While the clean, virgin pages of a new journal are typically where the bulk of creativity happens during the journaling process, the covers can be equally compelling. The vast, empty space just begs to be embellished. Whether you are artistic or not, there are many things you can do to make your journal uniquely yours. I discovered that a Ciak journal has a sublime surface for decoration. Not only is the surface of the cover rich with color, but it is smooth and accepts solvent-based inks and markers as though it were made for this type of embellishment. The cover is soft and leather-like so it can be embossed, painted, decorated with metallic pens, or even rubber stamped.