“Tinned Fish Newbie” is a tiny zine about the tinned fish I’ve been trying the past few months.
Nine pages held together with a fish paperclip (it’s cute!), inside a decorated Altoids tin. Each tin is decorated a little differently, and the stamped fish page varies. But the zine is the same.
This is a limited edition. I made 6 (and I’m keeping 1 🤭), so 5 copies will be available exclusively at Lancaster Zine Fest — April 18 in Southern Market (Lancaster, PA).
What to write in your journal is a zine filled with journaling prompts. Use it to spark ideas next time you don’t know what to write about.
Details:
Copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only) and via trading.
New zine! ✨
“How to find your whimsy” is a zine that includes a variety of ideas and photos for adding everyday joy to your life. ms.writteninthestars and I made this together!
Printed copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only) and via trading (anywhere mail can go).
Details:
I contributed a page to Pocket Thoughts Annual #8, which collects work from a bunch of creators around the world.
Copies of this zine are available from Pocket Thoughts on Etsy.
Here’s the collage I made for it:
Here’s a rundown of my process for making this page:
Searched for images on Unsplash. (See image credits at the end of this post.)
Uploaded the muse image to Canva to convert to black and white and edit the background. Downloaded as png.
Opened the edited version in Affinity to add the texture image. Downloaded as png.
Went to Pixlr and opened the edited image. Added the glitch filter and adjusted settings. Downloaded as png.
Uploaded the edited version to Canva. Added text. Downloaded as png.
There are definitely other ways of making a digital collage like this. Probably with less jumping between apps. But for this collage, I went to the apps that I knew could do the work I wanted. Streamlining the process wasn’t my priority.
Images credits:
Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry 1798 Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832) France, late 18th-early 19th century oil on canvas Overall: 275 x 177 cm (108 1/4 x 69 11/16 in.) Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2003.6.4 (public domain)
Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash
Blue, red, and yellow abstract painting (free to use under the Unsplash License)
New zine!✨
Planetesimal is a zine series where each issue includes flash fiction. Some stories are interconnected while others stand alone.
Issue 2 includes three pieces of bite-sized fiction: “The Flame,” “Rain Check,” and “Downtempo.”
Printed copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only). I’m also open to trading (anywhere mail can go).
Zine details:
I made 5 zines in 2025. Surprisingly, only one of these is a mini zine.
Just one this year: Pocket Thoughts Annual #7
New zine! 💫 “Your Home on the Web” is a 16-page zine about low tech, low cost ways to make a simple website or blog. Notes for each platform include a description, key features, and pricing.
The zine encourages you to have your own space on the internet, away from mainstream social media platforms.
Details:
How to read this zine:
Here’s a quick video that shows how I use a pencil mug to flatten my zines. Very simple, low-tech. But I’ve gotten a few questions about it, so I thought it was worth showing.
New zine and new zine series! ✨
Planetesimal is a zine series where each issue includes flash fiction. Some stories are interconnected while others stand alone.
Issue 1 includes one story, “The Accident.”
Emily recently discovered she has special abilities related to weather and nature. A truck accident forces her to choose between keeping her abilities a secret or revealing them to her friend, Mark. (This story originally appeared in a podcast episode for VLASINDA’s Desolate Library.)
Printed copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only). I’m also open to trading (anywhere mail can go).
Zine details:
I got a few zines from Veronique and Sierra DeCarmen that use the French fold format, and I was inspired to try it myself.
How I Keep a Journal is a zine about my journaling habit. It includes a short background on my journaling style, how I set up my notebook, and how journaling helps me. I wrote everything by hand, which is not my norm for zines with a lot of text. 😅 But it fits the journaling theme.
The zine is printed in color, double-sided, on white 8.5x11-inch paper.
Images of each page are below. You can download a printable PDF version in my Ko-fi shop (for free/pay what you want). Physical copies are available on Etsy (U.S. only).
