working with what you have.

I bought the most beautiful canvas-covered journal, open and empty and waiting for words.

Then I painted the cover with oil paints, didn't make the colors I wanted, smeared it around messily, ruined it--and a week later it still hadn't dried. I was ready to give up, scraping away at it and preparing it for the trash, when I realized--I could just cover it with fabric.

It's now my favorite journal, ever.