My process (for embroideries) is probably pretty basic and similar to others. I draw the image onto a piece of fabric that I stretch over a picture frame. (I prefer those to hoops, which never hold together very well for me.) Staple the fabric in and start digging through my threads, looking for which colors will work best for what I am doing.

The ideas usually are either religious in nature (a sort of devotional practice for me), or I try to find images that one would not expect to see in an embroidery.