YouTube Milestone: Thank you for 2k Subs!

In January 2018, I made a post about my YouTube channel‘s milestone of hitting 500 subscribers. Less than 8 month after that post, I’ve hit 2,000 subscribers! BOOM!

To this date, some of my videos already have 25k views and in total for all videos, I’ve had 100k views. I started my YouTube channel a year ago and been posted few other topics beside sewing, and the ones who work best are my sewing related videos. So, I’ve niched down my channel to be only about sewing for Indonesian audience. Until today, I haven’t monetized nor paid promotion on social media for my channel, I haven’t made money from Google Adsense as many youtubers do, but I can say I’ve gained credibility from people who just knew me and people who become interested to get to know me. I was also offered to talk in some events about crafts, but unfortunately I live not in the city they’re in.

People reaching out to me to other social media and told me how they really like my videos and especially the way I make tutorials, it’s easy to follow, well-structured and good quality production. Some also said that they’re inspired by my journey to become a fashion designer without going to fashion school. This is something money can’t buy!

I realized that I’ve been getting more comfortable to speak in front of camera, in my first videos, I was not myself, I followed how other Indonesian youtubers are, that’s why in my old youtube videos, the intros are a bit long, I thought that’s how I could connect to viewers. It’s totally not me, I’m more a straight-to-the-point person. Now I realized that it should not be about me, it should be about the viewers, what they want to know and how they want it to be served. And still I’ve found ways how to connect to the viewers to show my personality and story from other videos that’s not tutorials but still sewing related.

I hope this channel will keep growing as myself and career keep growing too! Thank you so much for people who’ve watched, subscribed, and reached out to me, some even still subscribed even though they don’t speak the language! Thank you so much for the support, my target for end of this year or early next year is to make a paid content on learning-teaching platforms like Udemy or Skillshare. And I’ll make them in English for international audience. This hopefully can be a source of passive income for me someday or at least I believe that it will help me to get credibility to my next secret project. If you havent subscribed, please kindly hit the red subscribe button here. Wish me luck, every one!

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Youtube Milestones: Hitting 1K Subscribers!

A blessed May this year started by my youtube channel hitting 1000 subscribers after 1 year and 3 months old and 16 videos!

In end of Jan this year, I celebrated my 500th subs and three months later I hit 1000 subs! This feels good and I’m very happy about it, maybe this is not a big number for many, but I always celebrated every milestone, since just 10 followers, 100 and 500. It’s also not easy like the youtube pioneers’ era, they gained the first-mover’s advantage when the competition was different due to less competitors. Now almost everybody has youtube channel, among tons of choices, not easy to get one loyal sub.

That’s why I learned the importance to niche down to one-two streams only when you’re just starting. I am now focusing on tutorials and I niche down to only use Bahasa Indonesia instead of English, because I target Indonesian audience and we have a big population number. If I try to grab as many audience, there are already too many English craft channels with good quality, meanwhile in Indonesia’s market, there are still very few craft and DIY channels that have good recording quality and brief tutorials. This also helps my craft blog‘s audience and views to grow!

The advantage of tutorial videos is that people watch them over and over for the step by steps so my views grow fast. Now that I hit 1k, I can apply to monetize my vids due to Youtube’s changed policy in the beginning of 2018, one of them is to have at least 1000 subs.

However monetization is not my main goal, I just want to share and be useful for others because life is too short to keep everything I’ve known just for myself. Furthermore I feel flattered by people who reached out to my soc-med accounts, asked questions, etc. Better to be surrounded with people who like me for who I am than just a big numbers of followers who don’t really care about what else I can offer to the world.

To celebrate my milestone, I plan to add one more variety of content; still about tutorials, but instead of DIY tutorials, this time I will make workout tutorials because fitness is one of my main interests in life. This also is based on the same reasons like my craft stream; because less competition in Indonesian audience. I also think that more people can relate more to workout vids, because not everyone has the need or interest in making DIYs. Every time I posted my workout vids on IG stories, I always got more views. So why not give it a try, we’ll see! But it’s gonna be more challenging than craft videos because I know people will then attack or comment on my physical appearance, I will be more body-conscious than before!

