Abstract:
A blank intended to be first customized by allowing an intended user to color feature sections and outlines thereof and then to be used as a decorating article providing a decorative design. The blank includes a generally rigid panel defining a pair of opposed panel surfaces. Grooves are formed in one of the panel surfaces for outlining the feature sections. The grooves are configured and sized for sufficiently separating adjacent feature sections so as to facilitate the application of a coloring material on the feature sections with reduced risks of overlapping. The grooves are also designed so as to guide a coloring implement during the application of coloring material to the groove bottom surface. The blank is made out of a material that allows sanding away of unintentionally colored areas. The blank may be used individually or combined with other complementary blanks for forming a composite decoration assembly.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     Benefit of U.S. Provisional Application for Patent Serial No. 60/291,936, filed on May 21, 2001, is hereby claimed. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates to the general field of decorative articles and is particularly concerned with a method and a blank for providing a customizable decorative structure. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The decoration of human habitat for allowing humans to express themselves and for providing an esthetically pleasing environment go back as far as prehistoric times when cavemen are believed to have painted hunting scenes on cave walls. The practice of providing esthetically pleasing decorations on walls or other supporting surfaces seems to have evolved cyclically eversince. The relatively recent trend of spending more time indoors and especially inside one&#39;s living quarters, commonly referred to as “cocooning” has led to a concurrent trend towards searching for novel decoration articles. 
     With the advent of the so-called leisure society there also seems to exist an increased need for leisure activities and, in particular, for family oriented indoor leisure activities. Hobbies such as arts and crafts activities seem to have recently gain increased interest. 
     The combined interest for decoration articles and hobby related articles has been recognized in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 naming Daniel M Johns as inventor and issued Jun. 24, 1997 discloses a collector plate kit including an outer free member and a selectively immovable inner member. The inner member carries a decorative design indicia thereon. The indicia may be painted by the intended collector to suit a particular design scheme. 
     The kit disclosed in the hereinabove mentioned patent provides a decorative article that, in contrast with paintings inscribed directly on the wall may be readily changed has the taste or preferences of the intended user evolve. Since the tastes of children in particular seem to evolve as they grow this may prove to be particularly useful for decorating children&#39;s room or the like. 
     Also, the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 provides an outline for the decorative indicia formed on the undersurface of the inner member. The outline of the decorative indicia includes a plurality of outwardly projected ribs that act as an outline to facilitate and guide and intended user in the application of appropriate paints within the area defined by the ribs. Hence, different features may be painted on the surface of the inner member with limited manual dexterity requirements. 
     Delimiting specific areas of the surface to be painted with guiding ridges provides an interesting advantage over prior methods. Indeed, some of the conventional methods for applying two or more colors of paint in such a way that the individual paint not cover all of the substrate to be painted and so that the colors are sharply delimited from one another have proven to be tedious and inefficient. One of these prior art method involves coating the substrate with paint of a first color, drying the first layer and then covering up the area so painted whereupon the uncovered areas are then painted with a second layer of paint. This conventional method is time-consuming owing to the need for drying between the application of any two paints. 
     This conventional method also requires some degree of manual dexterity since it may be deemed considerably difficult to make sharp demarcations between differently colored areas. The difficulty is at least in part related to the fact that portions of the applied paint typically cross the boundary line to settle in the adjacent area. 
     Various techniques have been used to obviate this problem. One typical method is to apply so-called “masking tape” of suitable width along the dividing line on the side of the adjacent area that should not be painted. Another is to completely cover the adjacent area exposing only the surface to be painted. 
     In either of these methods, desired effects have been obtained in preventing the masked area from being smeared with paint. However, these prior art methods have been found to cause other problems. Firstly, processes involved are themselves not very efficient in actual practice and also not suitable for applications in some artistic settings. 
