Making It - General Discussion

[TVbitch]

Glad they chose the "right" winner, over the perhaps more commercial winner. 

I did notice that Khiem's backdrop was a lot different when the couple got married versus when it was judged. (?!) I liked Khiem's presentation of it better, but obviously the couple or the judges didn't. 

[akr]

18 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I’m glad Khiem won.

Naked cakes are an abomination. What’s the point of having a cake without the best part...the frosting/icing?

 

I'll sit next to you at the next fully-frosted cake event - you can have my frosting if I can have some of your cake!

Edited September 6, 2018 by akr
typo

[LittleIggy]

5 hours ago, akr said:

I'll sit next to you at the next fully-frosted cake event - you can have my frosting if I can have some of your cake!

 

Sure! ? Just ask me before I pick up my fork. When I eat a slice of cake, I carefully eat the cake first then eat the frosting! 

Edited September 7, 2018 by LittleIggy

[akr]

11 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

Sure! ? Just ask me before I pick up my fork. When I eat a slice of cake, I carefully eat the cake first then eat the frosting! 

Deal!

[LouiseIndy]

On 9/5/2018 at 1:30 PM, BusyOctober said:

I thought Jo's cake topper was really blah, and am not sure what Amber was thinking with that tasseled (tasselled?) cake topper.

The yarn thing is Mexican and is called an Eye of God.  So I think she was thinking of the couple's Mexican heritage.  It just didn't come off well.  Lots of us have made those in scouts when we were in elementary school.

Edited September 7, 2018 by LouiseIndy
add a space

[BusyOctober]

LouiseIndy- I was actually quoting someone else.  I know what God's Eye's are- made many of them in Bible Camp (and summer camp & Girl Scout camp...) as a kid!  I agree Amber didn't successfully execute her notion of the couple's heritage. 

[mertensia]

9 hours ago, LouiseIndy said:

The yarn thing is Mexican and is called an Eye of God.  So I think she was thinking of the couple's Mexican heritage.  It just didn't come off well.  Lots of us have made those in scouts when we were in elementary school.

Yes. I know. I made them, too.

How could I forget at the end of the challenge when Amber noticed Khiem was having issues and sprinted over to help? That was so nice to see.

[rhys]

On 9/5/2018 at 11:40 PM, LittleIggy said:

I’m glad Khiem won.

Naked cakes are an abomination. What’s the point of having a cake without the best part...the frosting/icing?

cake is simply a frosting delivery method.

On 9/6/2018 at 4:38 PM, TVbitch said:

Glad they chose the "right" winner, over the perhaps more commercial winner. 

I did notice that Khiem's backdrop was a lot different when the couple got married versus when it was judged. (?!) I liked Khiem's presentation of it better, but obviously the couple or the judges didn't. 

yes! I noticed that, too. More of the triangles were dark during the reveal. What gives?

[dleighg]

3 minutes ago, rhys said:

yes! I noticed that, too. More of the triangles were dark during the reveal. What gives?

I actually preferred the final version; but did Khiem "fix" it (meaning it wasn't a surprise) or did someone else (which seems rude to his artistic vision)

[Shermie]

I really enjoyed this show, although the constant references in this thread to GBBO (or GBBT or GRBT or whatever acronymed other show) were tiresome. Not everyone watches everything on tv so those were just scrolled by.

Kheim deserved the win because he seemed the most skilled, but I liked a lot of things over the season that the others made. I really liked Jo's cake topper; I thought it was pretty and personal. Amber's circle arch was odd, I didn't like it.

I agree with those who thought the turntable was weird. A hope chest with a special wood crafted insert to store wedding memories or whatever would have made more sense. Sure, a few people still have records, but most don't. And inside a storage chest? Weird.

I didn't understand the point of the wedding couple when they had no input in choosing the winner. I would have preferred them decorating for a theoretical wedding if the couple was just forced to use whatever a couple of strangers pick. I guess they got a free wedding out of it.

Glad it's coming back. I hope,they have more contestants so there are even more crafts next season.