Thank you so much for people who’ve supported or even doubted me this far, those helped me to this. If you haven’t subbed yet, please visit and see if you like my channel 😀

My Youtube Milestone: 500 Subs!

Celebration time!!

Today my youtube channel just hit a milestone of 500 subscribers in less than a year with 14 videos! I know that for many people 500 subs mean nothing, but for me, even 10 subs is big and I really appreciate them 😀 . I mean, they’re real people, not just numbers, we should see and treat people as people, not just digits on our profile page to show off to others. Showing off and fame are not the reason why I make content (videos and writings), it’s because I love sharing and the people who love sharing. So, knowing what I made have influenced other people, even for just 4 minutes, that’s priceless!

A month ago, I just wrote about my Youtube start for the first time, and at that time–25 Nov 2017–I had 340 subbies. Fast forward to today (2 months later), it’s risen to 500! At this time, in every 48 hours, my videos are shared on other soc-med platforms for at least three times!

I actually have posted 18 videos on Youtube but I took down some videos after evaluating my 11 months being on Youtube that now I need to only focus on only 1-2 streams into only tutorials and review vids. This also because I’ve seen how my craft blog, craft shop and vids have synergised together, then I decided to remove/ separate the contents that are not consistent with that stream. I’m thinking about changing my channel’s name to my craft shops name because tutorials videos seem to be my specialty, I can’t never be a travel vlogger, I’ve tried and couldn’t enjoy my trips because of vlogging!

Every big thing starts with one small step. Even Pewdiepie hit 1000 subs after his 100th videos. Thank you so much for all the subs, likes, dislikes, views, comments and shares. They mean a lot to me 😀 . For you who happen to read this post and haven’t subbed, please visit and see if you like my channel 😀

Have a great year, everyone!

 

How I make my youtube videos

By the time I made this post, I’ve been 8 months on Youtube. I started my youtube channel this year focusing on DIY projects and sewing basics, sometimes I talked about random thoughts, tips and reviews. Slowly it has made it to over 340 subs and thousands of views, especially my tutorial videos. Before I started (and even until now) I browsed the internet on what other youtubers use and do to make their videos. So here’s mine:

1. The Design Process

My video making process consists of three parts; designing, shooting, and editing. Designing is where I collect all the ideas and write them down in my notebook or post-its. Then I can categorize them based on themes; like tutorials, social criticism, travel vlogs, etc. It’s important for me to set an image about what you want audience to easily remember what your channel is about and what they can get from you. By writing all ideas down, you will not lose them because human memory doesn’t last long, then you can schedule the topics to make it less monotonous. At least before I started, I already knew at least four videos that I was going to make. This is also the part where we can try which topics are best for our channel by seeing which videos gain more views and likes. Once I knew which theme to make, I write down parts of the videos (intro, main, and closing) and elaborate what I’m going to say, shoot and need in each part. I make the outline of my scripts even when I speak in Bahasa Indonesia, to avoid missing points that I wanna say. And also because I am not a spontaneous person, I’m used to blogging and writing, recording myself in videos is another new level for me that I’m still learning to get used to.

2. The Shooting

This is where you’re gonna need to spend some budget on recording equipments. Here’s the equipments that I use:

• Camera : Canon 60D
• Tripod : Slik Tripod
• Voice Recording : Rode Shotgun Microphone (Rycote Series) and Ipod
• Documenting : Memory Card and External HD by Western Digital

3. The Editing

This part can take the longest to do of all. I only rely on Imovie in my Macbook Pro to edit video even though I actually have Adobe Premiere. Imovie is the simplest, easiest but you cant do as many things as with Adobe Premiere, but well, I use Macbook, Macbook is also not the best gear to edit movies, it’s a bit slow when I edit with other apps. I even prefer Asus Zenbook that my previous office lent to me to edit videos and photoshop. However, Macbook Pro is all I have now, I can’t afford to buy a new one. So far, I’m satisfied with my videos I created with only Imovie. Also, I’m getting old, so I’m too lazy to spend hours and days again to learn new things. LOL.

I made a video on how I make my youtube vids where I explain more about my gears, why I chose them and the goods and minuses of them. You can watch it here. My advice is to not spend time on thinking too much and start before you’re ready. Because you’ll never feel that you’re ready and that feeling and thoughts will hold you back. The sooner you start, the better. Good luck for all of us!

