My absence explained: Vacation Vlogs!

Why hello friends!

So I have been absent on the blog for a very long time, and I apologize. But let me explain. I have been on vacation! There was so much preparation and thought that had to go into leaving and that kept me quite occupied. Since I am not a complete failure I do have something quite amazing to share with you. I decided to vlog my whole entire vacation, which means I brought my video camera along with me the whole trip. Each day I uploaded that day's vlog and started anew the next day!

So just in case you missed one, or hadn't heard of it at all yet. Here is the whole series!

Anyway please let me know if you enjoyed these video's! And if you'd be interested in seeing any of the pictures I took along the way. I would be more than happy to share those with you all. Just leave a little shoutout in the comment section, or just like the video ;) 

Well until I speak to you all again, I hope you have an amazing week! 

B

READ TO SURVIVE!

Hello friends!


So I am finally posting after almost two weeks of radio silence. I have come to the realization that weekly video's is a very lofty goal, but I am not giving up yet! My uploads just might be a little sporadic until I figure out a schedule that works for me. Anyway! On to the subject at hand.


I decided that today I would film a new video suggesting some of my favorite books, ones that captured my heart and imagination. Since the weather has finally cooled down I have really been flying though books and I figured some of you might be the same. I love a good book suggestion so I wanted to share some with you! Here is the video:

I would be more than happy to talk in more detail about any of the books I mentioned. Make sure to comment and we can have a nice little chat about them!

Don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe as well as checking out my other social media. I am @bvcrafts1 on instagram and twitter. As always it has been a complete pleasure, and I look forward to hearing from you! Until then have an amazing day!

B

New video! Plus why I am a terrible blogger.

Why hello friends!

As you might have noticed, last week I was a very very bad blogger. Not only did I not upload a new video last monday I also neglected to do a blog post on Monday OR Friday. Well I know this will sound like a terrible excuse but I was busy...shopping. I had to make the trek downtown and shop for a birthday present in an area I never go. So by the time I made it home I was exhausted and the daylight had run out. That's my excuse for monday at least, for friday I have none. Just got lazy. I am always running really thin on idea's and since my life has been quite sedate lately I don't have anything new or exciting to share with you all.

But I am back. I decided that today I would film a video that has been in the back of mind for some time now. Ever since I started my channel I wanted to do a baking tutorial on one of my favorite recipes: Cranberry Scones! So here's the newest video.

I really hope you all enjoy this video. It was quite a task to film but ultimately totally worth it. I love to bake and am always excited to share recipes and learn new techniques. Make sure to show me some love on my channel and let me know if you tried out my recipe.

Well that is all for now, and I hope to talk to you soon. But until then have an amazing evening!

B

Nicholas Sparks: The Best of Me book review

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So as most days go, my plans for my time off didn't go quite as planned. Once I got home from work I crawled in bed and napped for hours, throwing off my schedule for the day. I was hoping to have this blog post up for you guys sooner in the day but thats life for you.

Today I wanted to share with you a review of a book I just finished reading by Nicolas Sparks called The best of Me. Now I have never done a book review on my blog or youtube channel, but I am quite an avid reader. So I am really excited to start sharing some of the books that I love, so to start I wanted to share what I've read most recently.

I picked up this book at Target the other day, and in less than a day and a half I finished it. It is not a particularly long book, 291 pages in the Trade Paperback format, nor is it a difficult read. This is the very first book I have read from Nicholas Sparks, though I have seen the film versions of a few of his novels. I was in the mood for what I call a "bleeding heart" novel and since his books were on sale I picked up the first one that sounded interesting.

So on with the review!

This book is a love story (obviously) and it centers around two characters, Dawson and Amanda. In their teenage years these kids from different sides of the tracks share a spark that is wildly apposed by their families and soon are forced asunder. Fast forward 20 years Dawson and Amanda have led very different lives. While Amanda married and started a family, Dawson never forgot his undying love for Amanda and steadfastly armored his heart against falling in love. The death of their mutual friend Tuck draws them back to their hometown and sets in motion events that neither the two would ever imagine. While Amanda and Dawson are happy to be reunited once again, their relationship stays friendly and cordial. But Tuck has other things in mind and has left some requests to be fulfilled by his two closest friends, which will reignite the flame they shared two decades ago. But a sinister plot by an old family member threatens to demolish it all.

This novel employes a shared narrative. It switches back and forth between the characters involved, which tends to get quite confusing. I found myself backtracking to figure out who was feeling what, or who was making an observation. The chapter length was reasonable and the author used plenty of line breaks to signify changes in the scene or sometimes who was narrating. From the start I could tell Sparks was building a house of cards. Each situation was presented to you then assembled into a solid structure. And as the book went on the house got bigger and bigger until the inevitable end where it all comes crashing down. In this case though the cards all fell right into place and no question went unanswered.

Overall this book kept my attention and was written by someone who knows how to tell a story. Though the characters aren't particularly sophisticated they aren't outwardly shallow either. The end of this book settled with an iron clad finality that didn't leave you wanting more. In fact Sparks left you with a feeling that any more to the book would have been unnecessary. In the end I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It is a great novel and would occupy your time quite nicely on a weekend trip. I would have liked a more liner narration and perhaps less predictability. Yet it is a book I am happy to have purchased and read, and will suggest it to my friends.



