Diane Again: The Creative Adventures Of Heidi And Diane

A few weeks ago, I opened my mailbox to find a lovely surprise inside.

That's a complete lie. I haven't opened my mailbox in years, if not decades. Fetching the mail is my husband's job and he takes it very seriously. I mean, I could probably make a mailbox run if I really needed to - I know where he keeps the key - but I have no idea which box is ours. I guess I'd just keep trying the key in different boxes until I found one that opened. Or until I was arrested for attempting to break into my neighbors' mailboxes.

So to be completely factual, I should say that I found an envelope on my kitchen counter addressed to me in a familiar and friendly looping cursive, and opened it with a smile on my face.

A Valentine from my dear friend, Heidi.

When I got my first peek at the front of the homemade card inside, my smile erupted into a big ol' grin and I daresay I laughed out loud.

Heidi was at it again.

* * * * *

You see, the cute little hearts arranged in a pleasing grid on the face of her card are familiar friends. Exactly ten years ago, she and I went on a wildly inventive whirlwind that was one of the most spontaneously creative adventures of my life.

Here, let me walk you through exactly what happened:

{All of these photos have been living in a Facebook album for the past ten years, along with the captions I wrote as I posted them back in the day. For better or for worse, I'm sharing everything here exactly as originally posted}

^ I took Heidi out to lunch on her birthday.
First, I took a pic of the table before she arrived and texted it to her.

^ Next, she used the pic for a card and wrote a thank you note to me.

I took a pic of the card and texted her that too.

^ Step Three...Heidi took a screen shot of my pic of the card and posted that on Facebook.

^ Four: I printed out a hard copy of the screen shot, and then took a pic of it and posted it.

^ 5. Heidi printed a hard copy of my pic of the hard copy of the screen shot, and framed it.

Woah. Blew my mind.

^ Step 6: I printed four hard copies of her framed pic and then put them together in a big frame,

and took a pic of THAT.

^ Ok seven...she cropped my pic down to just the images, and then repeated it 16 times, a la Andy Warhol.

^ Eight. I colorized it. Tessa gets credit for the technical work. She's a genius.

^ 9. Heidi cut up a hard copy along diagonal lines and reconstructed the square.

^ Step 10. I printed a copy of Heidi's latest, cut along her diagonals and then cut each piece in half again, and arranged in a pinwheel.

^ XI. Heidi printed a hard copy, with a very nice white margin, and used her bathroom mirrors to get an awesome reflection. Sigh. I love this.

^ 12. I cropped down the image and added a quote. About reflections.

^ Just when you thought it was over!!!

13-A I got a box in the mail from Heidi today. I had no idea what was in it, but when I saw the little card, my mind began to race.

^ 13-B Can you believe it??!!! A framed copy of our final product. Well played, my friend...very well played indeed.

* * * * *

That was the end of our exchange...for a while. Then, in 2018, this happened:

^ 14. My valentine from Heidi.

After almost seven years, she has resurrected our collaborative game of creative tag and I wonder if I dare to fire back!

* * * * *

Well, apparently I lost that dare because I never responded.

But this year, exactly ten years after our original spree, Heidi has resurrected our collaborative creation once again, and I could not be more delighted.