Spilled a full cup of coffee on my weekly spread yesterday

I was setting up my journal at the kitchen table before work. My mug tipped over and soaked the whole right page. I blotted it with a paper towel, then let it dry flat for about an hour. The ink smeared a bit, but I just went over the faded parts with a fresh pen and added a little coffee stain doodle in the corner. Has anyone else salvaged a page after a spill? What did you use?

3 comments

3 Comments

king.aaron3mo agoMost Upvoted

I used to get really upset about spills and would just tear the page out. Your coffee stain doodle idea is actually pretty smart, it turns a mistake into part of the page's story. Now I see a little mess can add some character.

ellis.ben3mo ago

Totally get that feeling of wanting a perfect page lol. My old art teacher used to say the first mark on a blank paper was the bravest one, because it breaks the fear of messing up. Kinda stuck with me for stuff like journals or sketchbooks. Now a coffee stain just feels like the paper already lived a little before I even started. Makes it less scary to actually use the thing, you know?

jesse2901mo ago

Honestly, I feel this pain on a spiritual level. I've had more spills than I care to admit, and my journal looks like a crime scene evidence log at this point. Ngl, I once tried to "fix" a coffee stain by adding more coffee to it, just to see if it would even out the color. Spoiler alert: it did not, I just ended up with a wet, brown mess and a very confused cat staring at me. Tbh, the whole "add a doodle" trick is genius, I just end up drawing a coffee mug next to the stain and pretending it was intentional. At this point, my journal is less about organization and more about embracing the chaos.