Chip Wade - Expert Craftsman

So many people have a to-do list of home improvement projects they would like to complete, but without the right directions and materials, people can become discouraged and let these tasks fall by the wayside. I’m happy to be partnering with Dremel to provide Americans with the tool solutions, project ideas and expert advice they need to successfully cross projects off their lists for an accomplished 2011.

While my ‘Tackling America’s To-Do List’ video series will live primarily on the Dremel Facebook page, videos will also be available on the Dremel brand’s YouTube channel. Project steps highlighted in the videos will be available for download on www.Dremel.com as an easy reference for consumers seeking to start their own home improvement projects. I’ve also had a great time giving advice to DIYers on the Dremel Facebook page and hosting live chats on Twitter.

I love this ‘Tackling America’s To Do List’ stat: Men and women are motivated by different goals when approaching DIY projects. Women select projects that organize clutter (24%) while men focus on fixing broken items (14%). Dremel has tons of great info like this and project steps to help Americans tackle their top home improvement projects.

And as it’s almost fall, an ideal time to tackle a DIY project, everyone should check out the videos and more. Head here for step-by-step project instructions

Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any more exciting than it already was, my wife Pauli and I welcomed our newest bundle of joy Maria into the world exactly 1 week ago! And so far, believe it or not, baby number two has been easier to handle than the first time around. (How long this lasts remains to be seen!)

I also wrapped up the last day of Season 4 of HGTV’s Curb Appeal about two weeks ago. Thanks again to the incredible crew that makes this program possible and thanks to everyone for tuning in to HGTV and making this show a success! The smiles on our faces in this picture should reveal how relieved we are to finish another quality season.

In the meantime, I’ve also become a spokesperson for Dremel Tools , an incredibly impressive manufacturer of versatile, powerful tools and accessories. We recently had a live Dremel DIY chat on Twitter and Facebook to bring some insight, inspiration, and tips to everyone participating. It was a fun time and I’ll be sharing some of the highlights from the chat here on my blog next week.

My last update is about my upcoming appearance on HGTV Design Star that I mentioned in an earlier post. I will be helping out on this upcoming Monday, September 5th’s episode at 9:00 PM Eastern time. If you have been keeping up with Design Star this season, then you already know it has been highly competitive. Make sure you all tune in and let me know how I did- I’ll be posting more very soon!

It’s been a very eventful month to say the least. I think I set the record for the most flights between San Francisco & Atlanta and I was involved in an accident on the freeway that thankfully brought no injury- praise God!

Between the traveling and surviving the roads, I’ve managed to sneak my way inside the sixth and current season of HGTV Design Star. My episode airs in a few weeks, but start watching now to have a frame of reference for the show. New episodes of Design Star air every Monday at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

To provide a little background, HGTV Design Star is where 12 contestants, who are talented interior designers, contractor, stylists and artists, fight to win their own show on HGTV. They have to impress the judges throughout the competition in some pretty difficult challenges in order to claim the victory.

What am I doing on my episode? I don’t want to give away any of the details, but let’s just say I don’t envy the pressure that these contestants face. Make sure to visit the official Design Star page on the HGTV website for more details and schedules- and let me know what you think when my episode airs!

Despite a little rain here and there, I had a great time at Sunset Celebration Weekend 2011 in Menlo Park, CA. After filming Curb Appeal: The Block in San Francisco, I’m used to the bay area weather!

Luckily, we had the refuge of the Mohawk Artful Home Pavilion for when the light showers hit. Inside the Pavilion, me and my fellow HGTV personality Taniya Nayak met with visitors and showed off vignettes that we designed.

In fact, Taniya and I even squared off in a friendly design competition as visitors voted on which design they preferred- my rustic Northern California-inspired vignette versus Taniya’s cozy Southern California-styled vignette.

We had a great time, shared a lot of laughs, and answered many design/DIY questions for everyone who came. I even took the stage to present “The Weekend Renovation: Easy, Budget-Friendly Fixes” on both days.

The visitors were incredible, I had a great time speaking on stage, and I got to show off my design skills. Not to mention, my vignette ended up receiving the most votes making me the Sunset Celebration champ!

Thanks again to everyone who came out and I hope this weekend gave everyone some inspiration to take home.

I’ve teamed up with Mohawk and DuPont to introduce a revolutionary and extraordinary new class of carpet called SmartStrand. Triexta is unique in that it combines both exceptional durability with permanent built-in stain and soil protection- no other fiber can make this claim.

And it’s also eco-smart! It’s made with a renewable resource, corn. It requires less energy to make and reduces our dependency on oil. SmartStrand DuPont carpets are inherently and incredibly soft.

To prove how durable and stain resistant SmartStrand carpets are, we put it to the ultimate test- a 2,800 pound African black rhino and six of his elephant friends who challenged SmartStrand during our recent SmartStrand Zoo Challenge.

Who do you think won the challenge? That’s right, SmartStrand won!