I have had this YouTube set up for three years
and it's time for a change.
And for the past couple of months
I have been building a new set at my studio.
And I am so excited to share with you
my new wall and my new YouTube setup.
And maybe you might want to make one of your own.
So stick with me
and I'll show you how to do it.
Hi, I'm Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.
I give you tips, tricks, and strategies
to help you make the quilt that you want to make.
And if you like what you see,
please click that subscribe button.
Today's the day everyone.
Take a good look around
because this is the last day
that I am shooting on this set.
I built this setup back in 2019,
about a year after I started my channel.
I used to walk around outside
and talk while I was walking my dog.
But because so many viewers
told me they got seasick from all the motion,
I made a static display.
It takes between 30 to 60 minutes to get set
up to film the main track for every video.
Sometimes it takes more,
if I forget to turn on my mic
or focus the camera in the right spot
or forget to put on lipstick.
But everything on my set has a memory attached to it.
I still love this wall quilt.
Every week I get at least one person that asks me about it.
I'll put a link here to the video
where I showed you where I made it
and there's a free colouring page on PreQuilt
for you to make your own as well.
This is my new gallbladder.
My daughter gave it to me when I suddenly lost mine
and my hexie jar, I just emptied it.
I have a feeling this might come to the new set with me.
I'm getting a little bit teary eyed
because there were some really tough times
in the last two years
and this set brought me some professionalism
and stability when I really needed it.
But it's time for some new energy.
I want a setup that's less fussy,
less time consuming,
and mostly I just don't want it in my bedroom anymore.
So I have this studio space.
You've seen it before.
It's where my long arm is.
And since it has a better internet connection
and a bigger monitor,
it's where I do my video editing.
I also have a small set in the back corner
where I film my Q & As,
where I do my Karen's Quilt Circle interviews,
and I give my lectures from.
The space on the other side of the room
was originally supposed to be a teaching space,
but the pandemic sent our lives
in a totally different direction.
And for the last couple of years
it's just been a dumping ground
for incoming boxes
and stuff we just don't have a home for.
So, I decided to reclaim it.
I have this big wall
and I am dividing it in half
to make two sets from.
One for my regular channel
and one for Karen's Quilt Circle.
I mark the wall just to test at the angle
and that I have enough space.
The next step is testing out my brand colours
of teal and orange.
I have purchased some sample jars.
I test them out on the different walls
and in different lights
just to see how they catch the colour.
And after a couple of days of thinking about it
I am choosing to work with the more desaturated ones
and I'm bringing in my son
to to help with the painting.
So I follow the couple, Becky and Chris on YouTube.
They have a really clear design aesthetic
that's just awe inducing.
And they recently made a new slat wall for their channel.
I just love the shadows
and the matte feel of the space
and how cosy and inviting it felt.
And it has inspired me to do the same.
But I measured up my walls
and I costed out the wood slats to cover it.
And with the price of wood right now
it just made me think again.
And then with my husband,
we discussed the actual fabrication
and how labour intensive it would be
because of the high walls.
So I went with plan B
and it was in my search for wallpaper or tiles
that I found these 3D wall panels that you can paint.
They came in a variety of styles,
producing the texture and feel that I want it.
And I thought that this one worked best for me.
A package of 12 covers 32 square feet,
so I purchased my paint
and my son got out the air compressor
and the spray gun
so we could easily get the paint
into all those nooks and crannies.
Now, originally I thought I would work
from the inside wall corner out
and have the panels on two walls.
Unfortunately, when we received the panels,
we realised how brittle they were.
Cutting them straight without damaging them
would be almost impossible.
Nor could I hammer any nails into them or mount shelves.
And honestly, we had to be really careful just handling them
so that the corners wouldn't snap off.
So we are just doing one wall.
I set up a potential camera angle,
just to see where we wanted the panels to lie.
And with our nail gun
at the lowest possible setting,
my son attached them to the wall
and he only made this mistake once.
The wall looks really good.
I am so pleased.
We carefully touch up the nail heads
and dust off the panels.
Then I mounted a shower curtain wire,
that I purchased from Ikea,
at the top of the wall
so I could hang quilts from it.
My new posters have arrived
and the colours just pop against the wall.
I'm just loving all the textures
as I'm hanging my first quilt.
Now it's time to move over my desk.
I'm so glad I put wheels on everything
because it's pretty darn quick and easy.
And just as I'm sliding it into its new spot
and plugging things in
and putting things away,
I'm wondering to myself,
"Why did I stick myself in the back corner
for all these years?"
And then the sun comes out.
Yeah, of course the sun was the reason.
though a tablecloth just clamped to the frame
helped me for a couple of days.
I did need to purchase some blackout curtains
for some more stable light conditions.
These are from Amazon
and I'm hanging them on an adjustable shower rod
from Home Depot.
The creases are a bit distracting.
I might take them home
and throw them in the dryer for 15 minutes.
So today I'm doing some final touches to the walls.
I am hanging my banners
mounting some shelves
and adding some accessories.
Though I really do not need to add much
as the texture of the wall is doing most of the work.
The blue side wall is deeper,
so I can have a few more things here.
And the last part is the camera and lighting setup.
So this is the Karen's Quilt Circle side.
I do my interviews by Zoom,
as well as my lectures and Q & As,
so the camera I'm using is the built in FaceTime camera.
And I have my Blue Yeti microphone
and I have this small ring light,
just to fill in any shadows
or help correct some colour issues I often have
because I cannot adjust the camera
Not too different from before,
but I just need to be mindful of the size of the quilt behind me
and put a ledge here at the base of the wall
so that I don't roll my chair back
into the panelling and damage it.
For my channel side,
I need to choose my camera.
I have been using my EOS M50,
but I've brought my Canon T6I from home
and I think I like this T6I best.
Okay, fairly bright
Now I need to figure out sound
I could use my Rode Go mic
or I could use this mic, or this one.
And now the lights.
I just hate dealing with the lights.
Keeping the reflection off my lenses
is practically impossible.
The lights are big and awkward
and I think this is something I will take time for
in 2023 to improve upon.
And I'm back.
I had to leave yesterday to go have supper
but I am back
and I think I am ready to go live.
I've done a couple of adjustments to the lighting.
I've done a couple of adjustments to the background
and I think I'm ready to go.
Hi there, I'm Karen Brown of Just Get It Done Quilts.
I give you tips, tricks, and strategies
to help you make the quilt that you want to make.
I feel all grown up.
Here's to a new chapter.
Thank you for coming along
for this next season of my channel.
I can't wait for what's ahead.
If you want to know how far I've come,
I'm going to leave a link here
to a playlist of my first videos.
Take care, and I'll see you next time.