paper on painted wood

I allowed myself about an hour of playing time, to stand back a bit from other projects, and this is what I ended up with.

Many of you have asked me (in the survey) how it is that I come up with ideas, so I thought this would be a good example to use and write about. Well, it turns out that in this case, I honestly don't know. It just kind of happened. I just knew it was going to work. I planned it out in my head for a bit, didn't sketch, jumped on the computer and out it came.

Yes—boo hiss! That explanation doesn't do you any bit of good, does it? But sometimes that's just how it goes.

Incidentally, I wanted this to be in a shadow box but I didn't have a white frame on hand. So, I used one of those cheap wood/mirrors from Ikea that I had tucked away, literally for a few years. I painted it white and covered the mirror with the paper. I like the added texture of the wood—something to keep in mind for future projects.

Totally unrelated but...

This sort of reminds me of when a friend, who was single at the time, asked me how she'd know when a guy she was interested in was the one. She wanted to know how I knew my Mr. was the one.

I said, "You'll just know."

A few years later she was in a relationship with someone who is now her husband—and she reminded me of our conversation. She said that I was right. "You do just know."

I think something similar happens when you're creating or designing something. When it's right, when the ideas are flowing, when you aren't forcing anything (key!), it just shows up... the one. Sometimes you just have to set aside all preconceived ideas, jump in and see what turns out.

So, what are you going to jump into over the weekend? I have a lot of writing to do—of the tutorial kind. Stay tuned.

Have a great weekend!

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“When we engage in what we are naturally suited to do, our work takes on the quality of play and it is play that stimulates creativity.” – Linda Naiman



I wasn't planning on offering this for sale... but I had a very friendly plead (thank you!). So, the SVG file for this piece can be ordered in my shop here. Thanks!