Project Runway - Hallmark Challenge - Aleene's Tacky Glue!

I'm a huge fan of Project Runway.  And Season 14, Episode 2 had me on the edge of my seat.  Yes, even more than the usual edge!   

Why?  Because my favorite episode is ALWAYS the unconventional materials challenge.  You never know where the Designers are going to be sent to gather their materials like a candy store, the city dump, or a New York corner drug store.  

And this time I was in HEAVEN because they went to a HALLMARK store to grab every card they could stuff in their shopping bags and then create wearable garments with the paper cards!  I mean, this was the dream episode for me.  All I need is a mannequin, paper, embellishments and GLUE to make all my dreams come true, okay?

I mean, have you been to a Hallmark Cards lately? As their Director of Branding said, the cards are "pieces of art with a story to tell", and the cards are covered with glitter, beads, bows, flower cut-outs, ribbon, fabric, tulle, and everything that makes a crafty girl's mouth water and her hands itch to cut, paint and GLUE!

After the designers made it back to the work room, imagine my squeals of glee when I saw that they were using Aleene's Tacky Glue!  Of course they were.  What glue works best with paper, than Aleene's Tacky Glue!

The gold bottle was easy to spot, even with the tape across the label.  And the designs that were coming together were ahhhhmazing!

Tim Gunn was happily mentoring the designers as they sifted through the mountains of Hallmark cards amongst the Aleene's Tacky Glue bottles scattered all around the work room.  I would give up my pinky toe to do just one unconventional materials challenge on Project Runway!

Edmund's wedding dress won, with the Hallmark signature cutouts forming the bodice and tons of shopping bags billowing in petal shapes for the skirt.  Love, love, LOVE!

Which one would you pick to win???

Behind the scenes of iLoveToCreate with Pattiewack

"FLIP OUR STUDIO"

At iLoveToCreate we have been given the green light to turn our design room into an ultra-uber design studio that we are proud of and excited to create in every day. That's the GOOD news.

Now for the BAD news... Okay, you have to realize that it took YEeeears for this space to become engorged with tons of craft supplies, tools, sewing machines, computers, and projects. Of course, we have to BLOG about it. And it is a work in progress which we will finish in the next 2 weeks.

And... Yes, as expected we have the pics and story to show the metamorphosis of this huge space.

So, what you are about to see might change you forever. Hide the small children, warn your mother, and you might want to peer through your fingers….

The West side of the studio is where you can find Chloe Tatro, our copy writer who is often our in-house model, and Designer Suzie Shinseki who creates fabulous ceramics and crafts every day.... somewhere in there.

Here's the East side of the studio where Designers Kathy Cano Murillo and Cheryl Ball and Allee Marderosian create amazing designs amidst the clutter.

More of the East side where my Pattiewack design space is tucked behind there somewhere.

The conference table, which sometimes is so covered up we just forget about it and put chairs in a circle.

The sink & clean-up station, where paint brushes go and never are seen again.

I warned you! Can you imagine looking for a box of pins, a bag of crystals or a bottle of Aleene’s Tacky Glue? Trust me, there are some amazing designs coming from this chaos, but it is time, time, time to get some serious scrub done.

We've rolled up our sleeves and grabbed our brooms and scrubbies. I’ll be posting more behind-the-scene pics and show how we totally re-designed this pile of crafty chaos into a seriously sweet design studio.

So in the words of Tim Gunn, "Designers, make it work!"