Martha Stewart and us...The whole story

It started with an email, our blog caught the eye of some FABULOUS people working in the Martha Stewart show. We could not believe it when they said they were considering having us come on the show!  They told us not to get our hopes too high, we were just being considered, and they were also looking around for others that they might possibly want to come on the show.

We were asked if we would like to "hangout" with Martha using Google +  new feature "google hangout" which is like a video chat over the computer. Hangout?  Martha Stewart?  Obvious answer, YES!

Click here to watch our Google Hangout with Martha Stewart and Vic Gundotra


At the end of this clip Vic Gundotra surprised us with a paid trip to New York to hangout with Martha live on one of her episodes! We were all so surprised!  So the craziness began, we started working like crazy sending her team some ideas/photos/tutorials of what might be fun to do on the show. In the end they decided we would be showing Martha how to make our glittered citrus ornaments and we made a bunch and packed them to take to New York with us.

We flew out on a Sunday. Julianna, Janae, and Jamie (and Sabrina) all from Utah, and Jade (and Rosie) left from Maryland.

We met up with Jade at the airport, and The Letter 4 sisters were united once again!  We hopped in the taxi and headed to the hotel.


Jade's husband, Mark, and daughter, Chloe rode the bus and met up with us after we got to the hotel. That night we walked down to times square and went shopping in Forever 21 (we couldn't help ourselves!)
Mom and Dad and Julianna's daughter, Kirianna, didn't get to New York till 7 am the next morning.


An intern picked up our ornaments early from us that morning and we walked down the street to the Martha Stewart show!


We went into a side entrance and walked down these halls filled with Martha's gorgeous photos from her modeling days and passed a room filled with all of her many Golden Globe Awards, which was right across the hall from our fabulous dressing room.


We were super excited just being in the dressing room and HUGE bathroom.

You should have seen our moms face when they brought in very pretty (and not cheap) Martha Stewart  craft paper and stickers for the kids to play with.

After we got settled, we went into hair and makeup...most relaxing experience ever!  We could definitely get used to that every day and we LOVED our make up artists and hair dressers!  After we were all gussied up, it was rehearsal time. While we were getting ready, our producer, Lenore, laid out somewhat of a script we were going to follow and we practiced a few times (but of course when Martha comes on, she doesn't have to follow script!  It was spontaneous and fun!)

After a trial run it was back to hair and make up for touch ups and then it was the show for real!  We came back out and the studio audience had been filled and they all cheered as they announced us and we walked out. (celebrity moment? oh ya)  Everyone we met on the set was SO fun!  We laughed with all the camera crew and it really felt like we knew these people forever.  Our favorite was when right before the show started and one of the crew members came up and told us "Just have fun! It's just TV it's not brain surgery we're not saving lives here."  I think at that moment we all completely forgot the audience was there.  Martha was fun as you saw during the show and very sweet to us during commercial breaks.

The filming started and everyone clapped as Martha walked in. Our first clip with her she got to know us a little bit better. She couldn't pronounce Janae's name for the life of her but we loved it....
Click here to watch the Get To Know Us video we had with Martha Stewart

Click here to watch Martha and The Letter 4 make citrus ornaments
(video is on left hand side of the page)

Click here to watch Martha and The Letter 4 make Noah's Ark animal stamps
(video is on left hand side of the page)


Not shown on the internet clips, at the end, Martha surprised us with her own sign...

We have her sign it, it's now our favorite :)

Julianna's Personal Experience
The whole experience from the beginning has been so surreal! I kept thinking "oh I'm just dreaming. When I wake up I have to tell my sisters about this, their going to laugh!" Then one moment we're hanging out with Martha & Vic. Oh my gosh! Vic is saying...what?! They want to bring us to New York?! Next I'm hugging Jade in the airport & all four of us our standing there with each other too excited to be bothered with the little fact that eventually we need to grab a taxi to our hotel. So after the screaming, jumping, hugging we find ourselves in front of the hotel. The next thing I know my sisters & I are crafting with Martha & she's telling me mine is a mess haha! One of the best parts about this whole adventure was that it brought us all together. Not only did I get to share it with my sister & parents, but also with my most amazing Kirianna. Yes, I struggled with the fact that I couldn't bring my boys, but really, how could we have possibly spent girl time better any other way!!! (Thank you Nana & Jon for watching the boys & mom & dad for making it possible for Kirianna to be there.) Martha & her fabulous staff welcomed us & our families with opens arms & made us feel at home. The kids kept busy crafting too, the parents, Jade's husband, & Kirianna got to see the show. And my sisters & I were treated like royalty. The hair & make up team couldn't have been better. They were all so sweet & fun & I'm sad I had to leave them there haha. There are so many amazing people we got to work with, you all know who you are:) It was just an unbelievable opportunity to be a part of the Martha Stewart Show.


