No War just Outfit of the day!

Today is normally the day I would talk about Craft Wars on TLC and it's new prime time at 8pm eastern but I will do that tomorrow, maybe........ I've watched both last week and this week but I can't even collect my thoughts very well because I have been so busy. I also need to pack for NYC and sort out some more of my plans.

Instead I celebrate the completion of our kitchen with an Outfit of the Day post. Nothing particular exciting except for wearing some snazzy Alexander Wang T shorts I picked up in Chicago months ago.

 Amidst the the new kitchen where we still have days of organizing and putting away of utensils.

I am wearing

RCVA shirt from Milk Bar

Vintage Gnome Necklace from the Upperdeck of Substance

Alexander T Wang Shorts from Chicago

BCBGeneration platform heels

Hello Kitty Glasses from tobi.com (I also saw them all over Santee Alley in LA)

Pale legs courtesy of not enough sun.

This pictures shows the shoes off a bit better and I look kind of mean. I'm ok with looking a little mean. If you noticed the blonde hair it is just temporary till my hair cut and then once I have the bangs I'll know exactly where to put the color in to give myself maximum awesome. Since the show I realized I say the word "awesome" a heck of a lot, I can't help it, I tried, and I failed. I also realize I still need to write my incredible blog post on the things I learned from being on TV.

Just one more day till I am in NYC but my head already feels like it has gone on Vacay!
Do you have any travel plans this weekend? Andy cute digs that make you want to do an Outfit of the Day post for your blog?

Cheers!

Tonight I'll be on TV!

Finally my episode of Craft Wars will be on TV tonight. I'm filled with anxiety and mirth over what I'll be watching in a theater amongst friends and family as they watch the same time as me what will be playing nationwide! There is WiFi so I hope to also be Live Tweeting as I watch but we shall see how I keep up.

Anne Evans of Columbus Underground did a great write up about it here!


There are things I don't even remember saying in the Promo Video and I am sure there will be many more things when we watch the episode, such as "That's AWESOME" ~sigh~


My assistant on the show and local Bestie Claire and I are hosting a Viewing Party at the Gateway Film Center on OSU campus tonight. It will be open to the public asking for donations for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank. Doors open at 9:30pm and show starts at 10pm eastern.

We've even made some special buttons for the event!

CHEERS!

Craft wars Episode 3

Last night was another anxiety filled round of Craft Wars. I know it feels like that is all that is going on my blog right now but I have many things in the works. Just that darn kitchen impeding my studio space and starting up my Hell month of having triple jobs keeps me off the blog more then I would like.  Bear with me and we will still have a good time with DIY demos, tutorials and OTD's on the way!

Last night was my first time being involved in a livetweet! Which was an experience all on it's own. I thought I would be good on my phone and kindle fire but the responses were blowing up the entire time so i had to break out the laptop. Commercial breaks were like a well needed breather.
Once again three very different crafters from all sorts of backgrounds were pitted against each other in a toy and pet themed craft off.


Of course the Cute Asian girl Amy Ng with her foxy scarf was my favorite of the show. There was the castle builder Brad, which I thought would be some tough as nails competition and then the glitter loving Pam.

Their first challenge was to construct a toy box using toys. Very cute and clever for a challenge. The judges were ruthless in their critiques on construction and misuse of materials. Amy was pretty much a shoe in with her clever little box turning it into a monster game to feed the toys to. Robby the Robot was getting some tough love from the elements when he toppled over and I thought for sure that Pam would be a goner and not have the time for repairs. Whilst Brad just kept plugging along proud of his work.


Personally when I think of toy box I think of a chest or that rad Euro Techno group ToyBox which is probably what would of been going through my head if I had this challenge.




Anyways! The winners were Robby the Robot box and Amy's Monster Box. The Judges were harsh in their critiques how they worried about Kids getting into the glitter and the clean up afterwards on poor robo Robby. While Amy did not escape scorn either for using felt everywhere because let's face it kids are sticky and fabric on toys unless it's a stuffed animal are not a good combination. Another problem is that you can't just stick a felt box in the wash to get it clean. I was not too surprised about Brad going home with his tent box. It was a cute idea but not very well executed and I think he should of stayed with materials her knows better and castle it up! I was sad to see him go of course because knowing that the master craft was huge he could of made an amazing Cat Castle that my three lovelies would of pounced on. Here is the last Video from TLC

 

