Monday 27 November 2017

My Experience of YouTube So Far


Hi everyone, I have had my youtube channel for almost a year now and during that time, I have had many different and new experiences.  Aside from having to learn video editing from scratch, work out camera angles and learn what some of the actual features are for on my camera!  There's also been a multitude of other strange and interesting things I've had to deal with. . .


1. Faulty sd cards.  Getting a big negative out of the way first, one of the most annoying and disappointing things that has happened to me so far is filming several videos and thinking yeay they're all done ready to edit, only to find (when I came to edit) that either they hadn't recorded or the footage made me look and sound like an alien from outer space trying to contact earth through video!!  (The one above had to be deleted and re-filmed in the end).

2. Only for a video.  I've heard many youtubers talk about only doing their makeup just to film a video or wearing a pretty top only to be wearing comfy pj bottoms underneath.  Well yep, that's now a thing that happens when I film!

3. Bad lighting.  This is a real pain, when I plan a day to film and then it ends up being a really dull rainy day or it gets late in the afternoon and the suns gone in and then it's too dark to film.  It's so annoying!

4. Can't use it till I've filmed it.  I recently did a large Primark haul and there were so many bits (like the makeup brushes) that I was really wanting to use but I wasn't able to film the video for a few weeks and so I had a massive pile of stuff sat in my room waiting to be shown in the video and of course I wanted to show things all nice and new and unused!  This was quite a funny new thing for me because usually when I do a haul post on here, I just photograph things when I buy them and then add the photo when I upload the post, so this held new challenges and a lot of patience!!

5. Inspiration is everywhere.  I remember when I first started blogging, for the first year or two I was finding inspiration and ideas all over the place and now I'm thankfully finding the same thing happening now.  The only trouble is, it also happens a lot when I'm out shopping or looking online, I'll spot something and think ooh that would be great to show and talk about in a video, it's making me spend money!!

6. Re-watching old favourites.  One of the reasons I wanted to do youtube was because I wanted to do a lot of the old style videos that I used to love watching on youtube, before everything got so commercial and nearly every other video was sponsored!  I used to love all the old tag videos that people used to do and I really wanted to try and bring those back and do my own versions.  So for inspiration, I've been re-watching my favourite youtubers old videos from years ago and it's been really fun.

7. Music or no music.  Sometimes when I watch youtube videos, I actually get put off continuing to watch because the background music is too load and sooo annoying and then there's other youtubers that don't have any music but as they're really interesting to watch, they don't seem to need it.  So when I came to start uploading my first few proper 'sit down' type videos, I really wasn't sure which to go with; should I add a little background music but would it be annoying and put people off.  Or should I leave it and hope for the best (because honestly I don't know if 10 minutes of me rambling on is overly interesting).  So far, I've gone with music, I managed to find a nice subtle tune that's quite pleasant so I'm just hoping that's ok.  What do you guys think?  Please let me know in the comments and give me your honest opinion, do you like my videos with music or would you prefer them without?

As time goes on and I work on many other videos, I'm sure there will be a million other new things I will encounter, so I may do an update of this post another time but I thought this would be a fun one to do this week.  I hope you like it and don't forget to check out my latest video 30 Random Facts About Me, up on my channel now (and let me know about the music!)


Thanks for reading and until next time Stay Happy
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Monday 20 November 2017

A Primark Haul and Some Other Bits


Hi everyone, over the last few months I've been buying lots of lovely bits, mostly from Primark because honestly, it is completely impossible for me to go in there and not raid the entire homeware department!  It's so beautiful :-D

As well as Primark bits, I actually bought some clothes, which is actually quite rare for me, but a few months ago they were so many nice tops in the sale at Tesco and I must've spent about 2 hours with my friend trying on loads of things and came out with quite a bundle!

I'm absolutely in love with some of the bits I've bought and I can't wait to use them.  Some of them ie the homeware items are going to be part of my new bedroom that I have been planning for the longest time but the big house move that I will be doing, is currently on hold for a while, so sadly all the homeware items I've bought have gone straight in a box, safely packed away until after the move.