Starting My Youtube Channel at 26

At the age of 26, when most of my friends are filling my soc-med timeline with their wedding or kids photos, I shared my first youtube video. Yes, that’s my second child in 2017. My first daughter was born in 2013, which is my craft shop, got rebranding this year, so it’s like reborn. 

All my kids; my shop, blogs, and youtube channel, may not have blood and flesh, or chubby cheeks and thighs, but their ROIs (Return of Investment) are faster than those with. LOL. 

What was I thinking that made me suddenly join the youtube pond? To be honest, I’ve never planned to broadcast myself before, that just looked too narcissistic for me, haha, and I didn’t have the guts to talk in front of a camera. I can talk more confidently with my thesis supervisors or bosses than to a camera. I feel it can be so judgemental. 

But since I am a true millennial, I realized the importance of putting my self on the internet map. I want to reach and be reached by more people. Besides the fact that I love sharing and the people who love sharing, I believe that my personal branding is my future investment. If I’m good at something, I have to find ways how to present it. Especially that I’ve already decided to stop working back-stage for other people/ company/ organization. 

I do many different things, from blogging (this personal blog and my craft blog), youtube content making, making and selling my crafts and studying fashion design. But in the end, actually all of these are connected into one stream that will help each other. 

It was on February 28th 2017 that I made my first youtube content. Weeks before that, I spend days and nights to brainstorm what the channel is gonna be and what I expect from it. I collected ideas, listed what I need etc, and even the scripts. Maybe sounds too much for some of you, but believe me making videos–moreover if you have no background knowledge in film-making and directing–is hard. Even making stupid videos is still not easy.

I may be a bit late to start at 26 if compared to many famous indonesian youtubers are so much younger than my age. But I think in one side it’s good because at this age I can think more deeply why and how to start things, meanwhile at younger age, fame (which they call a success) is most likely accidental than by design/ hardwork. That’s why many people are racing to do more and more stupid challenges or cringe-worthy videos for five-minutes fame. 

At this age, I know my self and dont wanna be dictated by trend nor other people’s standard. I understand that it’s better to attract people who are also into your things than just people who demand you to entertain them by doing stupid controversy. I understand this because it’s actually not the first time I posted my videos to entertain/ share with people. When I was still a student I posted three lipsync videos of me to local songs that I kept on Facebook for years (now they’re erased in order to reduce the number of evidence of my puberty stupidity). At that time I didn’t know why I did it, I didnt care about what people can learn or get from me and how it would affect me in the future, but you know what, those vids got many views and likes instantly. I started with one stupid shallow video, then due to the good response I felt motivated to be more stupid (yeah, blame the audience too. Why they like to make stupid people famous!).

But the so-called quarter-life crisis hit me, what is living and doing what we’re doing truly all about? Something that only looks fun or interesting is temporary. I dont wanna feel ashamed of my self when I look back to my past and realized that I’ve contributed the morality degradation. I dont wanna be found on Google search as the untalented girl who lipsync traditional songs. And I have to be realistic that by being idealistic, it will not be easy sometimes, because not all people share the same interest. Especially that crafting and sewing is not considered as a sexy hobby. LOL. Not many people know that girls who craft are actually the dream partner, we have the patience and loyalty not to just follow what’s in trend. Note that down, boys!

My channel’s subscribers and views growth are not fast, but we should not compare ourselves to others. And in fact, even though it’s slow, it keeps making progress, and it’s better than nothing. After 8 months, I’ve gained over 340 subscribers and thousands views. The numbers are always growing so far, that I’ve reached the stage where I get one subscriber daily. In the first week, I could say I was feeling hopeless and unmotivated because I thought nobody’s gonna watch them. Seeing the statistics, I feel proud that I actually just had super low expectation, like ten people to watch my videos were enough for me at that time. So, now after seeing my videos gain hundreds of likes, it feels very great knowing that number of people liked and watched my videos and they found them useful or interesting. 