Well I hope you enjoyed this book review. I bet it felt like you were almost reading a whole book on here huh? I love reading and talking about books so much. So please let me know in the comments below if you would like to see more book reviews in the future, because I would be happy to post them. Also if you have any book suggestions I would love to hear them.

Don't forget to check out my most recent video on my channel if you missed it. I did a thrifty haul video. You can find it at bit.ly/bvcrafts1

If you are interested in buying this book here is the link to it on amazon (where it is cheaper than at target apparently)
amzn.to/1tj9ibV 

And until next time, have an amazing evening!    
B

Thrifty Shopping + New Haul Video

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So these past two weeks I have been doing a little more retail therapy than usual. It seems that every time I go out I have been finding some really good deals! And if you know me just a little you know that I can rarely pass up a good deal; especially on a product that meets my expectations or needs. Lately it seems that so many things I really enjoy have been either marked down or on killer sales. So after a few trips to some of my usual haunts I decided to film a haul video! Now I tried my best to mention how much everything cost or what it was on sale for. If I forgot something and you are interested in knowing a little more about, please let me know! So without further delay, here is the video.

I have been really hesitant to film haul video's on my channel because I really don't want to sound like I am bragging. And I just want to make it clear that I am in absolutely no way trying to flaunt my purchases. If you guys are like me, haul videos are inspiration and educational. I find that I discover a lot of new and exciting things through these types of videos and hope that you feel the same way. If this type of video is not something you would like to see on my channel please let me know by suggesting new video's for me to film.

Well that is all for now. I do hope you enjoy the video and if you purchase any of these items based on this please let me know! I would love to hear from you guys. It has been quite lonely on my channel lately....

Don't forget to subscribe, like, and comment. I am also really active on instagram so take a look over there if that suits your fancy, I am @bvcrafts1

So until next time, have an amazing day and I will talk to you all very soon! 

Brandon

Hobonichi Techo 2015 Order and first impressions!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So as you guys might remember I promised to upload a new blog post every Monday and Friday, and have been keeping to my promise ever since. So I didn't want to let you down today even though I am feeling quite un-inspired. Plus I didn't plan ahead on what my post was going to be about. So I thought I would share a little more about my recent order from Hobonichi.

I know that a lot of you might not know what a Hobonichi is, so first I wanted to explain what they are. Essentially they are a daily journal where you can write and sketch things about your day or what not. You can also use them to plan your month and keep track of appointments. In addition to the journal you can purchase journal covers, which come in a variety of styles and colors. They come in A5 and A6 size.

Since the journals are designed to be used from the beginning of the year every day throughout I decided to buy a blank journal so I could start using it as soon as I got it. I did an unboxing video for you guys so you can see exactly what I bought.

I have been using my new journal a little bit here and there and am really enjoying it. If you guys are interested in seeing how I am using my journal please let me know in the comments section.

Well I hope you guys have a good night, and let me know what you thought of the video. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and comment on my youtube channel. And I am pretty active on instagram as well @bvcrafts1.

And until next time, have an amazing day!

Brandon

My September Favorites +New Video!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon. So today I decided since today was the last upload day of the month for me I wanted to share with you guys some of the products that I have been loving this month. If you haven't already, give my video a watch and look below for some additional information on the products!

So now I will just list the places I got these items, and where you can buy them yourself! :D

Iris photo bin: Joanns
http://www.joann.com/iris-photo-keeper/9531211.html#q=iris+photo+&start=1

Pilot Varsity Pens: Staples
http://www.staples.com/Pilot-Varsity-Everyday-Fountain-Pen-Medium-Point-Assorted-Colors-3-Pack/product_393905

Xyron Sticker Maker: Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Xyron-Create---Sticker-Machine-Assorted/dp/B0001DU6RS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412027886&sr=8-1&keywords=xyron+sticker+maker

Multi Pen: Target
http://www.target.com/p/yoobi-8-color-retractable-ballpoint-pen-multicolor/-/A-15103745#prodSlot=medium_1_2&term=yoobi+pen

The Yard by Alex Grecian: Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Yard-Scotland-Yards-Murder-Squad/dp/0425261271/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412027912&sr=8-1&keywords=the+yard+alex+grecian

Fauxdori: Chic Sparrow
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChicSparrow 

Pumpkin Spice Candel: Cost Plus/World Market
http://www.worldmarket.com/product/mexican+pumpkin+candles.do?&refType=&from=Search

Well I hope you enjoyed this video. Make sure to let me know what you thought. I should also mention I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned, and that these opinions are mine only. Although any business inquires should go through bvcrafts1@gmail. com ;)

As always it has been a complete pleasure, and until next time. Have an amazing day!

Brandon

Dear melancholy, I would like my creativity back now!

As promised, I am back again for another "insightful" blog post about my various escapades. But for today I decided just to follow up with you guys in a less structured blog post, and set aside my list of prompts. 

