113 replies to this topic

[Shermie]

I searched and did not find.
Anyone watch this on Tuesday? I like crafting and I loved Jason Jones (yes, now of the The Daily Show) craft show, Craft Corner Smackdown or whatever it was called.
This was tamer, but I found it interesting. I did think it was a little unfair of the judges to riff on the woman for hot-gluing the racket to the bottom of the bag instead of stitching it, when they only had an hour to design and create the entire project.
The playhouse concept was cute and I agree that the "bus" did not look anything like a bus, although it was a fun playhouse. The schoolhouse was beautiful to look at, but had little to play with.
Anyone else watching this?

[Aerobicidal]

The first half of the premiere was redolent of Sandra Lee and Showgirls in its brilliantly jaw-dropping awfulness, but the main challenge toned down the unintentional hilarity and became tedious. The flaming male judge's delivery was so Aunt Sandy and his line about how having balls on your shoulder would be comfortable made my friend and me practically fall over laughing.

Also, if a duffel bag is legitimate enough for the mini-challenge, can we expect a coin purse in the future? A fanny pack?

The husband of the woman who finished in second was serving halfhearted metrosexual realness. The unnecessary and douchey details on his shirt and jeans, combined with his combover . . . if SNL were relevant they would be inspired by shit like that.

Anyway I know nothing about crafting but I will watch the next episode hoping it gets worse/better.

If this can be produced, I want to see even more arcane takes on the Chopped format. Scrapbooking?

Edited by Aerobicidal, Jun 30, 2012 @ 11:16 AM.

[Shnuglet]

Why can't they come up with original names for these shows? Everything has to be "(Fill in Blank) Wars." Cupcakes, storage, parking, everyone's battling each other. And Tori Spelling looks like a cartoon character. Not much can be done about her Walter Keane face, but she could lay off the fire-engine-red lipstick and hair color that matches a legal pad.

An hour seemed like no time at all to design and finish a bag like that. I always suspect, like in the cupcake show, too, that they are given advance notice of the challenge (in this case, item to create and materials) because that just seems impossible. That said, the judge who said you couldn't wash the bag with the tennis racket bottom made a good point, so it wouldn't matter whether she'd sewed or glued it on. The ballet shoe pockets that were open were also silly.

The lady who made the house was very clever at using the school stuff, like the ruler shutters, pencil window boxes, and notebook-cover roof shingles.

Best line, said proudly, "Modge Podge is what I do."

[Ginandtonic]

I was wondering if a thread for this was going to pop up. This show reminds me of a cross between Cupcake Wars & 24 hour Catwalk, the format is pretty much the same, just what the focus of the show is is different. I thought the duffel bag with the tennis racket bottom was interesting, but I agree the bottom should have been removable for washing, that was it's big downfall. The first bag with the 40000 different patterns was just ugly IMO, too much going on, was this the same person who did the school bus? THAT had way too many patterns & materials, & all of it was really sloppy. I thought the schoolroom was very well done on the outside & she deserved to win even though the inside still needed work.

[Magpie mind]

Of course I watched it! I was counting down the minutes till the premiere - just ask my long-suffering husband. I love anything crafty, and was eager to see what TLC would do with the theme. I did like some of the interaction between the judges, 'cause I like it when judges disagree with each other.

But I'm curious about TLC's definition of "crafting."

The duffel bag challenge was cool, but the playhouse seemed to me less about crafting and more about construction. Yes, they also made window boxes and chalkboards and monsters and stuff, but so much involved lumber and power tools. I don't know, maybe I would have felt better about it if they furnished plain pre-built playhouses and the contestants had to do something with those. Better yet, have the contestants make doll-sized playhouses.

The previews tell me that next week's competition will involve making patio furniture. Maybe I'm way off, but I don't include "furniture construction" in my definition of craft.

I was hoping maybe for a format where the contestants are assigned a type of craft: "Here's a box of family photos; assemble them into a scrapbook!" "Make these plain t-shirts into cute kids' clothing!" Maybe even, "Bling out this birdhouse, then use this pile of feathers and pipe cleaners to create a bird to live inside it!"

