I pulled out my watercolors to play last night. Tucked in with all my supplies are dozens of little paintings – trial and error, practicing techniques and sampling colors – nothing good enough to convert into a notecard or share in another way, but I recognize there’s something good in each of them, so I keep them. This morning, as I was sorting through my collection, it seemed a shame to put them away. I began studying the elements I liked in each, determined to either quiet my inner critic or toss them out, instead of boxing them up again.

Then I remembered these little wooden frames I have, with magnets on the back. They’ve been stuck on the side of my fridge forever, waiting for the “perfect photo.” I placed them on top of each piece, moving them slowly from side to side until I zeroed in on something lovely. It was amazing, actually, how many options I found – so many mini paintings within each one!

I grabbed my glue gun and lined the back of each frame with glue, setting them down where the spirit moved me and cutting out each piece of art with an x-acto knife. Now they’re on my fridge to be enjoyed all the time, rather than buried with my watercolor supplies.

I’ll be spending my day thinking about the lesson learned here, wondering how I might zoom in, reframe, and highlight the especially good parts of my life to appreciate them more. Meanwhile, I’ll let you play Where’s Waldo and find the new additions on my fridge.