The Master Craft was creating a pet house out of pet toys. Pam and Amy did not disappoint in size and both of them had strong beginnings. I was surprised by how much more work they had to do in their last hour. The fabric that Amy used for her bottom floor wall paper was super cute but her second floor was lacking in decor and the use of her materials was too literal. I would of taken the food bowls and made decorative mirrors on the inside and used the stuffed toy dog bones to create the flooring in the upper cat area instead of just a cat bed. This is supposed to be luxury right? What cat wouldn't love an entire squishy furry floor for them to knead and roll on?  Pam's aesthetic wasn't my taste but the craftmanship was there for sure. I think Glitter all over the walls was a bit much because just like the kids the animals will get that on them one way or another. From experience I know what it is like to clean up some glitter/sparkle poop out of the litter box.

At the end of the this episode I got to see my promo commercial! But I was on the phone having a quick festival recap meeting for Friday's Food Truck and Cart Fest.

What would you do differently if given these challenges?

Craft Wars Episode #2

Did you get a chance to see the latest Craft Wars?
I know it was a super busy day being the night before the Fourth of July holiday and at least in my neck of the woods we were out and about to see Red White and Boom on our bikes.

Thankfully a friend has it DVR'd so we saw it the day after. The line up for competition was certainly a mixed bag with a strongly proclaimed crafter, a welding artist and Vintage re-vamp decorator.

It was great to see a guy involved on the show and another younger person that I felt I could connect with. It also helped to break up some of the misconceptions of what and who a crafter is.

The pressure of the Pop Craft was definitely felt as they were asked to make a bird house that was functional and meant to be outside. I felt like the Judges comments were pretty dead one.  I did not really agree with keeping that woman Michaela, I think the competition would of been much more intense with Mandi versus Kevin.  Kevin had a great a innovative birdhouse design but the foam core was a very poor choice.  I completely understand why he did it, with only an hour of time you feel the pressure about trying to get the wood cut and still have time to put it all together.

If I was doing that challenge I most likely would of taken apart the junk drawer itself to use as wood for my birdhouse or tried to get a ready made box and cover it with the wood. I would of also used the rubber brands stretched out as covering for the roof of my house to give it some color and a little bit of shingle feel while water proofing the top. My house would of been for a magpie, covered in just the shiny bits like the keys, bottle cap tops, coins with several different perches around it.

The Master Craft of making patio furniture was a lot of work to put into just 5 hours. I'm not even entirely sure what I would of done in that time. The bar seemed to be necessary with bar stools seemed simple enough. Kevin definitely played up his welding skills which I thought were fantastic. I was very skeptic of the boogie board chaise he was putting together but the finished project turned out pretty well. I think my favorite thing of his was the deflated beach ball tray. I thought that was clever and a great little addition. I was also very fond of the way he got everything to coordinate together such as the drop lights, the stool covers and that amazing skimmer board bar top. His whole project just felt complete. Aside for the missing storage the judges pointed out. I think the storage would of been an easily forgivable things considering how good it all looked. Personally I don't worry about storage because you can always find some milk crates someplace and cover them in or if they are behind the bar no one is going to see them but you.

As for Michaela's I just didn't really like much of what I saw was going on. I felt that wave table was a bit of an eyesore and all her pieces seemed to be mismatched from each other. There were some cute ideas and concepts but the execution just wasn't all there.

I applaud Kevin for his Victory but still wish I could of seen more of Mandi's Skillz.
She had a great blog post about her defeat on her blog here!

Craft Wars

Hello!
So if you recall I had a super secret project that I was working on and was in LA earlier this year. Well the cat is now out of the bag!

I am a contestant on the amazing new TLC show Craft Wars! It had it's premiere this past Tuesday and will continue to air Tuesday nights 10pm Eastern on TLC.

You can see the video here where I am scurrying around with wood in my arms and making faces.


It is super exciting and almost dreamlike to have the opportunity to meet some amazing people who share the love of crafting and be a part of the first season of this new series! It is still surreal to see my face on TV for the current Promo's. I also got to meet Tori Spelling, Stephen Brown (Glitterville), Erica Domesk (P.S. I made this), and Jo Pearson (Micheals Craft Store)

Of course I can't ruin the suspense so you will all just have to stay tuned to see when my episode airs as well as what happens. In the meantime I'll be live Tweeting as I watch my fellow crafter's episodes air and I invite you to join in on the fun using #craftwars when you tweet at me "torn_angel". I'll do my best to give you a little blog write up the day after to get some more in depth opinions on the challenges the crafter's face!

Cheers!