Ready for the blooper reel?

November 27, 2023

Before we jump into the madness that is this blooper reel, I thought I’d share the backstory explaining the very first clip:

When you have your calendar in hand, you may notice that yours looks a little different to the one I’m using in the tutorials (showing how to repurpose the calendar after use). That’s because I was using the first ever test print, and during the filming of the first tutorial - how to repurpose the wildlife artwork to create a greeting card - I realised that I had made a huge mistake in the placement of a little text snippet in the inside of the greeting card.

Not only was the text upside-down, it was also on the wrong side of the card — the exact space where someone would expect to write their note!

I was horrified! I had checked and rechecked and rechecked this calendar, but alas… We are but human!

The logical sequence of events should have been this:
1. Order a test print
2. Shoot tutorials while repurposing the test print, thus testing the test print
3. Make adjustments as needed
4. Send to print

But noooooo. No, no, no, no. I was so hung up on my insecurities and awkwardness in front of the camera, that I put off shooting the tutorials for sooo long, that my looming deadline meant I had no choice but to skip from step 1 straight down to step 4, while I mustered up the courage for step 2.

I had already sent the calendar off to print!!!

The video you’re about to see was my genuine reaction when I finally realised my mistake.

If you don’t speak Afrikaans, allow me to translate:

“Gasp! It’s upside-down!”.

I don’t think I have to translate the “Ffffffff…” that follows...

After stopping the video (good timing!) I ran around like a headless chicken, looking for my phone to call my printers to stop the job. I finally remembered that I was just using it to shoot the tutorial (cuss-cuss). Grabbed it, and then proceeded to completely blank on my printers' name (cusssss). The same printers that I have been using for eight years… Just total, blank space where their name should be… Cue cold sweats and lots more foul language!

Anyway, to cut a dramatic story short — I did finally remember their name (shoutout to Comprint!), and thankfully, they hadn’t started the job yet. I was saved by the hair on my chinny chin-chin…

The moral of the story: That thing you’re putting off because of some silly insecurity? Just... jump! And then? Learn to laugh at yourself when you face-plant during the landing...! ;)

Me in front of the camera, Alex behind the camera, all carefully supervised by Kitty. She's never too far away from the action! We even had to carry in a special Director's Chair for her, so that she wouldn't sit on my laptop!