I should start out by saying that I have had quite a melancholy week. It could possibly be the change in weather though I doubt it; fall is my favorite season. It could be that the weather is all over the place and the inconsistency is affecting my moods. But as this week has dragged by I have found myself in a funk. As I mentioned before in my last blog post, this odd mood has taken residence in my brain and I can't seem to shake it. Nothing to worry about friends. I just have been caught in a creative and intellectual rift if you will.

I have not opened my art journal in over a week and a half and my Project life scrapbook is a month behind. Although I haven't really done much in recent weeks worthy of scrapping. I find that I lack the necessary inspiration to create. For so long my creativity has been...well...overfilled. But now that I find myself in this rut I can't seem to bring myself to do the things I have been quite enjoying. So what to do?...

In my 10 facts about me video I  mentioned briefly that I am a homebody, and that I get really anxious when things are out of place. And even though nothing is visibly awry I do feel like something weird is in the air inside my skull. It's as if I need a vacation, to dump away all the content of my brain and start fresh. Though this sounds like a fantastic idea I am not really quite sure how to go about clearing up some space in my old thinker. Of course, any idea's would be absolutely appreciated. 

Other than my abnormal funk, nothing is new in my life. Only one more work day this week, and I look forward to the weekend. I have a very exciting video planned for you guys, so stay tuned Monday evening for my next blog post and video. 

As always I hope you have an amazing day, and I will talk to you all very soon! 

Brandon 

My Stationery Addiction + New Video

Are you there friends, it's me Brandon.

So today has been a rather strange day. Since I have decided that Monday was going to be my usual upload day I have been getting in the habit of working on my videos early in the morning. But today I wasn't able to stick to my normal routine. I started filming on time but no matter how hard I tried or how scripted I tried to make my video, I kept getting unbearable tongue tied. I had given up trying at around noon and decided I would just not upload this week.

But for some reason this really bummed me out, and I felt that I was letting you guys down. So after a decently long nap I decided to get back to work and do my best to finish this video. So I know it is not the most polished video ever, but I had to throw something together.

Well friends it is bedtime for me now. Please let me know what you thought of my video. And please let me know if there are any video's you might be interested in me filming.

As always it has been a complete pleasure, and I will talk to you guys soon!

Brandon

My Fauxdori Review: Chic Sparrow, Moleskine, Pilot G2

Are you there friend, its me Brandon.

So as some of you may already know, I purchased a Midori style travelers notebook from Jennifer at Chic Sparrow. And if you follow me on instagram, you'll know that I have been obsessed with it. So I thought I would break it down for you guys and do a review on the various products that I have been using in my Fauxdori (Or Jendori as some may say).

But first I would like to review the actual notebook:

I cannot begin to say how much I love this item. Not only was the price fabulous at 29.99 but the actual quality blew me out of the water. The leather is sturdy and crisp. The coloring is rich and vibrant. And the overall elastic build is thorough and has held up really well so far. My first impressions of my notebook was that the leather had an amazing fragrance to it. The vegetan leather is very high quality. As you guys know from my last post I did buy the storyteller leather and the stiffness is exactly what I was looking for. This product seriously won my heart and I plan to buy a larger one sometime soon.

Now for the notebooks (which were not included in the order):

Since this notebook is the smaller size, Jen said it fit notebooks roughly the size of the Moleskine Cahier. And since this style of notebook is widely available at pretty much any store that sells notebooks I decided to buy a few to try out in my notebook. I was quite hesitant to purchase any more moleskine notebooks since I had previously had some bad experiences with them. And I am sad to report that my feelings on moleskine paper has not changed. The reason being the paper quality is just so poor. I can only compare the paper to one found in a bible: wafer thin. I have tested out numerous different pens and inks and everything shows through. So essentially you are only able to write on one side of the paper. That being said, I will stick to the Cahier's for now, just because I now have a few laying around and I hate wasting paper.

But here's a tip for you guys: the perfect Cahier size notebook shouldn't cost you more than a dollar each (whereas the moleskine's are around 7 dollars for a three pack). If you want a few cheaper alternatives check out the dollar store, any office supply store, target, and even Dick Blick. I have seen many different notebooks out there that would fit perfectly in my Fauxdori and that have better paper quality. Just so long as the measurements match up, you'll be golden.


Last but not least I wanted to review the unofficial Moleskine pen: the Pilot G2.

Not much to report on this other than I found the pen to write very smooth and not smear on the paper, which is always a plus. They are also well built and don't feel cheap even though they are very inexpensive. Of all the pens I have tried this one works the best on the moleskine paper but still shadows through to the other side.

Well I hope you have found this review helpful and insightful. I wanted to finish off this post with a picture I uploaded to my instagram (@bvcrafts1) of my new Fauxdori and trusty Filofax coexisting and helping me stay organized.

Also a little update on my life here on the internet. I am finally able to commit to upload days. So check out my youtube channel Monday nights for new videos, and here on my blog I will post every Monday and Friday. I hope this is helpful to you guys so you know when to check up on me :D


As always it has been an absolute pleasure, and I will talk to you all soon!

