Craft Wars Part II: The Rest of the Story

Ok, So I left you on Wednesday when we got to L.A.  It is actually really hard for me to sum up this experience.  I have some SERIOUSLY mixed feelings.  I can't exactly tell you ALL that went on because of contract agreements but I can sum it up:)  The day of shooting started early.  Yes... we did our own hair and makeup haha.  Everyone keeps asking me that.  We got into the studio and started right away.  Photos, and intros were first.  I still can't quite figure out how to make a "bad ass" face but I sure tried.  That's where this photo came from:

After that, everything went REALLY fast.  No breaks at all.  Just craft craft craft.  We didn't really meet the judges or Tori before hand, so on top of crafting at warp speed we still had to try and impress them.  

Now for the question everyone wants to know... What was Tori like?  To be honest with you, the conversations you saw on the show were the extent of the conversations we had.  We were so busy crafting there wasn't exactly time to chat.  So that's it... Just a quick interview with her while I was making my bag and then... "pack up your glue gun" haha.  (That was my favorite quote of the show.)  She did say that she thought the T on the bag was for Tori until she realized my name was Traci... If I had been thinking quick enough I would have said it was:)  

Truth be told there were only 2 sewing machines and when both broke down I had a decision to make.  I thought that having a finished bag was most important so that's what I went for. After seeing the other 2 girl's bags, I have to say, they are both FAR better seamstresses then me.  I mean, if they had put an old table in front of me and asked me to fix it up I would have rocked it.  But that wasn't the challenge and I brought what I thought was the best of my abilities given the circumstances.

  Because I knew my sewing skills were lacking I tried to make up for it in creativity.  I thought it would be cool to make a bag entirely out of the challenge materials and nothing from the craft closet.  The only thing I took out of the craft closet was the draw string. The top of the bag was the cheer skirt, the bottom of the bag was the cheer shirt, the front pocket was out of a karate shirt, the two pockets on the side were ballet slippers, and of course, the infamous tennis racket bottom.  I had to rely on creativity.  If Cheryl's bag had been finished it would have been AMAZING you guys, seriously, a designer bag.  Mine would have stood no chance.  So, that is why I don't feel too bad.  In my opinion the best seamstress won, and she is totally deserving.  She is super fun and totally crafty.  We have actually remained friends and I hope we get to hang out in the near future... who knows, maybe she will take some of her winnings and visit me here in Colorado!;)

Anyway, that's it.  Once I was voted off P.J. gave me a HUGE hug and we left the studio.  I didn't cry or anything (which is totally not like me).  A part of me was even relieved.  I spent the rest of the day touring Hollywood and hitting the bars with my old man.  It is so cool that my dad and I had this experience together.  We really bonded and have had tons of jokes about it since.  

So, moral of this story... step away from the glue gun!

I watched it with a few of my closest friends and we had some great laughs.  We kept pausing it on my ridiculous faces... this is by far my favorite picture of this entire experience.  It pretty much says it all!  

Happy crafting everyone.

  

Craft Wars Part I: The Beginning

Ok, I will post in 2 separate posts... this is a long story. 


Let me start by bringing you back to this. The day after filming, this was how I felt.  


Then, let's start from the beginning.  A few months ago I got an email from an old friend (thanks Lara!) tipping me off to a great new show that was having casting calls.  She was all prego so she wasn't going to be able to try out, so she sent me an email letting me know.  I thought, well, why the heck not!  This all happened right as I quit my job in insurance, opened my own store, AND started working for an estate sale company, so I figured it fit right into my new crazy life.  


I sent the lady an email explaining who I was and what I do and attached some pictures of my projects.  After a month went by with no word I just figured that was it... obviously I didn't make it.  Well, out of the blue one day I got an email back saying they were interested and wanted a casting video. The original plan was to have my hubby come on as my assistant but they told me they had a lot of husband/wife duos and wanted to know if I had anyone else that would be my assistant.  I happen to have the handiest father around, so of course I called him and BEGGED relentlessly until he agreed.  He is not exactly the type to go on a reality show.  


Next step... casting video.  I just had my tech savvy bro-in-law pull out his camera and go for it... Thanks Will!    

Several emails and calls later I finally got the call that I was in!  I had officially been selected... the kicker, I couldn't tell a single soul!  I had to sign a bunch of stuff saying that I wouldn't say anything.  It was KILLING me not to spill my guts!  

After a couple months of phone calls from the producers, outfit selections, and biting all of my nails off, the day finally came. My dad and I got on a flight to L.A.  We were there for a total of 4 days... and I can't tell you what a stressful 4 days it was!  I will leave you there until Friday.  The rest is crazy... filming, photos, Tori Spelling, AHHHH so much in just a few days!

Just a couple of pics of my dad and I the day we got to L.A.  It took a few drinks to calm our nerves:)

I will continue this on Friday... you know, the stuff you really want to know:)

AHHHH Craft Wars!

