Carol Duvall 1/15/2002

HGTV: Welcome to HGTV's hosted chat. Today we're chatting with Carol Duvall, host of the Carol Duvall Show. Hello, Carol, and welcome back.

Carol Duvall: Well, thank you! It's been a very long time!

Question: You had someone on that made ribbon roses a very easy way. Where would I find that online?
CD: I'm so sorry, I don't know to which episode you are referring, because I have made ribbon roses, Ellie Joos has made ribbon roses, Candace Kling has made ribbon roses, and our regular ribbon flower lady Helen Gibbs has made ribbon roses. So I'm not sure which one you thought was the easiest. Perhaps if you look up their names on our show schedule, you can check out the directions that each one gave. Sorry I can't be more specific.

Q: Hi, Carol, love your show. I have a question about needle tatting. How do you start learning it? The only booklet I've found was for old hands at it, and I would like to get started doing something simple. Please help I really want to get started. Thanks a lot.
CD: Check out the Carol Duvall Show when Barbara Foster was our guest. She has several booklets, one of which is for beginners. Also, the directions on the Web site on the days she appeared might be all the help you'll need. I had a number of viewers who sent me samples of some needle tatting that they did after watching Barbara on the show.

Q: Hi Carol, I love your show, and I think you are just a delight! I would love to know how to make the safety pin and bead jewelry, especially the American flags that are so popular right now. thanks. :)
CD: The directions for the flag pin made with safety pins and seed beads are still on the HGTV Web site. Search for Patriotic Pins. Beyond that, Suzanne McNeil has several booklets on making safety pin and seed bead jewelry. Check with your craft store. The name of her publishing company is Design Originals.

Q: Hi Carol! I like that idea of using the acrylic and double stick tape to attack the rubber stamps. Hopefully I can find the acrylic blocks. Would regular double stick tape work ok? (sounding blonde here)
CD: LOL!!! That's very funny! It's not a dumb question. No, I would not use regular double-stick tape. Halo stamps are made using hook and loop tape, known to the rest of us a Velcro. If you want to experiment, you might try using our favorite Red Liner tape that you find at your rubber stamp store. I've not tried it for this purpose, but it's so strong, it just might be worth trying. Red Liner is just one of the names it goes by. You can recognize it because the peel-off portion is a deep rose color. It comes in 9x12 sheets as well as several different tape widths.

Q: Will you be doing anything with LazerTran in the near future? Also, I'd like to know how to RESCUE problem projects like scorched polymer or imperfect rubber stamp impressions. And where would I find precious metal clay -- it's not in my local craft store?
CD: We had one guest use the LazerTran, but I don't believe we have anything else scheduled. As far as scorching polymer clay projects, I'm afraid unless you can repaint and cover up the scorch, there's no way to undo the damage. Not knowing the details, I can't really say, but just do your stamp again more carefully. Possibly some of the rubber stamping books might give some advice on how to avoid this. As for the silver clay, we're hoping to do some more segments on the show. Even though unfortunately it's not readily available, I do have a booklet that gives an address for questions. Whether they would have your answers, I don't know, but it's PMC Service Area, Rio Grande 7500 Bluewater Road NW, Albuquerque, NM 87121. An 800 number is given, that might be easier. It's 1-800-545-6566. I hope this will be helpful.

Q: Hi, Carol. I'm planning a baby shower for my daughter. I would like the favors to be something everyone can use. Any suggestions?
CD: The best I can suggest at the moment would be to check out the Web site for baby shower ideas on our show. We have had a number of them, most presented by Ellie Joos, but I can't easily describe any just verbally. I hope you can find help there.

Q: In the episode from yesterday, Jan. 14, the product from Decart "Stop Flow Primer" was used. Where can one purchase this item? The link in the Web page does not go anywhere. I did a search on the Internet but am unable to locate it?
CD: I'm sorry to tell you that since that show was taped, the product has been discontinued. However, you might check with the company about other available products that would work. The number to call is 1-800-232-3352.

Q: How do I give my projects that extra "finished" look to sell them, should they be boxed? Shops often want to use their own tags, should I attach one anyway?
CD: That's a little tricky to answer without having any idea what your product is, or the size of it, or the kind of store that would carry it. In any case, I would think it would be to your advantage to have your own tag on it. Perhaps the stores to which you would be selling it can give you the answers to meet their needs.

Q: Hi Carol I was on your Christmas show this year and gave you a Santa with a sock monkey. I just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy your show . And tell everyone you are as nice in person as you are on TV. Thanks so much!
CD: Oh! I'm so glad to hear from you! Your name and address are sitting on my desk top as we speak, because I wanted to write to you to tell you what a place of honor on my living room bookshelf your Santa and Sock Monkey spent the holidays. They were a wonderful addition and I really appreciated your generosity. If you don't receive the thank you note that I've been meaning to write, you'll know it's because I'm using this as an excuse -- I thanked you on the Internet, and I really mean thank you.

Q: You once talked about some trays that Linda used to organize her rubber stamps. I am having a great deal of trouble finding those trays and was wondering if you could help me find them somewhere.
CD: We purchased ours at Bed Bath & Beyond, but I'm sure there must be other stores that also carry them. The secret is in looking at the right time of year, because they are sold as outdoor summertime entertaining trays. They are large and made of a very heavy-duty plastic. I still use mine for rubber stamps. They are great, but wait until spring.