     Secondly, the subsequent removal of the masking tape tends to cause the jagging of the edge of the film of coating which borders on the tape. This jagging is sometimes caused by the removal that destroys the coating of paint dried across the surface of the tape. In other instances, the removal of the tape can entail the scraping of flakes of the layer along the edge of the painted layer where the paint is not fully dried together with the tape. 
     Hence, the ribs or ridges provided by the structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,790 seem to provide a great advantage over prior art structures and methods for allowing the painting of decoration articles requiring demarcation between the differently colored feature sections. However, the use of ribs or ridges suffers from numerous drawbacks. 
     The ribs protruding from the feature sections unduly increase the overall thickness of the decorative panel hence leading to increase required storage volume. Also, since the ribs protrude from the feature sections, they are susceptible of being damaged or broken during shipping or handling of the panel. Furthermore, painting of the outermost portion of the ribs may prove to be difficult and may potentially lead to dripping of the painted outermost section on the side surfaces of the ribs creating an unpleasant visual effect. 
     Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved decorative and craft related structure and method for providing the same. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a combined decorative and craft related structure and method for providing the same. 
     Advantages of the present invention include that the proposed structure is intended to be used both as craft article allowing an intended user to exercise leisure craft skills and to also be used as a decorating article for decorating a supporting surface once the decorating article has been customized by the intended user using his/her craft skills. 
     The proposed decorative structure allows an intended user, even with limited experience, skills or dexterity, to apply coloring material such as paint to various feature sections of the structure with reduced risks of overlapping so as to enable the intended user to define sharply delimited feature regions creating a pleasing esthetical effect. Hence, the proposed structure and method allows an intended user with limited skills such as an handicapped person or a child to the apply a multicolored pattern on a structure in which all different colored painted areas are relatively sharply delimited from one another through the use of conventional color applying implements such as a conventional painting brush. 
     More specifically, the proposed structure allows for coloring of both feature sections of the design and outlining areas with different colors with reduced risks of overlapping between feature sections and/or between a feature sections and an adjacent outlining area. The outlining grooves are designed so as to guide the intended user in the application of paint with other coloring material therein. The outlining areas are also designed so as to reduce the risks of overlapping by providing a physical gap between adjacent feature sections. 
     The proposed structure further optionally allows the intended user to easily and readily remove paint from unintentionally painted areas through a set of quick and ergonomical steps. More specifically, the proposed structure allows an intended user to abrasively remove unintentionally applied paint using conventional sanding paper. 
     The proposed structure is designed so as to be manufacturable using conventional forms of manufacturing so as to provide a decorative structure that would be economically feasible, long-lasting and relatively trouble-free in operation. 
     Still furthermore, the proposed structure and method allows for the creation of composite wall designs by juxtaposing structures in accordance with the present invention so as to create and esthetically pleasing visual effect. The mounting of the structures in accordance with the present invention on supporting surfaces are facilitated by mounting components built-in to the structures. The mounting on supporting surfaces may be performed with minimal risks of damaging the structure and/or mounting surfaces on which they are attached. The mounting of the structures on the supporting surfaces may be performed by a set of quick and ergonomical steps without requiring special tooling or manual dexterity. 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a blank for forming a decorative structure, the decorative structure being intended to be used for decorating a supporting surface by displaying a decorative design having feature sections delimitated by an outline, at least some of the feature sections and part of the outline being intended to be colored by an intended user using a coloring implement, the coloring implement having a coloring section dispensing a color pigmented material, the blank comprising: 
     a rigid panel, the panel having a panel first surface and an opposed panel second surface, the panel defining a panel thickness between the panel first and second surfaces; 
     the panel first surface having a groove formed therein, the groove extending at least partially along a section of the outline for creating a depression in the panel first surface between adjacent feature sections, the groove having a groove base wall and a pair of groove side walls extending between peripheral edges of the groove base wall and the panel first surface, the groove defining a groove depth between the groove base wall and the panel first surface and a groove width the adjacent peripheral edges of the groove base wall, the groove depth and the groove width allowing the demarcation of the adjacent feature sections, the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall being made out of a pigment receiving material allowing application and retention thereon of the color pigmented material; 
     whereby the groove physically separates the adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections so as to facilitate the application of the color pigmented material on the adjacent feature sections with reduced risks of overlapping so as to allow for the sharp coloring of the adjacent peripheral edges and whereby the groove further guides the coloring section during the application of the color pigmented material to the groove base wall so as to also allow for the sharp delimitation of the adjacent feature sections by the outline. 
