ZineWriMo Day 7 – Refill the Well – Do something for your creative self

There’s something so lovely about a quiet Sunday you can spend refilling your creative well and generally being nice to yourself.

Today we have:

Refill the Well – Do something for your creative self

For me, today is all about relaxing with my collection of zines to read. I have so much to do, but down time is important, too. So I’m off to relax and read some zine goodness.

Have a beautiful Sunday everyone.

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines
*Caroline

ZineWriMo Day 6 – Make a Zine – Stream of Creativity – Don’t think! Let loose with words, art, etc.

Hello, zine friends! I was so ready for a weekend, and mine is already flying by. But time flies when you are having fun, and I had fun with today’s ZineWriMo prompt.

Today we have:

Make a Zine – Stream of Creativity – Don’t think! Let loose with words, art, etc.

I have a particularly hard time shutting off my brain most of the time, so today was a hard push to get into. But when I relaxed, it was so nice.

For a while, all I wanted to do was doodle flowers, so I did! They’re weird kind of doodle flowers, but I like them and make them all over in my bullet journal as well. But as I made more and more flowers, I began thinking about spring, which we are currently enjoying in the land of Oz at the moment.

I then followed my urge to write, so I folded up the mini to hide the flowers inside and then went on to write about spring… in cursive! I don’t often write in cursive, but it felt nice to do so in this mini. I should use cursive more often. It’s fun.

I don’t think this is a zine that I will be making copies of, but I believe some of the art that we make should be made just for ourselves. For the pleasure of doing it.

I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone creates today – if you care you share of course!

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines

Zine Review: Electron Libre 2

Electron Libre 2: it was the best of times, it was the worst of times
Izalixe Straightheart
28 pages
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/IzArt
https://www.youtube.com/user/izalixe

Electron Libre 2 is a black and white, US-sized half-fold perzine about life, weddings, communities, setting boundaries, sticking up for yourself, and much more.

Full disclosure: My zine ‘BUJO’ is reviewed in this zine.

Electron Libre 2 opens with a brief nod to the typewriter Persephone that, sadly, went berserk and needed to be rehomed. Iza then gives a not to the typewriter Phyllis and The Regional Assembly of Text who generously loaned Phyllis to Iza for the creation of this zine. (Thank you from Iza’s readers as well.)

From there we launch into the real introduction to the zine, which starts with taking a little poke at the tried and true ‘sorry I haven’t made a zine in so long’ before getting into the whirlwind of events that kept this zine from coming into being up until now. (‘Now’ being November 2020 when it came out.)

This introduction is a raw and open sharing of experiences Iza has had being with and then being married to someone with a mental illness. Good times, bad times… They are all there in Iza’s ‘this is my life, so take it or leave it’ kind of way that is also reflected in her YouTube videos. I had to admire Iza not only for sharing things that are clearly painful and complicated but also for sticking with the decisions she has made. Whether you agree with her or would make the same decisions, you have to respect a person who knows that they want in life and knows who they are and what they want in life.

From there, Iza writes about YouTube communities (yes, I remember video responses!) and the evolution of not only the site itself but her channel as well. With being ‘out there’ comes hate and trolls as well, which Iza has taken a healthy approach to dealing with. She also writes about zine fests, new habits, workout tips, reviews, and more.

As I mentioned, Iza reviewed my Bujo zine. That hasn’t influenced my review of this zine whatsoever, but I must say that it was quite lovely and made me smile. The review and the zine itself is refreshingly unapologetic. Iza loves, hurts, and has joy just like all of us, and her writing voice and style embrace all of it with no expectations from the reader.

Unlike with the first issue of Electron Libre (https://seagreenzines.com/zine-review-electron-libre-1/) there are no pieces written in French. While I fully support writing in any language you want to write in, it was nice not to have to break out Google translate before I could wrap up this review.

Electron Libre 2 is a great edition to a series I have come to really enjoy. Iza’s wandering ways are so different from the life I know that it’s all quite fascinating to me. I like the variety of topics in this zine as well as the fact she includes reviews.

I recommend checking out this and Iza’s other zines.

Day 5 – Connect With Other Zinemakers

Happy Friday, zine friends, and happy day five of ZineWriMo! I am so ready for the weekend and so ready for making my first ZWM mini zine tomorrow. But today we have…

Connect with other zinemakers

It’s a huge part of making zines and being part of the zineverse – connecting with other zinemakers! There are so many ways to get to know and connect with other zinemakers.

On Instagram, I have been using the #zinewrimo and #zwm2021 hashtags on my posts. I’m not active on Twitter, but I’m sure you can use those there as well.

Facebook has quite a few different options, starting with the Zine Love Page.

There are groups as well, including one group just for ZineWriMo.

Zines Australia is a stop for Australian zinemakers (or, perhaps, anyone looking to connect with Aussies?).

Zines A Go Go is a zine group that has been going for a long time and will, with any luck, keep going for a long time to come.

There’s also the Zine Club.

That Monthly Zine Project

We Make Zines is the former Ning where I got started on my zine journey many years ago. It may look different, but oh the nostalgia…

Have I missed any zine spaces? Please let me know.

There is also the list of participants that I post at the end of each ZWM post (and add to – so please get in touch if you’re joining in but aren’t on the list!). Click on the links and go say hello!

