Zinewrimo – Page 12

November 17, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 17: Try Something New With Your Zinemaking

Hello and happy Sunday, zine friends. Welcome to day seventeen of ZineWriMo. Today we adventure into some variety with our zinemaking with…

Try Something New With Your Zinemaking

One of the many reasons that zines are so wonderful is that they are so versatile in their making. There is no one way to make a zine with even more ‘traditional’ forms varying in their size, shape, and binding. From the type of paper you use to the way you reproduce them (if you make copies), zines can take you in a number of artistic directions.

Do you usually staple your zine? Sew it? Do you usually use scrapbook paper or create zines entirely on computer? How about printing – laser, inkjet, riso? There are also elements which can be digital, hand drawn, hand stamped, written, and more.

My latest adventure in zinemaking has seen the binding of my zines go from being handsewn to bound by a sewing machine. It’s definitely a time-saver, that’s for sure, but I’m still not entire sure how I feel about it. No judgement to those who do, of course; I’m just missing the relaxing quality of sitting down and sewing something by hand.

These are only a few different ways you can creatively experiment in your zinemaking. Did you try something new today? A new art style? New backgrounds? New bindings? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

https://www.instagram.com/violett_komplett/
https://www.instagram.com/bydhiyanah/
https://www.instagram.com/dungeon_maven/
https://hadass420.wordpress.com/
https://echopublishing.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/gothcupcake/
https://www.instagram.com/14thframe/

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 16, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 16/Zine Review: The Common Cold

Hello, zine friends, and welcome to the latter half of the month. In today’s prompt, we have a bit of sharing is caring in the form of a review!

Sharing is Caring: Review a Zine

It’s pretty easy to see my bias in regards to reviewing zines, but I still stand by my opinion that reviews are an incredibly important way to share the word about zines you love, zinemakers you admire, and all the things between. So read below for my offering for this day…

The Common Cold: A Zine About Mental Illness Presentation and Priorities
Kirsty
https://twitter.com/MsKirstyFace
https://www.etsy.com/au/shop/ForeverIncomplete

The Common Cold is a full-colour A6 perzine about the beginnings of and growing up with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, the complexities of dealing with more than one mental illness, and finding peace with how you prioritise things in your own treatment.

The Common Cold starts off with an introduction to Kirsty that had me smiling. (Why does pizza taste so good? Hm.) From there, Kirsty writes about having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder since the age of twelve and the paths of medications, therapy, and finding peace in how you want to prioritise things with your own mental health treatment.

A big part of this zine is Kristy using the metaphor of having a cold – dealing with OCD on a regular basis as a constant but manageable condition – versus being punched in the face – struggling with things like depression and anxiety. I think this is a great way to make things clear to people whether they are people who don’t deal with mental illness or people who also deal with multiple mental illnesses.

The aesthetic of this zine feels open and calming to me with clearly printed text pasted onto patterned paper backgrounds. The topics discussed are difficult ones, and the small touches to make the reader feel more at ease are appreciated. (By this reader, anyway.)

I identified with a lot with this zine, and I’m very grateful to Kirsty for the metaphor to use in my own life and way of thinking. The funny thing is the timing as well considering that I have been struggling a bit with my own therapy with the idea that I’ve been getting “off track”. Reading Kirsty’s words has helped me to see a way of being kinder to myself.

I didn’t know what to expect with The Common Cold, but I am so glad I read it – and have read it at this particular time in my life. I think it’s a great read whether you also have OCD and/or are dealing with multiple diagnoses.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 15, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 15: ½ Way Point! Your Day, Your Way

Hello and happy Friday, zine friends! The halfway day falling on a Friday? Wonderful! So what does the halfway point mean?

½ Way Point! Your Day, Your Way

Rest, read, review, reflect, relax, and all manner of different things – even ones that don’t start with the letter ‘r’.

I spent my Friday in the ‘rest’ mode for the most part – with a heaping bit of self-forgiveness for doing so. 2019 has been a year of many lessons, and taking time to rest has become a big one. It doesn’t make for the most exciting of blog posts, haha, but it makes for a happier Nyx.

How about you? How have you spent your fine Friday? Let me know in the comments and be sure to check out the other participants below.

Until next time, spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 14, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 14: Organisation Station: Organise Your Zines/Zine Supplies

Hello, zine friends, and welcome to this Thursday before the mid-month midpoint where today we are…

Organisation Station: Organise Your Zines/Zine Supplies

Zines! There are so many different ways of organising them – many of which I have tried over the years. Various containers and whatnot have been the home of my zines, but now, as I need to keep things more organised with incoming to review, incoming not for review, so on and so forth, a better system of keeping everything together has been needed.

Thankfully, beginning of 2019 Nyx got it all sorted out.

At the beginning of this year, I’d finally put together all the flat boxes I’d ordered at some point in 2018 to store all of my zines. I washi-taped and cut with glee until I finally had the system pictured above.

Oooh, those organised feels. Mmm.

And… well… this is still the system I use! The annoyance *still* is that I don’t have enough boxes. However, I am pleased as pie that this system set up over eleven months ago has still held up. I’m usually one for tinkering and changing things all over the place, but this system has really stuck for me.