Q: This summer at the Peninsula Fine Arts Center, we are hosting the Embroiders Guild of American's annual exhibition. Would love to have you make an appearance. Who might I talk to about this possibility?
CD: You'd contact HGTV, who in turn will contact me, but it depends if you're talking about a personal appearance for me or whether you meant our cameraman.

Q: What is the most difficult project you ever made?
CD: I don't know if I can answer that off the top of my head. Once I've completed a project and been successful, then I think it wasn't so hard after all. Perhaps the biggest challenge I gave myself was the geodesic dome playhouse that I had seen in a catalog for $48. I wanted to duplicate it for less. Fortunately, I was able to, but it took a lot of remembering my high school math, finding substitutes for materials, etc. etc. Difficult but successful! Therefore, it was fun.

Q: Hello, Carol. I recently saw you on one of your shows, construct a needlepoint tote from two place mats. I did that project and absolutely loved it!! Any other suggestions or ideas using the place mats to make organizers?
CD: First of all, thank you. I'm glad you liked it, and that it was a successful project for you. At the moment, I don't think we planned on any further place mat organizers, but now that you've fed my ego, we might give it further thought! Thank you.

Q: At the end of last week, you had an episode featuring a lady painting beautiful glass bowls and glassware (wine glasses). What is the episode number?
CD: We've been checking, and I believe it was episode 1131. In our checking, we discovered that for some reason, the directions aren't there. We'll check on that and see if there's any way to rectify the error. Please be patient and check back again later on if you can and we'll find out if the directions went astray or if for some reason the guest did not give them to us. I'm very sorry. (NOTE from HGTV: The episode number is actually CDS-1132.)

Q: Carol, I am in the process of starting a self-funded family craft show on one of the local channels here in Colorado. Can you give me suggestions on getting started, finding the right sponsors, project ideas, etc.? Thanks. The purpose of this show is to bring families together doing projects, spending quality time together.
CD: First of all, congratulations! That's wonderful. As for finding sponsors, I would think that you would have to go through the sales department for that. Perhaps if you talk to some local people and check out their interest, then you could refer the station's salesmen to them. Better check with the station first to see what their attitude is on this sort of thing. As far as project ideas, if you're a crafter, and I'm sure you must be, you experiment, you think, you try, you ask friends, you go to other crafters... And where I get many of my ideas is from looking through catalogs, seeing items that apparently are popular, and then try to do my own version. Not a copy--but my own version of that particular item. The more you do, the more offers, the more help will come to you. Good luck!

Q: I wanted to find out if there are tickets available for other shows besides at Christmas time...
CD: Not to my show, I'm sorry to say. Ordinarily we tape in a very small studio where the cameramen are practically backed up to the back wall. For the holiday live shows, we are able to be in a much larger place that accommodates an audience. Maybe someday, but not now.

Q: How do I get a hot glue gun because I am new to the USA, and I don't know the place?
CD: Any craft store sells glue guns, even some hardware stores sell them, or craft departments in stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart.

Q: I'm looking for instructions to make a homemade wedding album as a gift. Do you have these instructions? You know, the ones that you decorate from a regular photo binder? Thank you.
CD: I'm sure that at some time, we've done that on the show, but you'd have to check on our Web site. Off hand, I could not tell you the show number.

Q: I am interested to know if it is possible to give the corresponding number with the project that is being shown at time of broadcast.
CD: I agree with you, that's the way it should be. And I promise you, I will keep asking. For now, note the week number for the episode. Go to hgtv.com and click on the "On TV" link. There you'll find an option to search by week number. This will give you an entire week's worth of episodes from which to choose. Hope this helps.

Q: Will you be accepting decorated eggs for your Easter show? If yes, what is the address to send them? Deadline?
CD: Our Easter shows for this Easter have already been taped. However, you can send in your ideas at any time, and we will fit them into the appropriate taping schedule.

Q: My daughter is getting married in June, and I need a unique favor idea.
CD: I'm frantically searching my memory for some of the clever ideas we've had, but I know the last one that a viewer sent in was based on a show project of ours that had nothing to do with weddings. What so many do is take an idea that they see and adapt it to a different use. I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm going in circles, but so often this is exactly how ideas of this type happen. There was however a show a few seasons back that was devoted to this kind of thing. The guest was Mo Reinig. You might check her name out on the Carol Duvall Show list. Also, our director did all of the items for her wedding. You might check that out as well. I can't remember what her favors were.

Q: I am interested in getting directions for making a Moravian star. Do you have any available?
CD: We showed one a couple of years ago on one of our Christmas Workshop shows. Check out the 200 series -- that would be CDW-205.

Q: How would you send a handmade card that would be damaged in a regular envelope?
CD: I'd sent it the same way I received one yesterday -- no kidding! It was in a box in foam peanuts. In fact, I have received several cards that were sent like gifts as far as the wrapping was concerned.

HGTV: Well, everyone, our chat hour has ended. Thank you for asking such great questions today. And thank you, Carol, for taking time to answer them.

Carol Duvall: Indeed my pleasure! Fun talking with all of you again! And just in case the person looking for the glass painter is still in the room. The episode number is CDS-1132, and the segment is called Coule.