     Preferably, at least a section of the panel first surface is made out of an abrasively removable material whereby a layer of the panel first surface part of a corresponding feature section is abrasively removable by a manual sanding operation using a sand paper. 
     Typically, the blank defines a panel peripheral edge, the panel first surface being optionally provided with a peripheral ridge extending from the panel first surface and extending at least partially along the panel peripheral edge generally adjacent the latter. 
     Typically, the groove has a groove width to groove depth ratio having a value of about between 1.25 to 2.5. In one embodiment of the invention, the panel is made out of fiberboard, the groove width has a value of about 0.25 inch and the groove depth has a value of between 0.125 and 0.100 inch. In another embodiment of the invention, the panel is made out of fiberboard, the groove width has a value of about 0.125 inch and the groove depth has a value no greater than 0.100 inch. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the groove has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove side walls extending generally perpendicularly from the peripheral edges of the groove base wall. In another embodiment of the invention the groove has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove side walls extending at an angle relative to the groove base wall, groove side walls diverging outwardly away from each other in a direction leading from the groove base wall to the panel first surface. 
     Conveniently, the color pigmented material is a liquid and wherein the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall are made out of a liquid impregnable material for allowing the color pigmented material to impregnate the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall. 
     Typically, the blank further comprises a mounting means attachable to the panel second surface for mounting the panel on the supporting surface. 
     Preferably, the mounting means is a releasable mounting means for releasably mounting the panel on the supporting surface. 
     Conveniently, the mounting means includes a first mounting strip of miniature hook and loop fiber and a complementary second mounting strip of miniature hook and loop fiber, the first and second mounting strips being attachable respectively to the panel second surface and to the supporting surface. 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is also provided, in combination, a blank for forming a decorative structure and a coloring implement for coloring at least part of the decorative structure, the decorative structure being intended to be used for decorating a supporting surface by displaying a decorative design having feature sections delimitated by an outline, at least part of the outline being intended to be colored by an intended user using the coloring implement, the coloring implement having a coloring section for dispensing a color pigmented material, the coloring section having a coloring section width, the blank comprising: 
     a generally rigid panel, the panel having a panel first surface and an opposed panel second surface, the panel defining a panel thickness between the panel first and second surfaces; 
     the panel first surface having a groove formed therein, the groove extending at least partially along a section of the outline for creating a depression in the panel first surface between adjacent feature sections, the groove having a groove bottom surface and a pair of groove side walls extending between the peripheral edges of the groove bottom surface and the panel first surface, the groove defining a groove depth between the groove bottom surface and the panel first surface and a groove width between adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections separated by the groove, the groove being configured and sized for substantially fittingly receiving at least a section of the coloring section and for allowing the coloring section to contact the groove base wall without contacting the adjacent feature sections, the adjacent feature sections and the groove bottom surface being made out of a pigment receiving material allowing the application and retention thereon of the color pigmented material; 
     a mounting means attachable to the panel second surface for mounting the panel on the supporting surface; 
     whereby the groove physically separates the adjacent peripheral edges of the adjacent feature sections so as to facilitate the application of the color pigmented material on the adjacent feature sections with reduced risks of overlapping so as to allow for the sharp coloring of the adjacent peripheral edges and whereby the groove further guides the coloring section during the application of the color pigmented material to the groove bottom surface so as to also allow for the sharp delimitation of the adjacent feature sections by the outline. 
