Zines!

Poetry Friday/Scrappy Little Zine

More Zine fun this Poetry Friday…

Frog Haiku

Little frog – new legs

Jump-plop on water lily

Big pond holds promise

I’ve had lots of scrap papers on the desk lately …bits and pieces of washi tape and corrugated cardboard made there way into this mini zine. The frog image is from a vintage crochet pattern that I found in a thrift store and this became the inspiration for the frog Haiku.

Also, I enjoy junk journaling, an upcycling style of art journaling. The colorful zines pictured below were part of a recent post on my art/junk journaling YouTube channel @JillyBeanStudio. They’re a free download in June (2026), if you’re interested “hop over,” there:)

I guess I’m having a zine moment! I enjoy how these little booklets can be about any subject and since the size of the booklet encourages distilling your message, they’re perfect for poetry:)

Get ready for some delicious Poetry Friday fun: This week is hosted by Mary Lee Hahn @A(nother)Year of Reading. She has created a fabulous poetry potluck!

Happy creating:) Jill

Day Off

Rain drops

drum-thrum, ho hum

blurry window rivers

rainboots tired- new agenda

read book

Jill Dailey

Poetry Friday/ Poetry Zines/ Mixed Media

Zines! Fun, filler-up any way you choose little books. Day Off uses the mini zine, one page format, folded into 8 panels. Then by cutting along the two center panels and gently folding-pushing toward the center- you create a zine with a front/back cover and six interior pages.

If you’re unfamiliar, Zines (pronounced zeens) are handmade books, often considered magazines, and come in many formats. Creators often photocopy or digitally print zines in multiple copies to share. Anything goes in terms of creator content! Some of my favorites zines include hand-lettering, collage, and/or sketching, and I especially enjoy little narratives, fun facts and poetry in these minis.

Today’s Poetry Friday share is a cinquain zine. I’ve been playing with some paper dyes, instant coffee and a combo of food coloring. For Day Off, I ran a digital print of this dyed paper and hand-lettered the poem. Carol @ The Apples In My Orchard is hosting this week. Check out her fabulous Ferris Wheel inspiration and other wonderful Poetry Friday poems linked there. Happy creating:) Jill

Day Off (Cinquain) Poetry Zine

Pages 1-2
Pages 3-4
Pages 5-6

37 thoughts on “Zines!”

  2. oooooh! Yes, please zines for the win. They are so fun to make. I love making them with kids as the directions require some serious listening and following of direction. It gets me into my dramatic self. Beautiful color on your pages! And, your poem is darling! It’s got a full story arc in just a few words. Bravo!

    1. Thanks Linda, and I can envision your dramatic self, in the best way, giving those directions. We teachers need to get the projects rolling out, so the creativity and learning can happen:) I’m having a zine moment, for sure, and do love how they can pack in a little narrative arc- appreciate you saying that:) Happy Memorial Day weekend!

  3. I just love your zine, Jill! Those sounds, the finality of “read book,” the evocative “window rivers.” I went through a zine phase, but most of them are one-of-a-kind and I like your idea of having copies.

    1. Thanks Tabatha! Yes, I think I have had a zine phase a few times around too:) Copies are another nice option, to share the poetry fun. Swap with friends too!

  4. We are in the third day of “window rivers”. I love how the paper looks like water. I think I need more details for making this paper. What is the thickness (is it just plain copy paper?) I have my grandchildren today and with the constant rain, I think we will make some paper and some zines! For next year’s teaching artist selections, I created a workshop where we will read The Dot by Peter Reynolds and make a dot on the paper, then fold it into a zine and write. I think I’ll steal the idea of cinquain! Thanks!

    1. Oh my Margaret we have the entire weekend predicted as “window rivers,” as well. Love the Dot, I shared the book many times with students as a teacher-librarian. Sounds like a great activity! For this zine, I had left over Paas Easter egg dye tablets (mix with vinegar) and also instant coffee that I often use in crafting. I dyed a page of 18 x 24 drawing paper (Strathmore 80lb.) I applied both dyes with brushes. Before I dyed the paper, I stenciled a few “blobby” flowers with white gesso and let that dry. I brushed around 1/4 cup “ish” (a Peter Reynold’s word of course:) of instant coffee and close to that of blue/green Paas dye. When it dried, I photocopied parts of the large sheet (or you can cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11″) on my Epson Inkjet and did the hand lettering with a micron pen. Watercolors might work just as well, but I was on a hunt around the house that day! Hope you have lots of fun creating and a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

  5. Jill, your zine is filled with the word of many days in Virginia-RAIN. The cinquain is playful, artistically shared, and full of comfort. My little grandgirls are looking for an activity during the Memorial Day rainstorms. I see Margaret is also interested in your tips. I would love to add a zine poem with watercolors for their poetry pleasure.

