How to make a tutorial?

This has got to be the strangest tutorial I will ever make. Dotty from TotallyTutorials asked me if I could make a tutorial on how to make a tutorial. While we discussed it we were picturing a tripod taking photos of a tripod taking photos of me working! Haha!
This won't be happening since I only have one tripod, one camera and jip, unfortunately, only one pair of hands... So, this will be more tips & tricks rather then a step by step tutorial. Feel free to add tips in the comments, the more the better! :)

Idea
Of course you start out with an idea you want to make a tutorial about. Don't be afraid of making a tutorial about something that you find super easy to do. It's not ridiculous to post a tutorial about something you have done a million times, someone else might never have heard about it or even seen it.
Google your subject and see what's out there already & make your tutorial better and completer. This is one of my favorite tutorials ever, it's so simple yet so effective:
Tripod & Camera
This is the most important thing to have to make a tutorial. People love to see lots of pictures on the subject, preferably close ups. A tripod is essential as you need clear, steady shots. Besides, sometimes you need both hands while making something so you can't hold the camera at the same time.
It's essential to use the timer-function on your camera. I always set it at 2 seconds. That usually gives me enough time to get my hands where they need to be on the picture.
Act as if you are making the subject but keep your hands as still as possible while taking the picture. Preferably, zoom in when you are making something small so that you can show the details. Don't be afraid to make enough pictures as once the process of making is finished you don't want to start all over again because one shot is not good enough to publish. Look at the pictures when you have made one and decide right away if you need more.
Materials
Get all your materials ready before you start making the tutorial. The first picture of a tutorial should always be the materials I think.
That way, people can see right away what they need and decide if it's within their reach.
If possible, try to use as little materials as possible, that way people don't feel like they have to go out and spent a fortune on supplies trying to make what you show.
Think about alternatives. If you don't have lime paint for example, use yellow and green and mix it yourself. This adds value to your tutorial.
Surface & light
Use a non-distracting surface. If you try to show something when the surface is a granny blanket, people won't see what you are doing. Use a large paper sheet, a plastic (no prints) tablecloth, a piece of cardboard, a clean table,... to work on.
Make sure you work in a room with direct daylight as otherwhise your pictures will be dark and not attractive to look at.
Step by step
It's best to take pictures of every step you do when making the subject. If you are uncertain about what they can be, you can write them down beforehand. I ususally just start and take enough pics of all that I do and decide later whether a shot is neccesary or not.
Prepare beforehand what you are going to do. For example, if you are going to make scratch off lottery tickets, skip the part where you cut all the paper. It doesn't add value to your tutorial if you show it as it's obvious that the paper needs to be a certain size.
In case you need to show different steps along the way, while it will take you a while before arriving at step 2, make the steps beforehand. For example, you want to show how to make a granny square. Make steps out of every row you crochet, so that you have a few squares at hand to stick underneath the camera while making the tutorial.Upload pictures & crop
When you are done with all your pictures, upload them to your computer and crop them!
I use Picasa to do this. Picasa allows you to easily make square croppings which is a great size for a tutorial. When you crop a picture, it will also show clearer what you are doing.
You can also adjust the light balance in Picasa. It's a free and easy program to use.
Photoshop is an option too if you know how to use it of course.
Add text to the pictures
Don't make a book out of your tutorial. Keep the text limited to the most essential words. A tutorial should be able to be quickly scanned by the brain without getting too much in detail.
The pictures should speak for themselves rather then you giving a lecture on how it's done.
For example, you use a stamp and stamping pad for something. Just say you use a stamping pad without getting into detail why exactly you use that certain brand or pad. When people have questions, they will leave a comment or contact you via your blog.

Add labels to your blogpost
Once you have everything written down in your blogpost, don't forget to add labels to your post.
The search engines will pick up on the labels and generate traffic to your tutorial.
I have a bad habit not to label my blogposts but I try not to forget when making a tutorial.

Promote
After you have put in all the effort of making your tutorial, of course you want people to see it. Therefore shout it out on Twitter, post a picture with a link on Flickr, start a thread in the Etsy forum, send a link to TotallyTutorials,...
When people like your tutorial, perhaps they will suggest it to other people or blog about it. Never ever copy/paste an entire tutorial, but add a link to the author's blog to give them credit for the hard work they put in. You can find a tutorial on this here.