The space in the picture is now where my Wall of Awesome now resides, but the boxes still function in the same way not far away from where they were in the picture. (No updated picture because the zine cave is a mess.)

How do you organise your zines? I absolutely love checking out people’s creative spaces, so be sure to leave me links in the description if you are showing off your space today.

Until next time – spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 13, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 13: Work in Progress Wednesday

Hello, zine friends, and welcome to the middle of the week. Today’s prompt is…

Work in Progress Wednesday

…on which we work on our Works in Progress in whatever ways we care to do so.

Today was a day for ideas in the land of Sea Green Zines. I’d originally planned to work on Monday’s double-sided zine, but then I got an idea for a second double-sided zine. Then I started thinking about various things that I wanted to include in the Missives…

I enjoy days like this – especially when they are unexpected. When the ideas flow and all I can really do is write them all down before they float off into the ether.

How about you? How have you spent your Wednesday? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 12, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 12: Warm Up: Stream of Consciousness Writing

Hello, zine friends, and welcome to day twelve of ZineWriMo. Today we have a warm up prompt…

Warm Up: Stream of Consciousness Writing

Stream of Consciousness writing is an exercise in which you try to relax your mind and just write down whatever comes to mind. Some people say that you *have* to keep your pen moving across the page, but I find that a little too stressful. My mind takes brief breaks and I see this activity is more about releasing than forcing.

While it may sound quite simple and easy, this should be approached with some caution. This exercise can take you in mental directions you don’t want to travel. So while it’s good to relax and let your mind wander, keep awareness of the paths you’re mentally walking.

I don’t mean to scare you off this by any means, but as someone with trauma in her past, it’s something I try to be aware of in my own creative work.

Have you tried stream of consciousness writing? Has it helped you creatively? Let me know in the comments.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 11, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 11: Make a Mini-Zine: Double-sided Goodness

Hello, zine friends!

My, my, my. What a day it has been. On this eleventh day of ZineWriMo, our prompt is…

Make a Mini-Zine: Double-sided Goodness

Alas, today also happens to be Happy Mail Monday, and I have spent the day dealing with various technical difficulties. Now it’s starting to get late, I am exhausted, and – while I have an idea for a double-sided mini-zine – I didn’t get the chance to work on one like I wanted to.

That’s life, though. These are the sorts of things that happen that are our of our control and that we just have to sail with the best we can. In the end, the day has been what it has been, and WIP Wednesdays just so happen to be great days for catching up when one gets behind in this.

How was/is your day? Have you made a double-sided mini-zine? Let me know in the comments.

Until next time, spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 10, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 10: Have Supplies, Will Travel: Make/Update a Zinemaking Travel Kit

Hello and welcome to the tenth day of November and ZineWriMo as well. Jumping right in with today’s prompt…

Have Supplies, Will Travel: Make/Update a Zinemaking Travel Kit

I’ve tried a couple of different travel kits in the past years. I quite like all the little compartments and zippers in my travel kit from last year, I’ve found the flatter, more notebook-like travel kit from the year easier to put into a backpack or smaller bag.

I still find something really amusing about the fact that this is a bag meant for organising cables and coords, and it ended up working so well for ziney activities. Not pictured is my A5 notebooks for collecting quotes as well as planning out various projects, both of which fit quite nicely in there. I think I’ve finally settled in.

How about you? Do you have a zinemaker travel it? If yes, what’s inside?

Until next time, spread a little sunshine…

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 9, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 9: Sharing is Caring: Connect with Other Zinemakers

Hello, zine friends, and happy weekend if this is the start to your weekend. If it is not, happy day. 🙂 Today we have a Sharing is Caring Saturday, and the activity is…

Sharing is Caring: Connect with Other Zinemakers

Connecting with other people is one of many elements that makes the zineverse great, which is why listing other participants for events like ZineWriMo (and zine trades, and zine review zines, etc) is important to me. You can find the list of other participants at the end of each post this month, and there are other ways to connect, too!

There is a ZineWriMo Facebook Group as well as the hashtags #zinewrimo and #zinewrimo2019 that you can check out on Instagram and/or Twitter.

That is it for me today, wonderful creatives. Until next time, spread a little sunshine.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza

November 8, 2019

ZineWriMo 2019 Day 8: Friday Night Highlights: Show Off/Write About Your Progress

Happy Friday, zine friends! And hello to the eighth day of ZineWriMo. On this fine Friday, we have…

Friday Night Highlights: Show Off/Write About Your Progress

It all begins with washi.

Okay, so it technically begins with thinking about what I want to write about in a Missive, but after that, it usually starts with washi (or other design elements if I decided to make the Missive purely on the computer – I go back and forth).

I started to feel bad and drop back into the same old habits. Why haven’t I accomplished more, why don’t I have more energy, blah blah blah. These old habits are certainly difficult to break! Alas, I remembered what past Nyx has been saying all along: no stress! Some days, you can make a whole zine in 24 hours. Other days, getting some washi laid out on some pages is pretty awesome. Still other days? Well, sleep is good.

So no matter what you have or haven’t done today and so far in ZineWriMo, it’s all good. No judgments here.

Other Participants:

Novice Zinester
Herinza Syadza