I have some promo projects in mind for next year that would be better if I could design the fabric involved, so I checked my quilting-related bookmarks, and found a site called Spoonflower that I had never really investigated. I think when I first visited it my old computer wouldn't let me access or use the design generator pages.
Fortunately this time around I got into them, and in about five minutes had a finished design based on this photograph I took of two of my roses back in 2009:
I liked how the design came out so much that I ordered a yard of it, which I think will also give me a decent firsthand look at the quality of fabric Spoonflower produces from uploaded designs (and once it arrives I'll report more on that.) If this works out well I will definitely be doing more of this for future personal and promo projects.
While cruising around the Spoonflower site I also noted they have regular themed contests for fabric designs (winners are awarded a nice-sized credit toward Spoonflower purchases) and they also sell your designed fabric in their marketplace (designers get 10% of the sale price, paid to them in site purchase credits or as straight payments via Paypal.) Since there is no cost involved in putting your design up for sale -- the site does everything for you but design it -- this could be a neat way for you creative souls out there to earn some extra income.
My latest acquisition is the Booksling, an elastic bungie-type bookmark that also has end slots that hold two pens (handy when you're reading Larissa Ione's newest bestseller, need to make notes for a blog post about it, and your kids keep swiping your pen.) I like the Booksling, although it's a bit awkward to use with paperbacks. While the $4.99 price tag is a bit high, it's made of well constructed, sturdy materials and will probably outlast me.