Paula Sands Live : Featuring Chicken Scratch Studio

Quick - take my pic! Getting ready to go on PSL!

On July 28th I had the opportunity to be a part of the TV show Paula Sands Live.  Now if you aren't from the QC area (which I'm not) you would have little idea about what this show is!  But let me tell you, if you're from the QC, Paula Sands is a local celebrity, a ton of people at the market have told me she's the QC's Oprah! So to put it simply...I was on Oprah (kinda) ;).

The Freight House Farmer's Market in davenport asked if I would like to be featured on the show, and I thought it would be an awesome experience, how often do you get to be on TV talking about a hobby you love!? So the weekend before I did some mad shopping to find just the right outfit to be TV ready, and something that would really pop with the jewelry pieces I wanted to wear! Once the outfit and jewelry was picked around 11pm, I started my practice display at home on my dining room table! Nothin like 1am for getting ready for a TV debut ;)!

Practice set up the night before.

So after the practice set up was complete, I packed the bins loaded the car and headed to bed around 3am! The next day I was a bit tired, but nothing a little concealer couldn't cover! My mom met me at my house around 2pm and we were on the road!  Along the way we joked about how I had come a long way since 4 years ago when this little hobby/personal business had started...

Set up on the set of PSL.

Long story short, the first booth I ever set up was at an outdoor boys basketball tournament.  I was so excited, wide eyed, thinking hundreds of items would be sold and my business would be off to a lucrative start.  My Dad let me borrow a bank tent to set up under and I used tables from my Mom's school.  We loaded up their van and drove to the parking lot where the "event" was going to be held.

I had carnival visions in my head the whole morning...our van would pull in early and set up in our "prime" location next to all of the other thriving business'. The smell of funnel cakes would fill the air as thousands of shoppers viewed my work, and of course all bought at least a few pieces.  Once there we realized the tent my Dad had brought was for grass use only, so my booth was now on the grassy knoll next to my "spot" the 1,000 of customers ended up being 1,000's of boy basketball players with their Dad's watching them play.

The heat index was 113, the asfalt was scorching and sales...well, sales were non existent. After spending 6 hours in the heat,  glaring across the parking lot to the only other vendor, who was beating me in sales with BALLOONS and GATORADE one very nice Mom, bought a pendant. $10.00 later, my pride a little hurt, and my vision of a thriving business sinking slowly to the pit of my stomach...my parent's said, "Well it's only up from here!" We all had a good laugh and packed the van with just as much as we came with :)!

Tornado toilet, and getting ready to go on air!

So anyway, we get to the show, set up my items for PSL in about 5 minutes flat, then go back to the "green room" through a garage and into a bathroom that appeared to be lighted by only a night light.  I freshened up my makeup while my Mom and I laughed about the toilet sounding like a tornado...and we joked about how this must be what it's like to be famous.  In to the waiting room we went, where we discovered a chair that obviously has been waiting about 40 years for it's TV debut!

The chair waiting since 1975 to get on PSL.

The assistant came to get me, and flash, bang, boom I was on! Paula was really nice, and the interview went really smooth.  They dont really tell you much before you go on, just a hand up your shirt, a mike clipped on, and then seconds before she said, "Just look at me!"  So the whole time during the clip you can see me trying my hardest not to take my eyes off her face! I wasn't really nervous thank goodness! When all was said and done, I was really proud and glad my mom could be there to see, that maybe, just maybe, the booth at the basketball tournament 4 years ago was worth it!

The big moment! Moving my hand the whole time while I spoke!

When the interview was over, all of the stage hands just swopped in and took all of my stuff off the table! We only had about 2 minutes to clear it all away til Paula was back on live! So glass in hand, my Mom and I crept over to the weather booth to start the pack away process...little did we know that weather was going on air in 3 minutes, so Paula comes high-tailing it across the set telling us we have to move, and the NOT-SO-HAPPY weather man looks as though he wishes a bolt of lightening would knock us away from his area! :) Afterwards we loaded the car, I let out a sigh of relief and we celebrated with dinner and drinks at Cafe Indigo.

Drink please! Tasted great after a long day of nerves!

We joked that maybe someone would pick up the tab, being as though they had seen me on PSL (Oprah).  No such luck but the day was filled with awesome memories and will be a moment I will never forget!

If you get the chance, check out my Sister's blog, she wrote an awesome post about my experience (it made me cry) and she and her hubby have been doing a ton of work on their house with fun projects while getting ready for baby!

Also my Market friend Sarah Cutler from Seeded Earth was on PSL yesterday. She makes the most amazing flower arrangements! Check out her blog Seeded Earth or stop down to the farmer's market to buy her gorgeous flowers!

I've been slacking lately but taking tons of pictures, so get ready for more posts of my back and front yard redo, old door flower box project, closet clean out, and new dinning room chandelier!

Going Green in Italy!

Scooter in Cortona

While visiting Italy it seemed like everything was brighter more vibrant and full of beautiful color.  It could be that the day I left Iowa it was 76 degrees grey and drizzling out.  I was inspired by all of the amazing colors in nature and have tried to bring that into my glass work once I returned home. If you've been reading my blog for some time now you'll remember last year when I started to lose my color inspiration and went outdoors to find something fresh, like these gorgeous flowers!

Well "Going Green" in Italy wasn't me trying to save the planet...but trying to get out, and get images of new flowers, colors, and interesting things to inspire...enjoy.

Pink Bunch in Venice at the Glass Expo

Yellow in Cortona.

Purple Pokey.

Tree with glass jewels at the Glass Expo.

Cactus and Red Poppy at Hotel in Cortona.

Basket of flowers in Rome.

Purple and white and everything nice!

Perfectly Pink!