But well, the other side of putting yourself on the internet is that you have to be ready with criticism which sometimes are not in the form of constructive criticism. There are many useless bullies on the internet that just like to bring other people down. I got my first hate comment just recently, saying that I looked like a crazy person and needed to go to mental hospital. Well that’s okay, I respect freedom of speech, besides, it’s also true that I am crazy. Sane people rarely make history.

During 8 months, I evaluate what I’ve done not properly and what needs to be improved. One example, I underestimated myself and videos, that I used copyrighted music because I thought maybe only 100 people would watch them. I was wrong. Then I didn’t set clear target nor organize the social media optimally. In Bali, I’ve met some people making money from social media, youtube, blogs, podcasts, etc. I’ve learned from how they do things, so professional and dedicated. Money is not my priority, but it’s true everything in life should have a clear target.

I haven’t monetized my videos, but I had been offered twice to speak in events about crafts. One of my target in 2018 is to reach 1000 subs. And there are still so many things I plan to do. Wish me luck and watch me nay-nay-nay!

#BaliDiary : Organic Skincare Haul

It’s been a month I didn’t made any writing on this blog karena aku pergi liburan ke Bali selama nearly 2 minggu. Banyak banget cerita yang udah numpuk pingin dibagi, well yang pertama di postingan ini adalah tentang belanjaan aku selama di Bali. Sebenernya aku udah bikin video lengkapnya di youtube channel aku, tapi siapa tau ada yang lagi gak punya kuota (hehe) jadi aku bikin review tertulisnya di sini.

Semua produk di foto itu adalah produk lokal semua dan total belanjaan aku untuk jumlah barang sebanyak itu kurang dari Rp 750.000,- doank lhoo! Murah banget kan kalo dibanding sama beli skincare luar yang belum tentu juga organik dan cocok dengan kulit dan iklim di Asia!

Aku emang suka banget belanja skincare ketimbang make-up, apalagi yang natural, karena aku juga gak pake make-up sehari-hari kecuali lip-cream dan eye-liner. Produk yang paling banyak aku pake adalah The Body Shop, tapi ya you know lah makin lama harga TBS semakin mahal dan aku lagi cari-cari produk yang bisa jadi alternatif TBS. Dan liburan ke Bali kemaren jadi surga banget buat aku karena di Bali udah banyak produk organik buatan lokal yang kualitasnya oke punya dengan harga yang jauh lebih terjangkau buat aku. Ini review jujur ya bukan perez, aku gak ada yang nyesel sama sekali dengan produk-produk di atas, apalagi setelah aku pakai selama lebih dari dua minggu saat tulisan ini dibuat. Beberapa produk udah bikin aku jatuh cinta banget jadi bakal aku bikin review khusus di postingan-postingan selanjutnya. Ini ulasan sesingkat-singkatnya, kalo mau lebih lengkap, tonton di video aku ya!

1. Face and Body Clay Mask – Utama Spice

Ini produk pertama yang aku beli, dan aku sukaaaa banget sama hasilnya di kulit aku sampe-sampe mama aku penasaran dan ikutan coba. Bentuknya bubuk tabur seperti bedak, jadi terbang-terbang waktu di buka. Pemakaiannya emang agak rempong karena harus diaduk dengan air biasa atau air mawar sampai berbentuk clay. Setelah kering di muka (dalam 10 menit), bubuknya jadi berjatohan dan terbang-terbang, kadang masuk ke mata, tapi walaupun demikian, it’s worth the effort! Cocok banget buat kulit berminyak dan kombinasi.

Kesimpulan:

(+) bahan alami, harga murah untuk jumlah yang banyak, bisa dipake buat badan dan lama banget habisnya karena banyak, justru lebih awet karena masker bubuk dibanding dengan masker cair, mengecilkan pori-pori, mengurangi jerawat dan minyak.

(-) Harus hati-hati ngebukanya karena bertaburan kemana-mana, apalagi kalo deket kipas angin pas dibuka. Wah, salju deh!

Repurchase?? YES banget

2. Virgin Coconut Oil – Utama Spice

Gak perlu diragukan lagi kalo VCO banyak banget manfaatnya untuk kulit dan tubuh. Aku pakai VCO untuk massage dan body oil sebagai alternatif body lotion, juga untuk perawatan rambut atau hanya untuk buat kulit coklat aku jadi glowing kayak make tanning oil/ lotion.

