and Jim Noonan (a.k.a. Professor Figgy) demonstrated some outstanding science experiments you can do with materials you have in your own home. Martha was crazy impressed. Be sure to catch her freaking out over the egg.

I worked on the Ice Wreaths, which is a project from the Martha archives. I'm sure this would be a really fun craft to do in the very chilly climates ... in a warm studio, I had trouble finding the freezer space!

Click here to watch the web exclusive behind-the-scenes of creating our snow day.

Aside from the Halloween Snowstorm of 2011, we've had very little snow in New York City, but we hear that a good portion of the US has had its share of snow already. Here are some more of my favorite snow day crafts from the past, for the next time you're stuck inside:

The classic paper snowflake - don't you always forget how to make them? This gallery shows you step-by-step.

These polar bear and muskox shadow puppets are appropriate for a snowy puppet show.

Make beads from bread, glue, and lemon juice. Really!

On snow days when I was a little girl, my mom used to give me wooden shapes she had collected at craft stores to paint with her "fancy" craft paints that I wasn't normally allowed to touch. What's your favorite thing to do when you're snowed in?

Recently on The Martha Stewart Show, we invited Erica Chan Coffman from the very popular blog Honestly...WTF to demonstrate the above glittered shoes with Martha. Who doesn't love a good project that upgrades your fashion into looking designer without spending too much? Since glittered shoes seem to be everywhere this fall, it's easy enough to DIY a pair in your closet.

And what better reward than to look out into the audience and see a group of ladies showing off their version of the craft! Visiting from Minnesota, this group of retired teachers, and friends for 30-plus years, caught my eye, and I wanted to share their handy work.

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1 From left: Judy Palke, Eva Kjear, Liz Lese, and Sherri Chrun, visiting New York City from Minnesota

2 Apparently they get together frequently and do crafts. Decorating shoes was their most recent gathering before their visit.

3 Ribbon is used to replace the shoe laces.

4 Iridescent orange glitter really makes these shoes pop.

5 The ribbon laces are a perfect match to the glitter.

6 Instead of rhinestones, pearls were used to embellish the toe. So cute!

photo by David M. Russell/Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

I had such a fun time on television demonstrating our new Martha Stewart Crafts Paint line with Martha. We made these beautiful crackled boxes—perfect for gifts and jewelry.

Beth writes: "Have you tried the crackle effect on the papier-mâché boxes or the jewelry cardboard boxes?"

The answer is yes, Beth. The boxes we used were a combination of real wooden boxes and the thicker sturdier papier-mâché boxes. The crackle effects will work on these surfaces, but be sure not to oversaturate your boxes so the paper does not warp as you work with it.

Weather crackled boxes

These boxes were created using one of our eight specialty effects. To create them, first paint the box with a base coat of a color of your choice. Then apply a layer of Weather Crackle Effect. Let dry completely, and brush one final coat of a contrasting paint color and watch the magic happen!

Weather crackle closeup

I especially love using the Fine Crackle Effect to create an old china and porcelain look.

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1 I especially love using the Fine Crackle Effect to create an old china and porcelain look.

2 Close-up of the Fine Crackle Effect.

3 A favorite trick of mine is to use our patterning tape to create a plaid. After the painting the box with our pearlized paint Eclipse, tape straight lines across the box. Paint between the the tape with our pearlized mother-of-pearl paint.

4 Remove the tape, and repeat the steps, now taping vertically. Peel the tape away to reveal the beautiful results.

5 I surprised Martha at the end of the show with a strand of 70 white pearls I had been collecting for over a year for her birthday. I hand-drilled each pearl and strung them on a leather cord.

6 A special shout out to Hosanna Houser and Barbara Fight for helping produce this segment; they love crafts!

7 Thanks to Martha and the crew for a fun day!

Jodi kicked off the week with Martha introducing the paint line and the amazing fact that it works on an array of surfaces (paper, wood, glass, and more...?). It's hard to believe, but it's true! This paint is different from anything on the market right now and is just downright amazing! And today Hannah Milman joins Martha to highlight Weather and Fine Crackle Effects, and the many ways they can be used.

The last behind-the-scenes gallery I posted seems to be very popular, so I thought I would share another one, with details of the rest of the crafts this week. I hope you enjoy! And now on to the gallery...