I just wanted to pop by to remind you all that tonight is the night.  My episode of Craft Wars will air.  We are the very first episode of this brand new show... talk about pressure!  I will spill my guts tomorrow on this crazy adventure I went on.  But for now, tune in to TLC tonight at 10/9 central.  Seriously ya'll I am so nervous!  AHHHHHHHHH!  No judgement please:)


Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, you can catch a fun interview over at The Denver Post today.  The fact that someone would actually want to interview me made my whole day haha.

(a pic of me and my pops crafting our butts off)

Milk Paint... Yes Please!

I have read A LOT of posts about milk paint.  Every time I see someone use it, I LOVE the results.  For some reason mixing my own paint (milk paint comes in a powder form) scares me.  What if I do too much water, or not enough, or it explodes in a massive blob all over my kitchen.  Valid fears I would say.  Well, I finally took the plunge.  I ordered some milk paint online and it came in just a few days... then it sat in my laundry room for a few weeks, because let's face it, I was still scared.  Well, I finally got up the guts to bust it out and give it a go!  This stuff ROCKS MY SOCKS OFF!!  It is so cool.  It becomes all chippy in some places, and cracky in others, and then solid as a rock in others.  It really gives an authentic vintage finish.  You guys want to see???

I already had the top painted and drawers pulled out by the time I remembered to take a before picture, so sorry about that. Are you ready for the after???

This paint is so cool.  It just chipped off like that.  It's like the lazy person's way of making it shabby chic... which pretty much rocks.

So needless to say, I will be using milk paint a lot more.  Next up, I really want to try chalk paint... not to be confused with chalk board paint. 

 Don't worry I was confused about that for a while too.  I won't judge you.

P.S.  Here are a couple of links to my episode of Craft Wars... just to get you pumped up for tomorrow night:)

First Episode Promo!

A longer version.

Don't forget to tune in Tuesday night at 10/9C on TLC!


P.P.S  I am featured over at Milo and Molly today.  I am talking about balance... Come check it out!  Plus her blog is just so much fun to follow:)

Bye Bye Pink House

There she is.  Our ugly front porch.  Our grass was dead and our trim was pink... doesn't get much worse then that I don't think. Well, my hubby got is crazy butt out and painted the entire house all by himself!!  That man is nuts!  So anyway, check out our new, green lawned, green and white house!!

Oh yeah, and check out that brand spankin new fence my pops installed!  Seriously you guys, the neighbors should probably stand and applaud.  

GARAGE SALE SEASON!

It is garage sale season... it's better then Christmas!  I have had one of the best garage sale season's yet. I have to say though, my favorite find thus far... and probably ever is my new lockers!  They are in my entry way now and my husband thinks I'm crazy.  He wants to hang a picture of himself on my side like we are in high school.  That is fine by me as long as they can stay:)

I got that super cute chair at the same sale.  SCORE!

Craft Wars

Welp... I wasn't going to share this.  I wasn't going to Facebook it, blog it, tweet it, nothing.  Then a good friend of mine told me to own it.  Just own it and go with it.  So that is what I have decided to do.  


Click over to this link and you will understand why I posted this, and this.  I can't give you all the details yet... but since it is out there for the public to see, I guess that I am contractually off the hook from giving ya'll that little bit of info:)


And if you want to see it live and in color... you can watch it on the 26th... no judgement please:)

Well, Hello There

Wreaths are always fun.  I like to change them out seasonally and do fun things.  I thought it would be fun to make a few that would be an all season sort of thing.  Cute all year round.

What do you think?

Not a lot to say today.  My sister gets back in town tomorrow so I am just excited for one more week with her and little Stella!  Hope you all have a fabulous weekend.

My Black Thumb

I seriously can't keep a plant alive.  Animals and children... yes... unless you count fish, I can't keep them alive either.  This year, I decided that I wanted to have a cute front porch.  One of the elements to a cute front porch, unfortunately for me, is flowers.  Well, I decided to start small.  I saw this in Pinterest land somewhere and thought, I could do that!  I got these cute boots at Goodwill for $5, drilled a hole in the bottoms for the water to drain, stuck some soil in there (miracle grow... hopefully it can perform a miracle and keep them alive) and planted my flowers.  They look so darn cute!  Plus I have managed to keep them alive for like 3 weeks now.  That is record time for me.  Unless you count the cactus that took me 2 years to kill.

On a side note, I asked Luci to go put on a hat for the pool... guess I should have been a little more specific.  Happy hump day blogger peeps!

Grab the party button & invite your friends!

Bench, bench, bench

You guys are seriously probably sick of looking at benches... but seriously people they sell!  So here is an old storage bench.  The previous owner cut the back off.  What a tragedy!  It would have been way cooler with the back but it was still pretty dang cute the way it is.  I stepped away from the spray paint for a moment to go back to my white washing technique you can see here and here.  It is so easy to do and always looks so shabby and cute!

I combined a little blue and a little white for this one.  I did more of a dry brush then a white wash.  It is just like it sounds.  Put a little paint on your brush but don't soak it.  Then start brushing it on.  It will be streaky but that's the point.  Have a rag near by so you can wipe it off if you get too much on there.  Anyway, here is the before:

The best part is, it takes like 2 seconds to dry!  I literally put it straight in my car and took it to the store. I am kind of loving this thing:)

Have a happy Monday everyone!!