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Happy Mail… Wednesday? You Bet It Is

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Helloooooooooo zine friends! It is Happy Mail Monday on Wednesday because sometimes life feels awful, and we get caught up in that feeling and all the ‘stuff’ and forget about what we love. But then sometimes we remember, we smile, and we get back to the being of being.

That was a really long intro, but it’s been a hell of a week, and it’s barely halfway over, so there we are. And here we go with that snail maily goodness.

It boggles my mind that there is so much talent in this one person! Hollie’s art style cheers me up when I am feeling blue, and oh, the glorious happy mail! Hollie even sent along a beautiful blue bracelet. I love it so much! Also, I do believe this is a copy of Hollie’s very first A5 sized zine. I’m looking forward to checking it out.

Due to my delay in posting, I received a double dose of Sober Bob awesomeness. Woo! I am so into Bob’s free zine $50 minimum. It’s one of those zines I’ll keep with me until the moment I’m able to sit down and read it. The one before last came with a bogan (Australian red neck – sort of) scavenger hunt that I nearly started playing today before I realised I left the list as home. (SIGH)

Sober Bob also teams up with Wolfram to make awesome stickers – and they sent me some! Love it!

These zines get a big fist bump to the sky in celebration of their arrival. They’re a trade from Izalixe Straightheart all the way over in Canada. There were address hiccups and returns to sender, but we finally made the trade! Woohoo! I’m so looking forward to reading these.

Last but not least, we have some mystery mail from New York state that, frankly, I’m surprised made it through customs. The zine is the package in it’s a zine with the sides shut by small adhesive strips, and inside there is a small… single frame of a film strip? (I know. I’m regretting not taking a pic when I had the light.) It’s in a small metal frame, so… colour me impressed that customs don’t even appear to have opened it.

Anyway, there’s no note or anything that I’ve been able to find yet, so I’m not sure who it’s from, if they want a review or… But thanks for the cool zine plus extra cool film thingy. 🙂

That is the gorgeous mail for the week (and a couple days). I am so grateful to have such amazing envies of goodness in my life – especially during the times when my life feels a bit awful. Thank you to everyone who takes the time and the postage to send some sunshine my way. My best wishes to you all!

That’s me for today. Until next time…

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#ZineWriMo Day 29 – WIP Wednesday

Hello, zine friends! It’s the last WIP Wednesday of ZineWriMo 2017! I hope you were able to get your zine on today or have already accomplished your goals so you didn’t need the work day.

I am very happy to say that I have finished Don’t Call Me Cupcake 9.5!

It’s so cute to see a mini DCMC. Haha. When I was trying to write about my move, everything felt too big and messy for one zine. I put this one series of events in a mini-zine of its own to help me process it away from everything else.

I actually almost stopped at one point, the doubts closing in, but I withheld judgement until I finished it. I am so glad I did. I think it works as its own zine, its own event.

I also have all the writing, proofing, and printing done for Don’t Call Me Cupcake 9. I just have to assemble the zines. I love this part!

That’s me for today. Feel free to leave links in the comments to your works in progress.

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#ZineWriMo Day 28 – Make a Zine About Zines

Zine zines! I love zine zines! I’ve enjoyed a book or two about zines, but a zine about zines! Love, love, love.

Oh, there I go getting ahead of myself. Hello there, wonderful zine friends! We’re nearly there, aren’t we? Nearly to the end of this month and onto the final month of the year. But before I get ahead of myself yet again, I’ll get to today’s ZineWriMo task:

Make a zine about zines.

As I mentioned above, I do love a zine zine. I’ve made two so far. The mini-zine ‘What’s All This Then?’

I ended up handing this out at the Melbourne Art Book Fair earlier this year to anyone who looked thoroughly confused by all the zines (and there were plenty).

There’s also the first of what I hope will be a long-lived series, Paper Currency:

I’m so happy with the response to this zine and am looking forward to digging into making the second. If you’d like to advertise your distro/library/site/etc inside, please let me know!

Of course, if you want to learn about zines, you can start where I started quite a few years ago:

I’m fairly sure there’s a more revised version (or two) out there. I need to get a copy because I’m also fairly sure someone pinched my copy. Such is the way, eh? That’s how good this is! I highly, highly recommend it.

Oh! I nearly forgot another favourite:

This one is by Davida Gypsy Breier of Xerography Debt fame.

I’m sure I’m forgetting others I love, too, but that’s what I get for posting so late.

Alas, issues remain, and I have to delay the Happy Mail for another day. Please let me know in the comments if you made a zine zine today and/or have made one in the past. I would absolutely love to see itQ

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#ZineWriMo Days 26 & 27

Hello, zine friends, and happy start to the final week of November! And not even a full week at that. Eeesh. How the time is flying.

Today I’m combining days 26 and 27, so let’s jump right in.

