During my last creative brainstorm I relocated a favorite journal of mine (pictured). I acquired my cowboy journal at the last large indie craft fair in my area called Crafty Bastards. The journal, by Ex Libris Anonymous, is made from an old library book. It is hand made and one of a kind. Snippets of text from the original book are sprinkled throughout the blank pages of acid free paper. I recall that Ex Libris Anonymous’ booth at Crafty Bastards was constantly packed that day. I elbowed my way in to sort through bins and bins of great vintage book covers. After coming back twice, I finally settled on a small journal with the shell of the Spiderweb Trail by Eugene Cunningham. The vintage books that make up Ex Libris’ journals are cute, charming and have a kitschy vibe. The hard cover is a perfect writing surface and the spiral binding makes it easy to flip to the next blank page and the select passages can make for quick inspiration. I use mine to jot down notes and make quick sketches. Along with the library book journals, Ex Libris Anonymous also does their own silkscreen journals. They will also take custom orders, too. You can send them a book of your choosing, pick the pages and passages that you want to keep in your journal and they will bind a journal of your very own! Ex Libris Anonymous sold out that day and it’s not hard to see why. All the old repurposed library books had found new homes. And mine had found a place to be lost and rediscovered again and again. Now if I could only find my pen… Image by Kelly Rand.
