Behind the Scenes at “Scrapbook Soup”

Julie McGuffee on the set of Scrapbook Soup with guest Lynell of Dreamweavers

I find it amusing and beyond coincidence that the majority of PBS craft shows are shot on the East side of Cleveland. Every week, my favorite crafty people fly in, shoot their segments, and fly away back to their busy lives. Imagine how thrilled I was when one of my new crafty friends, Julie McGuffee, rang me up to let me know she was in town taping her new show, Scrapbook Soup, and I was invited to stop by and see how it’s done.

I headed over to EDR Beachwood Studios and scooted in between segments. I found Julie in the Green Room- which serves as both a staging area for all the craft products and step-outs, as well as the waiting/snack area for guests.

How do they keep it all organized?

Julie packs up items that have already been used to ship back.

So, a bit about this new show: it’s really the third incarnation of Julie’s long-standing series of shows- but this time there is more of a focus on mixed-media and altered art. Also Julie has a new co-host for this series: the fabulously talented (and amazingly energetic) Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is also “donning the apron” to guide guests. The show is called “Scrapbook Soup,” but Julie B noted that there were only 2 “real” scrapbook layouts in this season. Most of the content focuses on innovative techniques and cool tools.

So that explained the guests that were there filming this day- the illustrious Jenn Mason, editor of Cloth Paper Scissors was there demonstrating a brayering technique and Lynell Harlow from Dreamweavers Stencils was showing how you can use glitter and sticker paper with her stencil line. (It’s really cool- you won’t want to miss it!) I also met Nancy Hill, the CEO of DCWV, who was showing off the innovated paper-dresses that were such a hit at CHA Winter.

Jenn with Julie FFB on set, setting up.

See Julie M there, snapping pics? I told her to turn around…

Ha! Gotcha!

Snapping pics of each other snapping pics! Silly us!

Back on task: Jenn's set up for the shoot.

Lovely sample, no?

It's a tidy little set, with THREE cameras.

See the thread spools used as drawer pulls. CUTE.

Nancy Hill on the set with those sweet little paper dollies.

It was such a lovely time- I had a great discussion with Jenn and Julie FFB about the art movement in the crafting community & learned some more about Kathy Stull, who is the mastermind behind all of these high-quality PBS shows…that are taped so close to home!

I have to be honest- I haven’t watched Scrapbook Memories, because I don’t see myself as a scrapbooker- but Scrapbook Soup is more of an “art for crafters” show- and that’s right up my alley. I hear that it will be broadcast in late July, and of course consult your local PBS listing for when it’s on TV near you.

A big thanks to Julie, Julie, Kathy and Katherine for letting me swing by!

Julie, Jenn, and Jenny- the three J's

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About Jenny

Chief Craft Test Dummy, Craft Evangelist, Founder, Editor, bottle-washer, trouble-maker, and creative whirlwind.

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