At the very least, I was expecting the challenges to involve, y'know, things that are a bit more... crafty. Making toys. Decorating clothing. Repurposing empty yogurt containers. Turning egg cartons into curtains. Spinning straw into gold. Stuff like that.

I also wasn't expecting show-provided teams. Even though the contestants designed and directed, the team members' skills will still affect the final project. (The school-bus lady was dinged for some of her Mod Podged papers being wrinkly - who put up the wrinkly papers? Her, or a team member?) If I can't paint worth squat, but I tell my team, "Paint a great landscape on this wall" and they do it, should I still get credit?

As for Tori, I'm going to stick by the "if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all" advice. So I can't talk about her makeup. Or her dress. Or her scripted comments. Or her dress. Or her hair. And I really can't talk about her dress.

I guess I can say her voice is clear, and her kids are cute.

[CoyoteBlue]

The first bag with the 40000 different patterns was just ugly IMO, too much going on, was this the same person who did the school bus? THAT had way too many patterns & materials, & all of it was really sloppy.

Yeah, that bag with the ball trim was hideous - it was every example of crappy taste you'd think of when "homemade crafts" are mentioned. The "bus" wasn't any better, sloppy and ugly and you know the kids are going to be peeling that modge-podged mess off the walls since the edges are sticking up and crunchy. The only good idea with that one was the chalkboard-paint walls.

[Shermie]

I also thought the multi-patterned bag was ugly. I was sure she was going home first. The tennis racket bag was a great idea, which could have been a marketable product with more time for execution, and isn't that what good crafting is all about?

I agree with Magpie mind that making playhouses and furniture seems more wooodshop than craft corner, but time will tell. I watch home decorating shows for ideas that I could incorporate into my own home reno plans; I watch fashion-makeover shows for tips about clothes, so I expect a craft-oriented show to have ideas that I could do myself or even with kids. There's no way I'm making a playhouse out of school supplies with my Sunday school class.

That said, it's a fun idea for a show and I hope it does well, since crafting is a pretty popular pastime.

[tahitigirl]

I used to know Christy, the woman who made the bus. She was a pretty big name in the scrapbooking world 5-10 years ago. It was no surprise to me to see her with the mod podge as her style was always collage oriented. I think the exterior definitely went to the other woman (the schoolhouse was all sorts of awesome) but Christy's interior was a lot more interactive and fun.

I hope future episodes focus more on crafting and less on building.

[pandora spock]

I hope future episodes focus more on crafting and less on building.

If I wanted to see construction, I would watch This Old House or any of the programming on DIY.

[xingcat]

I just didn't quite get the whole "Mod Podge notebook paper to the walls" idea. Mod Podge can help with gorgeous collages, but when it's the same boring design element placed inelegantly over a wall, it just made no sense to me.

I think they should ditch the "Craft Wars" name and call it "Whose Husband is Deeper In The Closet?" Whoa.

[recumbentrider]

I am glad to see someone started a thread on this show.

I saw the 'playhouse' episode about a week ago. I was somewhat impressed with the crafters, especially the lady who led the team that built the 'little red schoolhouse'. What I wasn't impressed with were the first and third judges. Were they told by the show that they had to argue with each other like obnoxious idiots? If they were not, I think they should both be let go as soon as possible.

[monty9]

Shermie

Anyone watch this on Tuesday? I like crafting and I loved Jason Jones (yes, now of the The Daily Show) craft show, Craft Corner Smackdown or whatever it was called.

I loooooved that show. (Aside)Remember Brini Maxwell by any chance? Summary: Drag queen hosts crafting/how-to/how to hostess show, which was also great. Style was awesome and more niche at it's launch much like a lot of cable channels, then it got bland.

But yes I saw this show as well and thought of it.

CoyoteBlue

Yeah, that bag with the ball trim was hideous - it was every example of crappy taste you'd think of when "homemade crafts" are mentioned. The "bus" wasn't any better, sloppy and ugly and you know the kids are going to be peeling that modge-podged mess off the walls since the edges are sticking up and crunchy. The only good idea with that one was the chalkboard-paint walls.

I nicknamed her style "throw random crap at the craft". I can't believe she even made it to the 2nd round. Sure the tennis tote wasn't washable but I liked it the best of the three.

