Zine: How to Deal with Small Talk

“How to Deal with Small Talk” is a collection of tips for how to handle small talk conversations.

Maybe you’re like me and small talk drags you down. And maybe, like me, you have to put up with it anyway. Hopefully this zine can help.

The cover of "How to Deal with Small Talk." The background is a blend of purple and blue colors. Below the title, in smaller font, the text says "a practical guide."

This is printed in full color. I made the background pages using blue, purple, and red inks. Some pages have digital illustrations. All the text is typed.

It might be difficult to tell from the photos, but I tried a new page size for this zine, and I like it! A 12-page zine, printed double-sided on one 8.5x11-inch sheet of paper. The finished zine is about 3.5 inches high x 4 inches wide and bound with staples. And these dreamy cotton candy colors are on every page.

Glorious.


Zine: Timers for travelers

"Timers for travelers" is a 20-page zine about time travel. It includes:

  • Why timers are important to time travelers
  • Tips and warnings for traveling through time
  • Time travel methods
A hand holding "Timers for travelers" zine. The zine cover is blue paper. The title is printed in black. A pattern of overlapping circles is behind the title.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.

Pages were made with a combination of hand-drawn illustrations, digital elements, and typed text.

The zine measures 5.5 inches high x 4.25 inches wide (quarter-page zine). The cover is blue cardstock. Interior pages are printed in black and white on 24lb white paper. The zine is hand-folded and bound with staples.

The front and back covers of the "Timers for travelers" zine

Zine: Everyday Time Travel

"Everyday Time Travel" is about ordinary moments that feel like time moves differently than normal.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.

Out of the zines I’ve made so far, this one probably came together the fastest, from the initial idea to the finished zine.

I made the backgrounds with scrapbook paper, and I added some details with fineliner pens. Then I wrote the text on white paper, tore out pieces, and glued them over the scrapbook paper. I like how all the colors and patterns came together.

Here are the interior pages:

And the back cover:


Zine: Questions to ask yourself, part 3

"Questions to ask yourself: Part 3" is a hand-drawn mini zine with thoughtful questions and illustrations.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.

A mini zine titled "Questions to ask yourself: Part 3". The subtitle says "Moods change with context." The zine is printed on white paper with black text. The background of the photo is green.
The first two pages of the zine. The text says "Which do you enjoy more--starting or finishing?" The zine is printed on white paper with black text and drawings. The drawing on the left page is a ball of scribbles. The drawing on the right page is neat rows of squares.The background of the photo is green.
Interior pages of the zine. The text says "Which do you trust more--thoughts or feelings?" The zine is printed on white paper with black text and drawings. On the left page, a flow chart is drawn with rectangles, diamonds, circles, and arrows. The right page has abstract wavy, shapes. The background of the photo is green.
The last two pages of the zine. The text says "Which do you find more difficult--jumping in or letting go?" The zine is printed on white paper with black text and drawings. An illustration on the bottom of the page shows two wavy lines that then intersect into a double-helix. Near the right edge of the page, the lines separate. The background of the photo is green.

This zine is also part of a bundle with parts 1 and 2.

Three mini zines titled "Questions to ask yourself - Parts 1, 2, and 3." The zines are printed on white paper with black text. The background of the photo is green.

Zine: Vignettes From Camelot

"Vignettes From Camelot" includes glimpses into the lives of Arthurian characters: Merlin, Morgana, Arthur, and an unnamed messenger.

The zine is 16 pages long with 4 original stories and hand-drawn illustrations inspired by nature and magic. It's printed in black and white.

I couldn't decide on a blue or white cover, and neither could my Instagram poll. 😂 So both colors are available for $4 in my Etsy shop. Shipping is free in the U.S.

If you're interested in reading about my process for this zine, keep scrolling. 🙂

White and blue covers for Vignettes From Camelot zine
Table of contents and first page of the zine, with "The messenger" as the first story.

The stories in this zine started as a series of tweets I wrote a few years ago. My original idea was to write 10 tweets in a thread and have that be one story about people in Camelot. I never finished that, but I took the ideas I had for Merlin, Arthur, Morgana, and a messenger and fleshed them out into these vignettes.

I drew the illustrations by hand using black and gray markers and pens. I wasn't sure which illustrations would go with which stories, so I drew each page individually. Here are a few of the original illustrations.

Two illustrations for the zine. On the left are black shadowy swirls that reach up from the bottom of the page. On the right is a castle drawn in gray with black line work.
Two illustrations for the zine. On the left is several trees and branches drawn in black. On the right is gray swirls and black asterisks to symbolize magic.

When I finished all the illustrations, I scanned them so that I could do the layout digitally.

I used Canva to lay out the text and illustrations. I made many of the illustrations semi-transparent so that the text over them was readable. In some cases, I put white boxes behind the text, so that the words stood out without adjusting transparency on the illustration. Here are two of the pages in Canva.

A screenshot from Canva that shows two pages in layout. On the left is the castle illustration with text over it. On the right is gray swirls with text over them.

After I laid out all the pages, I did a few test prints to see how everything looked on paper. I made a some adjustments, and then printed several copies for my Etsy shop.


Zine: Photographic Memories

“Photographic Memories” is a collection of illustrations, writing, and memories related to photography.

It's a quarter-page zine and 20 pages, which makes this the largest and longest zine I've made to date! The zine is printed in black and white and mostly hand-made with some digital elements.

"Photographic Memories" is available in my Etsy shop and shipping is free within the U.S.!

Photographic Memories cover

It took me a while to make this zine. I knew I wanted to focus on photography, but beyond that, I didn't know what to include. I knew I didn't want it to be a how-to guide or lessons on photography. You can google all that and nothing I make would be as extensive or informative.

Instead, I thought about things that stuck with me—concepts and memories—and that's what I made pages about. Here are some previews:

I made each page individually and then laid out pages by hand. The original pages look like this:

I used sticky notes to label each page, so I wouldn't lose track of what goes where. I scanned pages, added some white space as buffer, and then printed copies.

I learned a lot by making this zine in a larger and longer format than I've done before. I already have plans for my next zine. It probably won't be as long but it'll be the same page size.

Thanks for reading!


Zine: How to teleport safely

"How to teleport safely" is a handy (fictional) guide for how to use teleportation devices safely and avoid…incidents.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop. This zine is also part of the sci-fi bundle.


Zine: Text Message Moods

"Text Message Moods" illustrates what text message conversations look like, depending on people's moods. You may recognize these patterns.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.


Zine: Questions to ask yourself, part 2

More questions with no real answers. This is part 2, with a different style of questions. You may also want to see part 1.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.


Zine: Questions to ask yourself, part 1

Some questions with no real answers, but maybe they offer some introspection. You may also want to see part 2.

Copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.

Right page text: Am I the lightning or the strike? Lightning bolts are drawn coming down from the top of the page.