[kili]

Quote

yes! I noticed that, too. More of the triangles were dark during the reveal. What gives?

I think the wedding arch was the same. During the judging, there was a white backdrop behind arch panel which made the filled wooden triangles stand out. During the wedding, the backdrop was the darker wood panels of the barn so the filled wooden triangles did not stand out as much. 

[Mystery]

I finally got to see this and was glad Khiem won; I had thought Amber was the choice since her Valentine's Day decorations. But I did like Jo's cake topper the best. I would have preferred that Khiem make just a hope chest without making it a record player. It was beautifully done. 

I guess as long as they have a $100k prize, they need to eliminate people. Maybe, since everyone (well, at least the finalists) had a "making"-related business, they should just let everyone stay for the whole show and the exposure is their prize. I would have liked to see everyone's take on every challenge, even without judging. 

Still loving Amy and Nick. 

[cherrypj]

On 9/5/2018 at 7:44 PM, Mabinogia said:

I think the biggest flaw of the show (beyond Etsy Woman) is that it didn't know if it wanted crafters (Jo and Amber) or builders (Khiem). The two really shouldn't go head to head. There is no way Khiem should have been in the same competition as Jo and Amber. His skillset is totally different than theirs. I think they need two shows, a craft show and a maker/builder show. 

Nailed it (that's another show!). When I saw Khiem in his giant (to my eyes!) woodshop, I thought, "He's a ringer!" With GBBO or even PR, you start with the same materials. What you do with those materials shows your skills. In this show, you start with whatever you want, and, in some cases, I wonder if that was an advantage.

I really wish the bridal couple had a say in picking the winner. It's their wedding! I feel like they would have picked Khiem, anyhow. 

On 9/6/2018 at 5:38 PM, TVbitch said:

I did notice that Khiem's backdrop was a lot different when the couple got married versus when it was judged. (?!) I liked Khiem's presentation of it better, but obviously the couple or the judges didn't.

HUH. I did not notice that. Maybe the couple would not have picked Khiem, then!

[Mabinogia]

4 hours ago, cherrypj said:

I really wish the bridal couple had a say in picking the winner. It's their wedding! I feel like they would have picked Khiem, anyhow. 

I think maybe they did. I don't buy that Etsy wanted Khiem to win, and since they are a sponsor I would think she'd have slightly more say than the other guy who I know but whose name is escaping me right now. 

[Jessa]

Congratulations to Khiem for the win, and for overcoming the Jessa curse. My favourites so very rarely win any kind of reality TV comptetiton. 

[meep.meep]

While I didn't care for most of Amy and Nick's "banter", I found myself really liking them yelling out "You made it!" at the end of every challenge.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I've been out of town so I'm just now finally watching the last two episodes. Even though the suspense was killing me while I was gone, it was pretty awesome to have two episodes to watch back to back!

The natural materials lamp challenge was a little confusing to me at first because they sent everyone outside to forage for stuff and then they showed Jo with acorns she had found outside so I thought they were foraging outside in the most literal sense, but then the other makers seemed to have natural materials that were provided (corn husks, rice paper, etc) so then I thought uh, were they just "foraging" at a table outside where the producers had a bunch of natural materials?

I loved what Khiem created on the lathe so part of me didn't like that he covered up so much of that work with the leaves. I get why he used the leaves (to incorporate more of the natural materials requirement) but I thought it looked nicer with just the rice paper.

Billy's parrot was a nice use of the materials in that the parrot itself looked really cool with all the leaves/plants, but it didn't really function as a lamp. The Etsy lady seemed really put out that the base was just cardboard so I was trying to think of what else he could have possibly used instead to create the structure.

Jo's lamp was way too 70s/hippie for my taste. I did love Amy and Nick trying to whistle with the acorns though.

Amber's natural materials were so fabricated that her lamp didn't seem to be made of natural materials at all. Although it looked very neat and well made, it was also a bit boring.