     Preferably, the combination further includes a first color pigmented material and a second color pigmented material, the first and second color pigmented materials being in a liquid form, the first and second color pigmented materials having distinct color tones, the adjacent feature sections being made out of an abrasively removable material; the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall being made out of a liquid impregnable material for allowing the color pigmented material to impregnate the adjacent feature sections and the groove base wall; 
     whereby the first color pigmented material is intended to be applied on the groove base wall and the second color pigmented material is intended to be applied on the adjacent feature sections and wherein adjacent feature sections having been unintentionally covered by the first color pigmented material during the application of the first color pigmented may be abrasively cleared of the first color pigmented material prior to applying the second color tone on the adjacent feature sections by a manual sanding operation. 
     Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a careful reading of the detailed description provided herein, within appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Embodiments of the present invention will now be disclosed, by way of example, in reference to the following drawings in which like reference characters indicate like elements throughout. 
     FIG. 1, in a front elevational view, illustrates a blank in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for forming a decorative structure, said blank displaying a decorative design having feature sections representing a stylized hippopotamus; 
     FIG. 2, in a front elevational view, illustrates a blank in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for forming a decorative structure, said blank displaying a decorative design having feature sections representing a stylized dolphin; 
     FIG. 3, in a front elevational view, illustrates a blank in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention for forming a decorative structure, said blank displaying a decorative design having feature sections representing waves forming on the top surface of a volume of water; 
     FIG. 4, in a partial perspective view with sections taken out, illustrates a blank such as shown in FIG. 2 having an outlining groove thereof being painted by the hand of an intended user; 
     FIG. 5, in a partial perspective view with sections taken out, illustrates a blank such as shown in FIG. 2 having one of its outlining groove painted with a coloring material and wherein the coloring material has formed an overriding portion on an adjacent outlining section, the overriding portion being sanded away by the hand of an intended user; 
     FIG. 6, in a partial perspective view with sections taken out, illustrates a blank such as shown in FIG. 2 having one of its feature sections painted by the hand of an intended user; 
     FIG. 7, in a partial cross-sectional view taken along arrows  7 — 7  of FIG. 2, illustrates a peripheral ridge part of a blank in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 a , in a partial cross-sectional view with sections taken out taken along arrows  8   a  of FIG. 4, illustrates the cross-sectional configuration of an outlining groove part of the blank, the outlining groove being shown with a painting brush inserted therein; 
     FIG. 8 b , in a partial cross-sectional view with sections taken out, illustrates an alternative cross-sectional configuration of the outlining groove shown in FIG. 8 a  with a painting brush inserted therein; 
     FIG. 9, in a partial cross-sectional view with sections taken out similar to FIG. 8 a , illustrates a portion of a feature section part of a blank and located adjacent an outlining groove being painted by a painting brush; 
     FIG. 10, in a partial rear perspective view, illustrates a blank such as shown in FIG. 4 about to be mounted on a supporting wall; and 
     FIG. 11, in a perspective view, illustrates a kit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the kit including a blank such as shown in FIG.  4 . 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     With reference to the annexed drawings the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be herein described for indicative purpose and by no means as of limitation. 
     Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a blank  10  in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. The blank  10  is typically used for forming a decorative structure although it could be used for providing a substrate or canvas for leisure arts and crafts activities such as painting or for any other purposes without departing from the scope of the present invention. In the preferred method of use of the blank  10  hereinafter disclosed in greater details, the blank  10  is initially used for leisure painting thereof and then used as a decorative structure for decorating a supporting surface such as a wall, a tabletop or to like. 