Brandon

10 Things about Me video!

Are you there fiends, its me Brandon.

For this week's video I decided to share with you some random facts about myself. After having only slightly recovered from the plague it was still quite taxing making a video. But I soldiered on and put a little something together for you guys! Let me know what you think!

I hope you guys enjoy the new video, I did quite enjoy making it. Don't have much else to say for now, other than I hope you had an amazing weekend and I will see you guys next time!

Have an amazing day! 

Brandon

I caught the plague!

Are you there friends, is me Brandon.


So as some of you may or may not have noticed, I have been quite silent on my blog and youtube channel over the past few days. And I have a very good reason for this, which I mentioned a little bit in my last post. I started getting pretty sickly whilst filming my last video, and now I have full blown plague....

Actually I am not sure what the plague actually feels like, but I am sure it feels similar to how I am currently feeling. That or being hit by a bus but then somehow miraculously surviving. Thats how I currently feel. Granted I am on the downhill bit now: recovery. But man it has been an unpleasant experience. Spent my two days off work laying in bed moaning and griping about being sick. Nothing was accomplished around my house and at this point I have worn all my clean clothes.

Luckily though, because I am out of clean clothes, I am recovering and this afternoon I feel almost back to normal. So now I get to mountain climb to get to the laundry room and clean the kitchen (not sure if I will clean the kitchen or make Shane do it...). Isn't being a grown up fun?


Anyway I thought I would share that with you, as well as show you my most recent art journaling page. I completed this one before I got poorly and took a picture of it today to share with you guys!

In this page I used some new stuff I got recently at the craft store. I got some fun heidi swapp misters, some new Faber Castell gilato's, Golden modeling paste, and a cute owl stencil. All of these things combined with a few other tricks, and viola! You're a Hoot is complete!


Well that is all I have to share with you guys today. Please let me know if you'd be interested in seeing a current flip through of my art journal. Also my last video is doesn't have more than a few views, so if you missed it check it out at bit.ly/bvcrafts1


Also I am very active on the instagram and twitter ;) so check me out there as well @bvcrafts1

Now time to go mountain climbing. As always thanks for stopping by and have an amazing day!
Brandon

I'm branching out! + What's in my bag video

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So today since I had no plans I decided to film a video that is a little different from my usual. I decided I would do a "What's in my bag" video. I would really like my youtube channel to be multifaceted just like my life is. And I thought this video would be a good start to sharing with you guys some of my non crafting interests. So please watch and let me know what you think!

As promised here is the link to the particular bag I was talking about:
  http://www.tumi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4209916&prodFindSrc=paramNav

I really hope you enjoyed this lifestyle video, as I plan on adding more to my channel in the future.

Now I am going to crawl back in bed, because I woke up with a sore throat and filming took all the energy I had. So going to watch some X files and nap ;)

Until next time, have an amazing day!
Brandon

My Fauxdori Purchase!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.


So today I decided to take another step in the direction of my stationery addiction. I decided to purchase a midori travelers style journal. But after hours of review videos I decided that the on brand Midori notebook was just not for me. Mostly because the leather quality seems really low, granted depending on how my fauxdori turns out I might end up with the traditional one. Only time will tell. But as most of you know, there are quite a few Fauxdori brands out there, and I decided to go off a suggestion by Miss Vicky Bee (as I usually do) and purchase from Jennifer Harvey. She has a lovely etsy shop with a few different designs and many color choices....

Now I am usually a pretty precise person, by the time I decide to purchase something I know what color and size I want. But with this purchase I was taken aback by the choices! I figured there would be one or two size options and perhaps three or four color choices. Since the product is leather I thought it would come in probably two shades of brown and black. But no. I was so wrong, thankfully! The color choices was amazing and there were various sizes to choose from. After three hours of deliberation I finally made a choice.

Since I wasn't sure whether or not I will actually like the Midori style notebook I decided to go with the less expensive option which fits notebooks around 3.5 x 5.5 inches. Just like my filofax though I can imagine I will want to add to my collection. But that will come with time. As for color choice I was so torn between blue, black, and a beautiful shade of red. I love my filofax in red but I was afraid that the shade of red from Jennifer wouldn't match perfectly which might bug me. But since I am planning on using my fauxdori as a blog and youtube planner I wanted it to match my theme: red. So I thought sod it. Ill go with the lake red. And I am having it embossed with my youtube channel's name BV Crafts.

I am so excited to receive this, though I can imagine it will take at least two weeks. I have already purchased off amazon some notebooks to go inside my fauxdori and of course those will come much sooner so I will have time to decide whether or not I like the paper quality.

Anyway I will now slow my rant down and encourage you to contact me if you would like to see an unboxing video and setup of my new purchase. I think that would be fun to do if you guys are interested :D

Also I think you should check out Jennifer's etsy store because I think her stuff is just so beautiful.

