Valentine's Day CraftsMy little cousin Kate and her friend Bianca traveled all the way from Pittsburgh to visit New York City and to see Friday afternoon’s taping of our show. It was really neat to look through their pictures with them afterward and hear their perspective – having been behind the scenes for years, I forget how exciting it must be to sit in the audience and experience all that goes into the show coming together. They gave me permission to share some of their photos with you, so you can get an idea of what it’s like, and maybe get motivated to get some tickets yourself and come visit us!
1 The outside of the studio with a view of the Chelsea area of Manhattan
2 Being entertained in the audience waiting area
3 The audience store with exclusive TV merch!
4 Being seated in the studio
5 Kate and Bianca take a self-portrait with their audience pumpkin
6 View of the potting shed from audience
7 Major zoom-in on potting shed detail
8 View of prep and main kitchen areas
9 Lots of lights up there!
10 This is me, carrying the gilded nut wreath to the craft table
11 The craft table with the nut wreath set up
12 Chip and I talk about how long the ribbon should be on the un-gilded nut wreath
13 Martha answers questions after the show
The show featured here taped Friday the 6th and aired yesterday (Monday the 9th). All the information on segments from the show can be found here.
I was a bit intimidated to work on the craft segment Friday afternoon – I had never gilded anything with mica powder before. Hosanna assured me that it was easy, and when I tried it and realized how INCREDIBLY easy it was, I got a little hooked and I’m finding it hard not to gild everything in my house a la Donald Trump. Below is a tiny demonstration in photo-form of gilding one of the nuts for the wreath – try it!
1 Begin by painting on the "size" (fancy name for gilding adhesive), much like you would glittering glue. Place it on a cooling (drying) rack and walk away for a few minutes.
2 The size will turn clear when it's tacky and ready for mica powder. Depending on the humidity in the air, this can take between 5 and 25 minutes. The best part: it STAYS tacky like this for over 24 hours!
3 Dip a really soft brush in mica powder and lightly dust the surface you want to gild. For this project, I did a really fine dusting so you could see some of the nut's natural color, but you can go crazy and make the whole thing solid gold.
4 A group of walnuts which have been sized and dusted with Sunset Gold, Majestic Gold, and Sparkle Gold mica powders.
5 Really fabulous photo taken of all the gilded nuts, ready for their place on the wreath!
For the full project, and how to turn your gorgeous gilded nuts into a wreath, click here. We got all our mica powder and gilding supplies from Sepp Leaf Products, which is a fabulous source – you can either buy 100-gram jars of powder in a few colors (which will probably last you a lifetime, depending on how gild-y you are) or get a full kit with the size included and a sample of every color powder they offer. Fun!
From: Melanie @ Whimsical Creations | 11/10/09 at 10:49 am
Someday I would love to come to a taping of the show. I have never used mica power. Those nuts look beautiful gilded.
From: Jenni O | 11/10/09 at 1:58 pm
this sounds like so much fun, but remember the average reader is not a wholesaler! Sepp does not sell to the public. Any links to someone that sells their products?
From: Kirsten Earl | 11/10/09 at 2:15 pm
Jenni - on the right side of the page we link to, Sepp provides links for where to buy.
Happy gilding!
-Kirsten
From: Mieko | 11/10/09 at 6:03 pm
Wow, how creative! The colors are amazing.
Yeah, I'd love to go to NYC to see the taping. Someday!
From: MMC in San Diego | 11/10/09 at 11:14 pm
I'll be in NYC next week, and I tried *everything* I could long-distance to get tickets. . . .no luck!
I had about 3 weeks notice--apparently not enough time.
Any way to get last-minute tickets??!?
From: Theresa | 11/11/09 at 4:39 pm
Hello, it is actually scary that you posted this news just today! A friend of mine just asked me to come with him to NYC for a week in December. That is very exciting, but also a bit surreal. I immeditely checked the ticket reservation, but it was only possible to book in the week of the 14th December.
I am from Germany and this would be the only chance to go to the MarthaStewart Show for years. It would be one of my biggest dreams. Is there any chance to get a ticket in the time of 10th December to 13th December (on 12th or so???).
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
Yours, Theresa