    Thank you for sharing another image poem on my Spring Seeds Grace April Padlet Gallery. Flight is a lovely artistic expression blending art and words.

    1. Hi Carol, hope you and your grandgirls have fun during the Memorial Day rainstorms. The weekend is calling for inside activities here too! For the zine paper, I used left over Paas Easter egg tablets (with vinegar) and also instant coffee. I dyed a page of 18x 24 drawing paper (Strathmore 80lb.) I applied both dyes with brushes. Before I dyed the paper, I stenciled a few “blobby” flowers with white gesso and let that dry. It was fun-messy experimen as I brushed around 1/4 cup “ish” of instant coffee and close to that of blue/green Paas dye. When it dried, I photocopied parts of the large sheet (or you can cut it down to 8 1/2 x 11″) on my Epson Inkjet and did the hand lettering with a micron pen. I’m sure watercolors would work great too:) Hope you have lots of fun creating and a wonderful Memorial Day weekend!

  6. Ok, now I have two summer projects… A photo collage poem card and a zine. I know ZERO about paper dyes, digital runs, and I only have wet, used coffee grounds. But… I am going to set aside a craft day and figure out how to create something beautiful…all because of YOU!

    1. Yay, Patricia! So glad you’re inspired for a craft day:) For the zine paper, I stenciled on a few flowers with gesso (blobbed them on really) and after the gesso was dry used some instant coffee and Paas Easter egg tablets/vinegar solution on the drawing paper. When it dried, I scanned it in my printer and hand lettered the poem with a micron marker. Never know exactly how the dye will turn out, but fun to experiment with it. Hope you have a great time creating!

  8. I love zines!! We make them all the time with tweens and teens at the library, because they’re so accessible, even for kids who think they “aren’t writers” or “can’t do art” – anyone can make a zine!

    1. Hi Jane, glad to know you’re a zine fan and your tween and teen visitors enjoy them too! I made them with students too, when I was a school librarian. I found the same thing, you didn’t have to consider yourself a writer or artist, the little booklet invites creativity!

    1. Hi Tracey, thank you for your kind words. I just enjoyed your insightful interview with Jone! Hope your writing is going well and happy almost summer!

  10. Well, I kept scrolling and finally found comments! They were hiding from me below both of your zine posts! I only looked at the end of this week’s froggy post!

    I love your multi-media zines — so playful and accessible! Great idea to combine zines and poetry!

    1. Thank you, Mary Lee:) Also, thanks for the chance to host Poetry Friday on July 17th. I will post with the goal of keeping the comments easy to find and hopefully the link Goddesses will work in our favor:)

  11. These are WAYYYYY too cute. I can imagine the delight of finding them just …out and about in town, in a doctor’s office or in a Little Free Library or on a shelf in a grocery store. I would feel like I’d found such a treasure. I love ‘zines – they remind me of high school – but I’ve never yet run across a poetry ‘zine and I love the concept!!

    1. Thanks Tanita and I love the idea of leaving these littles about town:) Oooo poetry treasures, I might get into that mischief! Alas, technology has not let me through to comment/log in on your blog for Poetry Friday, but I so enjoyed Miss Sandy lore and thinking about the icky sticky jello salads that I’ve experienced too. Oh whistling in the box of raisins, like a Kazoo, yep, I’ve played cardboard box music too:) You had me laughing and crying all the way through your post! Thank you for your delightful poems and stories!

  12. Jill this is SO cool! Your work is beautiful. I love seeing your work illustrated in this way.

  13. Delightful! I think I will hop on over to the jillybean studio. It’s been a minute since I’ve visited.

    1. Thanks Linda and thanks for visiting Jilly Bean Studio too. I know it’s an especially busy time of year for teacher-librarians!

  15. Oh, adorable!! I don’t have much of a skill for things like this, but I’m tempted to do it with a big family group this summer. LOVE it as a way to capture the moment!

    1. Thanks Liz, these one pagers are beginner friendly and yes, to capturing a moment. Copy paper, markers and a summer cook out could be just the thing:) Folding and cutting can be a little fiddly the first couple times, but YouTube videos could give you plenty of back up, lol!

  18. Jill, I love the zines! The frog jump-plopping into the pond is one of my favorite images. The dyed paper and collage work are always a gift to enjoy. Thanks!

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