a little thing i did 2 months ago

settle in with a cup of coffee, this is a long post. and read it all, because it took me over 2 hours to write this up. and then go read the other girl's posts (linked at the end), because it took them just about as long to write theirs. lol! so two months ago, i took a little trip down south to san juan capistrano. had something to do with this.

and something to do with this group of people (plus a few other girls that didn't make it in the picture).

so what was this for? we all were there for part of the filming of a slice infomercial, for making memories.

this was one of those opportunities that just doesn't come along everyday. so i had to go for it. wasn't sure i'd be great at it. but didn't want to not try, and then later regret it. so i tossed my name in the hat and got lucky enough to get asked. one of my friends, carla was contacted and interviewed for this. so we were really excited when she got asked too. we've become good friends over the last 2 years or so, but had never met or even talked on the phone. and then i found out that cindy liebel was going. i knew of cindy and who she was, but it wasn't until this came up that we really got to know each other better.

when we got the email asking us to participate, we had all of about 2 weeks to get ready. i think i was more nervous about finding the right clothes in the right colors, and jewelry to match. i live in capri jeans, tshirts, no jewelry, and flip flops. i didn't have to pack any projects to take, since making memories had all my work there already. then 2 days before, we got our flight info. you'd think i was some sort of expert travelor, the way i walked right into that airport and through security without blinking an eye. guess that utah trip last december taught me something. lol! i requested a later flight out on friday afternoon, so that i didn't have to take a day off work. so i didn't arrive in san juan capistrano until about 6:00pm. i felt sort of bad later, since cindy and carla had both flown for hours and hours and were there at noon. and just waiting for me. i didn't even have time to be nervous about meeting the girls on the ride to the hotel. turns out my driver that picked me up from the airport? he was a teacher at my high school 21 years ago. i'm not sure which is scarier. that i stumbled across one of my teachers, miles and miles from where we went to school. or the fact that i graduated high school 21 years ago. lol! anyways, we chatted the entire ride about the old school and who we still were in touch with.

finally got to the hotel. or is this a motel? either way, it was cute. and right across the street from the ocean.

although i have to admit, i never quite got to see it. wasn't even there for this photo. i didn't even bring my camera. all these photos are from either cindy, carla, or a few of the other girls we met. i came and left so quickly, that i was only gone for 28 hours total (including my drive to and from the airport, the wait at the airport both ways, the flight both ways). anyways. i was still talking to the teacher about how small the world was when we walked up the stairs at the motel. i was greeted by a very excited carla :)

she was so cute. i hope she doesn't mind me saying this, but i could tell she was nervous to meet me. which seemed crazy to me. i'm so beyond normal. some would say that i'm actually NOT normal. but you know what i mean. lol! normally, i'm a pretty quiet person. very shy around people that i don't know or in new situations. but it didn't even cross my mind to be nervous or quiet. maybe because we have chatted so much, that i felt like i knew her. anyways, i didn't skip a beat and just started talking away.

 

carla, me, and cindy.

within about 2 minutes, we were out walking to have dinner. we went to an incredible mexican restaurant, where we sat for about 3 hours and ate and talked. cindy and carla had met another one of the participants, lory, earlier that day and invited her to dinner with us. she was so cool and friendly. we shut the place down at 10:00pm (seemed weird that they shut at 10:00 on a friday night!) and went back to the hotel. i had arranged for carla and i to room together, since i knew i wasn't going to be there all that long. we stayed up until about 2:00am and talked. which i think was about 4:00am for her with the time difference. and i traveled for all of 80 minutes in the air, while she had traveled for like 10 hours that day. lol! but i kept talking and talking, and she kept up with me pretty good :)

me, cindy, lory, and carla

so the next morning we got up and hung around the hotel for a bit. got ready and did our make up and stuff lightly like they asked us too. i packed my bags, since i was being picked up straight from the shoot location and taken back to the airport. i wasn't scheduled to go to the shoot until 2 hours after everyone else. but i didn't want to sit by myself, so i went early with them. we persuaded the driver guy to stop at a starbucks for us on the way. then he took us to this gorgeous mansion where they were shooting. 

