I am so so sorry for my long absence of late, but I'm in the final days crafting for my book and even a spare hour to blog is impossible to carve out. So...I promise I will be back in a few weeks with more great posts, and even some sneak peaks into the world of producing a 100+ project craft book! Don't give up on me...great things are on the horizon! (Here is a photograph of my son Oliver "helping Mommy work." His understanding of work is going to be very hard to clarify.) Continue reading

{via I Spy with my Salad Eyes} If you don't love confetti, you don't have a soul. Ok, maybe it's a mess to clean up, but even the cheesiest of metallic confetti has a glittery, sparkly, ephemeral impact. Check out these surprising ways to use it.... Put a packet of confetti in your wedding invitation. I'm beyond in love with this one that I found on Pinterest! How awesome are these tube confetti throwers from Oh Happy Day? Love love love... I still love the confetti gift wrap that I blogged about two years ago! Love the look but hate... Continue reading

Yes, you heard me. And yes, you are reading The Violet Hours blog. I know, decorating with fruit may sound super grandma to you, but after you look at this post, your mind will be forever changed! Oh Happy Day always gets it right, and this fruit balloon garland proves it. I'm obsessed! I specifically sought out a pineapple wallpaper because I won't deny that I love it. And how perfectly crafty is this color-by-numbers one by Jenny Wilkinson found on Design*Sponge? Call me crazy (Michael-husband, I hear you the loudest), but I could really get behind a glass fruit... Continue reading

This quote has a way different meaning now than ever. I'm too glued to the New York Times to report on cute stuff today. I think we are all seeing some amazing human nature as the general public is banding together to help the city of Boston. Found on Steph Lawson Design Etsy page. Continue reading

I am so not alone in my love for Instagram. It has definitely pulled ahead as my favorite form of social media. At this point in my life, I have time to look at pictures and not much else! Some of my Instagram pics are among my favorite I've ever taken (like this one of my daugther Sommer at her first music class), and I'm desperate to free them from my digital devices and let them live in my world so I can actually touch them. Here are some great ways to do that... LMNOP blogged about Origrami, a service... Continue reading

I was driving to Michael's the other day, and heard a fascinating report on NPR. The author of a new book called Drunk Tank Pink, Adam Alter, was discussing with Ira Foster how hidden currents, from reactions to color to our attraction to certain letters of the alphabet, affect our behavior and thoughts in significant ways. The term "drunk tank pink", I just learned from this website Color Matters, is the name that was given to the color that was used in jail cells to calm violent prisoners. It was discovered that this hue (R:255, G:145, B:175) had a calming... Continue reading

I pinned this photo from a French blog a while ago as aspiration. This is my goal for how I want my kids' room to look. Loose, fun, casual. I'm on my way, for sure...we have a knitted bunting, a mushroom table lamp, a poppy, apple green side table, cool wallpaper from Fine Little Day...and now, we have a toddler bed. Yes, Oliver has graduated, and thank goodness! Poor Sommer has been waiting for her fashionable, Kalon Studios Caravan crib for months now. We got Oliver the Gulliver bed from Ikea; now I just need to hack it a little... Continue reading

My 2.5-year-old Oliver loves rockets. He calls them rocket-planes because they fly like planes; they don't sail like ships. Der. He sees rockets in everything from a water bottle to a random pile of blocks loosely dropped into a pointed formation. So naturally I invented a rocket craft for my book...and after scouring the web for my competition, I'd say it's pretty original. Alas, I can't post it yet, so here are a few other ideas that I heart that aren't the typical cardboard tubes and streamer flames. Rockets live so naturally on a garland, like the one above from... Continue reading

I'm so attracted to maps, both for the actual use (navigation) and for their design and craft aesthetic. Obviously I'm not alone in this, as maps have been decoupaged on everything from coasters to lampshades. But these crafts, like this amazing map dress by Elisabeth Lecourt, are taking maps to new destinations...sorry, it had to be said! This looks crazy hard I know, but I think the artist just covered this cardboard deer head in maps. Love. Found via Babble. This could be a very cool abstract embroidered design, but it's actually the Paris Metro system. By Needle & Compass... Continue reading

This is so very much how I feel right now! So much so, that I'll come back tomorrow with the full update from my daughter's birthday party! (You can buy this cute tote on Handmade and Craft on Etsy.) Continue reading

I saw this adorable fabric play money on Estefi Machado's blog (one of my favorite craft blogs that happens to be in Portugese), and it inspired a search for other clever homemade play money. She used a really cool technique...she coated a piece of cotton in spray mount, let it dry, then ran it through the printer. (At least this is how I understood the google translation.) Being on fabric save them from wrinkles and rips. Here are a few other clever DIY money crafts that caught my eye... These homemade wooden coins by Lil Blue Boo are super cute:... Continue reading

If you are about to embark upon a week of kids at home (aka wild abandon) for spring break, maybe a few of these 10 ideas from my recent Mom.me story will inspire you! (And while you're there, check out all the great things that Mom.me has to offer!) Missing the beach in a bad way? Bring it home with this easy homemade recipe of flour and vegetable oil. Too cold for a backyard camp out? Instead, camp in with a homemade tent in the living room! Are Legos getting old? Try building a tower with marshmallows and toothpicks! Download... Continue reading

