Free PDF of my first zine!!
MegaUpload Link
It's legit. I have used it for uploading albums to share with friends.
Free Word (2003) of my first zine!!
MegaUpload Link for Word Doc
Of course, this is an original work so don't copy anything without permission. Believe it or not, I spent a lot of time on this.
You are welcome to offer critique, laudings (ha!) or general thoughts on the pieces. I appreciate all comments. I tried to keep it pretty light but some things terrify/horrify me and I get kind of pissy.
I got my partner tonight. So here goes the brainstorming.
She likes magnets, the Smurfs, charms. She doesn't have a wist, so I'm doing the Craftster stalking. Bowling, fairies, scrapbooking (meh), animals. Hmm. Sounds pretty vague...
I will start decorating my tin, possibly tonight, probably tomorrow. Work zonked me today. I'm going to work out in a bit.
My bookmarks are sent out.
My zine is about half done.
And, because I am a true addict: I signed up for another swap. That makes four at once, a new record. The new swap is due Feb 3rd--it's a Vday cookie swap. You make two dozen, craft a small item and purchase a small item and ship it off. The good thing about the cookies is you get a dozen and your SO gets a dozen.
I just can't stop myself!
I signed up for (yet) another swap.
So now I'm in the Zine Swap (send out Jan 14th), the Bookmark Swap (send out Jan 5th) and the Altoid Tin-Valentine's Day Swap. They're all pretty small.
1. Bookmark Swap is 4 bookmarks (I'm using paper, I don't care what my partners ask for). I haven't started because I want to see what my partners like for patterns and 'feels', textures, etc.
2. Zine Swap. I'm moving along nicely. I have about 10-15 pages in my zine and I have about 10 to go. I'm going to write a review for the movie "Doubt", a little recommendation section for books and cds (Dewey the Small Town Library Cat!!) and maybe 1-2 short articles about a current topic in feminism/GLBT rights. I might talk about derogatory language (f--, g--) and why it's harmful. I want to put my beliefs out there a little bit. I did a Post Secret and I've included poetry but I don't really have any "this is my belief" pieces. Oh. I'm making my zine into a PDF so that everyone can see. I've got the 10-15 pages done and scanned and ready to be published on teh interwebz. I just gotta hustle up and finish my last pages. My zine is very small, about 4x6" but has about 30 pages. Note to self: GET A GEL PEN! I need to be able to write on black paper.
3. Altoid Tin Swap. I've never done one of these before. It looks fun and easy. I'll probably tuck in a cheesy card, some die-cut/punches, some candy and some fun valentine's paper. I looked through the Altoid Tin First Aid Kit gallery and the tins came out PRECIOUS! One said, "Kiss My Boo Boo!" on the front and the things people thought to include were awesome (condoms, tweezers, lip balm, instructions for the Heimlich...)
It's a flipping addiction. I am nearly done with my little zine, "zineswap" and I signed up for another swap: book marks. You craft 4-5 book marks and send them out. You receive 4-5 book marks back. I figure it will be a good chance to do some embossing!
I can't decide how I want to upload my little zine. So far, it's all original writing (poetry, short essay) plus an easy sudoku from websudoku.com. I think I'm going to include a little mix cd too (I wrote my 2008 anthem playlist up in my zine) but not sure how that plays into copyright laws.
Yeah, so the writing is good. I went back as far as when I started college. I have my high school journals that I might be able to salvage some good pieces. I also want to do a few etymological pieces. "did you know that ______ came from _____?" I love etymology.
Because Rachel is a scrapbooker, I went over yesterday to use her papercutters and nifty tools to start my zine. I have a few ideas for the contents, but so far I've just been working on getting my paper ready. Then I will type up (or handwrite) my short essays, lists, etc and print (via compy or hand) on the fun paper. The whole idea for me is to look very DIY, very unfinished, raw and kind of sloppy. But Fun! I will post some pics later of my zine. I have a really cute type-set stamp set that really made the cover look cute, it says "zineswap" in a funky broken typewriter/"Problem Secretary" font.
I bought two products from two different sellers. One product is perfect, awesome, I love it. The only hitch was that it arrived a little banged up from shipping.
The second product I'm not that impressed with--it's like the materials the seller used weren't right for the task. I like it, I mean, I can tell what it's supposed to be, but it's not something I would get again or buy as a gift.
I also placed my first order with ScentimentalGifts, for a bunch of fragrance oils for Christmas presents. This was the holdup on a batch of presents. I spent a lot but I think it will take care of 3-4 people. Maybe as many as 5-6. I would like to send out a few little things as small gifts to friends.
I am excited to receive these as they are the last piece of my gifting puzzle. I'm still working on the shirts for Greg. I am also going to make him an awesome Camp Anawana shirt in addition to his "Skills for Kills, Agent." shirt.
AND! I signed up for my next swap. It's something I've wanted to do for a long time but never really had a reason to do. I'm going to be participating in a zine swap! You make 5-10 copies of your zine and distribute it to your craftswap partners. Yay! I'm thinking of a very small book, like 3x3 inches with 10-15 pages that will include a few short poems, a short essay, a few drawings, maybe a short tutorial on something, a few recommendations (books, websites, cds) and that will be it!