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1 The new paint line. All the colors of the rainbow, plus more!

2 A great way to see all the colors is to display them on shelves. These are RIBBA shelves from Ikea.

3 The whole display as it appears on set. Not only is there paint, but there are wonderful mediums, effects, and accessories as well.

4 The brushes, pouncers, sponges, and more! Having used a bunch of these, I have to say they are top-notch. A+ to the Martha Stewart design team!

5 Jodi Levine joined Martha yesterday on the show. Here is the preliminary discussion before finalizing the segment.

6 Process for Jodi's segment being prepared.

7 More process...

8 These are the prepped umbrellas that Jodi demoed on Monday's show.

9 The new Holiday Crafts book was just released! So many great craft projects (grouped by holiday) make it a must-have addition to any crafter's bookshelf.

10 Here is a project from the Holiday Crafts book that is getting prepped—a Bat Pinata.

11 A busy craft room.

12 Today Hannah Milman joins Martha on the show to highlight more of the paint line.

13 Test samples of the Weather Crackle Effect.

14 With the Weather Crackle Effect these cylindrical canisters look like faux bois.

15 A close up the Fine Crackle Effect.

16 Gradients of green paper being selected for Wednesday's project, which will highlight features of the Paper Trimmer.

17 More paper selections.

18 The small and large Circle Cutters ready for their moment in the spotlight.

19 Figgy preps the demo table for the Circle Cutters...

20 ...or should I say Circle Critters, which will be demoed on the show on Thursday.

21 These great artwork ideas are all done with circles. So fun and clever!

22 On Friday, Kristin is showing off the beautiful elements from her wedding (she is getting married the next day!). Kristin has made about 99.9 percent of the décor herself.

23 Kristin made use of the Martha Stewart Scoreboard to make her favors. She will have Martha help her finish up the final few and demo the process on Friday's show.

24 Kristin shows off the large version of the favor.

25 I think this gets the message across. A big shout out to all of you, the readers and viewers out there! Hope you enjoy the crafts on the show this week, and make sure to check out the daily deals at Michaels everyday.

1 Martha, Piper, and me with the umbrellas we "pounced" behind us.

2 Our stencils not only create beautiful designs, but they can help keep you organized!

3 Use Martha Stewart Crafts™ paint on any surface, including wood, metal, fabric, glass, and ceramic.

4 The Barnyard stencils we used today on the show make great wall art in a nursery or a kids room.

I just finished a great morning over at the TV studio—painting and stenciling with Martha and my crafty 11-year-old niece, Piper—a fun way to start the week! We paint-pounced umbrellas and totes and stenciled on a bunch of different surfaces. It’s Craft Week at The Martha Stewart Show on the Hallmark Channel. Be sure to tune in for new crafting ideas and a special offer from our friends at Michaels. Today through Friday, Michaels will have a 50-percent-off Daily Deal on one of our great craft products. Click here to see what you can save on today.

If you missed this morning’s show, you can still see our project ideas here.

Dani (in green) and The Art Studio ladies ...

You may know Dani from her many segments on The Martha Stewart Show—her cookies combine expert baking with sweet designs and a crafty flair.

Official Sweet Dani B Valentine cookies from Dani's recent appearance on the show

Dani also has her own flourishing cookie business. I personally enlisted her to design and bake the cookies for my recent baby shower—a nautical theme, like my little guy's nursery!

Fish, Whales, Lighthouses, and Anchors with a custom tag. Adorable!

Click through the slide show below to see our lovely experience at the workshop. I thought I would have an advantage with cookie décor, given my crafting background, but I have even more appreciation for Dani's skills after this—that icing is tricky!

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1 Dani welcomes us to the workshop.

2 My workspace, complete with supplies!

3 Dani demonstrates the first cookie—the heart—to some very serious little students (notice Dani's heart ring - nice touch!).