I really like the French fold, and I have ideas for more zines in this format. 🙂
I participated in FedizineFest, which is a zine sharing and distribution project for the fediverse.
Think of it like an online zine fest. Some people buy zines. Some people make zines. And some people do both.
I submitted my Text Message Moods zine, so everyone who got physical zines, got a copy of that.
Below are the zines I got from the other people who submitted physical zines. You can learn more about each one on the FediZineFest 2025 page.
The new issue of Carrier Pigeon Quarterly is available! This is a guide to new zine and comics releases, organized by Joe Hohman.
I have a zine listed in this issue, and I’m excited to see what other work was included!
Copies are available on Ko-fi for $1 (+$1 postage).
Friendly reminder to write down your ideas, even if you don’t know yet what you’ll do with them.
My newest zine, “My Favorite DVD Designs,” was an idea I came up with two years ago. I didn’t even start working on it until a few months ago.
Here’s the initial sketch.
Fast forward two years, and this is the page I made based on that sketch.
Write down your ideas and also review them over time.
Sometimes you think of something to create, but you don’t feel like making it right away. So keep your notes. 🙂
“My Favorite DVD Designs” is a 16-page zine that collects photos of DVDs with interesting graphics.
This zine celebrates physical media. Pages feature photos of discs with text about how the graphics connect to the TV show or movie.
I have 1 copy available on Etsy (U.S. only).
I also released a PDF version on Ko-fi.
I made a quick page about zine trades. I think so far when people have asked me to trade, it’s been on Instagram. But now I have info in the Fediverse, too. 🙂
Here’s what I do for test printing zines, which is the stage in my zine-making process between text and images are done and everything looks good to go.
I realize I’m done with writing and visuals. I do a little happy dance (in my head) because the hard part is over.
Test prints are tedious. Folding zines can be tedious. But I don’t consider that hard work. The hard work is going from a blank page to a page that’s covered in Stuff, in the ways you wanted to cover the page with Stuff.
I print one copy of the zine on standard copy paper. Plain white, 20lb paper. Nothing fancy. I don’t adjust any settings.
I fold the zine and look at each page. In this step, I’m looking at spacing. Is anything cut off? Anything that needs to be moved a bit? If I have something centered, does it actually look centered on the folded zine?
Next I’ll read through the zine once, front to back. I read out loud so I can hear if a sentence sounds awkward or too long.
I look for spelling and punctuation mistakes.
I mark up edits with a pen, so I know what to adjust when I’m back on my computer.
I should note an important thing: I try not to make edits on paper and on the computer at the same time. I make edits on paper first. Then I go to my computer and make edits to the file.
I make edits on the computer, following the notes I marked on paper.
I print another test copy and fold the zine.
This time I’m looking for anything at all that needs to be tweaked. Wording, spacing, alignment.
I read the zine in reverse, back to front, bottom of each page to the top. It’s a tip I picked up in college to help catch mistakes – read your work sentence by sentence, but in reverse. From the end to the beginning.
I mark up changes in pen.
I repeat step 3 as many times as I need to, until I’m happy with everything in the zine.
Sometimes I decide to rewrite at least half the text at this point. The outcome is better writing, a better zine. But ugh, rewrites can feel tedious. Maybe I have to re-do spacing or re-think images I’m using.
I keep telling myself, this will result in a better zine.
Go back to step 3.
I print one copy of the zine on the paper I want to use for all the copies. For mini zines, that’s usually 24lb paper. Just a little thicker than standard copy paper, so it feels nicer. Sometimes I bump up to 32lb paper. That feels like a special occasion.
I fold the zine and do a final check that everything looks good.
Then I print copies. I usually make 10-15 copies. I give away some copies to friends. I end up trading a few copies. And I put 5 copies in my Etsy shop.
And then I’m done.
Pretty straightforward process, as long as I don’t get caught in too many rewrites.
New zine! “Astronaut Food” is a mini zine about freeze-dried food that astronauts eat in outer space.
The zine includes history about developing food for NASA missions. The back side of the zine (when unfolded) shows vintage Tang ads and a list of sources.
