Scrapbook Memories on PBS

I am a bad scrapbooker.  Seriously.  They should drum me out of the corps. 

I spent all day on the set of Scrapbook Memories and I didn’t take almost any photos!  I think I was trying to be “professional” and I figured it would be geeky to be snapping away and asking people to pose for photos with me.  Although, on second thought, who would be more understanding than Scrapbook Memories?!  Not to mention the fact that these were some of the nicest, most encouraging folks!  Regardless, I got some photos of the set up, but almost none with human beings in them.

This is the “Green Room.”  It’s the staging and waiting area. It’s a mass of tables with each new person being assigned a “station” to set up their stuff.  You can see that I've marked "my" corner with an arrow.

On the first day, I was told to lay out my projects in piles – one for each of the seven segments.  You can see the piles here:

On the second day, I was given large metal trays (like the kind you might see caterers use) for each project.  This is how all the stuff for each segment gets to the set.  A very clever idea (but I didn’t take any photos).  For future reference (should I ever be lucky enough to be asked to appear again), many of the guests were working on their projects in the Green Room.  So, I needn’t have stayed up until 4am the night before I flew in doing all the last minute finishes.  Live and learn, eh?

As you can see, the Green Room also had racks for clothing.  I went through my selections with Katherine and she compared each of my outfits to the outfit the host was wearing for that segment so that we wouldn’t clash or match, but rather complement each other.

Two things to note about the photo below...

1. Behind that white wall is a little nook for changing your clothes. 
2. That TV shows live feed from the recording studio.  So I was able to watch all the previous guests.

Oh!  I almost forgot!  When I arrived in the morning, I was taken to the makeup room.  The makeup artist did my face and asked if she could pluck my eyebrows (something my Mother has been trying to do for years).  I thought about it. I’ve never plucked before.  And I decided to give it a try.  She swore that it would open up my eyes and make me look more professional and polished.  Can you see a difference?

(Besides the fact that I’m wearing foundation and eyeshadow and lipstick and blush?)  Looking at these photos makes me laugh!  My face looks so smooth and colorless and I guess I'm just not used to seeing myself wearing any makeup!  I can't tell if it's that or the eyebrows...?

In any case, I spent the morning in the Green Room.  I worked on a beaded necklace and chatted with a lovely gal named Brittany, from Colorbök.  She’s an illustrator and designer for Colorbök (which has a "green" line coming out with all sorts of eco-friendly products), though not a scrapbooker (but more on that later).  (And again, I was too nervous to take a photo.)  She was scheduled to go last (what a trooper) and sat around all day long.  Originally, she was scheduled to film before me, but because she drove and they were worried about me catching my flight, she agreed to go at the end of the day.  Thank you Brittany!

They kept us fed in the morning with bagels and fruit.

For lunch, we climbed up to the top of the building and sat in a lovely atrium like room (so sunny and wonderful) and ate sandwiches.  After lunch it was my turn in the studio.  Here are some photos of the actual studio...

 

The top photo is of the set.  This is what you see when you walk in.  You can see that I've circled the tall table, which is where I taped all my segments.  Follow the red arrow to a side view of that table.  You can see all of the cameras and lights and stuff.  And the bottom right photo is the view from directly behind the desk looking out at the camera.

Before each segment, I would change into my assigned outfit.  A very nice guy (whose name escapes me at the moment) would run a mic down the back of my shirt (with the mic pac not so comfortably shoved in the back of my pants - how do reality show people live with it?) and around to the front.  Then, I would go over the project and the samples with the producer (Kathy) and the host (either Beth or Julie).  Kathy would then arrange the product and the samples on the table and describe the basics of what she wanted to have happen during the segment.  Then she would disappear into a back room and the host and I would get ready to tape the segment.

So, here's the part where I brag...

I only needed one take.

I'm very proud of that.  I managed to do every single segment in only one take!  The day before, Kathy and Katherine had been very concerned about my flight and the fact that it might be cutting it close.  But, I finished in record time and had absolutely no problem making the flight!

Honestly, I'd like to say that it's because I'm *that* talented, but I think it was that I did the proper prep work.  I designed each project and then made samples for each step of the project.  Then, I practiced doing the technique "on camera" - without stopping and while talking through it.  I did some troubleshooting at this point - like what supplies I absolutely had to have on hand and how to explain some of the more complicated concepts in a simple way, etc.  So, I was super prepared by the time I got to the set!

The hosts, Beth Madland and Julie McGuffee (by the way there were THREE Julies taping and it got a bit hilarious and confusing) were both so very nice.  Here are photos from the set with Julie (top) and Beth (bottom)...

You know how sometimes you see people on TV and wonder if they're as nice as they seem?  Well, these ladies definitely are.  They were so complimentary about my work and really liked my off-beat artsy fartsy style, which was incredibly gratifying. I had been nervous that my stuff might be a little too weird for the show, but they were enthusiastic about it.  It was a great confidence booster!

But, the biggest coup of the day came from Brittany from Colorbök.  After recording one of the segments, I walked into the Green Room to change.  Brittany and I had discussed scrapbooking earlier in the day, but then she said the magic words, "Okay, you've converted me. I'm going to get out my wedding photos and scrapbook them."  Woo Hoo!  I don't mean to sound like I'm standing on a soapbox, but I believe that scrapbooking has a place in everyone's life.  Whether it's an art journal, a photo album with a couple lines scribbled at the bottom, or 12x12 album after 12x12 album, it's always a good thing to put words to your memories with an artistic flair. The following is something I say a lot, but it's because I believe it 100%:

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but everyone's thousand words are different.  So write yours down!

The new season of Scrapbook Memories doesn't start until March 2009.  So, you'll have to wait quite a while to judge the outcome of my little TV adventure for yourself!  Overall, I had a great time.  Everyone was so encouraging and friendly.  It was lovely.

Thanks for stopping by!