Corinne Blackstone on What Crafting Means to Her

Meet Corinne Blackstone, a DIY tutorial video creator whose passion lies in teaching and helping other creative, crafty people make beautiful things and embrace the mistakes.

Check out our interview with Corinne below to learn more about Corinne’s successful crafting journey!

How did your crafting journey begin? When did it become your passion?

I have been crafting as long as I can remember with my Mom. She has always instilled in me creativity and using my imagination. I never stopped crafting but when I got a Cricut in November 2017 I found a whole new outlet! I picked up on the software and machine quickly and started helping people learn to use it in Facebook groups. I made a couple really quick YouTube videos to help people download fonts and upload images and really enjoyed that form of teaching. I continued to make my videos for the next couple of years and quit my full time job in November of 2020 to pursue YouTube and tutorials full time.

Why did you decide to start crafting for a living and what inspired you to start your own YouTube channel?

I started my YouTube channel because it was easier to show people how to do things than type out the directions to the same thing over and over. I saw a need for the information and went with it. I started crafting fulltime in November 2020. The pandemic is what really made me realize I could truly do this fulltime and I wanted to.

You have more than 140k subscribers on YouTube. How did you grow your YouTube channel? What kind of strategies did you have?

Honestly I just try to be authentically me! I never push products I don’t believe in, if I don’t like something I am honest about it and I am only working with companies I truly believe in with my whole heart. As for growing my channel it has happened very organically. I don’t advertise but I do try to bring tutorials people are looking for.

Do you have any tips for those wanting to start their own crafting YouTube channel?

Be you! Don’t think just because someone else is doing something similar to your idea you can’t do it! There is room for everyone. I believe in community over competition and someone may like the way you teach, vlog, or interact over someone else and that’s ok!

You’re very knowledgeable when it comes to crafting, especially with Cricut. How did you enhance your skills and become so good?

Lots and lots of trial and error! People typically only see the good photo ready projects but there are plenty that went wrong before that! I try to show a lot more of that on my Instagram so people can see that while it may look perfect in edited videos it was far from that at one point! I also ask lots of questions of my fellow creator and craft friends!

What was your favorite craft project you created? And why?

Hands down EVERYTHING we did for our wedding. Being able to create the floral centerpieces and have them be exactly what I wanted and fit our theme really made the day that much more special! Each flower has individual petals which I assembled by hand. Many hours of work went into them but they were so much fun and everyone loved them!

How do you stay inspired? What’s your creative process as a crafter?

Staying inspired can be hard sometimes. If I hit a block I go outside, go to a store just walk around and clear my mind. I also love surfing pinterest and instagram for inspiration!

What does crafting mean to you?

I think crafting is for everyone. No matter who you are, you can craft! Crafting is a way to express yourself and you don’t have to be some master crafter to make something beautiful and uniquely you!