How to Make a Mini Zine using Canva

Some of the best projects come from the simplest materials. A single sheet of folded A4 paper turns into an 8-page mini book. It’s called a zine and you can fill it with any idea!

What Is a Zine?

A zine (pronounced “zeen“) is a small, self-published, often DIY, book.

Zines are versatile

They’re small, but they can hold a lot!

For teachers:

• Vocabulary practice
• Student reflections
• Comics or creative writing

For hobbyists:

• Travel photo albums
• Handmade gifts for friends
• Recipe books

These are some that I made for my toddler!

1. A vehicle zine — because he’s obsessed with cars, trucks, anything with wheels
2. A daily affirmations zine — a little book we read together
3. Kids’ art zine — filled with photos of his artwork, snapped straight from my phone. Instead of a growing pile of paper crafts, I have a digital file I can keep forever — and print again anytime. Once printed, the zine takes up almost no space, which makes it perfect for travel too.

Building One in Canva (Two Ways)

In the full video, I walk through building a zine template in Canva from scratch.

Use a landscape A4 template with print bleed included and custom guides set to 4 columns and 2 rows for 8 total sections.

Version 1: Photobook Zine

A photobook zine is a fun way of documenting and sharing memories. Just drop your photos into the template and customise using text and stickers!

Version 2: Mini Reading Book

To create a reading book, skip the frames, keep the grid, and design freely with text and image. You could create an affirmations book, a personalized story book, or a comic!

Don’t worry about making it perfect — make it personal.

See you next class! 🙂