I’m taking another deep breath stepping into this new season of creativity, because this little envelope project ended up revealing more about my craft style than I expected. I thought I was just easing myself back into making something simple, but instead, I found myself reconnecting with the part of me that designs, curates, and shapes ideas long before anything is physically made.
It feels like a quiet shift, but an important one.
I’m a Designer at Heart
As I worked through the early stages of this collection, I noticed something: the part that energized me wasn’t the cutting or folding. It was the choosing. The arranging. The palette building. The moment when five papers suddenly felt like they belonged together.
That’s when it clicked for me...I’m a designer first, and a maker second.
The making still matters. It grounds me. It brings the idea into form. But the origin point — the spark — is in the curation. That’s where I feel most like myself.
The Overwhelm That Almost Stopped the Project
I’ll be honest...I almost stalled out completely. I kept thinking I needed to produce everything at once. Every size, every variation and every idea fully formed. That pressure made the project feel heavier than it needed to be.
It wasn’t until I slowed down that I realized something simple:
- Designing is part of the process.
- Curating is part of the process.
- Planning is part of the process.
- I didn’t need to have every envelope made to be “working.” I just needed to start with the part that felt natural...the palettes.
Once I let myself do that, the overwhelm softened. The project opened up again.
Simplifying the Creative Process
This collection taught me that simplifying isn’t a shortcut, it’s a strategy.
For me, simplifying looked like:
- choosing just two envelope sizes
- curating small, intentional palettes
- letting the paper guide the design
- allowing the collection to stay small and seasonal
It made the whole project feel doable, even with life happening around me. And it reminded me that creativity doesn’t always need to be big or fast to be meaningful.
In the end, these envelopes became more than a craft project. They became a reflection of my creative identity...a blend of design, curation, and gentle making. The palettes are the heart of it. The envelopes are the expression of it.
And the process reminded me that the quieter parts of creativity, the choosing, the arranging, the dreaming, are just as valuable as the finished piece.
If you’re in a season where creativity feels tangled or heavy, here’s what this project taught me:
- Start with the part that feels natural
- Let yourself design before you make
- Simplify until the project feels like it fits your life
- Trust that small steps still count
- Remember that curation is creativity
- You don’t have to finish everything at once. You just have to begin.
This collection feels like the beginning of a new rhythm for me. One where I’m honoring my identity as a designer and letting the making unfold from there. I’m excited to see where this leads.
Here’s to designing a creative life that's seasonally yours.
Nherie
https://linktr.ee/createseasonstudio