Tara Miller Designs

Black Friday Cyber Monday Discount!

This weekend, Black Friday through Cyber Monday everything in my Shops is 20% off, just use the coupon code "blackfriday" to ge the discount! happy Shopping. 

Pinterest Pass/Fail

I have been a long time Pinner on Pinterest and I LOVE it but the one thing that really irritates me is the lack of ratings or success rate for many pins. Other than dusting off google and searching for the Pin subject on blogs there is really no way to learn if that DIY, recipe or product is any good. So for my own interests and maybe for those who follow me on Pinterest I have started a Pinterest Pass/Fail board so I, at least, can remember. 

The rules of my board are pretty simple (and may be subject to change later on) but when I try something from Pinterest and it is successful I leave it on its originial board but also pin it to my "Pinterest Pass/Fail" board with the word "pass" in the description along with the subject of the pin and any comments. I might add some suggestions for a recipe, add why it was so good/fun or suggest tips for making the project/DIY a little different. 

Now should the Pin be unsuccessful then I remove it from its original board and just pin it to the Pass/Fail board, add the word "Fail" to the description along with a short snippet on why it failed. 

I am hoping other's might follow suit with their own boards so we can weddle out the bad, unsuccessful pins to keep Pinterest fun and full of worthwhile Pins. 

Let me know if you are intersted in joining my board and I will add you. 

New Etsy Shop: Swaddle . Dwell . Baby

I had alot of time to think creatively while on maternity leave and have opened a new store to sell some of the (hopefully) great ideas I had for baby and kids items that I love. My new store is called: Swaddle . Dwell . Baby. The first and in my opinion, the most important, are several swaddle blankets. 

I am a big proponent of swaddling. It kept me sane with my first baby and had done the same with my newly born second child. I created my double layer swaddle blankets because both my babies were/are wee during the cold months and I love stretchy swaddle blankets much more than woven. Flannel is great and cozy but my babes easily pull out of the wrap because I just can't get the swaddle tight enough. I found with gauze I can get the swaddle nice and tight (the way my babies like it) but cotton gauze just isn't warm enough. By backing the gauze with cotton knit I can keep the stretch and gain the warmth. These blankets are so cozy and my added details really make my swaddle blankets awesome sauce! One blanket is hand stamped and painted with open apple slices. Another features 3 polka dotted polka dots and another shines with a Morrocan style reverse applique in a bright green print. I wish I could keep them all but I already have plenty thanks to all my prototype sewing. I hope they will be a big success so I can make many, many more. 

Sun Hats from Christmas

We went on a beach vaction early in April with extended family including some of Devon's cousins. I gathered since she was gettting a cool new hat from my Oliver+S book gifted to me over Christmas, that I should put my rotary cutter to the test and cut out 4 (1 for D plus 3 for her cousins) and set to work. The cutting was the easy part and making Devon's was super easy too. Her medium size hat went together like pie (hmm, I could go for some pie!) but the 3 larges didn't. The hang up was stitching the top of the sides. The top of the hat was just too big. So I grabbed my medium pattern piece and it fit perfectly. Not sure how this mix up happened but in the future I marked the medium piece: "Med/Large". Once I had that figured out the rest of the hats fell into place. The results were amazing and an equally big hit.

The red and pink is one hat and the dark blue and light blue are another and the spider/octogon are the last of the cousin hats. The last is Devon's floral and sort of abstract in green and pink. She wears it all the time and I can honestly attest to that considering I made them over a month ago!

Fun Long Distance Grandma Gift- Wearable Kid Art

While my mom lives close, Devon's Besta lives 3 hours away and thus misses out on some of the benefits my mom get by being within "pop-over" distance such as a collection of kid art. I decided to rectify the situation by giving Devon some Shrinky Dinks to decorate. We then watched them bake and shrink and she picked which piece to send to who. In the end we made a gift for Besta (Norwegian for Grandmom), Auntie Brandi, my mom (AKA Lovey), me, one for Devon and the last one goes to my grandmom. They make great gifts that kids can be proud of and send safety to loved ones anywhere.

 

Materials:

Ruff n Ready Shrinky Dinks (these are easier for little ones to color) cut in half lengthwise and then in thirds, making 6 pieces

Markers (I used washable markers)

regular hole punch 

jump rings, key rings or anything else you wish to attach your finished art. 

Layout your 6 pieces and let you kid go to town. Once finished, write their name on the front (I forgot and wrote it on the back) along with their age. Punch a hole where ever you prefer.

lay out the pieces with the ruff side down on a cookie sheet and bake according to the directions. Once cooled, your child can pick which piece goes to whom and gift wrap. These art gifts make great pendants (just round the corners a bit), key fobs, or zipper pulls. Grandma will love it and it's a great way to preserve some kid art for life. 

I picked the one where we traced our hands, one over top the other. So sweet!