Pillsbury Grands! Ole Opry or Country Music (Carla) Hall of Fame?

After I found out I was one of the 100 finalists in the 47th Pillsbury Bake-Off® contest, I got to work. Not practicing making my recipe for the competition, but creating art. I started with a technique I learned in Lilla Rogers online classes. First you do a little research and get warmed up drawing all things related to your topic. First NASHVILLE:

Then Pillsbury. I watched YouTube videos of the contest. 

What would the doughboy do in Nashville? 

Get a new country suit fitted by Manuel? 

Sing at the Ryman? At the contest party, I fed the band these song titles and they had a little fun with them.

My first draft was inspired by Minnie Pearl + Macy's Thanksgiving parade + Nashville.

My friends thought the balloon should be more doughboy-like. Respectful of trademarks and licensed characters, I decided the balloon would be me and my Pretzel Bites with my handlers. That made sense for a team shirt.

On the plane ride home I got another idea I wanted to explore. Top Chef finalist and The CHEW anchor Carla Hall was this year's host of the Bake-Off®. She added so much fun and excitement to the contest. Turns out, she's from Nashville so I began my artwork swap.

My plan was to make a normal thank you note. After hearing Carla and THE CHEW co-hosts discussing special greeting cards and creating a pop-up card on the show I got a BIG idea.

A thousand thanks to TEAM PILLSBURY and CARLA for a Bake-Off® well done!