Blocks, Blocks and more Blocks!

Wow...the orders for countdown blocks and custom name blocks keep rolling in!

Thank you all for keeping me SO busy around here lately. :) I've had lots of fun!

Here are some pictures of what I've been working on.

 

 

 

It's here....

Santa's North Pole Village prep week has arrived!

 

And it's official...my house is one giant craft room! Seriously. Nearly every room in our house is filled with burlap or fabric or soy melts or wood blocks or hot glue or paint or...you get the picture, right? ;)

 

Let's just say that while I'm super crazy busy getting all the final details finished for Santa's North Pole Village in Ankeny next weeked, I'm relieved that it's finally here so that we can get our house back in order. Despite what my very understanding...and patient...and always supportive husband might say, Chaos is not my best friend...though she has been hanging around the Miller household for a while now.

 

I'm SO thankful for the amazing friends who came to help me over the weekend. They were busy busy with all the tedious little tasks that are going to save me a TON of time...cutting fabric into 1-inch strips, cutting over 500 circles and flowers out of cardstock for the garland I'm hanging in the booth, writing out each of the soy melts scent descriptions, hand-stitching beads onto my rosettes, etc. I am BLESSED to know such awesome girls! And I'm so excited to show you all pictures of what we've been busy preparing for the show. But you'll need to hang tight for a couple more days.

Countdown Blocks!!!

In addition to the 450 soy melts that I made over the past few days, I've also been having a great time making countdown block sets. This particular set was for a great friend of mine. She came up with 4 big events that she'd like to countdown to...Christmas, Easter, School and Birthdays. And since she'd like to keep this set displayed all year long, we chose some great backgrounds that will look awesome in her living room every season of the year.

 

These custom sets cost just $25!!!

 

They measure about 7 inches long by 5 inches high by 3.5 inches wide. You can choose the colors/theme and up to 4 countdown events. I can have them ready for you in 7-10 days.   

 

 

 

 

Time to make some candles!!!

I've been hard at work making some cute greeting cards this week. Pics will be up soon, I promise! :)

But today and tomorrow I get to tackle another one of my other favorite activities...making hundreds of soy melts! The supplies should be arriving on my doorstep any minute and I can't wait to get started!!! These couple days are like the official start of fall for me. I love the way my house smells after making all those different scents. The downside is that my kitchen and dining room are a complete disaster for a couple days. But the amazing fall aromas wafting through my house make it totally worth it! I'm not sure my hubby would agree with that last part. ;)

I'm always up for helpers so if any of you locals want to join me, give me a call!

Okay, I'm off to work!

Fall and winter soy melts...only $5!!!

Fall and winter scents are ready to go! And while it may feel a tad bit like summer today (at least here in Iowa), those fall temps will be kickin in before we know it...seriously, in like 2 days.  Are you ready?

I've got to admit that I'm actually anticipating the cooler temps. It doesn't seem right looking at the gorgeous colors on the trees outside knowing that it's nearly warm enough to have the pool set up in the backyard. I suppose the awesome fall fragrances I have wafting through my house aren't helping me enjoy what's left of summer but are turning my thoughts to family gatherings, trips to the orchard and pumpkin patch and...yep, I'm gonna say it...snow! I'm not even a fan of snow so it's amazing what those little cubes of soy wax will make a girl wish for! ;)

Each soy melt cube lasts 30-40 hours...that's around 200+ hours of your favorite scent for only $5!!! And it's 100% soy so it's healthier for you than those popular paraffin (derived from diesel fuel) brands AND it cleans up with warm soapy water. Try doing that with those other options. ;)

Here are all the fall and winter scents I have available. Most of these will not be restocked once sold. I'm paring down the scent options to 20 so there will still be PLENTY to choose from...just not the 50+ that I have now. Just a heads-up, I'm doing a HUGE craft show in just 5 weeks and I anticipate many, if not most, of these to be gone by the end of the day, so if there's a fragrance on this list that you'd like, get your order in soon!

