'Craft Wars': Season Opener and 'Summer School' Recap

Tonight was the season opener of TLC's new reality show, Craft Wars. The show includes a host or moderator (Tori Spelling) as well as a panel of three expert judges. During this one-hour show, three passionate crafters compete for a $10,000 prize. The competition is divided into two rounds, a pop craft round (requiring contestants to make a popular item) and a final (big craft) round.

The competitors in tonight's competition were an art teacher, furniture designer, and professional crafter. Each also brought an assistant to help them in the competition.

The Pop Craft Round

In the first round known as "Pop Craft," competitors were challenged to create a duffel bag using sports equipment such as cheerleading outfits, footballs, ballet shoes, tennis racquets, and baseballs. They have one hour to complete the project and can also use items from the construction and art supply wall. At the end of the hour, the contestants must face the judges and one competitor will be eliminated.

To make a duffel bag, one competitor used balls for handles, football halves for pockets, and ballet slippers for holders on the side. The next competitor used a karate shirt and belt, along with a cheerleader outfit to create an oversized duffel bag. She also used a tennis racquet as the base of the bag. Although the judges were impressed by how she used the tennis racquet, they were concerned however that the bag would not stay together (she is eliminated for this reason). The last contestant used black belts for handles, football parts for corners, and incorporated a functional zipper in her bag. The judges loved the football pieces in the corners but were disappointed that the project was not complete.

The Final Round

The final round challenged the remaining two contestants to create a play house using school supplies such as back packs, binders, pens, pencils, and rulers. Each contestant was given four helpers to aid them in finishing their project and five hours to complete the job.

In this round, one contestant decided to create a play school bus. The plan included decoupaged walls using a variety of materials and interior walls covered in a chalk paint. The wheels were made out of a black and white polka dot fabric, and erasers used for door handles. The entire house was made to be interactive. Although the judges liked the inside, they were less impressed with the exterior (seeing it as not having a clear artistic theme or concept).

The other contestant opted to create a small house. The roof was created using composition book covers, and shutters made using rulers. She also used pencils to make really cute flower boxes. Nonetheless, with only two hours remaining and much left to do, it looked as though this contestant would not finish her house (she had also failed to completely finish her duffel bag). She did finish, however, and wowed the judges with her creativity. The downfall of her play house, however, was there was no activities for the kids on the inside.

Both contestants were very strong, and the judges had a hard time choosing a winner. In the end, however, there was a unanimous decision. Cheryl, the art teacher and creator of the small house, was the winner of the first Craft Wars.