     The blank  10  typically displays a decorative design that may either abstract or concrete. In the embodiments shown throughout the figures the blank  10  displays decorative designs including stylized animal-related designs. The design of FIG. 1 represents a hippopotamus, the design of FIG. 2 a dolphin and the design of FIG. 3 a body of water having waves formed thereon. It should however be understood that the blank  10  could be used for forming any decorative design including cartoon characters, holiday or special event objects or characters or any other designs without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Each decorative design includes feature sections  12  delimited by an outline  14 . Each feature section  12  typically represents a distinctive or characteristic part of the overall design. For example, in FIGS. 2 and 4 through  7 , the feature section  12   a  represent a main body section of the stylized dolphin including the back, the dorsal and frontal fins, a section of the head and the tail of the dolphin. The feature section  12   b  represents a lower section of the head of the dolphin and the feature section  12   c  represents the belly of the dolphin. 
     The blank  10  typically includes a generally rigid panel having a panel first surface  16  and an opposed panel second surface  18  shown in greater details in FIG.  10 . The panel has a panel thickness defined as the spacing between the panel first and second surfaces  16 ,  18 . 
     The blank  10  also includes at least one and typically a plurality of grooves  20  formed in the panel first surface  16 . Each groove  20  typically extends at least partially along a section of the outline of at least one feature section  12 . Each groove  20  creates a depression or recess in the panel first surface  16  between adjutant feature sections  12 . 
     The grooves  20  may have any suitable shape in order to help in delimiting the feature sections  12 . For example, in FIG. 4, the grooves  20   a  and  20   b  delimiting the feature section  12   a  respectively from the feature sections  12   b  and  12   c  both have the general configuration of a crooked line. The groove  20   c  representing an eye of the dolphin has a generally disc-shaped configuration. 
     In FIG. 1 wherein the design of the blank  10  represents a stylized hippopotamus, grooves  20   d ,  20   e ,  20   f  and  20   g  respectively used for delimiting the snout, the front legs, the rear legs, and the head of the hippopotamus all have a generally crooked configuration. The grooves  20   h ,  20   i  and  20   j  respectively defining the mouth, the corners of the mouth and the ear channels of the hippopotamus all have a generally arcuate configuration. 
     The grooves  20   k  representing the nostrils of the hippopotamus have a generally disk-shaped configuration whereas grooves  201  representing the eyes of the hippopotamus have a generally annular configuration. The grooves  201  are used for delimiting corresponding feature sections  12   d  representing the pupils of the eyes of the hippopotamus. It should be understood that both the feature sections  12  and the grooves  20  could have any suitable configuration without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As shown more specifically in FIGS. 8 a ,  8   b  and  9 , each groove  20  has a groove base wall  22  and a pair of grooves sidewalls  24  extending between peripheral edges  26  of the groove base wall  22  and the panel first surface  16 . Each groove  20  defines a groove depth  28  between the groove base wall  22  and the panel first surface  16  and a groove width  30  between adjacent peripheral edges  26  of the groove base wall  22 . 
     The groove depth  28  and the groove width  30  allow for the demarcation of the adjacent feature sections  12 . The groove depth  28  and groove width  30  are hence calibrated depending on various parameters such as the overall size of the panel, the desired visual or esthetical effect and the type of coloring implement that will be used for coloring the blank  10  as will be hereinafter disclosed in greater details. 