**Amaretto

**Apple Cinnamon

Apple Jack and Peel

**Apple Strudel

Banana Nut Bread

**Bartlett Pear

Blueberry

Blueberry Cobbler

Butter Pecan Pie

Butternut Pumpkin

Cake Bake

Candy Cane

Caramel Apple

**Caramel Toffee

Christmas Tree

**Cinnamon Apple Berry

**Cinnamon Buns

Cinnamon Stick

**Cinnamon Vanilla

Coffee

Cranberry

**Cranberry Peppermint

Creme Brulee

Egg Nog

Fireside

Gingerbread

Granny Smith Apple

Hollyberry

Home for the Holidays

Home Sweet Home

Hot Baked Apple Pie

**Hot Cranberry Tea

**Jack Frost

Mandarin Cranberry

**Maple Sugar

Mediterranean Fig

Midnight Pomegranate

**Mulled Cider

Peaches and Cream

**Pumpkin Pickin

**Pumpkin Pie Spice

Peppermint

Pine

Pomegranate

**Pomegranate Cider

Raspberry Cream

**Sandalwood and Ginger Apple

Spearmint

**Spiced Apple

Smell of Christmas

Sun Ripened Tomato

Sweet Holiday Blend Coffee

**Vanilla Bean

**Warm Vanilla Sugar

White Christmas

Yuletide

Zanzibar Clove

 

 **Scents that I will be keeping in stock. Scents without this marking will be discontinued once sold. So get them while you can!

 

To place an order, email me at kmandy14@yahoo.com. Thanks!

It's Fall!!!

Well, apparently I'm spending too much time working on new products/projects and not enough time blogging. Sorry about that. I'll keep this one short and sweet and just say that I'm SUPER excited fall has arrived. This is by far my favorite time of year...and quite possibly the busiest for our family. Aside from school starting and running to daily sporting events (we do get Sundays off), things get a bit busier for Miller Made as well. It's craft fair season and I wrapped up my first show this past weekend in Story City. Despite sitting outside in 30 and 40 degree temps all day, we had a great turnout and lots of new people are probably enjoying their new soy melts and writing out those greeting cards as I type this post. :) I'd love to be a part of the show again next year!

And just today I signed up for what is advertised as one of the biggest craft fairs in the midwest...Santa's North Pole Village in Ankeny on Saturday, November 3rd. The show has over 350 vendors and brings in over 5000 shoppers!!! OVER FIVE THOUSAND!!! I'm crazy excited to be a part of this event...but know that I have a TON of work to do these next few weeks to get ready for it. So don't be surprised if my blog posts remain few and far between for the time being.

If the beautiful fall weather/temps have put you in the mood for some lovely fall fragrances, I have 50 scents for you to choose from. I'll get an updated list posted for you. My current favorite is Pumpkin Pie Spice. Seriously awesome!!! Let me know if you'd like to try one in your own home. :)

This Week's Greeting Cards

Sorry for the delay in getting these posted. My entire family (except for the hubby) was sick the past couple weeks. But the kids are all better and I'm finally feeling well enough to at least play catch-up.

So, here are the cards I made last week. They are all one-of-a-kind and made with high-quality cardstock, bright and cheery accents including ribbon, buttons, chipboard pieces, flowers, brads and baker's twine. As usual, the insides are left blank for you to leave your own sentiment.

I hope you enjoy them. :)

Birthday Card for Girls or Guys (the inside is white)

Multi-purpose card for Girls or Guys

Bright and cheerful card for any occasion

A colorful and sweet thank-you note

"you are the best"

The ink seems to be a bit camera shy. ;) I promise, it stands out more in person.

Do you have a favorite? Any special themes or color combos you would like to see me tackle this week? I'm open to suggestions. Thanks for taking a peek.

Hope you're all having a great week!

Kristy

More Word Blocks

Summer is in full swing (I may have mentioned that in my last post...it's late, I don't remember and I didn't think to check before I started on this post!) Anyway, between weekly trips to multiple libraries (3 to be exact), play dates, soccer games and practices for 2 kids, baseball games and practices, ballet, grocery shopping, doctor appointments (are you getting a sense of what life has been like for us lately?), I haven't had as much time as I had hoped to keep up with the blog...so it's taken me a couple weeks to finally get this picture posted. But, at long last...here are the "twins" blocks I made for one of my sister's closest friends who is expecting twins (obviously) in a couple months. She was having maternity pictures taken and asked if I would make her a set of these blocks for the event. I was very happy to have the opportunity to do that for her.
I searched every store in Ames trying to track down the same zoo stickers I had used for Camden's name blocks but couldn't find them anywhere! But I did find these cute little guys. I especially love the monkey. You can actually move the little arms and legs...well, not anymore. His have been sealed so he's not going anywhere! I can't wait to see how this set of blocks looks in her maternity pictures. :)
Looking forward to getting to work on my next set of name/word blocks. They have been SO much fun to make! And now that soccer and ballet have come to an end until the fall...my schedule has opened up a bit. Yay!!! Which means...I'm taking new orders! Send me an email and I'll get started on a set for you right away. :)

It's Officially Summer in the Miller House!

