Happy 85th Birthday, Aleene!

It's hard to believe that the Queen of Tacky Glue, Aleene Jackson, is 85!

Happy Birthday to a veteran of the Crafts & Hobbies Association. This is one courageous business woman who has stuck with her ambitions and pioneered the crafts industry as we know it today. Her determination and promotional skills led to regular local TV segments in the late 1940s, when TV was in its infancy. You probably have a bottle in your house right now, of the famous craft glue with her name on it. The inventor sold her the rights to the formula, and with her marketing savvy, the famous gold bottle became a big seller, and Aleene's Tacky Glue still sells all over the world.

Her Craftmaker's Caravan, which toured several major cities throughout the U.S. was important for widely promoting crafts to consumers. There had been no craft industry before, since crafts were thought to be part of the hobby industry. It is quite fascinating to me, as I can't imagine not having do-it-yourself show on television, and trade shows to promote crafts as a business.

Here I am on the set of Aleene's Creative Living, with Aleene during a shoot for the taping of the daily show which aired on TNN back in the day before DIY and HGTV. As one of the hosts, I enjoyed learning the business of how-to segments from the queen herself.

The Aleene's Creative Living show became a huge part of my life as a host. And as you can see here, we attended charity events in Santa Barbara and enjoyed each other's company. This is a pic of Aleene with me and Tiffany, Heidi, Star, Jen and Katherine.

Heidi Borchers followed in her mother's crafty footsteps, and designed hundreds of projects for one of the first monthly craft clubs for Leisure Arts. She has a fab website that showcases her talent for things creative.

Tiffany Windsor is pictured here with her mom Aleene, and is still much admired by her fans and all of us who worked with her on the show. Everyone in the family has gone on to other adventures and are doing well. Aleene's three daughters including Candace, have a nice website where you can contact them at Inspired At Home.com.

You can find out more about Aleene in her biography; Aleene: A Tacky Lady by Aleene Jackson.

Happy Birthday Aleene!