Inspiration Shelf

There's an inset shelf built into my wall by my desk. For far too long, I've simply let it fill up with books--much like every other bookshelf in my house. But I've been thinking about turning it into something a little different, and slowly been gathering supplies. Contact paper for decoration, and--thanks to a generous husband Santa Claus, a few awesome decorations.

Here's my new shelf! Entirely lined with pretty paper. On the top shelf is a copy of each edition of each of my books, and on the left...

My space corner! The Antares rocket was a gift from NASA when I attended the rocket launch last year. And that specific copy of Across the Universe was the one that went up into space!



Lots of people have asked me what happened to that book. It was mounted to a weather balloon and attached to a rig with a camera and a geo-locator. When the balloon popped, the crew found the book and camera thanks to the geo-locator, then Penguin was kind enough to send me the book! At which point I screamed with joy. The first thing I did? Sniff the pages. Mmmm, space pages.

On the second shelf is my Christmas presents this year, on display! I'm so happy to have gotten these. They're from a brilliant UK artist at Vinegar and Brown Paper, and I'd wanted them for ages.

It's hard to read here because of my flash, but in the pink jar is "Creative Juices." (In reality, it's some slightly shimmery body spray, and when I need a bit of inspiration, I can actually use it as perfume!)

Here we have the centerpiece--two ink bottles, one labeled "Stories Yet to be Written," and another labeled "Keep Writing." I have a few calligrapher's pens I plan on placing around them later. And let's not forget "A Drop of Good Luck." Currently filled with plain glitter, but I might mix it with oil or something so it can be more liquidy.

And finally, a vial of "A Shot of Inspiration!" I've filled it with a jar of pigments from Coastal Scents, and it shines a slightly different color in different lights and angles.

Isn't it great?! The light here isn't the best, but in real life, the items really pop. I have them in front of a tray from my grandfather made of butterfly wings. The whole thing just makes me so happy to look at, and reminds to stay inspired.

And if that doesn't work, the shelves below this one help, too. The third shelf holds all my favorite and most inspiring books, and the fourth holds a copy of each foreign edition of my books that I have so far.

What do you think? Overall, I was trying to make a little display to just remind myself of the whimsy and joy of writing, to keep writing, and to remember that I have to refresh my well of creativity every once in awhile. Also, I think it's cool :)