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. Family life has kept me pretty busy...apparently TOO busy to share what I've been up to for the past month. Well, here's a quick recap.

School is out. We're excited to have C home for the summer and I have lots of ideas to keep all of us busy until school starts up again...including 3 summer reading programs at the local libraries, zoo trips, park play dates with friends, picnic lunches with Dad, sunny afternoons spent at the pool and visits to the farm to see G'ma and G'pa.

We have literally been out of the house every night of the week for the past couple months. But...soccer is over for both A and C so as of this week, so I am happy to say that we finally have our Mondays and Thursdays back! Ballet is over for the summer, too. The recital this past Friday night made all those "I'M NOT A BALLERINA" outbursts, as well as the mini fits we endured every Thursday afternoon since the beginning of January well worth it. So cute! The recital...not the fits.

So, we just have C's baseball and Dad's softball left in the sports department. And this week, for the 2nd time in under a month, I have jury duty. Is it weird that I'm a little bit excited about this? ;) 

As for Miller Made (I mean, that's why we're here, right?)...I've been able to put together lots of really fun cards for various people and a cute set of word blocks for a girl who is having twins in a few months. Also, my soy tarts are steadily disappearing from the shelves. Woohoo!!! Still have LOTS available for you...including some fresh and fruity options for this time of year. Or, if you're like my mom, and prefer fall scents all year long, I've got those too.

Okay, must sign off for the night. Need to report for jury duty in 8 hours! :)

Introducing....

I'm SO excited to offer you a new line of products here at Miller Made...custom-made blocks!!! These blocks are perfect for a new baby, a child's bedroom, a newly married couple or for seasonal and holiday decor around your home. Since they are custom-made, you can choose the name or word, the colors and the theme. I will be happy to personalize it to your liking. :)

These quality blocks are cut and sanded, one coat of paint is applied, then sanded again followed by another coat of paint. The finished blocks are then coated with a sealer multiple times on all sides for protection. 

They measure approximately 3 1/4 " wide by 1 1/2" thick and are 4" to 6" tall.

Here's the set I made for my little guy.

It's been a BUSY month! :)

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. I've been busy working on custom orders and some home projects. There's never a dull moment in the Miller house...especially since I am TERRIBLE at just sitting and doing nothing. :)

Here are some pictures of a couple of the custom orders that I've had...some cards and a coordinating burp cloth and nursing cover set.

100% Soy Tarts...LOTS of fragrance options!

I've been busy categorizing all the soy tarts. Here's what I have so far. Some of them may be repeated. Also, I'm discontinuing many of these fragrances because, as you can see, I've got some paring down to do! So when the fragrances marked with an asterisk are gone, they are gone for good. So, if you'd like to try these scents, don't wait too long. :)

Fruits

*Apricot

Bartlett Pear

Blueberry

*Blueberry Pomegranate

*Cherry Berry

Coconut Lime

*Concord Grape

Cranberry

Granny Smith Apple

*Honeydew Melon

*Juicy Watermelon

*Key Lime

*Kiwi Lime

Mandarin Cranberry

Mango Papaya

Pomegranate

*Raspberry Kiwi

*Strawberry Banana

Bakery Scents

Almond Cake

*Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

Apple Strudel

*Banana Nut Bread

Blueberry Cobbler

Butter Pecan Pie

*Cake Bake

*Cake Mix

Caramel Toffee

*Chery Cobbler

*Christmas Cookie

Cinnamon Buns

*Creme Brulee

*Gingerbread

Hot Baked Apple Pie

Lemon Meringue

Pound Cake

*Red Velvet Cake

*Strawberry Shortcake

*Sugar Cookie

Drinks

Amaretto

Amaretto Nog

*Banana Smoothie

*Cherry Lemonade

Coffee

*Egg Nog

*Frappuccino

Hot Cranberry Tea

*Iced Orange Pineapple

Mulled Cider

Pomegranate Cider

*Raspberry Lemonade

Spiced Citrus Cider

*Summer Splash

Sweet Holiday Blend Coffee

Sale extended

Good news!

I'm extending the sale by another whole week! My week ended up being quite a bit busier than I had originally anticipated so I still haven't been able to post all of my soy tart fragrances...and there are a LOT to choose from!!! Because of this, I'm giving you an extra week to check out my products and get them at a discount.

So...you can now have 10% off your total order of $10 or more through midnight April 13th. Just send me an email or give me a call. Thanks so much! :)

It's April! That means that my husband and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this month.  (woohoo!) 

So, in honor of that, you can get 10% off your total order over $10 through the end of the week!

