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Why I Create Journals from Forgotten Books
- Jodie Chandler
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
There has always been something that pulls me towards old books.
The worn covers.
The dog-eared pages.
The faded handwriting tucked inside.
The little signs that someone, somewhere, once loved them.
Most people see an old book that has reached the end of its life.
I see a story waiting to begin again.
Every time I rescue a forgotten book from an op shop, a dusty shelf or a market stall, I wonder about the hands that once turned its pages.
Who carried it?
What dreams did it hold?
What memories are quietly tucked between its covers?
Rather than allowing those beautiful books to be forgotten, I love giving them a second life.
That is how every Wildflower Soul Inquiry Journal begins.
Not as something brand new.
But as something beautifully renewed.
Because I believe we are a little like those old books.
Life leaves marks on us.
We become wrinkled.
A little weathered.
Sometimes our pages become bent by the seasons we've walked through.
Yet those marks don't make us less beautiful.
They make us uniquely ours.
That philosophy is woven through every journal I create and sits at the heart of the Wildflower Method™.
Every page is a reminder that beauty grows through time, not despite it.
Wildflower Lesson #2 – Crinkle & Wrinkle Texture
One of my favourite ways to add age, warmth and character to a journal page is with one of the simplest techniques you'll ever learn.
Crinkle and wrinkle your paper.
It sounds almost too simple.
Take a sheet of paper.
Scrunch it tightly into a ball.
Hold it for a few moments.
Then gently unfold it.
Instantly, your paper begins to tell a story.
The wrinkles catch the light.
The texture creates depth.
The page no longer feels flat—it feels lived in.
I often use this technique on tea-dyed papers, journal backgrounds and collage layers because it gives every page a soft, vintage feel that perfectly suits the Wildflower aesthetic.
An Extra Wildflower Tip
Once you've flattened your paper back out, gently blend a little Distress Oxide Ink over the surface using a blending dabber or foam applicator.
As the ink settles into the creases, it highlights every wrinkle and fold, creating even more depth and an authentically aged, timeworn appearance.
There's no need to cover the whole page.
A light touch around the wrinkles and edges is often all it takes to bring the texture to life.
It's one of my favourite ways to give a page that treasured, heirloom feel.
A Moment for Soul Inquiry
As you hold your beautifully wrinkled paper, pause for just a moment.
Ask yourself:
What parts of my life have become more beautiful because they weren't perfect?
Sometimes we spend so much energy trying to smooth out every wrinkle in our lives that we forget those very wrinkles tell our story.
The same is true of our journals.
The folds.
The marks.
The layers.
The imperfections.
They aren't flaws.
They're character.
They're history.
They're beauty.
Every Wildflower Soul Inquiry Journal is crated with this belief.
That your story matters.
That your seasons matter.
And that every page you create becomes another step on the journey back to yourself.
So the next time you rescue an old book, crumple a page or create a beautifully imperfect background, remember...
Perhaps the things that look worn are simply waiting to bloom again.
Want to join our Free Wildflower Lessons Library to download our Weekly Wildflower Lessons.
🌸 Create from your heart.🌿 Inquire with your soul.🌼 Bloom wildly.
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