Here is the one I purchased: http://etsy.me/1A7mQoy
And here is her shop:  http://etsy.me/1nYrkbm

Anyway I hope you enjoyed my rant and  that you will stop by again soon. Don't forget to check out my youtube channel and watch my new video's: youtube.com/user/bvcrafts

As always it has been a complete pleasure, have an amazing day!
Brandon

Sunday fun day + art journaling haul and video!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So as some of you may or may not know, sundays and mondays are my days off. And each sunday I enjoy the various coupons and sales that usually happen during the weekend. So this sunday I was particularly happy when I saw a 20% off your entire purchase coupon for one of my favorite craft stores. Now I just can't resist a sale like that! Especially considering most of the items I shop for go on additional sales throughout the week. So I decided to head on down to the craft store and see what there was to see.

And boy did I go a little overboard...

Before you say anything, overboard for me is spending $50 dollars in one store. I so rarely spend large amounts of money on anything other than bills, so what little I have left is for treating myself. And that is usually done at the craft store. But back to the main story.

I went in looking for some art journaling stuff, because I have been using some of the same material over and over again I was starting to lose inspiration. But once I left the store with a large bag full of new things to play with I was practically radiating with inspiration. I found some great stamps, paints, stencil's and a few other things. I also bought some items I needed for making a birthday present for someone (but thats neither here nor there, after all I don't want to spoil the surprise).

When I got home I immediately got to creating and came out with three pages I am really proud of. The last one I did today, and I actually filmed a video when I was creating it! But first are the two that I made yesterday.

Hello Early Bird

And here is the video I did on the most recent page

Don't forget to comment below my video letting me know what you think! I had a lot of fun making entries in my art journal this weekend, and would love some feedback. Also follow me on instagram and twitter if that suits your fancy: @bvcrafs1

As always, it has been a complete pleasure. Have an amazing night!

Brandon

My Filofax and JetPens Goodies!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon!


So I did another youtube video today to share with all of you some of the items I use in my filofax. I had a lot of fun filming this one mostly because I had some new items from JetPens.com to talk about.

Also I thought I would also mention on here my thoughts on JetPens.com since this was my first order through them. I should mention that I usually never purchase anything online because when I get the item it  isn't what I expected or the photo's made it look higher quality. So I was very nervous about ordering products without customer reviews as well as ordering from a website that I had never used before. But my whole purchasing experience was amazing, and I really recommend this website to those of you who share a stationery addiction with me! There are so many choices on their website and the prices are comparable to amazon. Plus if you spend over 25 dollars shipping is free! And who doesn't love free things? The items I got where exactly as pictured and I am really pleased.

In other news it seems there has been a dislike troll milling around my youtube channel and has decided to give me a few thumbs down reviews on a few of my videos. I have absolutely no idea why this upsets me as much as it does....but it kinda hurts my feelers. No matter, I will still continue sharing my thoughts and feelings on my blog and youtube. But what would be amazing would be for you, yes you reading this, to go onto my youtube channel and subscribe and give your favorite video of mine a big thumbs UP! I really appreciate all the love I can get on my channel!

Also as a little side note, as you may or may not have known todays weather was very cool and breezy here in the PNW which is my absolute favorite weather. So to celebrate a cooler day I decided to whip out the kettle and make myself a cup of tea...yum! Going to drink it all up, then go to bed. So until next time, have an amazing day!

Hugs,
Brandon

My cursed Project Life Product review

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So today I decided that once I got off work I would come home and film a new video for my youtube channel. I have been wanting to film a product review on all my project life items for some time now and have been putting it off because I wanted to do the video justice. As I have mentioned before, Project Life revived my love of scrapbooking and has become a large part of my crafting world. That being said, not every product I've come across has been a great success. And for those of you new to the pocket page scrapbooking systems I wanted to share with you the ups and downs, hits and misses, or successes and downfalls, of the Project Life system. Sounds like a valiant idea right? So I thought I would give my first product review a try. And heres what happened...

Firstly I waited far too long to get myself presentable to film. So by the time I got everything set up and got myself ready the sun had already started beating down on my apartment. I film in front of my patio since the lighting is decent, but after a certain point in the afternoon the heat becomes unbearable. But I thought I would tough it up and get my video done. Oh how ambitious I was.

I ended up filming around 25 minutes of mostly useable material. Although I kept losing my train of thought and often times got tongue tied, I figured my video would end up being around 10-15 minutes and I was relatively happy with my presentation. Once I uploaded the video to my computer though I realized the material was just unusable, and heres why.

It is currently 90 degrees outside, and I would say it is at least 80 in my filming area. Suffice to say it was very warm. At the start of the video I was cool, calm, and collected. But by the end I was none of those things. My face had turned tomato red, my hair had expanded into an afro, and I was shinier than a freshly minted quarter. I looked laughably bad. Plus I sounded really agitated. Brandon doesn't do well in the heat.

Anyway I've decided to try again tomorrow but this time I will start filming early in the afternoon before it becomes a sauna in my apartment. So until then all I have to show you are the photo's I took to use as a thumbnail for my video. I hope this interests you enough to stop by again soon and watch my Project Life Product review.

Let me know if you would like to see something in particular in my next video, as well as any questions you may have. Check me out on twitter and instagram as well if that suits your fancy @bvcrafts1

Thanks for stopping by, I really appreciate all the feedback I've gotten recently on my blog and youtube channel. It makes me very happy. So until next time...

