Did you know that Dear Anonymous started out as a mini-zine?

That idea lasted all of five minutes after I received the first letter, but it was fun to make.

It occurs to me that I would like to make a mini-zine. I’m a fluffy heart fangirl of the A5 sized zine, but there is something endearing and awesome about the smaller zines floating around. Plus, I’ve only ever made one, and that was waaaay back.

Back when Purple Moose (RIP) was part of the magical zine team known as Sea Green Zines.

A while back, I believe it was Wolfram (of Queer Content fame) mentioned in a group discussion that a zinemaker should have at least one free zine that can be included in mail packs, handed out to strangers, traded for candy, etc. The idea stuck in my head like gum on my shoe, but that’s a poor metaphor because I don’t want to get rid of the idea.

I want to act on it.

I’ve mentioned before that Australian postal costs stink – especially internationally. So that’s definitely a hindrance in sending out a mini-zine as an additional freebie. But if someone orders more than one zine, I suddenly have a lot of grams (of weight) that I can fill up without the postage going up.

The weird thing is that I feel a little out of my depth for a mini-zine. I have heaps of ideas for the larger sized ones, but man… A mini-zine? More thinking needed.

What do you think? Do you have mini-zines? Do you like them? Would you want one?

I think it was the envelope from Fishspit that made me realise that I was missing out on some big mail art fun.

That’s not to say that I hadn’t received beautifully drawn upon, stamped, embossed, coloured, washi taped, etc envelopes before, but his envelopes made me realise that cut and paste is alive and well in envelopes as well as zines. And, well, I really wish I could up my game.

The obvious point of the matter is that I could up my game if I had more artistic skills when it comes to drawing. The not-so-obvious point of the matter that when it comes to adding so much as a sticker to international mail from Australia, it gets… annoying.

The thing about Australian mail sent internationally is that it’s $2.45 up until you hit the 50 grams mark. After that? It jumps to $7.40

I’m not here to talk about how utterly ridiculous the price difference is (grr) but rather to talk about 50 grams.

50 grams is not that much. Not by a long shot. When you’re sending paper and maybe tucking a few stickers in there, it’s more than enough. But when it comes to a zine – especially a zine with cardstock covers – adding in a halfway decent envelope can quickly and easily send it right over the mark.

I try to keep my zines at 24 pages or less because, after you put a cover on them, they are skirting that 50g line pretty closely. Add in the envelope and you’re screwed over in a hurry. I would love to send out my zines with sturdier envelopes for protection, but the sturdier envelopes would take up so much of the weight that I’d be lucky to put a mini-zine inside.

I wish there was a middle ground between 50g and 250g that would let me make bigger zines and/or have fun with mail art. Alas…

I don’t know if anyone had even ever wondered about Australian postage costs, but there you go. My ‘info rant’ for the day.

I will putting up my 100th zine review soon.

100th zine review.

By ‘soon’, I mean that my 100th zine review is this week.

Yeah, it kind of snuck up on me.

In March, I wondered about how many reviews I had and paid attention for a while. But then it slipped my mind until I updated the Zine Review Index the other day and saw that A Visitor in Myself #2 was my 99th review.

I want to do something special to celebrate, but I really have no idea what to do. Well, I have one idea, but I’m going to let that one stew in my brain until I get back from Melbourne.

Suggestions welcome. 🙂

(I have a picture, but my internet is playing up. Hrmph. It’s just not the same without the picture.)

Today I have been addressing envelopes and then filling them with zine-y goodness. It’s slightly slow work because I’m a little paranoid about writing down addresses wrong or missing mailing something to someone. I’ve made my list, though, and checked it thrice. Haha.

I’m so excited for these to reach their destinations! There’s even one going to Barbados this round. Very cool.

With ink in my printer and all the supplies I need (thanks to a run to the shops for embroidery thread), I am definitely in my zine-making happy place. Maybe it sounds corny, but I keep looking at all the supplies and thinking about how it’s all thanks to generosity from other people.