Please email me at millermade4u@gmail.com with the item(s) that you would like. I'll remove or mark any items as "sold" when they are no longer available.

Any locals can pick up their items from my home or arrange a meeting time/place sometime this week or next (depending on the items ordered).

For orders that need to be shipped, I charge actual shipping charges plus an extra $1 for packaging. I will email you the final total and will need payment before I ship your package. Feel free to email me with any additional questions. Thank you.

*Please allow up to 7-10 days for nursing covers as they are custom orders and are not made until your order has been placed and paid for. thanks.

*Orders must be placed by midnight Friday, April 6th to take advantage of this promotion.

Happy shopping! :)

Baby Burp Cloths, Changing Mats, Nursing Cover options

Prices and Product Descriptions

Greeting Cards...$3.50 (unless otherwise stated)

All cards measure either 4" x 5.5" or 4.25" x 5.5" (A5) and are stored in clear cello sleeves to keep them safe and clean. The interior is white and has been left blank for you to write your own special message. A white envelope is included. Each card is handmade in my smoke and pet-free home.

Because I work so hard to create a beautiful and unique item for you, "handmade for you by miller made" as well as my website info are stamped/handwritten on the back of each card.

Baby Burp Cloths, Changing Mats...$17.50

These adorable burp cloths are handmade for your little sweetie using trendy and modern fabric. The burp cloths double as a changing pad in a pinch and will thicken with each washing!

They are made with super-absorbant Gerber prefold premium 6-ply 100% cotton cloth diapers and cotton fabric that have all been prewashed in baby-safe detergent.

Each burp cloth/changing pad measures approximately 14 x 20 inches.

These are the perfect gift for a trendy mama-to-be and her newborn baby. Each set arrives wrapped in a bow, as pictured, ready for gift-giving.

Nursing Cover...$22.50

“Why Do I need a Nursing Cover?"
If nursing in public under a receiving blanket, which slides off or gets tugged off by baby, is not your idea of security, then a Nursing Cover is for you! Nursing covers have an adjustable neck strap which prevents baby’s “flashing” attempts and provides you with the ability to see your baby to ensure he has a good latch and a clear airway - something a blanket can’t offer. The added security of a lightweight, breathable cover-up can help you to relax - and a relaxed mom is better able to breastfeed their baby.

Nursing covers are made to order so you can choose any of the fabrics pictured in the burp cloth/changing mat sets.

***Save $5 on your purchase when you order a set of burp cloths and a coordinating nursing cover! A perfect gift for that new mommy and precious little one. :) 


100% Soy Tarts, Wax Melts, Wickless Candles...$5

I know what you're thinking...mostly because EVERYBODY asks me this question, "are these those Scentsy things?" Well, sort of. They are similar in almost every way...except one very big one. Mine are made of 100% natural soy wax...theirs, as well as most other commercially produced tarts/melts/wickless candles, are made of paraffin. I'll have more info on why this is such a big deal in another blog post.

These highly scented soy wax melts are fantastic! They have a low melting point and clean up with warm soapy water. It's true! I've been able to test this in my own house many times thanks to my little ones. They are perfect for the person who prefers a safe way to scent their home because there is absolutely no flame to worry about around small children or pets. These are also perfect for offices, dorm rooms or apartments where lighted candles are not allowed.

They work in any of the commercially available tart warmers. They also make great air fresheners for your vehicle. Just pop open the lid and you'll soon be surrounded by the fresh scent of your new soy tart.

My tarts/melts are poured into a 6 cavity clamshell. They are so easy to use! Just pop out one block and leave the rest inside the packaging until needed. If your melt is still fragrant and you want to change to a new scent, pour the melted wax back into the clamshell and save for later. I use one cube at a time and, depending on the fragrance, as some are a bit stronger than others, I can usually get around 30 hours of fragrance out of each cube!

Colors will be appropriate for the fragrances. If you desire a certain color/fragrance combination, please email me before purchasing to ensure I have all the supplies on hand for a custom batch.

Only top quality 100% SOY wax and fragrance oils are used to make these highly fragrant breakaway melts.

You will receive ONE (1) Breakaway tart melt package, which weighs approximately 3 oz. There are 6 soy melt squares in each package.

My soy wax:
*is 100% vegetable, made with pure soybean oil
*is All NATURAL and biodegradable.
*is NOT tested on animals.
*Contains NO palm wax.
*Contains NO petroleum, paraffin or beeswax products.
*Contains NO genetically modified material
*Contains NO toxic materials       

"Thinking of You" Cards

"Happy Birthday" Cards

Pennant birthday card has gone to a good home. :)