My September Salutations Side Quest

Ever have a project that sounds brilliant in your head, but the moment you start creating it, things just… don't go according to plan?

That's exactly what happened with my latest idea: a print for September babies, celebrating their two beautiful birthstones, the deep blue Sapphire and the stunning Lapis Lazuli.

 I was so excited. I had a vision of a gorgeous, elegant design that perfectly captured the essence of these stones. I started working on it, so sure it was going to be my best work yet.

But it didn't work out.

I tried so hard to make it what I'd imagined, but the result was disappointing. To be honest, I was frustrated, and a little mad. So, I did the most important thing you can do in that situation: I walked away.

I let the idea sit for a while. It’s hard to do that sometimes, especially when the world tells us we should always be winning and every project should be a success. But there's no shame in knowing when to step back and let something go. My vision was lost, and trying to force it was only making things worse.

After some time, I found an old print I had made a while back, an attempt at something similar. Looking at both pieces, I realized they were like two different lessons from the same idea.

Lesson #1: Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. The old print was a cluttered mess. I had crammed so much information into a tiny space, trying to fit every single detail in. It looked like a colorful but sad garage sale flyer, a chaotic jumble of ideas. It reminded me that it's important to give a design room to breathe and to not overload it just because you have the space to.

Lesson #2: Know when to walk away. With the new September print, the lesson was different. It wasn’t about having too much in one place; it was about accepting that sometimes an idea just doesn’t translate. My intentions were great, but the execution wasn't working. I learned the power of letting go and trusting that a new, better idea will come along.

Looking at both of these "mistakes," it's clear they are actually examples of growth. Ugly, weird growth, maybe, but growth nonetheless. It's proof that it's okay for things to not turn out the way you hoped. You can feel disappointed or frustrated, and that's fine. The key is to learn from it and try again.

I wanted to share these two little drawings with you. If anything, they're here to show that sometimes, things just suck. But it's okay. The important thing is to take the lesson, and then just try again.