Hello and Welcome to the Creative Playground, Reader!

Pull up a chair, grab a coffee, and let's see what becomes possible when we revisit, remix, and reimagine what's already right in front of us.

Because sometimes the next opportunity isn't something new. It's seeing what you already have differently.

Looking for a previous issue? They are all available to read on my website.

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Back-to-school season comes with expenses.

The ones you expect.
The ones you forgot about.

And the ones that make you wonder how a child suddenly requires this many things just to attend school. 😂

So when we went to Philippe's high-school welcome day last week and I spotted a mouth-watering poster outside a little local café...

I kept walking.

Did I want the ridiculously fancy matcha-strawberry-lemonade thing on the poster?

Absolutely.

Did we really need to add another $7 to the back-to-school pile just because a poster did its job a little too well?

Nope. 😂

Except...

I kept thinking about that drink.

And eventually I realized something.

Maybe I didn't want the drink badly enough to randomly buy it that day.
But Philippe's actual first day of high school was coming.

And suddenly, the same $7 could mean something different.

So Monday, I deliberately left a little earlier when I went to pick him up.

I stopped at the café.

Bought the big fancy drink.

And when Philippe got off the building after his very first day of high school, I surprised him with it so we could share it on the way home.

That's it.

No balloons.
No elaborate First Day of High School Celebration Experience™.

Just a drink.

Or so I thought.

Because yesterday evening, Hubby told me that Philippe had talked to him about it.
Not just about how good the drink was.

About how the moment made him feel. ❤️

And hearing Philippe talk about it actually got Hubby a little emotional.

He recognized something I've apparently been doing for years with both of them:
Those little thoughtful touches sprinkled through ordinary life that say...

I thought about you.
I noticed this moment.
And I wanted to make it feel a little special.

That's when my little Experience Designer brain went:

OOOH!

The drink hadn't changed.
It was still the same $7 drink I had walked past a few days earlier.

What changed was the intention around it.

And maybe that's something worth remembering in business too.

When we want something to feel more valuable, memorable or special, our instinct can be to add more.

More bonuses.
More content.
More features.
More stuff.

But more isn't automatically the answer.

Sometimes the difference between “a drink” and “that drink Mom surprised me with after my first day of high school” is simply what you thoughtfully build around it.

Which brings us to today's Creative Playground...

🥤 Now craft YOUR experience

Forget the matcha-to-lemonade ratio. 😂

Think of one ordinary thing you already offer, send, give or do.

Then create your own recipe:

🥄 Start with: What are you working with?
​💭 Add: What thoughtful detail would make it feel personal?
​⏰ Mix in: When would it have the most impact?
​❤️ Pour in: How do you want them to feel?
​✨ Top with: What tiny unexpected touch could make it memorable?

Got your ingredients?

Now for the fun part. 😏

Copy this prompt into your favorite AI and fill in the blanks:

And voilà. Your experience has its own signature drink. 😂🥤

Mine looks like this:

And now I really want to see what yours looks like. 👀

So once you've created it, don't let it sit alone in your downloads folder.

🥤 ADD YOUR DRINK TO THE PLAYGROUND​
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Upload your creation there and I'll gather everyone's drinks into our very own Signature Shared Drink Gallery to share in next week's Creative Playground.

Because really... if we're going to invent an entire menu of imaginary experience drinks, I shouldn't be the only one who gets to see them. 😂

One little housekeeping note: by submitting your image, you're giving me permission to include it in the shared gallery and potentially feature it in future Creative Playground content. I'll only use it in connection with this activity.

And if nobody submits one?

Well, apparently I'll be opening a very exclusive one-drink café next Wednesday. 😂

Either way, I'm playing!

Enjoy your drink! ​Stéphanie & Philippe

P.S. Philippe is already trying to fire me from my job as High School Bus Escort. Apparently the thoughtful first-day drink did not buy me unlimited accompaniment privileges. 😂

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NOTE: I'm moving things around in the backend to make room for a new project. Can you help me spot "bad experiences" regarding my site, your members' area, communications, or whatever? I would really appreciate your help with this! It will make it so much easier for me to fix and improve everything that needs attention. Thank you!

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Disclosure: From time to time, I will include links in the emails that would include promotions for my own products or affiliate products, meaning I get paid when you buy the product. However, I only ever mention products I love and would recommend whether I was being compensated or not. Always use due diligence when buying anything and remember, what works for me may not always work for you!

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