     The depth  28  of the grooves  20  is determined taking into consideration the same factors as for the width  30  of the grooves  20  with the added criteria of maintaining structural rigidity. Typically, although by no means exclusively, when a medium density fiberboard panel is used for forming blanks ranging from a few inches to a few feet, the groove width  30  will have a value substantially in the range of one-quarter of an inch. With such criteria, the depth  28  will have a value of between 0.125 and 0.150 inch. Alternatively, the groove width  30  could have a value substantially in the range of 0.125 inch with the depth  28  not exceeding 0.100 inch for reasons which will be hereinafter disclosed in greater detail. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 8 a  and  9 , the groove  20  typically has a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove sidewalls  24  extending generally perpendicularly relative to the adjacent peripheral edges  26  of the groove base wall  22 . Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 8 b , the groove  20  could have a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration with the groove sidewalls  24  extending at an angle A relative to the groove base wall  22 . The groove sidewalls  24  are shown diverging away from each other in the direction leading from the groove base wall  22  to the panel first surface  16 . It should be understood that the groove  20  could have other cross-sectional configurations without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     As illustrated more specifically in FIGS. 2 and 7, the blank  10  can optionally be provided with a peripheral ridge  34  extending from the panel first surface  16  at least partially along the panel peripheral edge  32  and typically generally adjacent the latter. Although the peripheral ridge  34  shown in FIG. 7 is shown as having a generally square cross-sectional configuration and as being a generally in register with the panel peripheral edge  32  it should be understood that the peripheral ridge  34  could have other cross-sectional configurations and be offset relative to the panel peripheral edge  32  without departing from the scope of the present invention. Also, other ridges  34  extending from the panel first surface  16  could be used at other locations throughout the panel first surface  16  in order to aid in providing a visually pleasing design without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     The blank  10  also includes a mounting means attachable to the panel second surface  18  for mounting the panel  10  on a supporting surface  44 . Preferably, the mounting means is a releasable type of mounting means for releasably mounting the blank  10  on the supporting surface  44 . In at least one embodiment of the invention shown more specifically in FIG. 10, the mounting means includes a first mounting strip  36  attachable to the panel second surface  18  and a cooperating second mounting strip  38  attachable to the supporting surface  44 . 
     Typically, the first mounting strip  36  is provided with miniature hook and loop fiber (often referred to as a Velcro™) while the second mounting strip  38  includes complementary second miniature hook and loop fiber (also conventionally known as Velcro™). Alternatively, the first and second mounting strips  36 ,  38  could be provided with other attachment components such as layers of suitable adhesive material or the like. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8, the first strip  36  is provided with adhesive material positioned opposite the miniature hook and loop fiber so as to allow the first strip  36  to be adhesively mounted on the panel second surface  18  by the intended user. 
     As shown in FIG. 10, the mounting means may also include a mounting recess  40  formed in the panel second surface  18  for receiving a mounting component anchored to the supporting surface  44  such as a nail  42  or the like. 
     As illustrated in FIGS. 8 a ,  8   b  and  9 , the panel thickness is typically chosen so that in the event that a groove  20  is positioned generally in register with a section of an anchoring recess  40 , an intermediate section  46  extending therebetween will have sufficient thickness to provide structural rigidity. Hence, the thickness of the panel will also be influenced by the groove depth  28 , the depth of the anchoring recess  40  and the type of material used for forming in the panel. Also, typically, the thickness of the panel will be chosen so as to allow for the blank  10  to protrude from the supporting surface  44  while being sufficiently lightweight to be easily manipulated and suspended on a vertical supporting surface  44  such as a wall. 
     As will be hereinafter disclosed in greater detail, at least some of the feature sections  12  and at least some of the grooves  20  are intended to be colored using a coloring implement such as a paintbrush  46  having a coloring section  48  such as bristles for dispensing a collar pigmented material such as paint. It should be understood that the coloring implement could take any suitable form such as a coloring lead pen, a coloring felt pen or the like having a corresponding coloring section or tip and that the color pigmented material could take any suitable form such as coloring lead, coloring ink, paste or the like without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Accordingly, at least some and typically all of the feature sections  12  and at least some and typically all of the groove base walls  22  and at least some of the groove sidewalls  24  are typically made out over a color pigment receiving material allowing the application and retention thereon of the color pigmented material. In situations wherein the color pigmented material is a liquid such as paint, the feature sections  12  and the grooves  20  are preferably made out of a liquid impregnable material so as to allow the color pigmented material to impregnate the feature sections  12  and the grooves  20 . 