4 Action shot of the shake—important for icing distribution!

5 Gumdrops are added. The little girls killed me in their v-day garb.

6 So far so good—I even used pink! (my least favorite)

7 Templates for planning (I just winged it) and Dani's famous icing bottles.

8 Okay. I really wanted to fix that icing on the right, but it is what it is and still yummy. Next time, tweezers!

9 My mom designed a cookie for her sweetheart (she hates pink more than I do).

10 Adorable window decorations—wintery downtown Flemington in the background.

11 Too much cuteness. Pink barrette girl was ON IT.

12 Total ladybug cookie fail. I was talking to Dani's husband instead of paying attention to the demo!

13 I got the hang of it by the owl. I could seriously make those feathers ALL DAY. So fun!!

14 My mom totally nailed the owl as well. Her feathers looked even better because she used extra icing.

15 Clockwise from left: Dani, a really big me (oof), and a VERY-soon-to-be addition to the Martha family. Thanks, Dani!

Dani's a great (patient!) teacher, and everyone was an expert by the end, going home happy with their cute, yummy treats. Thanks to Dani, The Art Studio in Flemington, and my mom for a great day!

For more on Dani's workshops, to purchase cookies and cookie-decorating kits, or to download a free owl cookie template, visit www.sweetdanib.com.

(for full instructions, click here)

Today's episode featured lots of Valentine's Day ideas to share with the sweethearts in your life.  Click here to find local listings (and for Jim's full post on roses, click here).

I took the cardboard from the box and made a faux-bois log container with our initials carved in. I haven't decided what will go inside, being that "the gift" is a bit too big, but I luckily have some time to fit the perfect thing.

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As I sat at my desk upcycling my box, the others around me started to whip up their valentine cards too...

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1 Hosanna layered paper in her favorite punching colors to create her valentine.

2 She used a variety of Martha Stewart Crafts border punches to get the perfect heart doily effect.

3 Chip Glynn, one of our TV set stylists, made an oversize stamp with an old photo of Grandma.

4 He plans to send it off to his mom—oh how cute!!

5 One of our TV art interns, Miya Chua, who studies at Bennington College, in Vermont, used tears from a vintage book to make a sweet card for her valentine. Maybe one day he will trot up on horseback and whisk her away!

Making the CDs is inexpensive and easy. First, choose a dozen or so crowd-pleasing songs and purchase from an Internet music resource such as iTunes.* Pick up a stack of blank CDs and some sets of Avery CD labels and inserts. Make a playlist on your computer, and burn away while you drink eggnog.

Now comes the fun part: designing the label and insert. I used Microsoft Word, Avery templates, and some clip art from microsoft.com (shown above)—nothing extra-professional or fancy—and got great results. The back of the CD insert can be printed with the playlist; in place of clip art, you can use your own art, your kids' art, or family photos to decorate the CD and case.

You may want to center your songs around a theme, such as Instrumental Only (The Boston Pops, Canadian Brass), Lounge-y Cocktail Party (Dean Martin's "Baby it's Cold Outside," Kay Starr's "(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man with the Bag"), Modern Classics  (Mariah's "All I Want for Christmas is You," Wham's "Last Christmas," Paul McCartney's "Wonderful Christmastime"). Knock a bunch of people off your list at once, and have fun getting in the spirit while you hunt down the ideal music for your family and friends.

*Please note: Each purchased song may have restrictions on how many times it can be burned to CD; if you have a big family, you may have to pay that $1 twice or more. NEVER download or gift music illegally!

Recently our promo for the new season on Hallmark started to air. But in case you have missed it, here it goes:

Also there is this little behind the scenes video of the promo shoot that was put together that cracks me up:

Kristin and I got a kick watching these since we spent some solid days stenciling all those boxes!

Also with the move to Hallmark, the show has upgraded to high-definition, which will be amazing for viewing all sorts of details. Needless to say there has also been some activity on set to get ready for the new season.

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1 This area used to have an overhang, but it was removed to make better use of the space.

2 Also there is now a solid wall and it is green. But anything can happen, and there could be a fireplace there by winter.

3 This is the Whatever with Alexis & Jennifer set. The new show will be joining us on the Hallmark Channel.

4 It literally unfolds and is placed in front of our set. It's pretty impressive to watch the process. You can just make out the MARTHA Craft Room in the far right.

5 Here Lenore (top-notch producer), Jim (fab new member to TV crafting team), and Joey (awesome stage manager) are doing one of our first rehearsals. In HD! You can see EVERYTHING!

6 Oh, I forgot to mention something this summer....

7 The show won an Emmy during the summer for OUTSTANDING LIFESTYLE PROGRAM. Bravo to Martha and all the amazing producers that I work with!!

We are looking forward to our 6th Season (yeah!) and hope that everyone will join us!