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines

ZineWriMo Day 4 – Get Prepared – Get out your creative tools and make mini-zine blanks

Hello and happy Thursday, the fourth day of ZineWriMo goodness. The sun is bright, the motivation is strong, and the tissues for my sneezes are soft. Haha. What do we have today?

Get Prepared – Get out your creative tools and make mini-zine blanks

I always have a stash of mini-zine blanks on hand, so that stays the same for me as previous years. However, I have changed up my art (writing, bullet journal, doodling, etc) supplies and how I carry them around the house.

This is my little tote bag beauty for all my various pens, pencils, markers, highlighters, sticky notes, rules, so on and so forth.

Earlier this year, I made a goal of adding more colour and creativity into my life in as many ways as possible. Since then, I have changed things up a big in regards to the pens I use (though I still love Papermate InkJoys) as well as washi tapes and such.

With my little creativity kit here, I feel ready to get into fun stuff no matter what time it is.

What are your creative tools of choice?

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines

ZineWriMo Day 3 – Work in Progress Wednesday

Okay, so technically it’s Thursday, but a little catching up never did much harm, did it? Haha. Even if it is a rather boring catch up.

Today we have:

Work on your Work In Progress

Unfortunately, my work in progress ended up being me, who managed to get a cold. That’s what I get for pulling a few too many early mornings after late nights. A lot of rest time later, and I’m feeling so much closer to human again. Now to get back on track!

How did your work in progress go? Some people mentioned they are still brainstorming while others have already picked their focus for the month.

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines

ZineWriMo Day 2 – Plan It Out – Decide on what you want to do this month

Hello Tuesday! We’re certainly already off and running this month. At least, I certainly feel like it. Why did I dislike naps as a kid? I always want naps now as an adult. Hahaha. So what are we doing on this glorious second day of ZineWriMo?

Today we have:

Plan It Out – Decide on what you want to do this month (and how you’re going to do it)

I must confess that I was a touch cheeky with this one. I actually moved into a new planner for the rest of the year on the weekend, so I made myself a ZineWriMo calendar and was already thinking about what I want to do for this month.

That started with an extra calendar in my bullet journal just for ZineWriMo.

The main thing I will be working on – and what I will be focusing on for my Work In Progress Wednesdays – is putting together and finishing Dear Anonymous 9. This zine has been such a long time in coming, that is for sure. A recent submission from a friends for it really lit a fire under me and made me want to focus on getting it done. (That said, if you want to sneak in a submission for it, you have a couple weeks left!)

There is a tonne of other things that I’d like to accomplish this month. However, I’m trying to live by my intentions for ZineWriMo and have as little stress as possible. If it turns out I can do more, awesome. But DA9 is my goal, and I am happy with that.

What are your plans for ZineWriMo this year?

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass
*Gettsr
*A Peaceful Homemaker
*Echo Publishing
*Warglitter
*KT Mayflower
*r28 Zines

ZineWriMo Day 1 – Brainstorms & Thought Gardens

We are here! I am not quite sure how we got to November so fast, but it has arrived, and it’s time to get our zine on!

Today we have:

Brainstorms & Thought Gardens – Get those ideas going

Off the top of my head, I’m not sure how many years I have been using this exact title for the first day. But I still love it. I love a good thunderstorm, and I love the visual of ideas being plants in a garden that we can nurture, grow, and help spread. The type of garden you have is up to you. Perhaps you are a careful planter, keeping your ideas organised in beautiful, neat rows. Or perhaps you’re a wild gardener, throwing seeds around to grow and sprout where they may.

I’d say it’s possible I have thought too much about this, but I love the visual so much that it doesn’t really matter if I have. Haha.

I have so many ideas for zines! Oh my gosh. A new perzine series, a perzine for what has been happening since Don’t Call Me Cupcake 10, some collaboration ideas… However, there are a few zines that have been ready to start cooking for a while, and I simply haven’t had or made the time to bring them to life. So that might be my focus for the month…

But today isn’t about decisions. Today is all about those beautiful seed ideas and starting them growing in whatever way pleases you best.

Do you have some storms and seeds starting in your mind?

*****

Stop by and say hello to other participants:

*Hadass

Welcome to ZineWriMo 2021

Hello Monday, hello November, and hello ZineWriMo! Welcome everyone to this year’s edition of ZineWriMo.

I am so excited – as usual – but especially excited because I know some people are discovering ZineWriMo for the first time! Hello to new ZineWriMo-ers too!

What’s ZineWriMo then?

If you’re not familiar, ZineWriMo is the zine alternative to NaNoWriMo created by Jasper (I no longer have any social links for them) a few years ago. I am another happy participant who decided to dive right in and create a prompts list for the occasion. I try to focus on a list that gives a bit of challenge but isn’t too stressful.

In Jasper’s words:

ZineWriMo is a new idea that came to me in wanting to combine the original NaNoWriMo and zines!

ZineWriMo is November! We focus on making one, or many, zines in November! Our only goal is to create zines, no word count requirement!

Dive in, join up, and let’s get ready to zine!

Here’s the list once more if you’d like it. Feel free to email me at seagreenzines@gmail.com if you’d like me to send you it in PDF form.