stencil in.

So, Katie and I decided to do a little painting this week – small flower pots. I went with a crimson color for mine, and she chose yellow. I had been excited to try out my new stencils – stick-on stencils that make the painting a lot easier – and used yellow paint to add the swirly-flowery design. Katie opted for polka dots, using a pencil eraser to paint blue dots onto her flower pot.

We both agreed – the process is more satisfying than the end product. Crafting is fun, especially when you are right in the middle of it. But, oftentimes, I notice something about my craft that was not exactly planned. Katie shared the same opinion. Maybe the paint doesn’t dry exactly the color you thought it would. Or you smear paint with the stencil. Maybe your paint runs down the side of your canvas. Or you smudge the piece with your fingertips. Inevitably, something happens, something unplanned, or something you thought you could avoid altogether. And, in the end, you’re left with something that resembles what you had in mind but does not match up exactly with the picture in your head.

I guess the thing to remember is – enjoy the painting. In those moments, whatever it is can still be whatever it might be, whatever you think it can. Your blue hydrangea-colored paint dries a blue hydrangea color. Your stenciling is clean. The paint stays in its place. And your piece is smudge-free. All of these ideas in your mind are happening in the moment. They are what you think they are and what you make of them. And if the end product doesn’t come out exactly as you once thought, at least you enjoyed the time in between (the happiness there), when it could have been anything, when it could have been exactly as you hoped it would be.