(+) Banyak manfaat, ukurannya travel friendly, cepet kering di kulit tapi kilaunya gak hilang, jadi gak membuat risih karena minyak

(-) Lebih mahal dibanding dengan VCO lain yang aku pakai sebelumnya.

Repurchase? YES, karena VCO yang dari merk lain aku hanya gunakan untuk masak dan face cleanser (karena penggunaannya lebih sering, sayang kalo pake yang mahal hehe) sedangkan yang ini hanya untuk body oil.

3. Face Serum – Utama Spice

Ini best-buy banget! This one deserves one special review!

(+) Dengan harga yang murah, bisa jadi alternatif aku untuk produk Drops of Youth dari TBS yang aku pake tiap malem. Regenerasi kulit dan mengencangkan kulit, bikin awet muda, harga murah dan cepet terserap kulit walau pun teksturnya oil.

(-) Buat yang sensitif sama bau, baunya mungkin bikin kamu gak nyaman.

Repurchase? YES pake banget!

4. Crystal Deodorant – Dukha to Sukha

Pas baru coba dan liat hasilnya, reaksi aku: “Ya ampun kemana aja gw selama ini gak tau kalo ada produk kece kayak gini yang jadi jodoh paling oke buat ketek gw so far!”

(+) chemical free jadi gak menyebabkan ketiak hitam dan noda kuning/ putih di baju, lebih tahan lama dan tidak berbau.

(-) Harganya pricey dan gak travel friendly, harus dijaga ekstra hati-hati karena packagingnya dari kaca dan crystal deonya juga rawan pecah. Susah nyarinya, di Bali pun gak semua organic store menjual produk ini, di OL shop juga langka.

Repurchase? YES, baru kali ini ada produk deodorant yang cocok banget dan gak efek bikin hitam!

5. Lip Balm Peppermint – Utama Spice

(+) Harganya murah banget dan gak bikin bibir terlalu berminyak

(-) Baunya menyengat langsung ke bibir

Repurchase? No. Karena bisa pake produk lain seperti ointment atau petroleum jelly dan jarang pake lipbalm kalo keluar rumah

6. Body Scrubs – Bali Alus

Body scrub adalah jenis produk yang paling sering aku beli dan coba-coba dari berbagai merk, Body scrub dari Bali Alus ini termasuk di body scrub favorit aku peringkat kedua setelah Sari Ayu Kuning Langsat, makanya aku beli sampe tiga segala, hehe.

(+) Kualitas oke dengan harga murah banget, cepet banget mengangkat kotoran, walopun kecil hanya 50gr, tapi aku udah sering pake kok, satu kotaknya cukup untuk 4 kali luluran seluruh badan, ya lumayan lah daripada ke salon.

(-) Harus beli online karena gak semudah merk lulur Bali lainnya yang sudah banyak menjangkau daerah Sumatra Barat

Repurchase? YES!

7. Peeling Cream – Bali Alus

(+) Mengangkat kotoran lebih dari exfoliating scrubs yang seringnya bikin kulit aku kering. Hasil lebih maksimal kalo dipake sebelum maskeran

(-) Ada rasa panas di kulit aku pas dipake walopun gak menyebabkan break-out sejauh ini.

Repurchase? No. Karena body scrubnya yang milk juga bisa dijadikan peeling cream kok.

8. Body Butter – Bali Alus

(+) Packagingnya lucu banget dari tin can, jadi bisa dipake kalo udah habis. Harganya murah dan walaupun keliatannya kecil mungil, isinya bisa dipake lama kok, karena teksturnya lebih padat dibanding dengan body butter merk lain yang sakit kentelnya jadi cepet habis. Wanginya enak banget yang strawberry dan tidak lengket di kulit, travel friendly.

(-) Harus beli online (untuk aku 😦 )

Repurchase? Hanya kalo aku ke Bali karena aku juga pake produk lain yang lebih kerasa khasiatnya di kulit aku.

9. Spray Matras Yoga

(+) Mematikan kuman-kuman di matras yoga, wanginya juga bisa buat relaksasi (bagi yang suka).