Anyway, here's a little sneak peek of just a few of the things and if you would like to see them in more detail (including a 'try-on' of the clothes, as well as see what else I've been buying lately, head on over to my youtube channel and watch the haul video.  Sorry it's a long one this week but I hope you enjoy it anyway and don't forget to give it a thumbs it as it makes me smile :-)



Until Next Time Stay Happy
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Monday 13 November 2017

My Current Favourite YouTubers


Hi everyone, this week I have been really looking forward to telling you all about some of the new youtubers I have been sitting down to watch of late to help me relax, it's actually been a really long time since I last did one of these posts so I thought it was about time I updated you.  As well as that, I thought it would a nice way of sharing the love and getting the word out about some of these lesser known youtubers and I really hope you'll go and check out these lovely ladies channels.


First off, this particular lady has been entertaining me so much over the past year and has now become one of my all time favourite people to watch on youtube, and since I watch so many different people, that's saying something!  And she is, Lucy Wood :-)

I can honestly never watch her videos without feeling the need to leave a comment because it's so easy to want to chat and have a conversation with her and it means such a lot that she always takes the time to reply too.  She is so witty, and sweet and pretty and so 'relatable'.  I just enjoy watching her videos so, so much and always save them to watch when I need a pick-me-up!  I love her 'Average Girl Tries' series as well as all the chatty ones, her monthly Primark hauls where you just know there's always going to be an adorable new pair of pyjamas!  And I love watching her vlogs too.  But honestly this video 'The Power of the Teenage Girl', that she did back in May this year, is quite possibly one of my favourite ever videos on youtube, it's so well worded and so true, just amazing.  She may say she's an average girl but she's definitely cool in my book :-)


Next up is Alice (AliceTheBee)
Alice is honestly a total sweetheart, she's always so positive and full of energy, she's sassy and hilariously funny.  An absolute joy to watch and I love settling down to watch her videos with a cuppa and having a dam good laugh.  I first found her channel about 5 months ago when Marcus Butler did a video reacting to his 'fans' youtube channels and she was featured on there, I just immediately found her so interesting to watch and so enthusiastic.  I went straight over to her channel, watched another video (just to make sure) and subscribed there and then.  We now follow each other on the usual social sites and I really enjoy our friendly chats.  I've also discovered whilst watching her vlogs, she has a dam fine singing voice, one I can honestly say I'm quite jealous of!
I can't pick just one particular video to tell you to go and watch because they're all so good, so just click on the main link and go and see for yourself :-)


This next youtuber is the beautiful Cherry Wallis, now she already has quite a decent following but I have only been watching her channel for about 4 or 5 months and I actually found out about her through watching a zombie apocalypse film that she had stared in, along-side Bethan Leadley, another youtuber who I also now subscribe too. Cherry is a hugely in to all things Harry Potter and I love seeing all the new HP bits that she buys, she also does the most amazing makeup tutorials, fun hauls, craft diys and various other interesting videos.  I love that she's so classy and eloquent and her makeup always looks beautiful.  I was also amazed to find an old video on her channel of a song she recorded back in 2013 called Hero, it is so lovely and has a really catchy chorus, is there no end to this girls talents!  So if you are a fellow 'Potterhead', you will definitely enjoy her channel.


And lastly, is the very creative Hermione Chantal.  As many of you will know, I love crafting and making things, I'm extremely in to all things homeware and I could happily live in Ikea, and Hermione's channel pretty much combines all three!  She comes up with the most amazingly creative crafts and diys for making really adorable homeware on a budget.  She also uploads really great videos on ways to be more organized which are really helpful and is something I certainly need all the help I can get with!!  Aside from being really sweet and very pretty, she's a real pleasure to watch, her instagram feed is just beautiful, her videos are always bright and very well edited and the diys are really easy to follow (plus I just absolutely adore her name!)


Of course I've also been watching all my old favourites like Gabby, Jodie, Zoe, Hannah and Chyaz as well as a few other new ladies including Naomi Hallcro who I've had many a long chat with, the lovely outspoken Binky and the brilliantly funny Lilly Singh aka 'Superwoman' (how I've only just discovered her, is a mystery!)