I was super excited about the sheds! I can see why Jo won because her shed had a function, it was well designed/decorated, and it was visually appealing so it was both functional and attractive. Colored chevrons are pretty popular (ugh, did I just sound like the Etsy lady? Sorry!) so that was a smart choice. The different colored paintbrushes continued the colorful theme but with a different element. I rolled my eyes when they complained about her plain chair. I couldn't believe she managed to individually paint each shim and paintbrush and get everything on the walls in the time they had, so did they expect her to build a chair? I was not surprised that she won this challenge.

Billy's New Orleans shed was bright and fun and was clearly New Orleans. Even though asking for a 3D flag was a stupid idea from the Etsy judge, I kind of get what she was saying in that most of the decor was flat, on the walls, or painted, so it would have been nice to have something besides the voodoo dolls.

I loved Khiem's observatory concept for his shed. I liked the wall he painted blue with constellations to go with the theme. What I like about Khiem is that he always puts thought into his design decisions (even when I don't necessarily agree with the outcome). I get why in his mind he thought that having a fireplace meant that he had to have a faux brick wall behind it. I personally don't think a fireplace means you MUST have brick nearby, but I understand why he associated the two together and thought he needed it. Loved the retractable roof idea and the bed underneath so you can look at the stars without your neck getting tired!

Amber's shed lacked a function. I'm all for hanging out in yoga pants, but part of the shed challenge was that there had to be some kind of purpose to it.

Edited September 12, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Awww, I love weddings so I was excited for the finale!

Mr. EB and I did not have a cake topper on our wedding cake because neither of us felt the need to have our initials or some kind of miniature likeness of ourselves on the cake. I'm all for aesthetically pleasing but a cake topper felt unnecessary to me (and luckily Mr. EB felt the same way). Obviously my attitude made me an inadequate judge for the first challenge. They were all fine but none of them convinced me that something HAD to be on top of the cake. One thing that annoyed me was that Etsy lady gushed about how Jo's design incorporated the bridge and groom's family and their two kids, which she did NOT say about Khiem's even though his did the same thing (and included their dog!). All she had to say about his was that she's seen those little wooden people before. Guess what, lady? I've seen metal hearts before too so Jo's wasn't super innovative either.

I noticed that in this episode, the judges gave several suggestions to the contestants about what to add or change to what they were doing. I'm undecided about how I feel about that. On the one hand, art is often collaborative and inspiration can come from talking with other people so it's totally valid to have the judges give some feedback while the contestants are still making things. On the flip side, their suggestions/taste might not be suited to what the contestant is making and then there's a potential for that old Project Runway dilemma: do you stay true to your vision or do you do something just because you know that's what  the judges want? In this episode, the contestants were very open to suggestions so it wasn't an issue, but I just hate to see when judges are biased because a contestant didn't do what the judges wanted.

I was sure that Jo was going to win because of her chicken coop gift, so I was pleasantly surprised when they opened the barn doors and Khiem's backdrop was there. I liked that the reason he chose triangles wasn't just a one step decision but a thought process. I remember learning in middle school that three is the strongest support so whenever I see, for example, a stool with three legs, I always think about that.

I thought I wouldn't really care who won because honestly, six weeks is usually not long enough to really get to know a group of contestants, but i found myself getting a little teary when Khiem won. I think he has been the most consistently creative and thoughtful about what he has created over the course of the show.

On 9/4/2018 at 8:14 PM, athelyna said:

I actually kind of agreed the cones needed something to make them stand out a bit more - but it could also have just been the white against white- but I thought she should have just painted a the edges gold, not put random blobs of gold leaf on them. 

Initially I thought that they looked like those little ghosts you make in elementary school by taking a piece of kleenex or tissue paper, putting a cotton ball inside to make a head, and then tying a string around the neck. I think it wasn't the gold itself that was the issue (because making them look fancier was a good idea) but Jo's execution. Just blobbing some at the bottom didn't look great. I thought maybe if she had put some gold paint in a shallow bowl and then dipped the bottom edges of the cones or maybe even dipped the cones in diagonally, it would have looked more purposeful. Or she could have painted several of them all gold and either interspersed them with the plain cones to break up the white. Or she could have painted some of them all gold and put them all at the top/on the far right and far left of the arch.

