Fixin' Leaks and Leeks

Though my inner craft alarms were blaring on high alert at Powell’s City of Books last weekend, I couldn’t subject so many innocent bibliophiles to wayward scissors-swiping or gruesome gluing glitches. A craft, inspired by books and bookmarks, would have to wait until I returned home.

Powell’s, in downtown Portland, Oregon, is the mother of all bookstores, and last weekend, I’d made it!

“I can die now,” I told Nate.

It’s the largest independent bookstore in the nation, and every floor is crammed with books of every kind—and there’s even a rare books section behind glass doors! Or course, there’s a café and a children’s area—and lots and lots of bookish gifts. But I went home with an armload of paperbacks, which Nate had to carry through the streets because my arms got tired. (Nate’s a real one.)

At Powell’s, I picked up some new horror books, based on hand-written recommendations on signs hanging from the shelves. (I completely trust the crew working at Powell’s books.) And then, I found the paranormal romance section and thought, “Why not?” At this point, I was looking for a slimmer tome because the stack I was carrying was getting heavy. Based on a recommendation on a sign written by a genuine, certified Powell’s employee, I picked up a book called Get in My Swamp: An Ogre Love Story. It’s…uhm…not for me? I’m surprised it’s 180+ pages. The story could probably be told in one paragraph, but it was definitely an adventure. I wasn’t feeling the romance so much. It was just one ogre-whelmingly long booty call that ended well. I guess, in a Shrek-after-dark kind of way.

In any case, I have other books that I’m busy reading, and I just can’t get enough bookmarks. I love them so much. Do I need bookmarks? No. But I like the way they feel in my hands as I turn the page of a real, printed book.

Admittedly, I’ve crammed some of them into drawers that are also stuffed with pretty bits of decorative paper I’ve held onto, as if I needed to build a bird’s nest at some point. If I did, it would be the envy of all the crows in the neighborhood, and no—I wouldn’t share.

But could I celebrate my love of bookmarks, pretty paper, and starfish all at once? Could it be done? How? The answer was everywhere I looked on my desk.

All I had to do was:

• Pick up one of the glass starfish from my glass starfish collection
• Use a pencil to trace its outline onto pretty floral paper
• Use scissors to cut it out and clear glue to stick it to a sturdier stock of paper
• Cut the starfish outline again
• Stick that little bugger of a bookmark into a book!

Books I might read with my new floral starfish bookmark to hold my place:

• The Starfish’s Guide to Preparing Coral Polyps 1,000 Different Ways
• How I Survived a Seagull Attack by Stahr Phish
• The Haunted Tide Pool by C. Stahr
• Attack of the Human Index Finger by Cee Starr
• Rays of Love: How I Found Love in an Aquarium by C. Starre Phishh

Your Turn: What places have inspired you lately?