Michaels Makers Summit

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have caught a glimpse of the amazing Michaels Makers Summit I attended a couple of weeks ago! I feel so honored to be a Michaels Maker for the upcoming 2015/2016 year. When I started this blog 4 years ago, I never in a million years would have guessed I would be working with a craft store I have been going to since I was little kid. You truly never know where life is going to take you!

Michaels truly spoiled us and provided three days full of fun, laughter and inspiration. The summit was filled with delicious food, four amazing craft classes, hanging out with almost 50 talented bloggers, while relaxing at the most beautiful estate in Sonoma County, California. I found myself taking pictures every 5 minutes because everything was stunning down to every detail and full of inspiration.

I wanted to share some of the pics from our trip because I want you all to be inspired by the beauty. I left the weekend filled with new ideas and motivation. I hope some of these pics will spark something new for you too!
We kicked off the summit with an outdoor dinner at Long Meadows Ranch. If you enjoy farm-to-table food,  you need to try this place. The tables were beautifully decorated, we all felt like we were at a wedding reception. Everything down to the paint-dipped utensils was straight out of a magazine.

Not only is the setting gorgeous but all of their food, including their s’mores is homemade and absolutely delicious. I’ve never had anything like those marshmallows before, I’m still thinking about them :)

We spent the next two days hanging out at an estate in Sonoma. There was so much eye candy I didn’t know where to look next! It was a home blogger’s dream setting. I could have spent days there simply look at every single details and piece in this home. From what I understand the owner is an interior designer from France and she brought almost every piece in the house over from Europe. Everything was so unique and full of character and naturally, simply stunning. (View my Instagram for more pics)

Michaels didn’t miss a single details when decorating this space for us. They worked with the current decor to create a true Michaels retreat for all of us full of creative ideas and inspiration. I just love these DIY paper chandeliers made with embroidery hoops and paper cut from a Cricut. These were gorgeous and could be so easy to make. I see a DIY project in my future soon!
While we were at the estate we had the opportunity to take four art class from Creativebug .  Have you heard of it? It is an online education site and with thousands of craft videos for you all to watch. They brought in four CreativeBug artists to teach us weaving, water color, image transfer and paper flower making. Sometimes I find myself getting stuck doing things that I know how to do. This was such a great opportunity to learn new technique and explore other crafts I’ve never done before.

You can  watch each of the classes I took online for FREE on Michaels.com until 8/22. I highly recommend them! Check them out.

In case you haven’t met all 50 of Michaels Makers, check out each of our blogs and bios on the Meet the Makers page. Follow along throughout the year and feel free to create projects with us by sharing on Instagram using #MadeWithMichaels.

I’m honored and humbled to be a Michaels Maker this year and I can’t wait to be sharing fun new crafts with you all each month.

Here is a peek at all of the other bloggers who attended the trip!

About Taryn Whiteaker

Hi! I’m Taryn! The voice behind Taryn Whiteaker Designs. I launched this brand over 11 years ago when I became a stay-at-home mom. What started as a small craft and mom blog eventually grew into a full time design and DIY site. My goal has always been to inspire others (especially women!) with design ideas, DIY tutorials, entertaining ideas and give you the tools you need to complete them yourself!