On 9/5/2018 at 11:32 AM, bioprof said:

So happy for Khiem.  Amber didn’t even make the puzzle....her helper did. She just decided how to decorate it. Same with her arch...she decorated with flowers (yawn).  If they’re going to have helpers, then they should be secondary and supportive....not create the bulk of the project.

I have mixed feelings about the helpers. I think that for the most part, they weren't doing anything that the contestants weren't capable of doing themselves so their assistance just helped move the process along more quickly which makes sense with the time constraints. But then I think about how Tim Gunn said that originally Project Runway producers wanted to have seamstresses to create the designers' garments and he told them that the designers should have to design AND create their own garments. I think I'm mostly okay with the helpers on this show, especially when they're doing things like helping Jo hang wallpaper in her shed. Sure, she could probably do that by herself but it would take a lot longer and it would probably turn out a lot messier. I'm guessing that having the carpenters who helped with cutting wood and creating large pieces like the arches was for insurance/safety purposes, but I definitely see what you mean about just decorating with flowers versus actually making it yourself.

On 9/5/2018 at 9:40 PM, LittleIggy said:

Naked cakes are an abomination. What’s the point of having a cake without the best part...the frosting/icing?

Whenever I see naked cakes, I just roll my eyes and think, "That's called a crumb coat. GIMME MY FROSTING!"

[Shermie]

Yeah, naked cakes are stupid. Cake is a delivery vehicle for frosting; it's all about the frosting and decorations. The cake is secondary. "I want a piece of cake with as little frosting as possible," said no fun person ever.

[cherbitrary]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

"I want a piece of cake with as little frosting as possible," said no fun person ever.

I was about to disagree with you, because I do generally prefer that. But, then I saw that you specified FUN people and nobody would call me that ;)  I used to love frosting  and there are some (coconut, coconut pecan, cream cheese to name a few) that I can't get too much of, but when it comes to things like birthday cake, I mostly just want the cake.

And now I definitely wish I had cake!

Edited September 19, 2018 by cherbitrary

[Destiny74]

4 hours ago, cherbitrary said:

I was about to disagree with you, because I do generally prefer that. But, then I saw that you specified FUN people and nobody would call me that ;)  I used to love frosting  and there are some (coconut, coconut pecan, cream cheese to name a few) that I can't get too much of, but when it comes to things like birthday cake, I mostly just want the cake.

And now I definitely wish I had cake!

Depends on the cake really.  Moist, flavorful cake, yeah, just a little frosting.  Too dense, dry cake that I have to choke down to be polite?  Load that sucker up with the buttercream.

[dcalley]

On 8/24/2018 at 4:50 AM, leighdear said:

I want an apron.  I don't wear them as a rule, but I want one of THOSE denim aprons, with the leather squares on the shoulder straps and 1 each of all the patches sewn on. I know I didn't earn them, but I would pay to have one. 

Seriously, that apron is what somebody should be selling on Etsy.

It looks like they're from here: https://www.hedleyandbennett.com/collections/all-aprons (I think the Jack crossback style). It's kind of surprising that the company isn't saying "As seen on NBC's Making It!" but maybe it's too cool for that.

I didn't have a cake topper on my wedding cake, either, just some flowers. The heads on Jo's topper were just hot-glued on. Didn't they have someone there who could solder? I will not eat frosting if it's bad, which it so often is,* but I'd not heard of the ON-TREND "naked cakes." Because wedding cakes are often made far in advance, the frosting seems kind of necessary to help keep the cake from drying out, so I think that's a bad idea (plus those particular cakes looked unattractive to me). 

* Sometimes this is me:

Going back a bit, Jo's Sock Monster costume had "Where do the go?" written on the side. She missed the letter Y! This bugged me a lot. That challenge had synthetic bath poufs, but everyone kept calling them loofahs (which are found in nature). Finally, the master maker patch reminded me of the #metoo image.

