We added a little twist to the good ole t-shirt give-away with our Random Act of Spreadshirt. We thought we would give you the chance to randomly thank someone with a free shirt. Giving away free t-shirts can be fun, but a free t-shirt with a story behind it is way better. Better for the giver. Better for the recipient. Better for world karma.

From the 5 nominations which were chosen, we gave you until December 31st to vote on your favorites and your votes have been tallied. The winner of our First Random Act of Spreadshirt is StewT! And here’s the story behind his random act:

Mae has inspired me to take up art and writing again, with my help we run so social club club (English cultural activities community based in Leipzig and an e-mag) together. Without her I would not be living creatively again. A “Lebenskunstler” (she lives a very varied life) and will be on her own during the holidays. Being a huge cat lover, this would be my personalized thank you to her for starting me back to where I should be with my work.

Well, there you are! Mae will soon be getting her shirt with a cute little cat design from romibello. I assume she will be pleasantly surprised, if not completely confused. One small step up in the world of Gross National Happiness.

Thanks to all of those who submitted and voted! We still invite you to make those happy with a random gift, shirt or otherwise!

UPDATE 1/5/10 - Voting has passed! We will get back to you with the results soon!

Thank you to everyone who submitted a nomination to send a Spreadshirt t-shirt to a friend, family member or favorite internet meme! We have had a lot of fun reading all of the submissions and wish we could send every one a t-shirt! We have narrowed down the submission to the top 5 and now it is up to you, our loyal blog readers, to help us select the winner. Check out the nominations below and vote for your favorite! Voting is open until 12/30/2009!

Click Here to VOTE

1. Women’s Tuxedo Shirt for RosesOfSunshine3 (Nominated by Richard)

I want to send the tshirt to a wonderful girl who makes videos on YouTube. Her user name is RosesOfSunshine3. This is the url of her youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/rosesofsunshine3
She deserves a t-shirt because she’s a really wonderful person. She really loves and cares about people. She has a bright, positive attitude and is full of good cheer. She wants to help make the world a better place. For example, she attended a rally to protest what happened in Darfur. She makes excellent videos, including some very beautiful nature videos. Everybody loves her. She spreads positive feelings to people. She has a healing personality. By that I mean she makes people feel better. I see her as a positive influence for good in the world. There are some people who make you feel worse, aggravate you, tear you down, etc. She does the opposite of that. So she’s a really good person and I think she deserves a t-shirt.
I’d like to give her a t-shirt with my tuxedo design on it because it’s a design that looks cool and funny at the same time. I think it would be a riot to see her wear it. It would look good on her and at the same time it’d be hilarious, and I’d like to see her wear it in one of her videos.

2. I heart PGH t-shirt for A Best Friend in Pittsburgh (Nominated by Cheryl)

I just left pittsburgh to move to california, and I really really love my home city. Cassandra is my oldest pittsburgh friend, and she knows how sad I was to move away. So she sent me a box of really great pgh things, like a box of tissues with the city on it, fall leaves, and a city paper.

3. “I like the man who bubbles over with enthusiasm…” John Shedd Quote Tee for Best Friend (Nominated by Shlee)
Women’s Spaghetti Strap tank with the Text, “I like the man who bubbles over with enthusiasm. Better be a geyser than a mud puddle. — John Shedd”

Because Betsy was my best bosom friend through boarding high school in St. Louis, and then we ended up at the same college in Ohio, where we continued being closer than sisters. We graduated from college 6 years ago, and have lived 1200 miles apart ever since! I miss her terribly! And I think this would be a perfect and inspiring top for her to wear while choreographing and rehearsing (she’s a Masters of Dance fellow at U of Illinois — they only take 4 people! she really is the best!). This would serve as a reminder that I think she is one of the most intensely wonderful influences my life has ever had. Even if we aren’t as daily connected as we used to be, she is still a force in who I am.

4. Black Cat Face Tee for Inspiring Friend (Nominated by StewT)

Mae has inspired me to take up art and writing again, with my help we run so social club club (english cultural activities community based in Leipzig and an e-mag) together. Without her I would not be living creatively again. A “Lebenskunstler” she lives a very varied life and this festivities will be on her own. Being a huge cat adopter this would be my personalized thank you for starting me back to where I should be with my work.

5. Bride Support Team T-shirt for a Bridesmaid (Nominated by Heidi)
Women’s T-shirt with text “Bride Support Team”

Her sister is getting married in June & is a Bridezilla! Think the t-shirt would be a hit & all the bridesmaids would want one!

Click Here to VOTE

Remember that color chart you had to make in art class, well here’s the chance to put it to good use. When designing a shirt or product you may feel a bit unsure of what product or print colors to select. Along with this hefty decision comes the uncertainty of not knowing if your selected color combos will work well together on the end product or present the appropriate look you were going for. To help aid in this decision process I’ve compiled a few hints and tips of what works well together.

Rules of thumb:

#1. If going for a bold look try selecting colors that are complementary of each other on the traditional color wheel. Examples of good combos include; purple & yellow, orange & blue and red & green. By bringing these opposite colors together you will create an end product that will stand out and not get lost in the crowd.

#2. If going for a more subtle look choose colors that are from the similiar hue. Examples include; orange & yellow, pink & red and this light blue & navy shirt from cardvibes.While a nice contrast is achieved it is not as bold as mixing complementary colors.