 

check out that pool and the view. seriously, do people own houses like these? and how is it that you can get one? lol!
 

right away, we were all whisked away into makeup.

a blurry shot, but still using it. i'm not a big makeup person at all, and i cannot do my eye makeup for nothing. but i was surprised at how little makeup they put on me. not that i don't need makeup, because i do. just thought they would do more for the cameras. they did say that we were supposed to have "light hairspray". i'm not sure what that means, since i have to use a lot of hairspray to even attempt to tame my curls and make them look fairly decent. lol! they mentioned maybe my hair was a little too "wild". guessing curls aren't great. or maybe it's just MY curls. lol!

then we hung out in this room. some of the other participants were there, and we got to meet them and chat and check out their projects that they had brought. it was really neat to meet some other scrappers that loved the slice. these weren't ladies that were into all the message boards and blogs and up on all the greatest and latest. just normal, everyday ladies that love scrapping. and i totally mean that in the nicest way. it's a good thing :) so we were in this room for ages. they would pull someone out and they would film their part. then they'd come back and say how easy it was. right. lol! i think we were in here for about 3 hours before we had our turns. you always hear actors say that they have a lot of downtime on the sets. it's true. lol!

carla, tammy, heather, and cindy. 

do i look so professional or what? lol! just going over some papers with one of the production dudes.  

at one point, i had to go pick out my projects. all the other ladies there had brought their stuff with them. but making memories has all my work from the past few years, and had sent it over to the location. there were piles and piles of all the design team's work. and i went through and found whatever i could that i had created. it was really neat to be able to see some of the other designers work up close. i could go through and pick out who made each project. and it was also neat to see my own projects again. i have some that i have really missed.

i'm pretty sure this is where i filmed my part. i wish someone had gotten pics of me when it was my turn. but we weren't free to watch all this part, since it was so crazy. when i was called in, this was completely filled with cameras, lights, reflectors, backdrops, microphones, a zillion cords, and about a trillion people. it was the most overwhelming thing ever in my life. i might have liked to have been shown around first, and given some practice runs. just to be able to take a few moments and take it all in. but i was basically brought in and plopped in the chair. it was crazy and nervewracking. i won't lie. i had people all around me, adjusting things, brushing my curls (which i NEVER brush my hair), putting more layers of lipgloss on me, moving microphones over my head. the heat from all the lights was making me sweat. then they told everyone to be quiet. and just like that, the trillion people stopped what they were doing and stared at me. no pressure, right? lol! omg, it was the hardest thing ever. i basically just answered questions. which doesn't seem that hard. but it is. i would lose my train of thought halfway into what i was going to say and i'd just stop talking. it was the longest 20 minutes of my life.

a bit later, they moved everything outside to the patio. i love this shot. it only shows a small percentage of what was going on. but i think it shows that this was a huge production.

they were filming the "crop party" out on the patio. they had a table all set up, with all the products and a slice for everyone to act like they were cropping. cindy was lucky enough to get to participate in this part. she did great too. carla and i were the only other people left at this point, so we were hanging out quietly in the backyard watching. which is why we managed to get some pics of cindy's part. lol! it was fun to watch and to listen in as they walked everyone through what they wanted them to be doing.

then carla and i got ahold of cindy's camera and decided to take a few pics of each other. i gave carla a few pointers and set up the camera all to my liking. i even remembered to put all cindy's setting back before i left. lol!

and one of her that i took.

then it was time for me to go. the car came, and i had to grab my stuff and leave. barely got to interrupt the filming long enough to say a quick good-bye to cindy. i wish i could have stayed another night with the girls and had more time to visit. it was such a quick trip. i got picked up in this snazzy car only 23 hours after a not quite so snazzy van dropped me off. but i had the best time and i was so tired once i got to the airport and sat down to wait for my plane. 

so, fast forward a month and a half. we hear that the infomercial is starting to air in select areas. and carla somehow manages to snag a copy from the production company (i'm still trying ;)). she wasn't sure how to tell me this. but neither of us are in the final cut. she was bummed. and i was bummed for her. i was sort of bummed for myself. but i knew that i still had projects that were in the actual infomercial. so i was oddly ok with not making the cut. maybe because i had a feeling that i didn't do that great. lol! i'm still waiting to actually see the final thing. but there is a short video up on this site. so i had to take a few screen shots.  
 

 

those pillows were my creations. i've never worked with fabric in my life, so i think i actually did pretty good considering. there's a shot where the young girls are hugging the pillows. the pillows i slaved over. kind of cool.

i also made those shirts. i'm not sure joe would wear the dad's shirt. but i totally would have worn the mom's shirt.

and i felt better knowing that this framed project of mine got some good air time. i think my girls look better on the screen than me anyways. lol! i know a lot of the making memories design team girls worked really hard on projects for this infomercial. and we had a lot of our previous projects shown here and there too. i know that when i finally do get to see this, i'm going to spend the first few viewings picking out who made what. lol! this was such a fun and crazy experience. even though i didn't end up in the final cut, i would do it all again. and i'm so glad i got to do it with such fun friends :)

you can read carla's blog post about her experience HERE. and you can read cindy's blog post about her experience HERE. 