[spankydoll]

On ‎9‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 4:23 PM, Shermie said:

Yeah, naked cakes are stupid. Cake is a delivery vehicle for frosting; it's all about the frosting and decorations. The cake is secondary. "I want a piece of cake with as little frosting as possible," said no fun person ever.

Know what is more stupider than naked cake? Piecaken. 

[Mabinogia]

Why? Just....WHY???? That looks and sounds disgusting. 

[Mr. Sparkle]

Oh, I would eat that pie/cake thing with no hesitation. And probably regret it afterwards. 

[Maverick]

That looks horrible...and brings to mind that old quote about science: just because we can do a thing does not mean we should do a thing. 

 And those flavors.  Chocolate cake and apple pie?  No. 

[mlp]

I read somewhere a couple months ago that a Season 2 was in production but I've never heard any more about it.  Does anyone have any information?  

[Maverick]

A Facebook post in May says it's returning for the holidays.   I found a Reality Blurred article saying it will be an "event" over two weeks in December.  Disappointing.  Sounds worse than the 3 week Bake Off show on ABC at Christmas. 

[mlp]

35 minutes ago, Maverick said:

I found a Reality Blurred article saying it will be an "event" over two weeks in December. 

Huh.  Making It seems like a show that would NEED multiple episodes.  I can't picture how they will condense everything into two hours - unless there will be more than two shows in that time frame.

[joanne3482]

When Making It was renewed for a second season I thought that meant a real season this summer like last.  I'm disappointed it is some holiday event in December. I'm going to hope that's because Nick and Amy are so busy with their other projects that's the only time they could commit and not because the network is dumb.  I know Nick is doing a tour right now. 

[hendersonrocks]

Nick and Amy were nominated for an Emmy - Outstanding Hosts for a Reality or Competition Program. I think it's well deserved, personally, and hope the show comes back sooner rather than later.

[dleighg]

Making It returns Dec 2!

https://www.primetimer.com/item/Making-It-ges-a-Season-2-NBC-premiere-date-will-take-over-Bluff-City-Laws-Monday-timeslot-DjSB2N?fbclid=IwAR1HtcSG7ATlyyqJx0H11dlyyW-CMLZx-Oq581aDnNUfoTxCYLJZnN04cX8

[Mr. Sparkle]

I saw my first commercial for it last night. As far as I can tell, it's on every night this week at 10, and week after on M, T & W, with 2 episodes the last Wednesday. 

I don't watch a lot of NBC, but it doesn't seem like they're promoting it heavily. 

Correction: It's on Monday - Thursday this week, Monday - Wednesday next week. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by Superclam

[alexa]

On 12/1/2019 at 9:37 AM, Superclam said:

I saw my first commercial for it last night. As far as I can tell, it's on every night this week at 10, and week after on M, T & W, with 2 episodes the last Wednesday. 

I don't watch a lot of NBC, but it doesn't seem like they're promoting it heavily. 

I haven't seen any commercial for this, which surprises me.

[Mr. Sparkle]

6 minutes ago, alexa said:

I haven't seen any commercial for this, which surprises me.

I saw just the one during SNL. I haven't noticed much mention of it online either. 

[ketose]

I saw a lot of promotion in the Hulu show menus, which is how I got sucked into streaming Season 1 this weekend. Looks like Hulu is airing it next day, which is good because 10pm is pretty late on a weeknight.

[dleighg]

18 minutes ago, ketose said:

Looks like Hulu is airing it next day, which is good because 10pm is pretty late on a weeknight.

I have Hulu-- but I also have used the NBC app on my AppleTV to stream stuff from the network. Just letting people know in case that's an option for them.

[LittleIggy]

So glad this is back! It was wonderful to see all those other contestants help Aspen. Love Amy and Nick! 💕

[Brookside]

I don't have a creative bone in my body, but I really enjoy this show.  I love how generous and supportive towards each other the contestants are.  It reminds me of Great British Bake Off.

(Bonus: olfactory was subtitled as "old factory".) 

