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I do believe in Spooks

Do you like Halloween? and vintagey stuff?
Then you might like this group:

There are lots of projects & give-aways coming for the next three months (for a ten buck fee) ~ I'm in! I've already got my mind flashed forward on Halloween and couldn't decide whether to do a Halloween Zine or a Day of the Dead Zine so I decided I might be combining them both--I think--just this minute that occurred to me so I may change my mind again....Anyhow I have a small stack of PaperBag books left over from my little project back in 2007 so I figured I would make handmade books/zines out of them with some possible pop-up action and fun stuff inside and put them in my shoppe. I have accumulated a lot of spook collagey type items over the years and I thought this would be a fun project. Hopefully it will not take me 2 years to do it!
I am having a hard time moving from paper projects to bears though -- this is not good. I need a clone.

I am trying to get my studio organized and trying to get myself on some sort of schedule. If you are not focused on one thing, not much gets done in a day. Thinking/creating takes a lot of time--I'm such a fusser over the small little details--And I'm trying to finish all the unfinished projects I have stacked up first before I start new ones. There are quite a few over here!

My friend Moo had a babyshower over the weekend so I made up these little matchbox sticker/seals sets--hers is the one with a boy and a girl--cause she's having twins!!! Yowza! Way to go Moo!

Typewriter Fever!

 In yesterday's mail, I got the pack of zines I ordered from etsy seller Niku--and I really liked the one on mailart. It brought back to mind my initial attraction a few years ago to carving rubber stamps which lead to artistamps and all that other good stuff--including my postage stamp collection from age six--and mostly how letters are a dying art that despairately needs to be revived. Niku talks about her vintage typewriter and how she typed up some of her zines on it and I've been thinking about that for weeks since my initial order! I've never seen a typewriter at any of the thrift stores around here in all my years and now I've got my brain telling me how badly it wants one on a daily basis. My birthday is coming up at the end of this month; and by golly I got to have one!!!

These two beauties are killing me from Mr.typewriter.com! And so is their asking price! I could write an awesome novel a la Hemmingway on one of these! Where's a royalty check when I need it?!

Anyhow, you know you have it bad when you just can't sleep. I tossed and turned all night with desire and wanting and my brain was thinking about all the things I want to type up and leave behind--my stories.

The idea of the zine is really appealing to me right now. There is so much one can do with the concept. It's possiblilities are endless. I've always thought I would write a memoir and this could be a nice way to do it--simple, DIY. Crazy, huh?

I've thought about all the kinds of zines one could make:

• artzines/mailart zines
• instructional zines/tutorials
• comic zines
• memoir/diary zines
• coloring book zines
• zine as a kit of some sort
• inspirational zines
• magazine/slice of life zine (various subjects all in one issue)
• Full-color zines
• black and white cheapies

And they come in all shapes, sizes and colors! Did I leave anything out? Makes me want to start one right this very minute! But not yet....not yet. I'll just add it to my "to-do" list.

My goofy little Zine

Straight off the poor man's press! The first volume to come down the pipeline...

With color and everything!

Available only through my etsy shoppe free with purchase!  A premium is what they call that. Like the prize inside a cereal box. I'm sure there will be more...it's just like making a book dummy--right up my alley.

Another handmade book--the zine

I've been interested in the idea of zines for a while now. I bought the book STOLEN SHARPIE REVOLUTION a few years ago and have always been sort of addicted to my Xerox machine. I was surfing the web last night and saw this video where I've used this "mini book" idea before. I used it to teach kids how to make their own little books when I did a seminar on writing and illustrating at a young writer's conference a few years back.

I think it would be a great little thing to do as a freebie for my shoppe. I love little freebies when I get them from etsy shoppes. I'd like to make it a regular thing--maybe change them every few months.

When I did my paperbag book, I had a little booklet in there called, Follow Your Heart, which I guess could be considered a zine of sorts. 

It's time to do a zine!! And the good news, is this will be a great thing to show the kiddo today as he is totally into making his own little books. He has been making his own comic books and his own paperbag books and they are pretty amazing--the kid can draw! I think this little magic trick with a sheet of paper will be right up his alley. And if he's happy and occupied, I'm happy and occupied!