(-) Sebenernya yang aku cari bukan yang ini, tapi yang Lavender, tapi karena gak ketemu dan waktu aku mepet, jadi ya udah ambil yang ini aja.

Repurchase? No. Mau coba yang Lavender atau ngeracik sendiri dengan essential oils.

10. Peel-off Face Mask – Vienna

(+) Pas dipake rasanya enak banget dan adem gitu. Bentuknya kayak slimey dan berwarna sesuai warna kemasan, sehabis dipake beda sensasinya dengan clay mask, lebih enak yang ini sih menurut aku.

(-) Pricey untuk satu kali pake dan susah nyarinya.

Repurchase? Hhhmm.. hanya kalo aku ke Bali dan kalo ketemu.

Aku juga beli essential oils dari Utama Spice dan Bali Alus, tapi belum aku coba jadi belum bisa kasih review. Review selanjutnya aku bakal bahas beberapa dari produk di atas secara terpisah karena aku suka banget sama produknya. Stay tune, girls 😀

DIY Tutorial: Handmade Tissue Cover

Hi everyone!

Here’s a super easy DIY project that you can try at home, palingan cuma butuh waktu 20 menit untuk membuatnya. BTW, I am making a series of sewing tutorial to decorate your living room buat persiapan lebaran nanti nih, siapa tau ada yang mau make-over ruang tamu keluarga, hehe 😀

Follow the tutorial series on my youtube channel , and for this Tissue Cover Tutorial Video, click here.

Selamat mencoba, keep calm and sew on 😀

Bahan-bahan yang diperlukan: Cutting Mat (Kalo ada), kertas karton, busa lapis, spidol, kain motif (bisa kanvas, bisa katun), kain polos untuk binding.

Bahan yang diperlukan lainnya: Benang sesuai warna kain, karet elastis, jarum pentul, fabric marker/ chalk

Pertama-tama, buat pola untuk badan cover tissue. Buat kotak di tengah dengan ukuran panjang 21,5 cm x tinggi 11,5 cm

Buat dua kotak di atas dan bawah kotak pertama dengan ukuran panjang yang sama namun tingginya 10 cm. di bagian kanan dan kirinya, buat kotak dengan ukuran tinggi 11,5 dan panjang 10 cm

Buat kotak persegi panjang di tengah-tengah kotak pertama dengan ukuran 8 cm x 1,5 cm

Potong pola kerangka badan cover tissue, lubangi kotak bagian tengah.

Gambar pola di atas kain motif. gambar juga garis-garis kotak yang ada di tengah. Garis garis ini nanti akan dijadikan pedoman untuk menjahit.

Gunting sesuai pola, lebihkan sekita 1,5 cm

Taruh kain motif yang sudah digunting di atas busa lapis dengan menggunkan jarum pentul

Gunting busa lapis mengikuti kain pola, sehingga menjadi seperti ini

Siapkan kain untuk binding (pinggiran bawah) cover tissue. Buat persegi panjang dengan ukuran 80 cm x 5 cm

Lipat empat kain tersebut menjadi seperti ini

Lipat bagian tengahnya, press dengan setrika

Jahit kain motif dengan busa lapis dengan mengikuti seluruh garis yang digambar di kain motif, termasuk gambar kotak yang di tengah

Lubangi kotak yang di tengah

Gunting pinggiran bagian bawah tiap kotak menjadi 1 mm, pinggiran kain bagian siku tidak usah digunting

Dengan menggunakan pola jahit zigzag dan kerapatan paling tinggi, bordir kotak tengah agar rapi

Jahit kain binding di bagian bawah setiap kotak seperti di foto

Untuk membentuk kerangka menjadi kotak, satukan siku-sikunya dan jahit di atas garis

Sehingga, kalau semua siku sudah disatukan, akan memberntuk kotak seperti ini

Gunting pinggiran setiap sudut seperti ini dengan tinggi hanya 5 mm.

Semi obras dengan menggunakan pola zigzag. Lalu balik kotaknya

Pasang karet elastis di tengah-tengah. karet ini berguna untuk menahan tissue agar tidak jatuh. Langkah terakhir, rapikan benang-benang yang tersisa dengan gunting benang.