     As will be hereinafter disclosed in greater details, the blank  10  is intended to allow for relatively easy erasing of possible unintentional coloring overlaps. Hence, preferably, the panel and more particularly the panel first surface  16  is also preferably made out of an abrasively removable material allowing for at least a layer of the panel first surface  16  part of a feature section  12  to be abrasively removed by a manual sanding operation using a conventional sandpaper  50  such as shown in FIG.  5 . 
     The groove depth  28  is further determined taking into consideration the fact that sanding of the peripheral edges  60 ,  62  of a feature section  12  located adjacent the groove  20  may potentially erode part of the groove sidewall  24  leading to a reduction of the groove depth  28 . Should the groove depth  28  reach a critical minimal value the risks of having bristles or other coloring sections unintentionally contact the adjacent feature section  12  are increased. Hence, preferably, the groove width-to-groove depth ratio should remain between 1.25 to 2.5 for materials such as fiber boards in situations wherein the groove width  30  has a value between 0.125 to 0.25 inch. 
     Preferably, the blank  10  is made out of medium density fiberboard providing adequate structural support and liquid impregnability while further providing for the possibility to have a surface portion thereof abrasively removed through a sanding operation, at a relatively low cost. Alternatively, the blank  10  could be made out of other types of abrasively alterable material such as other density fiber boards, chipboards, plywood panels, wood core plywood, panels of cellulose waste or laminates from a plurality of core paper layers containing resin, abrasively removable polymeric resin or any other suitable material without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     In one embodiment of the invention, the blank  10  is provided in combination with a painting kit including a coloring implement and a color pigmented material. In such situations, the painting implement is typically a paintbrush  46  having bristles  48  defining a bristle width  52  substantially similar to the groove width  30  of the grooves  20  to be painted. In situations wherein the color pigmented material takes the form of a painting liquid, the preferred painting liquid is a non-toxic latex paint so as to provide a relatively safe painting environment for intended users. Also, in situations such as such shown in FIG. 11 wherein the invention is sold as an arts and craft leisure kit, at least one blank  10  is packaged in a receptacle such as a box  54 . The box  54  typically also contains a paintbrush  46  and at least a pair of paint containers  56  for packaging painting liquids having at least two distinct colors. 
     The present invention also relates to a method of using the hereinabove disclosed blank  10  for providing a customizable decorative structure. The method in accordance with the present invention allows an intended user to customize the decorative structure and, hence, to benefit from the enjoyment associated with leisurely exercising artistic talents such as choosing colors and applying the latter to a structure. The method also allows the intended user to use the result of his or her craftsmanship for decorating a supporting surface such as a wall, a tabletop or the like. 
     The method in accordance with the present invention includes the step of first providing to an intended user a blank such as hereinabove disclosed. The method also includes the step of allowing the intended user to apply a color pigmented material on either or both at least some of the grooves  20  and/or at least some of the feature sections  12 . 
     When color pigmented material is allowed to be applied to a groove base wall  22 , the adjacent groove sidewalls  24  are typically allowed to act as guiding means for guiding the application of the color pigmented material on the groove base wall  22  as illustrated in FIGS. 8 a  and  8   b . As mentioned previously, the width  52  of the coloring section  48  of the coloring implement  46  is typically chosen so as to be generally similar to the groove width  30 . Hence, the groove sidewalls  24  typically prevent the color pigmented material applied in the groove  20  from overlapping on the adjacent feature sections  12 . 
     When the color pigmented material is applied to a feature section  12  adjacent a peripheral edge thereof, the groove  20  physically separates adjacent peripheral edges of opposed feature sections  12  so as to reduce the risks of unintentionally applying an overlapping layer of coloring material over the adjacent edge of an opposed feature section  12  or into the adjacent groove  20 . As illustrated more specifically in FIG. 9, an overlapping portion  58  of a coloring section  48  may overlap across the peripheral edge  60  of a feature section  12  with reduced risks of applying an overlapping layer of color pigmented material on the opposed peripheral edge  62  of an opposed feature section  12 ′ or in the adjacent groove  20 . Hence, the grooves  20  allow for the application of the color pigmented material on both the feature sections  12  and the grooves  20  with reduced risks of overlapping so as to allow for the sharp coloring of the blank edges even by an unexperienced or unskilled intended user such as an handicapped person, a child or the like. 