Jade's Personal Experience

This was an absolutely amazing experience for my little family.  We packed our bags and Daddy and Chloe took the bus, and Rosie and I caught the plane.  (barely!)  We were on our way to NYC.  For Mark and I, it was our fourth time, but this was the first time I would get to be there with my girls, my parents, and sisters !  When we were all settled in our hotel room, I loved how us sisters would randomly scream and be giddy like we were little girls again, waiting for a surprise.

I was so nervous for our first google hangout with Martha and Vic.  I thought my heart was going to pound right out of my chest, so I tried not to think about how nervous I would be being there on the set, but it ended up being the complete opposite.  That morning, we walked our 4 minute walk down the street and passed all the people in line waiting to sit in the audience.  Was this real?  Everyone was so extremely nice, helpful, welcoming and CALM.  We had a tour, and rehearsed.  The Martha staff was incredible, as was the set.
 In our room, which was equipped with a nice large flat screen to watch the show and comfy cozy furniture, we were greeted with a fruit plate and a pile of magazines and checked on every minute, and checked out...making sure we all looked our best.  "Can I press your shirt?"  they asked me, and then held out three brand new shirts from the Gap.  "What size would you like?"  Wow.  In between rehearsals, they'd kindly tell us, "Please go to hair and makeup for touch ups."  (my favorite part!  It was a BLAST!)  I have never experienced being treated like a porcelain doll...and that's really what it felt like.  I wore Armani foundation on my skin.  (I didn't want to wash it off, haha.)  I felt like I was watching a hair advertisement as the stylist threw my hair forward when he was finished, and it all landed P.E.R.F.E.C.T.L.Y.  (How did he do that?!?!)
The kiddos were treated just as well, or better!  They brought them beautiful Martha Stewart craft paper and stickers to play with which they were enthralled with.  And then Rosie took a nice long nap in a big, comfy chair.  Mark was in heaven during the segment after us.  He got a free butchering book from the guy showing Martha how to make sausage.  (Perfect segment for him to be watching!  He loves meat!)
        It was time to record.  We went out and took our places at the craft table.  Some of the camera/sound crew would be talking and joking with us while others would be telling them to stop bothering us because it was time to record.  Loved it.  They were all hilarious.  The last time my cheeks hurt that bad from smiling was when I competed in the Junior Miss Pageant in high school. The last words we got before going on the show?  Kind, genuine, happy words spoken to us from someone who seemed to read our minds, "Hey, this isn't brain surgery.  You are gonna be great. Just have fun!"  And that's exactly what it was, pure Martha Stewart fun.  You don't get much better than that.  :)

                 After it was all over, I realized I never once got those horrid nervous butterflies in my stomach.  My heart never pounded.  Everyone working there just made it too comfortable to even have the thought of being nervous.  We laughed, we played, we crafted, and we met some incredibly, wonderful people.   I loved having my parents and my husband in the audience watching and smiling.  We had the time of our lives.

Jamie's Personal Experience:
From the very first I thought it was a joke. I kept waiting for it to hit me, maybe it would hit me after we talked to Martha, after we got on the plane, once we got to New York. I don't think it ever hit me! It's still so crazy to me that it actually happened! I can't believe how nice everyone was to us. I came home from New York incredibly pumped and ready to accomplish a ton. I think I learned so much from this experience because honestly, the thought of even giving a speech in class used to make me want to cry. But I have never had so much fun being in front of so many people. This is not the end of you seeing The Letter 4 sisters make it big time! Thank you to all of Martha Stewart's team and Google for this opportunity!


Janae's Personal Experience:
Sweet mother of pearl! Can we do that again?? :D I woke up 4:00 in the mornin' to drive two hours and hop on a plane for another four hours to go to the big apple, the city that never sleeps, the melting pot, NEW YORK CITY! From the time we had received that very first email, I was set on going. Everyone was saying don't get your hopes up, and it's probably a scam...but "it's just one of those ideas, I'm just psyched out of my mind about...ya' know, it's just one of those ideas where you're like, YES!" 
We walked to the building that they film it in, passing happy ladies with Martha Stewart gift bags, thinking I'M GOING ON THAT SHOW!! :D It all went by so fast after that. We took a tour, ran into the crafter of all crafters, Martha, went into hair and makeup with the COOLEST hair and makeup crew you could ever meet, went over what we were going to do with Martha, and was just having the time of my life on a REAL set! I went back to the dressing room while my parents were freaking out because Martha was having her lunch break right across the hall where we could stalk see her. Then we were walking out with a crowd of complete strangers applauding us!! The show started and it was a breeeeze. Martha's crew is so amazing. They made me feel so comfortable and relaxed that I wasn't nervous in the least bit. I felt like I was making a few crafts with some old friends or something! I could do that everyday if they would let me. I absolutely enjoyed every minute spent in New York. Even if my feet were swollen when I got home. Gross, right? Anywhoo, I LOVED IT!


More New York photos:

and that's the end of that story! We definitely will have lots more adventures to share with you though :)