Just for the record, my blog traffic has increased significantly because of the tutorials I post in my blog. I love blogging and sharing ideas and it makes me happy and content to know that readers out there enjoy perusing my blog for fun stuff to make or do.
I enjoy reading every comment that is left & sometimes it leads to new ideas so keep them coming! :)
There is also a reason why Dotty asked me to do this. She recently started this awesome exchange program on TotallyTutorials. Basicly, supply sellers offer free products to those promising to create a unique tutorial using the supply given.
How cool is that?
Dotty heard from a few people that would like to participate but they didn't know how to do a tutorial... so that's why she came knocking at my convo door.
Make sure to check this out as this is a fantastic opportunity to test new products or techniques and share your knowledge!

How to make a memo clip holder?

By now you must be getting tired of me talking about the craftparking fair in Maastricht... but I made another fun thing I'll be using on my table and I thought I would share it with you! :)
I bought little baskets and will put my items in there. But to show what's inside them, I made memo clip holders so I could clip one of the items on them together with the price tag. That way, people can easily see what's inside and how much it costs.
It's fun & easy to make and most probably you have all the materials at hand.
Here is what you need: plaster, water, plastic icecream container (great excuse to eat icecream), toilet paper tubes, clay, scissors, vinyl glue (white glue - can be wood glue too), wooden lollypop sticks, small and large clothes pegs.
Put with one wooden lollypop stick some glue at the top of the other.
Then put the little clothespeg on the stick and let them dry.
While the sticks dry, you can prepare the bottoms. Cut a paper toilet roll in half.
Add clay around the bottom so that the plaster we will poor into the tube later, can't escape.
If you don't have any clay around, look here for another method of making these.
Make some plaster.
Attach a large clothespin at the bottom of the wooden lollypop stick. This will make the stick rest on the paper toilet tube.
Poor some plaster into the paper toilet tube and put the wooden lollypop stick on top of the paper toilet tube so that the bottom part of the wooden stick sets in the plaster.
Let it set for about half an hour and then take away the toilet tube paper.
The memo clip holder is ready to use!
This is how it will look on my table.
I also made a large one to attach my cards on.
And here a little try out on how my table will look... on the floor! LOL :)
I'm debating if I should paint the wooden wine crates lime to add some color and make the feelings stand out more... any thoughts?

My friend Kerrin from Sigmosaics made some price tag holders inspired by this tutorial.
You just have to go and see them, they are amazingly cute! CLICK HERE!
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How to make a Giacometti statue?

Do you know the work of Giacometti?
He was a Swiss sculptor, painter, draftsman and printer. His trademark are the stretched statues that look like they are never ending.
In this how to, I will show you how to make a similar statue so that you can make your own Giacometti. It looks a bit messy but it's fun to make - especially with children - and the result is super!
Here is what you need: plaster, a plastic yoghurt container, plaster of Paris bandages, a container with a bit of water, black ecoline, wire, paper tape, clothespins and scissors.Cut two small pieces of wire and fold them double.
Clasp the folded pieces of wire between a clothespin. Add another clothespin on the other side so that it can rest on a container later.
Cut off the upper part of the plastic yoghurt container.
Fill it with plaster.
Take the clothespegs and make 'em rest on the yoghurt container. Make sure that the ends of the wire are in the plaster. We will attach the legs of our statue onto them later on.
While the feet set, you can work on the body. We make it with wire and paper tape.
Cut a piece of wire of about 60cm or 24 inches and fold it double.
Make a loop in the middle and twist it around a bit. This will be the head.
Cut a piece of wire of about 50cm or 20inches and fold it double towards the middle where you attach it onto the body beneath the head. Make sure to make a little loop for the hands too.
Twist the body to create a belly and legs.
Then start putting paper tape around the wire to create a bit of tickness.
When that's done, it kind of looks like a mummy.
Now take the little yoghurt container with the plaster and cut away the plastic.
Then attach the legs to the bottom part.
This is how it will look.
Then cut pieces of the plaster bandages of about 15cm or 6inches and cut them in half again.
Now put the strips very shortly in a bit of water.
Then drape the pieces around the frame.
Let it dry for a while and when it's nearly dry, apply ecoline paint to it.
Doing this while the plaster is still damp, it will give an antique effect to the statue.
So, here is the result:Will you give it a try?

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