If it’s giving Bill Nye episode, that’s my intent. 😉
I made a collage using space imagery for the background of the zine. All text is typed.
Copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only), and I’m also open to trades.
See below for photos and full text of the zine.
Freeze-dried food was first used in NASA space missions during Project Gemini in the 1960s.
Since freeze-dried foods are shelf- stable, lightweight, and don’t require refrigeration, they’re an excellent choice for taking into space.
Astronauts use on-board water to rehydrate food in its vacuum-sealed package. Then they cut the package open to eat.
Every food package includes some liquid to hold the food together, so small food particles do not float away in zero gravity.
Food quality and options improved during the Apollo missions.
In the 1970s, Skylab, the first U.S. space station, included a galley with a table, trays, and heating elements to warm up food. The station also had a refrigerator for frozen foods, including ice cream. Yes! Regular ice cream is safe to eat in space. Just not on a cone, because crumbs could float away and get into instrumentation or irritate astronauts’ eyes.
Astronauts don’t eat freeze-dried ice cream in space, so why was it made in the first place?
To sell in gift shops!
Freeze-dried ice cream was a way to excite people about space exploration, by giving them a similar food experience to astronauts.
The original and most popular company that makes freeze-dried ice cream is Astronaut Foods.
You can find freeze-dried ice cream treats in museum gift shops, amusement parks, and online.
Tang, a powdered orange drink mix, is usually associated with space missions, but NASA did not invent Tang.
Tang came out in 1957 and was marketed as a breakfast drink full of vitamin C. Since Tang is a powder, it’s shelf-stable, which makes it convenient at home…and also in space.
Tang was first taken into space in 1962, when John Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. After that, Tang became popular as a space-age drink.
Because of zero gravity in space, astronauts can’t mix Tang and water in a glass. Instead, they have a vacuum-sealed pouch containing the powder. They use a needle to squirt water into the pouch. Then they shake the pouch and insert a straw.
Tang is still popular around the world and comes in additional flavors, including pineapple, mango, and lemon.
What Really is Astronaut Food?
Former NASA Astronaut Explains How Food Is Different in Space
The History of the Most Polarizing Novelty Treat of All Time
Freeze-Dried Foods Nourish Adventurers and the Imagination
Vintage Space Fun Fact: Tang in Space
Tang, the retro orange drink mix that astronauts & Florence Henderson liked
Spaced Out is now available in a digital format! You can download the zine as a PDF on Ko-fi.
I make zines for fun, and I want zines to be primarily for fun, so I don’t set specific goals each year. Even so, I’m really happy with what I accomplished in the past year!
Here’s a rundown of zine-related things I did in 2024.
I made 10 zines!
Mini zines:
Quater-page zines:
Contributor zines (that I organized):
I contributed pages to these zines:
I joined the zine line of the Smallweb Subway. This is a webring themed after subway systems.
Not a zine, but collaboration with a zine friend. I submitted a short story to a podcast, VLASINDA’s Desolate Library.
I’m looking forward to making more zines and continuing to connect with people in 2025!
One more zine for 2024. 🚀
“Spaced Out” is a quarter-page zine that collects writing and illustrations that are inspired by outer space.
Illustrations were hand-drawn in black and white, and color elements were added with space-themed washi tape. All text is typed.
Details:
Paper copies are available in my Etsy shop (U.S. only), and I’m open to trading (anywhere mail can go).
Spaced Out is also available in a digital format on Ko-fi.
Here are some of the pages:
If you’re interested in how I made the washi tape pieces, I wrote a blog post about my process.
I made holographic stickers to go with this zine! This is an updated design of my “I need some space” stickers. Every physical copy of “Spaced Out” comes with a sticker.
I added a note to the back of my zine about not using AI.
I’ve been seeing some artists clarify that they don’t use AI in their work, and I think it’s an important distinction to make. I already have a webpage about why I don’t use AI. Now I have a note in print, too.