Have an amazing day!

Brandon

UPDATE!

Finally finished the video, so here it is :D

Hum drum day today

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

Today was a rather hum drum day in my household. Woke up very early as I usually do and sort of putzed around cleaning and tiding up. Spent far too much time doing laundry because I decided to pull out a new set of sheets and comforter which of course needed washing since the storage unit smells funky. I also cleaned the kitchen and whatnot.

I didn't spend my whole day doing absolutely nothing interesting though! I did in fact make a few greeting cards as well as worked on my Project Life scrapbook. I am so behind on my PL at the moment catching up is feeling like a very daunting task, but I will get there eventually. I also decided that because I have a few birthdays coming up as well as other events I thought I would start working on amassing a collection of my handmade cards as well.

No new video for you all today, but I thought I would share some pictures.

Well I hope you enjoyed my pictures. Please do make sure to check out my youtube channel as well as follow me on instagram and twitter @bvcrafts1 if that suits your fancy. 

youtube.com/user/bvcrafts

As always thanks for stopping by, and have an amazing day!

Brandon

My inspiration filofax with new video!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

As I promised this morning, I filmed another filofax video for you all to enjoy! This video was certainly a labor of love because I was having a really difficult time speaking with any coherence. But I finally got it filmed, edited, and uploaded! 

In other news. Another reason this video took such a long time was that I had almost no motivation to do anything today. I stayed in my pajamas until noon! Granted I did wake up at 4:45am on my day off, so its not like I slept until noon (this is my justification).

Once I got myself ready I decided that a bit of shopping was in order. If you have noticed anything about me it is probably that I quite enjoy to shop. So today I indulged a small amount and got a few nice bits and bobs for myself. Nothing wildly exciting. Mostly just things like hairspray and face wash and some cologne. Things that I usually put off buying because they are often times more than I want to spend. But today I decided that I would just go for it!

Well thanks for stopping by and watching my video. Don't forget to check out my channel for all my other videos and follow me on twitter and instagram if that suits your fancy :@bvcrafts1. 

youtube.com/user/bvcrafts

And as always, have an amazing day!

Brandon

My inspiration Filofax

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So I have been pretty busy this week with work, and I have been MIA on my blog and youtube channel since the week started. So today, since it is my day off, I plan on filming and posting a new video for you all! I am really hoping I will be able to compile enough interesting content to share with you what I call my Inspiration Filofax. I know I mentioned it in my last video but I did not go into detail as to how I use my filofax, and what it means to me. So before I film my video (I am waiting for the sun to come up so I have better lighting) I thought I would share on here a little about my filofax.

My lovely red saffiano filofax was a gift from Shane, and since then I have been absolutely obsessed with it. I watch hours of youtube videos a week on filofax set-ups and how other people use their planner. But no matter how many videos I watch, I still can't come to use my planner for the traditional daily planning. Instead I use it for things that inspire me to create. Though I do keep a monthly insert, I use it mostly for other things. 

I am most likely going to expand on my filofax sometime soon so I have more places for other things I find interesting like books I want to read or blogs that I frequent. But for now I keep my favorite quotes, future projects, products I would love to try out, and a password keeper for all the websites I have a subscription/account with. For now I just use lined paper in each of the sections to keep track of my thoughts and ideas. For the most part it is almost like a very organized journal where I put certain ideas and thoughts in certain sections. I have really come to love this sort of inspiration binder and I find it really fun to use. 

So keep an eye out on my youtube channel for my next video! I really hope it turns out well and that you all will enjoy it. I will post on here again when it is actually up and share with you anything interesting that I don't mention in the video. 

Don't forget to follow me on all my social media if you would like to keep up to date with what I am doing. My user name is @bvcrafts1 

And check out my last youtube video if you missed it at youtube.com/user/bvcrafts

As always have an amazing day, and I will talk to you very soon!

Brandon

P.S. 

Here is a little spoiler picture on another video that I plan on filming soon: my favorite filofax goodies. Let me know if you would enjoy that video so I can put that on my list of things to film! 

UPDATE! 

Finally filmed my filofax setup video! Let me know what you think! :D

Two Video's in one day! What!?

Are you there friends, its me Brandon. 

I know I have been absent from my blog for the past two days, and I apologize. It has been a quite busy start to the week for me! Went back to work on tuesday after two glorious days off consisting of blogging, you tubing, and shopping. But just because I work doesn't mean I can't do videos during the week either! So yesterday I decided to create an art journaling page and today I did a filofax and journaling themed video. 

The art journaling video was supposed to go up yesterday, the same day I filmed it. But of course something had to go wrong with iMovie, causing my edited footage to get lost and requiring me to update the software. And since I was running '09 iMovie the update was quite vast..and very confusing. It wasn't until 10 o'clock that I had the whole video re-edited. And by that time I couldn't wait for it to format because I should have been asleep three hours earlier. Long story short though I got the video and thumbnails done today, and the video is up for you to enjoy! 