At the Street Race in Florence.

Vines over a hotel entrance in Rome.

Outside the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice.

Fuchsia in Rome.

Stair Steps in Cortona.

Flowers along the water in Murano.

Wild Red Poppies in Cortona.

Wall Flowers...

My favorite the "Crazy Flower" in Cortona.

Mask Maker, Mask Maker, Make me a Mask!

While in Venice, Italy we wandered through the narrow cobble stone streets to find the Mask Maker's shop tucked away in a quiet corner. Once there and through the large hand carved wooden door, the room expanded into a vaulted ceiling with masks galore dangling from the rafters. If you lack an affinity for clowns this would not be the place for you...

We all got settled in our seats and waited for instruction to begin. The process was simple, the mask base was pre-made in numerous shapes and styles. We selected what style we wanted, the metallic under coat for it to be sprayed (instead of foiled - due to time constraints) and then picked the colors we wanted to paint and our designs were up to our imaginations.  After all the painting was complete we had our choice of glitter colors to add dimension to the masks.

Amazing sketches on the studio walls.

Cheese kids!

I selected a feminine mask with some flare above the right eyebrow. I was in the mood for turquoise because of the shirt I was sporting that day, and a few polka-dots seemed like a great decision. Lets get started:

Blank Canvas

Silver Metallic Undertones

Paint, Paint, Paint.

Polka-Dots...I think so!

Paint was taking a little time to dry...

Almost there!

Before I added the final touches to my mask it needed a bit of time to dry.  It seemed like the perfect opportunity to sneak around and look at all the other people's work! Some examples are below:

I love how different each mask is!

Why soooo serious.....?

So many great ideas with different styles and colors - awesome work! A few pictures of my finished mask follow - stay tuned for more from my trip to Italy!

So much fun! :)

Veggies and Rice and Everything Nice!

I've been going through pictures from my trip and putting together an Italian food blog, however in the process I made one of my favorite healthy recipes - so I thought I'd share.  This "Veggies and Rice and everything Nice" meal is about the easiest thing on the planet to make,  it comes out looking like you've labored in the kitchen for hours - which makes the people who eat it appreciate you THAT much more :). Did I mention it tastes amazing!? Now you'll notice from the pictures I've done a great job of keeping the images cropped in tight to hide the mess I tend to make in the kitchen! I may not be a tidy cook but thats what dogs (I mean brooms) are for ;)!

Ingredients you'll need:

Fat Free Italian Dressing (get the no name brand and save 2 bucks - $1.99)!
"Rice Sides" Herb and Butter Packaged Rice (Walmart $1.00)
Veggies of your liking I chose : Sliced Baby Portabella Mushrooms, Peppers, Red Onions, Broccoli, and Zucchini. (about $5.00 for all of these)
Seasoning to taste (I recommend Mrs Dash)

Total cost for 2 Meals = $8.00

To start you will take your Portabella Mushrooms and put them in the skillet. Cover with about a 1/4 cup of FF italian Dressing. I don't use any oil or butter when I cook the FF dressing will keep the mushrooms moist enough so they don't burn. You'll want to stir them around for about 5 minutes on a medium heat. While the mushrooms are cooking get your water boiling for the rice.

Follow the VERY SIMPLE instructions on the rice bag.  It should only take 7 minutes to cook and then it will be just the right temperature when your veggies are complete.  If the rice you use calls for any additional oil leave it out. Water is all you need to cook rice.

Now that your rice is off and running, get your knife and start chopping! Start with veggies that have less of a water content and will take longer to cook such as broccoli.  Slice the zucchini thin enough that it will get tender, cut strips of peppers after taking the seeds out, and finish with the red onions for a bit of sweetness.

Once all the veggies are added to the skillet add about 1/4 cup additional FF Italian Dressing to the mix. Turn the heat to medium/high and continue to move the veggies around in the skillet so they brown and dont burn.  Now the fun part - seasoning!

All of my friends always ask how I make veggies taste so good.  Well the trick is - seasoning! I'm a vegetarian so I consume a TON of veggies - if they tasted bland I wouldn't know what to eat.  A good rule of thumb to go by is this : IF YOU LIKE THE WAY THE SPICE SMELLS, YOU'LL LIKE THE WAY IT TASTES. Don't be afraid to experiment you'll get it wrong sometimes but once you figure out what you like, you'll be golden! My go to spices are as follows:

Tomato Basil and Garlic by Mrs Dash (this line has some amazing seasonings)
Sea salt
Pepper
Dried Basil

Generously cover the veggies in the skillet the spices you choose. Go heavy on the spice because it will mild out as you cook. If at any point your veggies start to get a bit dry add more FF dressing to the skillet and continue to move the veggies around.

Oh - look at that! Your rice is done. Take it off the burner and allow it to firm up while it cools. Your veggies should be making a sauce at this point and be simmering on the stove top. Like this:

Wow - I'm getting hungry just looking at this post! The awesome thing about not using oil is that none of this meal feels heavy or tastes greasy.  The FF italian dressing actually starts to caramelize as you near the end of the veggie cooking.  Your heat should still be at Medium to High and you'll start to see the veggies stick a bit to the bottom of the pan and brown. If the veggies are done you should have a film around the edges of the skillet from the veggie juice and FF dressing making the sauce. Let the veggies cool for about 5 minutes and once done serve!

While the rice is still hot, press it into a 3/4 measuring cup to form it into these awesome rice cups.  Makes the meal look that much more professional! :) Garnish with pieces of veggies on top and your meal is complete.  For more ideas for meals check out my sister's blog : Cheesecake Yum! Next time I post a recipe it's going to be my WORLD FAMOUS pizza on the grill! I know you'll be waiting with drool dripping down your mouths!