#3. Try to avoid placing the same color text/design on the same color product, i.e. black text on a black shirt. While some people may actually desire for this hidden brand of messaging it is not recommended for all, since you may end up with a product where the text or design is hardly visible. (If you look close enough this black tees actually has black text on it)


#4.When in doubt select black or white. If not sure if your hot pink design will look good on a yellow shirt or if your black design will look good on a gray try selecting black or white, like this shirt from Billionaire. These basic no fail colors look good with pretty much any text/design color. And also remember if still unsure play around in the designer with the different color combos until you find something that you or your end customer will like!

The order deadline for next day express shipping is 12/22 at 11:59 EST. Valid for the contiguous United States only!   Still searching for the perfect gift? - Check out our H liday Gift Pages for pre-designed gift ideas!

We wanted to add a new twist to the old, but still fun, t-shirt give away.  So rather than sending you a t-shirt - we are asking you who you would send a t-shirt to.  Our expert t-shirt team will pick the top 5 nominations and then invite the Spreadshirt community back to vote for the best one.

Here is your chance to send your mom a birthday present, or your best friend a t-shirt with your favorite inside joke.  Maybe you want to send your favorite barista a custom coffee t-shirt.  We are looking forward to your ideas!  The finalists will be selected based on your t-shirt idea and why you want to send the t-shirt.

Click here to submit a nomination now!

Nominations: December 21-25, 2009 (Click here to submit a nomination now!)

Voting: December 27-30, 2009

To help you get those last few holiday gifts ordered - we are offering free standard shipping on all orders over $50.00! Also, just a reminder that the order deadline to receive your gifts by Christmas Eve via standard shipping is December 17th.

Use coupon code SHIPNOW3, in Canada CADSHIPNOW3
**Offer valid for 12/16/09 only. Minimum order of $50.00 required. Offer valid for standard domestic shipping only. Orders shipped to Canada will receive $6.99 off.

Yes friends, we have finally arrived at the 12th Day of Spreadshrit!!! Today is the LAST DAY to save 20% on the 12 amazing items we selected for the 12 Days of Spreadshirt (see all of the items and the coupon codes here).  I am super excited about item number 12 and I had to wait 12 days to write this post - but now I get to tell you about my new favorite Spreadshirt item - the bathrobe!!! This beauty comes in a white waffle weave (like one of those fancy spa robes) and one-size-fits-most makes it a perfect gift.  The robe has printable areas on the front, back and sleeves - which gives you many design options!  Maybe you just want a simple name on the sleeve - we can do that!

The robe is also an awesome gift because it is one of those things that you can personalize with something you might not wear in public but wouldn’t mind wearing when you get out of the shower (check out the pizza robe below).  Here is just a small sampling of some of the robes available in the Spreadshirt Marketplace - choose one of these or create your own.  And please share some photos of your completed robes - I am really eager to see what you are creating!!

In addition to the robes - I added some fun bath accessories to the set too.  Click on each item to learn more.  (You should check out Polyvore and join the Spreadshirt group to share your fantastic fashion creations too).

Custom Robes from Spreadshirt by spreadshirt featuring Old Navy shoes

The wine tote is one of the newest tote bags in the Spreadshirt apparel collection.  This little tote packs a big punch and is good for so much more than wine.  Take your standard cotton tote - but add 2 inside pockets to keep your contents from bumping around.  The wine tote is available in black and natural white

Today is the perfect day to order the tote as a gift or for your self.  The wine tote is one of the 12 amazing items that are 20% off during the 12 days of Spreadshirt (Click here to see all of the items and to get the coupon code).

Some other ideas for this tote:

• Knitting Bag - I love the idea of keeping my yarn in one pocket and the needles in the other pocket - the main space is the perfect place to keep your work-in-progress.
• Gym Tote - keep your magazines in one pocket and flip flops in the other.
• Yoga Tote - pocket is the perfect place to keep your yoga mat.
• Beer Tote - I keep eyeing the 6 pack totes at Trader Joe’s but I haven’t bought one because it seems kinds of limited - you can only really use a 6 pack tote for a 6 pack.  But this tote is perfect for carrying beer to the party and left overs home.

What else would you use the wine tote for?

So you love, LOVE, love your hooded zip sweatshirt - but you need something a little more formal - meet the track jacket. This beauty is the perfect balance of your favorite sweatshirt, with a hint of formal.  A slim fit and  stand up collar this jacket fits nicely with sweat pants for the gym or with jeans for a night out.

Save 20% when you order the American Apparel track jacket for your loved one (or for you!) during the 12 Days of Spreadshirt (see all 12 items and get the details here).

The American Apparel Track Jacket is available in 4 fantastic colors - white, black, red and navy.

The Men’s American Apparel t-shirt is one of the favorite Spreadshirt items - so meet the Long Sleeve version - available in 5 fantastic colors: white, black, kelly green, brown, heather grey. Save 20% on this great item or any of the other 12 fantastic items during the 12 Days of Spreadshirt (get the details and coupon codes here).

Here are 12 different American Apparel long sleeve t-shirts from the Spreadshirt marketplace.

Men’s American Apparel Long Sleeve T-shirts by spreadshirt on Polyvore.com