Crafty Mama Queens are Crowned!

Several months ago we started looking for the craftiest mamas in Northwest Arkansas. And, boy, did we find ’em. We were blown away by how creative the submissions were. We saw photos of a wide range of projects, everything from refurbished chandeliers to tooth fairy boxes and even a zebra-striped ceiling! It was awesome, but it sure did make it hard for our panel of judges to decide who would win the Crafty Mama crown.

But, after much deliberation… the newly crowned Crafty Mama Queens are Brittany Phillips and Molly Clark of Fayetteville! (Insert pageant wave here.) These two ladies created a collage of their favorite spots around Northwest Arkansas. Each spot is represented with a hand-crafted tag and fastened to a wall canvas bearing a map of Fayetteville. Check it out:

Here are a few close-up shots of the tags. The judges were impressed with how much thought went into this project, and they said the execution was spot-on. There are tags for places including the Botanical Gardens, the Farmers Market in Fayetteville, Hog football, Old Main, Dickson Street, Bordinos, Richard’s Meat Market, George’s Majestic Lounge, Walton Arts Center and more.

I called Brittany to give her the good news and asked for the story behind this creative piece. She said she and Molly have been friends for a while and like to work on projects together. But busy schedules were making it tough to get together as much as they wanted, so this tag project solved the problem. Each of them worked on separate tags and then got together a few nights a week to collaborate and put it all together. That’s how this tribute collage to Fayetteville was born.

The collage was eventually auctioned off in a charity event and now belongs to Joe Fennel who owns Bordinos restaurant on Dickson Street.

Brittany is a designer at Doxa in Fayetteville and Molly runs her own Ebay store called Strange Young Pony. She also works as a home remodeler.

So congrats Brittany and Molly! You girls will enjoy a gourmet lunch at Cuisines Bistro in Rogers and you can follow that up with a $100 shopping spree at Signed Sealed Delivered, who sponsored the Crafty Mama Queen contest. (Signed Sealed Delivered is now located in the Shoppes at Pinnacle Hills, close to the Cold Stone Creamery and across the street from the Embassy Hotel.)

Thanks so much to all of you who submitted photos of your crafty projects. You all deserve the crown, if you ask me. The last thing I made was a crocheted potholder in the 7th grade, and that thing was pitiful. You ladies, on the other hand, have been blessed with real crafty talent.