I also did a video inspired by one of my favorite youtubers Miss Vicky Bee and talked a little about my filofax and my Dear Diary journal. Pretty self explanatory. 

I am pretty tired now from all the editing and back and forth for today. So bedtime is upon us! But please do make sure to let me know what you think of my videos. And if you like them, don't forget to thumbs up, subscribe, and share them on your social media! 

As always, thanks for stopping by and have an amazing day!

Brandon

Welcome to my channel! Plus bloopers!

Thought I would do a fun little intro video for my youtube channel! Please check it out and let me know what you think!

Whoa bad thumbnail...

Anyway subscribe to my blog and my youtube! youtube.com/user/bvcrafts

Also I am now on twitter and instagram @bvcrafts1


As always, have an amazing day!
Brandon

Sunday fun day shopping!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

Today was a wonderful day. Spent the morning with Shane relaxing then my mom came over and we did our usual sunday thing. Once we had our coffee and breakfast, and of course looked through the newspaper ads we went shopping! Collectively my mom and my favorite activity.

First we hit target where I was hoping to find a nice camera bag, but unfortunately I didn't have any luck. For the first time in a while we both escaped without spending any money, which is probably a good thing because then we went to joann craft store. And we can never escape the craft store without spending any money. Are you wounding what I purchased? Of course you are, so I filmed a little haul video for you all :D

Please let me know what you think, as well as anything else. Don't forget to subscribe to my youtube channel, give me a thumbs up, and share me on your social media! 

Oh and I also started an instragram account! So check me out there as well: instagram.com/bvcrafts1

As always, thanks for stopping by. And have an amazing evening! 

Brandon

Card-making part 1 with new youtube video!

Are you there friends, its me Brandon.

So today I decided to film my second ever youtube video. Because I was too lazy to style my hair, which if you're wondering takes around 30 minutes, I decided to just do a "process" type video. Its the type where I show you how I do something in particular. And since I wanted to film it before it got massively hot in my apartment I wanted to keep it short. So what I ended up making was a video showing off my card making skills. Hallmark eat your heart out. Just kidding the card actually did not turn out like I wanted, but the video was halfway decent so...you win some, lose some.

I will give myself an excuse as to why my card didn't turn out like I had imagined. And that is because filming with a large tripod right in front of you makes seeing what you are doing very difficult. Trying to stamp and cut paper was clearly very difficult. But now I know to have my paper cut and ready to go before I try filming. Anyhoot! You came here to watch a video didn't you? And you thought I would get straight to it? Think again.....But seriously, heres the video.

Please give my video a thumbs up if you enjoyed it as well as sharing the video on your social media! I sure would appreciate it. Also give my blog some love with some comments and hit that little plus sign!

As always have an amazing evening,
Brandon

My art journal flip through!

Are you there lovelies, its me Brandon. Today I did something rather different and something that I pretty much vowed never to do. I actually created a video on youtube! Quite possibly the most cringeworthy thing I've ever done in my whole life. And heres why....

I am very camera shy, and I really dislike the way my voice sounds. The easiest part was when I was just narrating and the camera wasn't pointed at me. The rest was rather unnerving. This reminds me actually of a childhood memory when I was forced to go to theatre camp, but thats a whole different story that I won't delve into. Let just say narrating was the easy part. 

Anyway lets get to the video itself. Please be kind....

So there you have it. My very first youtube video. Not going to say much else except to encourage you to share, comment, like, thumbs up, the usual blah blah. I would really like to know if people are enjoying my content.

Thats all for today, and as always have an amazing day lovelies!

Brandon

Throwback Thursday

Are you there lovelies, its me Brandon.

Since today is when our Facebook feeds are inundated with #TBT posts, I thought I would save you from reading a small blurb on social media. But rather ask that you read an ENTIRE post on my TBT story. And you thought I was going to entertain you some other way...

My throwback is my very first crafting project. And when I say "very first" I don't mean like when I made a throw pillow in kindergarten (yes we actually did that, let me know if you want pictures of that as well) granted that may be slightly more interesting. Its like my kindergarten teacher knew how I was going to turn out and said to herself, what can I teach this boy that he will use in his every day life? How to accessorize a throw pillow!? Thats perfect!!

Whoa tangent.

The first crafting project I am talking about is the one that got me into crafting in the current years. As many of you might remember from my Project life post my first scrapbook was memorializing my senior year of high school, and my graduation celebrations. But actually that wasn't my first craft that year, and it wasn't the one that got me driving to the craft store on a regular basis. The project that I give this credit to was actually a quilt I made for an art history class (Christine if you're reading this, I miss your classes very much). I was tasked with learning something new from a peer and somehow relating that to a particular artist or movement of art.

So what did I choose to learn from a peer you are probably screaming at your computer screen? Well I had my mom teach me how to quilt! Since this particular craft is something that the woman in my family have been doing for many years I thought it would be fitting that the knowledge and wisdom from many generations of quilters be passed down to me (since I was the only interested party in the household). So what I made was a small crib size quilt and used some of the colors and patters that I found in a body of artwork depicting Salome and Judith, who if you are not familiar were considered femme fatals. I could jump into a whole history section here but I'll save you the misery and get back to my TBT story.

