GMC DIY Challenge

I can’t believe what I have accomplished over the last four and a half years of blogging. OK, wait…who am I kidding? Yes I can!!!! Blogging is a lot of hard word. It’s a full time job. I’m not just a “blogger”; I am a writer, photographer, crafter, DIY’er, and social media aficionado. (On a side note, I REALLY need to stop telling people how “lucky” I am… this is hard work, people!). Anyway, this last weekend is probably the most exciting experience I have encountered thus far on this crazy blogging journey. I, along with two other amazing people, was selected to participate in the first ever GMC DIY Challenge.

We spent an entire weekend filming this fabulous show. I got to bring along my team, Jennifer Hostetler and her father, Bob Sevick. If you read this blog you know that Jen is one of my best friends and creative partner in crime. She inspires me in so many ways. Her father is a Master Carpenter with over 50 years’ experience. We like to call him, Bob the Builder. I couldn’t have done this without these two by my side.

The competition was FIERCE. I admitted many times that I thought I was the underdog. Our competitors were Brad Pennington and his team from doityourself.com and MOCA Handcrafted as well as Timothy Dahl and his wife Laura from Charles Hudson. Now you know why I had to bring Bob the Builder! After meeting them however, their kindness and encouragement alleviated my anxiety. I couldn’t be up against two better teams. I sincerely hope we all stay in touch after this.

CVLT Studios in Los Angeles was very industrial chic; my type of style. It was everything you could imagine an LA studio to be. We had bountiful breakfast, lunch, snacks, and dinners for us ready whenever we wanted with access to our own personal work space and workbench.

The Director, Producers, and crew were so talented and amazing to watch. It was surreal to be a part of the action; an audio pack (or whatever it’s called… audio thingamajig?) recording my every word and cameras following my every move. I felt like a pro behind the camera and during interviews because the entire team kept me at ease. Our host was Kathryn O’Shea Evans an Editor from This Old House. She was absolutely adorable and great to work with.

Our challenge was to have one hour to shop at Habitat for Humanity, make a pit stop at Home Depot for supplies, and create an amazing repurposed piece for a specific room in a house. After shopping, we loaded up our GMC’s and immediately got to work.

I don’t think I stopped except for interviews. I swear I sanded, painted, nailed, and ate all at the same time for what seemed like a few minutes, but actually many hours… fun hours no less.

Judging was nerve racking. Our judges were Kathryn, Chris Ayotte from GMC, and Karen Moore from Habitat for Humanity.

I can’t wait to see and share the final product. Although I can’t reveal many details, especially who won right now, but be sure to come back and see! Best of all, all three of our pieces will be donated to a Habitat for Humanity home. Come back soon to see who won and what we made!

**Update! Here is the show!**