One of the things that helped me get back into making collages was the need to write my children creative letters. Every year I send them to this crazy hippie camp in Virginia, where everyone wears tie-dye, they eat organic vegetarian food, and they play guitar and sing songs around a campfire (but NOT Kumbaya..!) I write them a letter everyday, and because not much goes on at home without my little darlings there to liven things up, I usually struggle to think of things to write about, and the letters are profoundly boring to read. (Dear kids, Today we had chicken for supper. Then we washed the dishes. Then we watched TV. Then we went to bed...)
This year, I decided I would make the letters interesting to look at, at least, by writing them on a quickie-collage. It forced me to come up with something creative in a short amount of time, and on a daily basis. Some of them are derivative of other artists' work, yes, but remember, these were the first baby steps I'd made in months. The kids certainly enjoyed getting them, and apparently, they were a hit with other campers as well. ("Dude, your Mom is so random....")