     The method in accordance with a present invention optionally includes the steps of not only allowing, but also instructing the intended user to apply the color pigmented material on either or both at least some of the feature sections  12  and at least some of the grooves  20 . The intended user may be typically instructed to apply the color pigmented material by providing written instructions as to the method of doing so. 
     Typically, the intended user is instructed to first apply a first color pigmented material having a first color tone in at least some of the grooves  20  and then a second color pigmented material having a distinct second color tone on at least some of the feature sections  12 . Typically, a first color pigmented material having a first color tone is applied to at least some and preferably all of the grooves  20  while various other color pigmented materials having other color tones are applied to the various feature sections  12  so as to provide multicolored feature sections  12  delimited by single-colored outlining grooves  20 . 
     Since the method in accordance with the present invention is intended to be used by any suitable type of intended users including unskilled or unexperienced users, the method optionally also includes the step of allowing or instructing the intended user to abrasively removed the surface layer of a soiled feature section  12  should the latter have been unintentionally covered by color pigmented material during the application of the color pigmented material in an adjacent groove  20 . Hence, should the color pigmented material be unintentionally applied on an adjacent feature section  12  creating an overlapping painted section  64  such as shown in FIG. 5, the intended user may optionally easily remove the overlapping painted section  64  prior to applying an other color pigmented material having another tone on the corresponding feature section  12 . 
     Typically, as shown in FIG. 5, since the blank  10  is preferably made out of an abrasively removable material, the painted overlapping section  64  is removed by manually sanding the latter. Once the overlapping painted section  64  is removed, the corresponding feature section  12  may easily be painted such as shown in FIG. 6 using the same coloring implement  48  or another coloring implement  48  having a larger coloring section width  52 . 
     The proposed method in accordance with a present invention also optionally includes the step of allowing or instructing an intended user to mount a blank  10  on the supporting surface  44  using the mounting means attached to the blank  10 . Optionally, the proposed method also involves the step of allowing or instructing the intended user to dispose at least two blanks  10 ,  10 ′ such as shown in FIG. 3 in a spaced apart relationship relative to each other so that the combined blanks  10 ,  10 ′ cooperate with each other in forming a composite design in which each of the blanks  10 ,  10 ′ provides a distinctive design feature. In other words, a plurality of blanks  10 ,  10 ′ may be mounted on the same supporting surface  44  or on adjacent supporting surfaces such as a ceiling and an adjacent wall in a spaced apart relationship relative to each other so as to define a blank spacing  66  there between or even in a partially overlapping relationship relative to each other (not shown) so as to form a composite design forming a relief on the supporting surfaces. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the blanks  10 ,  10 ′ are juxtaposed and spaced relative to each other by the blank spacing  66  so as to define a composite design representing waves forming on the surface of a body of water. The waves represented by the blanks  10 ,  10 ′ of FIG. 3 may be further juxtaposed to the blank  10  of FIG. 2 representing a dolphin so that the combined blanks of FIGS. 2 and 3 provide an overall composite design representing a dolphin jumping into the waves of a body of water. It should be understood that numerous other composite design patterns could be formed using blanks  10  in accordance with the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     It should be understood that the blank  10  could be provided with pre-applied color pigmented materials on the feature sections  12  and/or the grooves  20 , with the possibility for the intended user to modify the pre-applied color pigmented materials by applying new color pigmented material thereon as detailed hereinabove without departing from the scope of the present invention. 
     Although the present method and blank for providing a customizable decorative structure have been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the disclosure has been made by way of example only and that the present invention is not limited to the features of the embodiments described and illustrated herein, but includes all variations and modifications within the scope and spirit of the invention as hereinafter claimed.