Do You Play-Doh?

How do you get going on a blah day? You know I'm a big believer in the practical magic of creativity warm-ups and readiness rituals. Lately, I've been doing Sharpie doodles in an old book while the tea kettle boils. But some days you need to pull out the big guns.

The other day, I made lines and dots from Play-Doh, then spent a few minutes rearranging those elements and photographing each arrangement.

The first dozen or so were simple geometric designs.

Then things got more interesting.

I ended up with a couple of designs I really liked.

This one, I took over to Aviary to apply a Polaroid effect. I altered that a bit more in Gimp, set up a repeat, and uploaded it to Spoonflower.

See the design on Spoonflower.

I can't wait to see it in my next batch of fabric proof swatches!

Even though it's seldom my intention to "make" something from a creativity warm-up, sometimes I can't help myself. What about you? Are your favorite designs planned or do they reveal themselves while you're doing something else?