Design Challenge in March (2nd image below), which some of you said you loved (which I thank you for), I've been wanting to design a sea-themed pattern design to co-ordinate with it. Then I saw that this week's design challenge is SEASHELLS so I thought PERFECT I'll design a seashells pattern to coordinate with it! Here is the result (first image): my brand new "Ocean Jewels" pattern! What do you think? This design is now available on fabric, wallpaper and home decor in my Spoonflower Shop in 3 sizes! Check out all the entries at the Voting Page! And see all the designs in my Spoonflower Shop too! . SALE ALERT! Spoonflower is offering FREE STANDARD SHIPPING Worldwide on Everything until Friday April 30 2021! And 15% OFF Recycled Canvas too!
To quote from one of my favourite 90’s TV Shows: THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE... For this week's Spoonflower "Cryptozoology" Design Challenge, I decided to make a design featuring the Akkorokamui, a giant octopus sea monster believed by the Ainu people to live off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan, and feared by local fishermen. Given the subject matter, I tried to give this design a Japanese-style graphic design feel! Check it out at the Voting Page and in my Spoonflower Shop! FYI: Cryptozoology is the study of creatures, called cryptids, whose existence has not been scientifically proven or disproven (other examples: the Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti, Sasquatch or Chupacabra!) Cue: X-FILES theme music... 
I have just entered my "Seashells By the Seashore" pattern design in this week's Spoonflower "Nautical" Challenge! Would love your vote on this one (you can vote for as many designs as you like!) Here is a link to the Voting Page (voting ends April 2 3pm EDT). And here's a votingh hint: If you scroll on the voting page until all the images are loaded, you can do a page search for "unblink" to save time!    Just out from Palphot Marketing is a brand new range of stationery sets featuring my "Coastal Stories" pattern design collection. Each set comes with 10 notelets and envelopes in a nice little package with shiny metallic details! I just received my samples and I love them! There are 4 different sets to choose from!
One thing that is great being a member of The Colour Gang is it makes you think about colour palettes and how re-colouring existing motifs can really revise an older pattern design into something fun and new! As an example, I recoloured my "Coastal Critters" motifs (originally designed as placement prints for round plates!) and used them to make some eye-catching, sea-themed repeat patterns. I did try to put all 3 creatures into a single design, but that just didn't work. I also tried using differently coloured creatures in a single design (I tried so many combos) but that didn't sit well either. Sometimes simpler is better. So I finally realized that making 3 separate designs, each with its own creature and monochromatic colour scheme (based on my Japan-inspired "Neon Nights" colour palette from a few posts ago), somehow worked the best, in my opinion! Now I love these! So here they are..."Blue Jellyfish", "Pink Squid" and "Green Octopus"! I hope they make you smile!   
I love how my newest pattern designs look on these cozy quilts! On the first one are my "Little Grunt Sculpin" and "Constellation of Starfish" pattern designs; the second one has my new "Cupcake Dreams" and "PomPoms" designs. These would make great gifts (I'd like to get one!), don't you think?
 Just wanted to share the beginnings of a new collection I am calling "Little Grunt Sculpin". Grunt sculpins are one of my favourite fishes, they are super funny and cute! I suggest checking them out on Youtube. They are sometimes called "bizarre" and "ridiculous" and don't really swim but rather scoot along the sea bottom!
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AuthorJackie Tahara of UnBlink Studio Archives
April 2025
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All images on this website are Copyright © Jackie Tahara. All rights reserved.
If sharing, pinning or blogging my images, please always credit me and link back to my website. Supporting artists is a good thing to do! Thank you!
If sharing, pinning or blogging my images, please always credit me and link back to my website. Supporting artists is a good thing to do! Thank you!