[Sharpie66]

How much did I love that noodle puppet? Just a bit more than the pun-off between Nick and Amy. 
 

it looks like they have fewer professional crafters this season, which is a good thing, imo. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Sharpie66

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Brookside said:

I don't have a creative bone in my body, but I really enjoy this show. 

Same here. I've noticed that I enjoy watching shows where people get to show us how to do things that I am clearly incapable of (like Project Runway). The extent of my craftiness is looking at stuff on Pinterest and Etsy and going oooh, look at that! I enjoy watching the process of how they create these things.

[2727]

I'm so happy this show is back! The makers this year seem really talented and creative so far, and it's heartening to see them being kind to each other.

Love Amy and Nick, as usual. He looks fabulous with the buzzcut and shorter beard.

I don't think it's a good sign that NBC has programmed a family show like this in the 10pm spot, or that they're burning off all the eps so fast. But I appreciate that it even got a second season.

[alexa]

I liked it, but I feel like they are rushing it a bit, and instead of showing more of the contestants, they keep going back to the hosts to do some funny bit very frequently.  It is okay once in a while, but I find it distracting and would like to see more of the contestants and what they are doing.  I also think they always rush the reveals and I hardly get to see what they made.  Lastly, I thought the guy that made the chair should have won.  The screen didn't wow me, but maybe I missed something about it in the quick reveal.

[BusyOctober]

37 minutes ago, alexa said:

Lastly, I thought the guy that made the chair should have won.  The screen didn't wow me, but maybe I missed something about it in the quick reveal.

I agree!  The screen was OK, but I didn't see the "WOW" factor the judges did.  The chair or the paint brush sculpture were the WOWS for me.  Really, judges?!?  She used paint brushes to sculpt!

Eagan is adorable & I hope he goes far.  

So glad this happy show is back.  Amy & Nick are delightful, an the contestants are so sweet and kind to each other.  More of this type of "competition" shows please!

[LittleIggy]

That brush sculpture was definitely a WOW!

In the montage of Halloween costumes Eagon has done for his younger siblings, I noticed he had them kitted out as Queen one year! I wanted to hug him after he talked about being bullied.

[rhys]

Loved the Jordan sneaker. That was tres cool. Not sure how all of those fit the brief of childhood memories but ok.

Nick sure does nice work.

[dleighg]

2 minutes ago, rhys said:

Not sure how all of those fit the brief of childhood memories but ok.

I think it was hard for some of them-- I mean one person even said she was a reader as a kid, not a crafter (I think she's the one who went home). Not everyone goes seamlessly from "wanting to be an astronaut" to "being an astronaut" so to speak.

[tennisgurl]

I am so glad to have this show back, its such a fun happy show and its just in time for the holidays, when I love my fun happy stuff! Nick and Amy are so much fun, the contestants all seem very nice and very talented, and we are already off to a good start with a lot of really good projects. Personally I was rooting for the chair, but they all looked great. 

Eagan seems like such a sweet kid, his costumes for his siblings were adorable. I also loved the robot, it was such a cute freaking little toy. I goofily died laughing at Amy saying how she didnt trust that robot, and them cutting to the robot peeking at them from behind a bush with the dramatic music sting. 

[mlp]

7 hours ago, alexa said:

I liked it, but I feel like they are rushing it a bit, and instead of showing more of the contestants, they keep going back to the hosts to do some funny bit very frequently.  It is okay once in a while, but I find it distracting and would like to see more of the contestants and what they are doing.  I also think they always rush the reveals and I hardly get to see what they made.

I was going to say the same things.  I would much rather see what the crafters are doing than see too frequent cuts to Nick and Amy speaking scripted "funny" lines.  That became very annoying IMO.  I also wish the judges wouldn't gush about every single thing.

I think my favorite thing was the noodle puppet.  I also liked the robot a lot better than the wall hanging/screen that won.

[qtpye]

That Eagan kid is amazing. I did not agree with the screen winning the big challenge. To me, there were much better entries and her screen was tidy but basic. It also did not help it kind of matched the Etsy judge’s dress.

Aspen seemed nice but that clothes pin project was a hot mess.

Edited December 4, 2019 by qtpye