(Side note: How did ‘corny’ become that work? Why not ‘appley’ or ‘asparagusy’?)

I’m even more happy to be able to hang out in my happy place, as the doc called yesterday regarding my Friday activities, and I head out in a few hours to hear what’s what.

I won’t get rich making zines, but I’m so happy to be in a position where I am able to make them as well as talk about the ones I’m reading. I might not ‘get’ poetry most of the time and know little to nothing about the music scene, but I still feel welcome and happy.

I hope you do, too. 🙂

I really, really didn’t want to miss any zine reviews. At all. It was my goal to make every single Thursday and Friday no matter what.

But if there is one thing I won’t do, it’s rush a review. I want to give every zine its time. So I’ll have to ‘call in sick’ today.

Really, though, if you can’t excuse yourself from something because you’ve had a transabdominal ultrasound AND an unexpected transvaginal ultrasound all in one afternoon, then you can’t excuse yourself from anything. My bladder and my ovaries hurt, and I don’t care if that’s an overshare.

(Actually, I do. Sorry if that info made you feel squidgy.)

I will be back tomorrow when I’m feeling less poked and prodded.

When a bride-to-be doesn’t want to go try on dresses alone, and she summons you to go with and take pictures… Well, you go with and take pictures.

As much as I was ‘of course I will’ was involved with yesterday, it did involve dropping my plans and all sorts of uncomfortable things. Being the fat friend to the fitter bride, being one. Snooty tiny shopkeepers making snide side comments being another. But it’s all done now, and the bride is happy.

I must admit that adventures out and about make me all the more grateful for my cave where I can create and write, for people who truly understand me, and for being able to have such wonderful things in my life.

The wonderful news is that the Kickstarter payment date approaches! I am fairly sure that I have done absolute everything possible that I can without the other supplies I need coming in. So hit the ground running I shall.

I don’t like putting my cranky pants on, but sometimes I do without realising it…

Things have been a little unplanned around here with things like a sudden flatmate moving in, the Kickstarter campaign, and working on my next novel.

Tomorrow will mark four weeks since the new flatmate moved in. Even in the best of times, someone moving into your space is bound to be stressful. I think we’re doing pretty well, but my mental health has been having a bit of a rough ride with it all.

I’m still so thrilled about the success over the Kickstarter. I was geared up and ready to… wait. Turns out that it takes two weeks for everything to be processed. Oops. I’m not a stop-start kind of worker, so the delay threw me a bit.

And the novel. The novel. Plotting…

In Don’t Call Me Cupcake 2, I talked about letting fears stop my creativity. A big part of that was not releasing a novel last year. The anxiety built and built… Well, I’m facing those fears now and plotting out the next book.

Having a bunch of people, places and events running around in my head is actually a pretty peaceful place for me to be mentally. But then the doubt monsters creep in.

And my cranky pants come on.

At least Zine Ninja always keeps his cool.

My live isn’t exactly loud and exciting, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate the quiet times.

I’ve cut a magazine into ribbons and taken my first voyage into more traditional cut and paste. I’ve certainly done cut and paste – that’s how zines are made – but this is the first time I’ve made actual collage-from-magazine-cuttings backgrounds for pages.

These pages are for a project I’m working on with my friend, who recently decided her zine name is Dark Wolf. She’s been devouring my zines and others, and she was inspired to make zines of her own. For the first one, though, we’re working together.

I’ve brought her over to the zine side. Mwhahahahaha.

In other news, I’m a mere $39 away from hitting my Kickstarter goal, so I am soooo looking forward to getting ink and paper later this week. (Of course I’ll make it! Never give up. Never surrender.)

One I’m printing and sewing again, I’ll feel better. At the moment I just feel a little bit weird with everything ready to go but for the supplies. But it’ll be fantastic to hit the ground running.