So I learned how to quilt! *Gasp!* It was such a revelation. I really enjoyed being taught by my mom and the process of quilting was actually really interesting. I also loved how artistic you could be without having to know how to draw or paint. It was taking textiles and creating something beautiful out of them. So are you finally ready to see some photographs? Let me just warn you that my first quilt was sort of rubbish, but still something fun to share with you.

My lovely mamacita helping me plan the layout! 

Here are the finished layers, before the final binding.

The school project that inspired it all. My quilt next to three lovely family quilts. 

The final project, aint it beautiful? Not very square if Im honest... 

And there you have it folks. The first crafting project in my adult life. The one that kickstarted an obsession and an experience that taught me how much I love making things. Its hard to believe it has been almost three years since I made that quilt. So much has happened and I have grown so much as a crafter. 

Well thats all for today. I hope you enjoyed my #TBT story. Please comment if you want to see that pillow, I am sure its around somewhere. Also don't forget to like, comment, share, and the other usual blah blah.

And until next time, have an amazing evening lovelies.

Brandon

Its workspace wednesday!

Good afternoon lovelies!

Since today is wednesday and I just so happen to have my crafting area cleaned and mostly organized I thought I would share with you my workspace. And of course Workspace Wednesday has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Someone must have thought so because last month I got a stamp in one of my monthly subscriptions. And I've never gotten to use it until today!

Here I am, using my Workspace Wednesday stamp!

So before I get to showing off my little crafting area I would just like to say that I live in a very small apartment. Just a little one bedroom place with not a whole lot of extra space. So in order to create my little crafting area I had to first dissect the living room by using my sofa and a shelf as the divider.  I had wanted to get rid of the dining set since we rarely use it, but Shane poo pooed that idea. So this was the next best thing. 

I was lucky enough to find an amazing little desk at my local thrift shop that I refurbished to become my small writing/crafting desk. Although my scrapbook doesn't fit on the desk very well it works for now. One day I fantasize about having a whole room for my crafting arsenal but until then this is what I have to work with. And I am very pleased that I was able (cough cough *allowed*) to turn this small corner of the living room into creation central. Every day I sit down at my desk and am inspired to create and I am very happy doing so.

And I should also mention I can see the tv from my desk :D

Well it has been a pleasure sharing with you my Workspace on Wednesday. If you have any questions on how I organize or want to know what I use in my crafting area for organization please comment below. Also please like, comment (I know I already said that one), share, and the other usual blah blah. I really enjoy writing these posts, and would love knowing I have an audience. 

If you don't hear from me again today, have an amazing day lovelies! 

Brandon

Project life, and why it works!

As many of you fellow scrappers may have noticed, pocket page scrapbooking systems are all the rage. From We are memory keepers, Snap, Project life, and soon a few other companies there are plenty of choices when it comes to pocket page protectors. So what system did I choose? Well firstly I have to share a little background information first.

Insert Waynes World flashback....

I started scrapbooking back in 2012 right after I graduated high school. I really wanted a way to memorialize the ceremony and my graduation party. So many wonderful friends and family made the trek to Portland to share that week with me. So after doing my research I decided that a traditional photo album just wouldn't cut it. I wanted something a little more artistic, and perhaps fancier looking. So I took a trip to the local craft store and got to shopping (if you know me at all, you'll know shopping is my favorite pastime). Of course starting out I really had no idea what I was doing, so a small 6x8 traditional scrapbook is what I chose. And after I completed that one I tried a 12x12 for everyday life scrapbooking, which sounded like a great idea at the time but just didn't work out for me.  So my scrapbook pages became less and less frequent until I practically stopped scrapbooking at all.

Fast forward to 2014 after Shane and I moved into our first apartment together. I had been shopping at my local craft store for a sewing project and I decided to take a gander at the scrapbooking area, just to see what was new. I came across a lovely display for something called Project Life by Becky Higgins. I really had not intended on started any new projects so I took a peek and then went home with my sewing haul. Later that night I decided to look up Project Life on youtube and see what people thought of it, and really what was it all about?

And there marks the start of something beautiful!

I ran right back to the craft store first thing the next morning and purchased everything I needed for my project life album.

And really it is as simple as that! I got the album, page protectors, the card set, and some pens! From there all I had to do was dig out some photographs and start scrapping! It was so easy, so seductive. Just write some information down, slide in some pictures and you're done! At first I started from the earliest pictures I had and the design was very minimal. No embellishments, stickers, stamps, nothing. But lets just say that once I caught up to current day in my project life album and I had scrapped all my old photos I decided to get a lot more creative. 

I am now a dedicated pocket page scrapbooker! Although I must admit that the Project life line of products is not my favorite nowadays, they are what inspired me. And with the help of Studio Calico and Gossamer Blue monthly subscriptions I have become so much more creative and enjoy sitting down every week to scrap. 

Well thats all for today. Please comment, like, share, and the usual blah blah. I could really use some lovin on here. Let me know if you want to see more Project life related posts. Product reviews, or anything else. 

As always, have a wonderful day lovelies. 

Brandon