Edited by monty9, Jul 2, 2012 @ 1:15 PM.

[littleturtle74]

I'm glad there's finally a thread for this show. I know Tori Spelling isn't everyone's favorite, but I think she's a great choice to host the show and her kids are so adorable! I did find the playhouse to be more focused on building than crafting and i loved the little red school house, especially the pencil window boxes and the shutters made with rulers. I thought that the modge-podged school bus looked sloppy on the exterior, too much different shades of yellow and with the scallop didn't resemble much more than a box with wheels. I'm hoping that the future shows feature more things like scrapbooking, centerpiece and holiday type decorations, and if they insist on a construction aspect, how about building a dollhouse?

[millk]

I love crafting and call myself "The Good Enough" crafter. (which drives my mom "The Never Quite Just Right" crafter around the bend) but there is no way I could make a bag or a playhouse. Those aren't what I call crafting.

I will be watching again though.

Best thing to say about Tori is her kids are cute. Did anyone watch Selling Spelling Manor where Candy gives Tori a decoupage suitcase she made? Though about that during the modge podge segments.

Edited by millk, Jul 2, 2012 @ 1:30 PM.

[xingcat]

I agree that this show should be more about crafting and less about construction, but I figure the contestants must have been informed ahead of time what the parameters of the competition were (for instance, people who didn't know how to sew wouldn't be invited to create a gym bag out of sports equipment), so that part doesn't bother me too much.

I like Tori Spelling just fine, but I do hope she doesn't drag out her kids for every episode. They're adorable, but I hate to see famous peoples' kids forced into the spotlight at an age where they can't decide for themselves if they want to do that. On reality shows (like the "Tori & Dean" stuff), it's not so bad, because they just happen to be on-camera while doing their own thing, but...I don't know. I haven't liked to see kids used as "accessories," I guess.

I would so very much like to have that Michaels craft closet for my own. I don't do a ton of crafts myself, but I often have to build props for shows I do (I'm in community theater), and having all that stuff on-hand would be terrific.

[chelle493]

I was hoping that there would be more freedom in the crafting. "Here are useless supplies, now go build a gym bag" doesn't leave a whole lot of room for creativity. I'd rather watch something along the lines of a craft "Chopped". "Here are some random items that don't go together, now go make something cohesive with them all." I agree that it seems like it was more construction than crafting. I'll give a few more tries, but if it doesn't get any better, I'll be done.

[popcorn]

I liked it. It was kind of like when Project Runway does the innovative challenges. I can understand why the challenges are bigger construction oriented things for TV viewing purposes. I didn't love the whole team of helpers they got for the houses, and then they threw in the pointless drama of the red house's walls maybe not being built the right size to fit together. (Which of course they did fine.) Tori's not the first person who pops into my head when I think "crafter", but she seems good natured and supportive enough.

[Joymarie]

Well, count me in among those who used to lurve Craft Corner Deathmatch and found this to be a sad copy of a brilliant show. A show about competitive crafting should not take itself seriously.

I also agree that the playhouse challenge was not so much crafting as construction and was a bizarre choice.

I'll give this show another chance, but it would have to get way better for me to watch.

Tori Spelling, you're no Jason Jones. And her kids are cute but no substitute for Amber or The Craft Lady of Steel.

[juliefir]

Yay! I just got to watch my dear friend's husband win his episode. Go Kevin!

[monty9]

Congrats to Kevin. I think he did a really good job.

Anyway. Yet another "throw random crap at the craft" person in the first round. I mean I am reaaaaaly bad at art and design. I am so bad at art when I try to do anything I actually create a negative art-space around me which makes everyone else in the room worse at art as well. But even I knew that just randomly gluing crap to a birdhouse would look terrible, even if she had managed to paint it.

So guys, I bet this show is inspiring people to craft. Is there some sort of store or something where you could just buy craft stuff? You know like the stuff on that big wall. Hmph. Can't think of any.

[millk]

I suppose you could go to Hobby Lobby

[pandora spock]

Is there some sort of store or something where you could just buy craft stuff? You know like the stuff on that big wall. Hmph. Can't think of any.

