This is my first (and only, as of this posting) video on Howcast, a website where people submit written guides, recipes, and any other sorts of instructions that are then made into video tutorials by others. It pays a little, and pays more the more you make. It took me ages to get this organized, filmed, partially re-filmed and edited up to par. The biggest trouble was actually accomplishing the task being demonstrated, in this case making a gift box out of blendered-up paper. First, I couldn't find a basin deep enough to dip the mold into, then I couldn't find a box small enough to be manageable, the blender ended up smoking and smelling like burned plastic at one point because I didn't tear the papers small enough and they wrapped around the blades, the actual process of pulling the mold up through the pulp to form a consistent layer required tons of finicking to make it work, the first attempt took a week to dry because the instructions don't say anything about patting it dry with a towel, all the smoking and pulped-up chemicals made Justin's place smell nauseating for two weeks, and of course I misunderstood the editing requirements and had everything centered in the frame for clarity, which most of the time is covered up by the text blocks.

Aaanyway. Justin (the one who actually makes the box in the video) and I (the one who receives it at the beginning with much enthusiasm and gratitude) did manage to make it work in the end, and I got my fifty bucks, and just as I was ready to start up a new one (a recipe this time, so it would be a little easier for us) Howcast halted all new videos as they transition to a new style of production. Now they plan to link filmmakers (the party of the first part) with the actual experts who know what they're doing and have the supplies handy (the party of the second part) which makes a whole lot more sense (the party of the Woooh! Par-tay!..part). So now I'm waiting again. Please enjoy our choppy, haphazard attempt to educate you people ("you people" being a preemptive term for when people eventually look at this blog in the one of many possible futures where people do In FACT look at it).

How To Make a Handmade Paper Gift Box on Howcast