Day 26: Try Something New: Make a Collage

Okay, so it’s less collage and more just ripped up pieces of paper, but it turned into a background I rather liked for one of my zine covers. (Bonus cookies if you know which one.)

I used to feel that collages just weren’t my thing, but after giving a few a go, I’m rather liking it. I do need to pick up some magazines, though. I need more inspiration.

On to today!

Set Your Zine Free

A beautiful facet of the zine community is the free zine. The zine given away or traded for the love of zine-ing. Many distros with physical shops have free sections or baskets for you to get into to your hearts’ delight.

If you’re in the Brisbane and like the look of some of the zines I’ve made so far this ZineWriMo, drop in at Copy & Destroy Zine Library. I sent a little somethin’ somethin’ for their free section earlier this month.

I wasn’t able to drop off any copies of my zines out and about today, but I was planning on dropping them at my library. Your local library can be a great place to do this without provoking your anxiety.

That’s me for today. Happy mail and ZineWriMo day 28 coming tomorrow. ^_^

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#ZineWriMo Day 25: Stockpile Zine Parts

Hello, zine friends. I hope your weekend is going well or is off to a good start depending on your time zone.

Today’s zine task is one sorely needed one on my part. I’m definitely one for stockpiling zine parts.

I like stockpiling parts. Taking an afternoon to cut out cupcakes, cut embroidery thread to the right length, fold zines. I put on some music or a show I like, and the whole thing becomes less of a task and more of a nice, calm way to spend a few hours.

It’s entirely possible that this sort of thing isn’t useful to you. But if it is, let me know in the comments what zine parts you stockpile.

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Swerve Zine Library Call for Zine Submissions

SWERVE ZINE LIBRARY IS A TRAVELING COLLECTION OF ZINES. Prose, poetry, short stories, comics, art, collage — It’s all here. Swerve travels around the city and hunkers down for a week to a month at a time at select venues. Want to track SZL? Check for updates here or follow the tag #swervezinelibrary.

ZINES ARE NOT TO LEAVE THE PREMISES. If you love a zine we highly suggest finding the artist on social media and showing your support by purchasing their publication. While we ask that you take nothing home with you, you are welcome to add your own zine to the collection.

SWERVE IS ALWAYS TAKING ZINE SUBMISSIONS. If you’d like to be featured in the library, post your creations to Kate Berwanger / PO Box 20233 / Seattle, WA 98102. Or track down SZL and deposit your zine directly.

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Zine Review: Small Potatoes Issue 1

Small Potatoes Issue 1
Keira
IG: @k.huolohan
TW: @khuolohan

Small Potatoes 1 is a quarter-sized black and white slice-of-life perzine, and I have never found a zine cover and title combo so absolutely endearing. Love it!

It’s a week for coming back to zine-ing as Keira opens by writing this is the first zine they have written in over a year. Welcome back to zinemaking!

I really liked the variety I found in Small Potatoes. Don’t get me wrong – I like all life stuff kinds of zines. But Keira worked in life stuff, dreams, a short fiction story, poetry, and even book recommendations.

In the beginning they write that they want this zine to be an attempt to opening up, and I think they accomplished that. With so many different things, I think Keira has created a great start in showing their world bubble.

I’ve never been so inclined to ask a zinemaker if they wanted to be friends based on zine alone.

Getting back to the dream stuff, you may be thinking that they’re a hit or miss topic to write about. I check Keira’s dreams off as a hit. I don’t know if it was the dream, the writing, or the combination of both, but there was one point where Keira writes, “I felt so peaceful.” I nodded along because I felt peaceful, too!

On the aesthetics side, Keira uses typewritten words with a combination of drawing and pictures that go very well with the text.

If perzines are your thing or you’re new to zinemaking, then pick up a copy of this zine.

PS. I love the little ‘contact details’ pun on the back. I won’t spoil it, though.

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#ZineWriMo Day 24: Zine With Friends!

Hello, zine friends, and happy Friday!

I hope you all are doing well. I’m a little fuzzy on time zones, but I think my American friends may be all sleepy and full of stuffing after their Thanksgiving feasts. (Or am I calling that a little early? Either way, I hope those celebrating have a wonderful day! I do miss pumpkin pie a lot this time of year. 😉

To be honest with you, I’m feeling a little blue today. You see, today’s prompt is:

Zine With Friends!

no offline friends here in Murray Bridge just yet, so I’ve been sharing pics of what I’m doing on my Instagram stories, but it doesn’t feel the same. I also just so happen to be finishing up a zine about the two friendship breakups that happened over the move and, yeah… Blue.

So please tell me you’ve been having a great Friday, zines or not (though aren’t Fridays always better with zines?). I’m going to go enjoy a doughnut and finish the zine I’ve been reading so I can post the review here soon.