Hello, crafty friends. We tuned into Network Ten’s new show Making It Australia this week, and let us tell you – we learnt a heap. Read our thoughts on the first two episodes below, or pop over to 10 play to watch them for yourself.

If you’re after scandalous love triangles, screaming matches and dramatic music, then this show is not for you. It’s super-wholesome, family-friendly content that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. The 13 contestants are pretty much always smiling, and the hosts – comedians Harley Breen and Susie Youssef – regularly crack dad jokes.

Dad jokes aside, it’s clear that the contestants are uber talented (case in point: animator Rizaldy has worked for Disney!). That’s going to make eliminating a contestant each episode a tricky task for judges Deborah Riley and Benja Harney, and naming the eventual $100,000 prize winner even more difficult.

These folks sure have a spiffy taste in fashion. Our favourite outfits so far include graphic designer Rehana’s green fish print trousers and panda shirt, mixed media artist Sai-Wai’s red boiler suit, and Rizaldy’s seemingly endless supply of colourful printed shirts.

We’re relieved that drop bears are merely an urban legend, because scrap metal whiz Andrew’s vision of the mythical creature is absolutely terrifying. Sai-Wai’s panda snacking pillow, on the other hand, is delightful. We haven’t yet decided how we feel about architect Jack’s fruit bat disco prawn…

You’re never too old to enjoy billy carts and cubby houses. Seriously – who wouldn’t want to climb into a dollhouse-inspired cubby, or aboard a moving rocket pirate ship? In fact, we’re thinking the next time we tune into Making It, we’ll be watching from the comfort of our own fantasy cubbies. 

Despite feeling like we’ve tried every crafty activity and DIY under the sun over the past year or so (particularly during lockdowns), there’s so much more to create. Making It is a treasure trove of inspiration, proving that you can invent something interesting out of pretty much anything. Huzzah!