SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – A Santa Fe native is getting national attention for his DIY skills while using inspiration from his home state for a winning creation. Nikk Alcaraz is a food artist and content creator.

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“I take food and I create masterpieces that are mostly horror or witchy or magical themed, all year round,” said Alcaraz. Now he’s taking his skills from TikTok and Instagram to TV. Alcaraz competed on a recent holiday episode of HBO Max’s ‘Craftopia,’ a crafting competition show.

First, contestants were tasked with creating a Christmas tree topper. “I made a potion bottle levitate into a caldron that’s made out of a Bundt pan. And the potion bottle’s labeled ‘Xmas spirits,'” said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz said they had to make a Christmas village. While he lives in California now, he knew he wanted to model this piece after the Land of Enchantment.

“I built my village inspired by Santa Fe’s plaza but also the aliens in Roswell. And the 1950s and the Jetsons,” said Alcaraz. He built stucco buildings out of cardboard and sand and also added a church, to represent the cathedral in Santa Fe.

“To top it off it’s all on a cloud in the southwest,” said Alcaraz. “If it’s Christmas, I want to bring some of what I know. And what I know is in New Mexico, we have such a unique tradition for Christmas.”

The New Mexico-inspired display won Alcaraz the top spot, he won the competition and a $10,000 cash prize.

“I, honestly couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I felt honor like I was presenting honor to my family to my town, representing them, I was just so excited.” The episode Alcaraz won is streaming on HBO Max.

As for what’s next, Alcaraz said he’s going back to creating content on his social media pages called Practical Peculiarities. He is also in the process of writing a cooking craft book.