There's also Joann or Michael's.

*Edited for the sake of clarity.

Edited by pandora spock, Jul 5, 2012 @ 10:37 AM.

[Kathira]

The first episode was more of a toss up as to the winner, but this week, Kevin was obviously the clear winner. He had a real artistic sense of style. Even though his foam board bird house was kind of lame, and wouldn't survive the first rainstorm, at least he had an idea beyond "hot-glue random crap together." TLC or HGTV should snap him up for a show. I could easily see him doing room makeovers or the like. "Craft Crashers" maybe. Instead of finding people to do make-overs for at Home Depot, they could find people at Michael's and take over their craft projects.

[Shermie]

Yeah, the winner was pretty obvious this time. Although I was wondering if they were doing one of those reality TV swapouts - make it look like one thing will happen, and then it's the opposite. But no.

I do agree that these large scale projects are more conducive to TV viewing, but seeing actual one-person crafts would be nice sometimes.

Even though Kevin's boogie board chair was creative, it looked hella uncomfortable. And kind of ugly. And his bar looked really flimsy, like a gust of wind would knock it over. Funny how they never even focused on or even mentioned the woman's bar.

[Alexa]

I watched this for the first time this week, and what I didn't like about it is that it didn't seem to be crafting...it seemed to be more about building. I know plenty of crafters that are probably not handy with a saw and wood. So, to have them build a functional birdhouse and create furniture just didn't seem like what I expected to watch. The guy who won definitely did the best, though. But he was a guy and he was a welder, so it seemed obvious he could do these challenges.

[sweetlilvoice]

Glad there is a place for this show! I have to agree with lots of other people's comments, this show seems more about building and less about crafting. And the judges are taking the challenges really seriously. Here is a bunch of crap- build a birdhouse in an hour. It would take me over an hour to use all those power tools to just cut the wood. But your birdhouse won't last in the rain! And how will you electrify the birdhouse light outside? And won't the birds be scared of the wind chime noise? And so on....let it go judges! Just have fun and judge. You just look stupid making those comments. Lighten up!

I also think there is too much repeated information at the beginning on each show. Hopefully that will be toned down after a few more episodes. Loved the promote Tori's book and the judges lines...

As for Tori, I don't like her interviewing the contestants during the big challenge. All you hear is I'm really busy, we're not going to make it. And then Tori says something about how this might not be practical. Totally not needed. I would just eliminate those segments. Ted Allen might do one tiny segment on Chopped but he normally stays out of the way. We wouldn't want Tori to get paint all over her designer dresses and huge shoes!

Also, does it seem like there are a lot of voice overs during judging? I don't know if there was a problem with the film or the host....it feels choppy to me. Hopefully, that will get sorted out.

[Maddingcrowd]

I think the idea that this stuff has to be 100% practical really ruins the creativity for me. Even if your birdhouse can't be used in the rain, why can't it be decorative and sit on a shelf? The judges kept going on and on about not having a shelf behind the little beach hut bar, but who cares? It seems like they care less about the creative use of the material presented and more about the functionality and use of wood etc.

I will probably give it another try but I really like watching creativity, not woodworking class. I'm not overly crafty but I have made decorative pieces that look nice on a table or shelf but aren't waterproof or 100% functional.

[queasy]

Yeah, this is why I stopped watching Design Star -- wacky materials plus not enough time equals crappy work. What am I supposed to take away from this, exactly?

So many competitive reality shows have devolved into nothing more than public floggings, where the only point is for viewers to watch contestants labor and suffer.

[Pj3422]

Tori Spelling, you're no Jason Jones. And her kids are cute but no substitute for Amber or The Craft Lady of Steel.

The Craft Lady of Steel -- THANK you! I was trying to remember what she was called! This show has potential, but I agree it needs an infusion of snark.

[Daisy80]

I love this show so far. I'm a fan of Tori's and I love to craft. Although I haven't seen anything yet that I would try to do myself. But it's a fun show anyway.

I have a question for those who watch Cupcake Wars as well as this show, Did Kevin look familar to anyone else? I swear I've seen him on Cupcake Wars. Was I just imagining it or did he really appear on Cupcake Wars too?