Does imagining count?

We make a big deal out of actual practice but what role does our imagination or letting ideas percolate in our brains play prior to even letting the pen or brush hit the paper?   I think a lot really.   I need an actual task to get some good practice in but what's going on upstairs in the time prior to sitting at the desk?  The mental gymnastics I do in the days or weeks before I get stated--especially after learning a new skill.  
For the last few days I've been thinking about St. Patrick's Day cards and designs that will combine calligraphy and quilling.   Then a bit of inspiration that was born out of a phrase we heard on House Hunters International.   It translated to something like "bit by bit a bird builds its nest".  
So...here's the idea.   A large sheet of hot press watercolor paper with shades of blue above--about 2/3s of the page, and the remaining third will be greens.  This is to represent the sky and a field in the distance.   I'll then probably need to seal the the paper with a spray so it'll take ink after when I write the phrase in French.  Once this is dry, I'll do a quilled grapevine with leaves and a bunch with a sitting on the nest on the branch, at a right angle on the lower right side.   I can see it in my mind now.  It's fabulous of course.  If only reality can equal what my mind wants it'll be a masterpiece!!  LOL  
But Snappy needs to slow down and do some actual planning outside of my head.  Especially with the the watercolor paint and ink situation.  So next week I'll take a scrap of hot press paper, slap some watercolor paint on it, let that dry and after covering half of it to prevent the spray from getting on the surface, spray with Kamar.  I want to do that to see if the sealer is really necessary and what it may do to the surface of the paper.  
If my test is successful, I'll make a full-sized sketch and proceed from there.   Could be interesting.
In the meantime, I'll order some quilling paper in shades of green and start my wearin' o' the green cards.