***********
I hope you liked this post.  Leave me a comment below and let me know of any new youtubers that you've been loving lately for me to check out.  Don't forget to enter the giveaway I have ongoing at the moment to win yourself the new Tanya Burr Christmas Advent calendar, as it ends in one week today.  And if you fancy watching a chatty old-style 'What's in My Handbag' video while you have your cuppa later this evening, you can head on over to my channel and watch my version on there :-)



Until Next Time Stay Happy

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Tuesday 7 November 2017

Crystal Sparkly Dreams 4th Blog Birthday & Giveaway


Hi everyone, yesterday was the 5th of November 2017, a very special day for me, no not just Bonfire Night, it was my blog's 4th birthday!!  How it's been that long since I sat down and wrote and uploaded my very first blog post, I'll never know.
But as always, to mark my blog's birthday, I'm doing a giveaway, because without my lovely readers, there would be no one to read my ramblings and to show my appreciation I like to give a little something back to you!


So this year, I am giving you all the chance to win the new Limited Edition, Tanya Burr 2017 Christmas Beauty Calendar :-)  You know how much I love Tanya's beauty products and you guys seem to love it too and as it's now that time of year again, I thought it would be the ideal gift to give one of you.
As always, to enter use the Rafflecoper widget below and the giveaway will last for 2 weeks from today.  You can find my YouTube video here.  Please read all the T&Cs below and I can't wait to read your answers to my question.  Good luck :-)

The Rules:
©    To be in with a chance of winning my 'Blog Birthday Tanya Burr Calendar Giveaway', enter via the Rafflecopter widget
©    Please make sure you leave your first name and email address or twitter name in the comments, so that I can contact you if you win
©    There will be only one winner
©    This giveaway is open internationally
©    You must complete all 3 mandatory entries before you can access any of the extra entry options
©    This giveaway will run for 14 days from Sunday the 6th of November 2017 until Sunday the 20th of November 2017, 12.00am gmt
©    Once the giveaway is over, I will contact the winner directly via email or Twitter, once the winner has been contacted they will have 72 hours to reply or a new winner will be selected.

Until next time, stay happy, thank you for entering and good luck

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Thursday 2 November 2017

Easy Autumn Decor DIYs

Hi everyone, so I have really been getting in to the autumn vibe lately and I've been loving all the different seasonal decorations that people have been having around their house.  But despite my best efforts I haven't found any in my local shops, so I decided to make my own!

The first thing I did was take to Pinterest for some Autumn craft inspiration and there were so many lovely ideas, but I thought the ones featuring real leaves were the prettiest.  I wasn't able to get hold of any real ones and I didn't like the idea of the gorgeous colours fading and going brown after only a few days.  So I printed my own!


The first item I wanted to make was a little decorated candle, this was probably the easiest of all. 



After several hours (or more) of cutting out all the leaves, I just picked out a couple that seemed to look the best, stuck them on and added a length of string around the candle, done!




For the second decoration, I wanted to make a lantern.  


I had a nice jar left over from my fairy light lantern that I made last Christmas, so I carefully stuck a few dozen leaves that I'd printed on slightly thinner paper, over the main body of the jar, then added the fairy lights inside.  Voila. 



However after careful consideration, I decided it looked far better with a battery tealight inside, the gentle flickering glow looked far cosier that the bright fairy lights (and it photographed better, gotta get those insta pics!)


Lastly, I had the idea of making a lovely leafy garland to hang under my bedroom shelf.


Using the largest leaves, I simply pegged them to some micro fairy lights.  Adding smaller leaves in front of the larger ones to add depth. 


I then was able to just hang the garland on my shelf brackets and that was it finished.

  
These pretty decorations were so, so easy to make and (apart from cutting out all the leaves) only took about half an hour to create.  I'm really happy with how they turned out too :-)

If you would like to have a go at making them, just click on each of the links below to open and download all the leaf pages (don't worry, they're free)
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4

If you do make them, don't forget to tag me in the pics as I'd love to see your creations. 


Also if you would like to see me making them, click here to watch my video :-)


I hope you liked this post and don't forget to check out next week's post to be in with a chance of winning yourself a prize in my Blog Birthday giveaway :-)  And Until Next Time Stay Happy

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