If there was only one piece of advice I could give to those starting out or even on their way but struggling to create, I know exactly what I would say. Always make time to play! Always. 
It doesn’t matter what medium you are using–fabric, paint, pencils, film, etc. Set aside time to play. No limits on what you produce. No expectations. No rules.
Deep inside each of us is a loud voice, our internal editor, our harshest critic. This voice likes to be the driving force in all things, at all times. It takes a lot of patience and a lifetime of practice to keep it in its place. The very nature of play is foreign to the internal editor, which makes play the perfect exercise to exorcise that pesky devil.
This is yet another reason I love fabric scraps. Having a little stash of scraps at the ready means I can play whenever I have a free moment. I admit, I spend a great deal of time playing. This is where the ideas come from, where the sparks of creative fire reside. Everything that says “Melissa P” comes from this spirit of play.
Play has no hard and fast rules, except one….let go. Let go of every negative and critical thought. Let go of every past triumph or failure. These are obvious enough, although not necessarily easy. But there’s one more thing to let go of, something you might find counter-intuitive, even anathema. You must let go of your dreams and fantasies for the future. Yes, you read that right…let go of the dreams of glory.
Oh, I know this not a popular idea. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone pinning this thought on Pinterest boards, that’s for sure. In fact, our culture seems to teach us that our lofty goals and dreams of our 15 minutes of fame are the only thing that will make us better, more important people. If only we reach far enough, all our dreams will come true.
It’s deceptive. And very harmful to reaching your full potential, not just as a creative but as a human being. You see, our potential doesn’t lie out there in the stars waiting for us to grasp it. It lies within us. And we must turn inward to reach it.
Play is a way of making room for our potential. It isn’t about pretending to be something we hope to be one day. It isn’t about presenting a different face to the world, trying on masks and personae. It’s about being authentic and true to ourselves in an atmosphere without judgment or rules. It’s from this place that growth begins, releasing the possibilities that have been lying dormant all our lives.
If I could wish one thing for all of you, it would be for you to know the liberating joy of play.
The details on the project are simple:
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” 
Big stitch quilting a lap size quilt
Sometimes I receive invitations to review products. Usually I politely decline. But when Snapfish asked if I would test their 11 x 14 lay flat book, I said,”Sure!” I’ve been thinking about putting some of my photos into a photo book. It seemed like the right thing at the right time. I also know some of you might be interested in preserving memories of people and projects in a book form.
Photo books are a great way to create a hard copy of your photos. Whether you want to keep a record of your completed creative endeavors or memorable family vacation, a photo book gives you the satisfaction of something tangible to flip through, refer to and marvel at. I chose to put together photos of some of my quilted projects for my mother. She doesn’t use a computer and I don’t print my photos. Now she’ll have a brag book–a fancy one at that.
We’re still trying to get summer in full swing around here. Unusually cool days are mitigated by the mid-morning arrival of sunshine. The cats however, seem to think it’s too much effort to move in the day time hours. I’m not sure I blame them–not when they can come lounge over here any time they wish.
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