Comments

[Wendy Bretz]

I am so excited you guys were a part of this amazing opportunity!

[Shaunte]

Awesome post! I had to film a couple of infomercials, and it was intimidating to say the least! It was even worse to see myself in the final product. I sounded like a dork.

[TONI]

Great post! Love the picture frame with the girls.

[Suzanne]

What a great post! Thanks for all the details, and pictures! It does look like it was a great time! Loving the picture frame!! Yeah, for you!

[wendy myers]

That is so wonderful, even though like you said you didn't make the final cut, you got experience for next time holloywood comes knocking you will be ready! You are too funny. I know it makes you proud to see your projects you are a great artist! I am glad MM realizes that and you share it all with your blog readers!

[littlethingiesofme.blogspot.com]

You are one lucky lady!! what a great adventure, great post,like those pillows.

[Karina]

Congrats for being part of this wonderful opportunity!!!

Karina

[traci]

Who was the teacher???

[Diana]

Congradulations! This is TOO cool!

[krolski (kathy)]

Congrats! This is MORE than so cool! How fun! Sorry you didn't make the final cut, but your projects did and that's great!!

[Amy]

Wow what a story. It is to bad you didn't make the final cut. I am glad you had so much fun though and met some new friends. :) That would have been so fun to have been up late one day and saw you in an infomercial. That is how I ended up with my cricut. LOL Maybe I will soon own a slice too.

[Carla]

You wrote that whole experience perfectly, more than I can describe it! I had such an amazing time being involved in the infomercial and meeting you and Cindy! It was so nice to see all your projects in person...seriously, just much more than one can capture on the camera!
And it was fun rooming and chatting with you...I can't believe how late I stayed up, well worth it!
And yes I was nervous meeting you, in a good way of course...not sure exactly why but I've never met anyone IRL after I became good friends meeting them through the internet.
It was so cool seeing all your projects in the infomercial! That frame project is so gorgeous and they show it all the time!
And you described the filming part perfectly...so true, its crazy then all of the sudden they're all staring at you with lights blaring in your face! LOL!
Thanks again for blogging about this, its so nice to be able to come out about this!
I couldn't have asked for any better to share this experience with :)

[Sara Rossi]

So glad to finally get to hear ALL about the "secret mission" instead of little bits here & there. You described it beautifully! So sorry you didn't make the final cut after all, but the experience of the trip & getting to meet people IRL after all these years is worth it!! And how cool that your projects are showcased?!?! BTW--you look like an actress reading your lines in the chair -- SO professional!!! ;)

[Stephanie Klauck]

How fun!
That is so cool! :-)

[Leslie]

WOW WOW WOW!!! What an amazing experience and what an honor - VeRy cOoL!!! It must have been great to meet your online peeps in real life. That place looks amazing - it would be hard not to be able to stay and site see-man! Thanks for sharing all your fun - your projects are always great!

[cindy]

loved reading your experience Laura. so cool & i'm so glad we got the chance to meet in person & become friends. love the photo of you w/ the limo, perfect!!!

[Marissa]

Yes, what an exciting trip! Once in a lifetime experience!

[Heather]

Thanks Laura for putting this blog together. It truly represents the process. Meeting you, Tammy, Carla and Cindy was the best part of the trip. You are so creative that it blows me away. I got a copy of the infomercial today from the production company ... maybe yours is in the mail!

You're such a sincere and warm person ... thanks for including me in your blog. Heather

[Heather M.]

wow, how cool is that?!?!?! sounds like a real experience!

[girlsmiths]

Sounds like a great experience, Laura! I'm glad you got to get away and meet some cyber friends. I understand exactly what you said about being interviewed and losing your thought half way through. I don't do this on job interviews, but I do when I have to publicly speak standing in front of an audience!

[Lynn Ghahary]

fabulous post laura! and what an amazing experience. i kinda like the part where they said your curls were "too wild" hee hee! love all your projects and you definitely make the cut in my book! ;)

[Eileen]

I was so sorry to read that you didn't make the final cut! That sucks!! I just got the Slice a few weeks ago and I am really having fun with it.

[Christy]

What a neat experience. I love that frame!

[Susy]

Wow, what an amazing experience. I would be hopeless interviewed on television with everyone looking at me, I had to do a radio interview once and I babbled for about 10 minutes and had no idea afterwards what I had said, it had all gone blank,lol. Too bad you didn't make the final cut but the main thing is yor gorgeous work did and your girls are stars too by the look of things.
:-)

[JosieK]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us Laura. I'm glad you got to get away and be pampered..sort of!
You look beautiful by the way!