One time I was making peanut butter sandwiches and noticed that the bread had an air pocket. My kids at the time were old enough to notice an anomaly but young enough to be dubious of something like a gap in the sandwich. I decided to try marketing.

"Hey kids this is window bread! It has a secret space so you can peek inside to see what kind of sandwich it is. Isn't it great?"

I held my breath. And smiled wide.

"Cool, Mom!" It worked.

"Can you always buy window bread?"

I am working on a star that is a wedding gift for a couple I do not know well. I love the groom's parents dearly, and this is one way of showing it. The Star of Bethlehem is a pattern I have made many times, from tiny table toppers with a hundred pieces in a square foot to king sized quilts with seven rows of diamonds and three fat borders. This one is in between, with five sets of turquoise and sandy fabrics. To match the bride's tastes. I was pleased with the star and began to look for a swath of cloth for the setting squares and triangles. This is the background behind the star and has some influence on whether it is subtle or dramatic. I went with subtle. Looking over the tans in my stack the only one that was large enough to do the job happened to be the same fabric that was in the very tips of the star. That meant that the points would blend into the background.  I decided to go with it.

As I ironed I thought about how marriage blends two people, once wholly distinct, into another kind of beauty. One where their edges get muted. I began to mentally inscribe the card to go with it, making the effect meaningful. 

Plus I will smile when I give it to them.