I just realized that as I'm uploading the above photo collage to this post, I'm smiling. It's been a crazy morning: husband and 2-year-old son make pancakces for 1-year-old daughters first birthday (picture it: egg yolk running down face of kitchen cabinets), son throws tantrum over wanting to be with work-at-home mommy and not scootering with nanny, and then just the on-going stress of crafting my 100-craft, insane (but awesome) book. Serious first-world problems here, but still, I've been a slight ball of tension for the last 2 hours. And then I spot this photo on Flavor Wire. Romania-based photographer... Continue reading

I save every jar, every lid, every bottle cap...my husband is about to go insane! But if ever there is a post to prove that my obsessive hoarding of trash has a point, it's this one. Here are 6 lovely, clever ways to upcycle jar lids. This fringe technique that Design*Sponge is showing is what makes these lids looks so smooth and perfect. Love. I love people that embroider the unexpected, like these lovely jar lids that I found on Pinterest. What I love about this amazing owl craft found via Recycled Aw Blog is that the lid isn't painted,... Continue reading

What? I know. Sounds impossible. But look how gorgeous these eggs by Inna Forostyuk are. This is the last of my Easter egg posts this year, so I thought I'd end with a doozy. You can learn how to make a simpler, but still magnificent, version of them on Design*Sponge. Continue reading

We are just 3 days away from the official Spring kick-off...Easter. By now you should have made some eggs or planned what you were going to make on Sunday, but if you don't have more specialty craft supplies on hand like rubber cement or candy sprinkles, then just use your basic craft supplies...Tim Gunn would say it's a make-it-work moment! Colored pencils on eggs by Fine Little Day—seriously simple, seriously gorgeous. Sharpie pens on Easter eggs by Mom.me! Yes! I'm crazy about the soft, washy quality of watercolor Easter eggs. Two lovely examples by Spoon Fork Bacon and Oh Happy... Continue reading

It doesn't have to be Easter to get the hankering to craft a bunny. But you do have to have pom-poms on hand to make any bunny craft worth his weight in carrots. Whether it's the whole body, the tail, or just the nose, listen up: pom-pom(s) required. Here are some of my faves... This cutie-patootie little bow-tied cupcake topper bunny by Oh Happy Day is just the perfect amount of cute. Not for the faint of craft, this pom-pom bunny by Jennifer Murphy is lovingly described in 18 "simple" steps. Sweet and simple...I'm in love with this book-page and... Continue reading

I'm usually very anti- the idea of decorating with sugary, edible items as craft materials for all the obvious reasons...the waste, the insect-attraction factor, the potential for decomposition. But honestly, Easter has me rethinking this rule of thumb. And I think because you don't typically leave Easter decorations up for weeks on end, it's totally excusable. Pass the Peeps please! I made these sprinkle and icing Easter eggs for Parents magazine a bunch of years ago. They are so much fun to make, and there a ton of different techniques! I used corn syrup as glue...worked better than hot glue!... Continue reading

I just started contributing to a very cool, newish parenting website called Mom.me, where you can explore crafts, behavior advice, recipes...basically everything under the sun that comes along with the parenting gig. They asked me to come up with some fun Spring Break staycation crafts. I tried to make each project something that would be just that: a project; not something that would only take 5 minutes. So here are a handful of the ideas. You can see the whole gallery here at Mom.me. Snap Happy ABCs sends kids on a scavenger hunt with a camera, looking to find something... Continue reading

I find no reason whatsoever to buy a party hat. Wait, let me rephrase that. I find no reason to buy a party hat without jazzing it up! It's totally legit to buy the paper ones and doll them up, or, just download a hat template and make it from scratch. But of course that all depends on how many you need to make. My daughter's first birthday party is in two weeks and to be honest, I don't feel the need to make a hat for everyone...just for her. So, since I'm only making one, I can really dedicate... Continue reading

Really and truly, I could come up with dozens of topics for Easter egg posts...animals eggs, people eggs, egg totems...but I feel the need to think outside the shell a little bit. Today, I've chosen to feature egg crafts that are a specific color for a specific reason. Huh, you ask? Take a look... As a New Yorker, the brilliance of these MTA Subway eggs just can't even be put into words. I'm just mad I never thought of it. Made by The Soho. Oh Pantone, how we love to use you as a motif! How About Orange dyed eggs,... Continue reading

Spring has sprung (technically) so it's time to start planning some planting projects for the kids! Here are a few simple ideas that will really get them excited about gardening... Remember my perler-bead craft post last week? This planter is so amazing, it's a product. If you aren't such a planner (this design would take some design skillz), this would even be cool if you just did stripes of color. Via Peaches & Keen. Cut a hole in a plastic animal toy and create a succulent planter. Genius! Found via Digs Digs. This one was a new one for me...I'd... Continue reading

One of the last stories I produced as Lifestyle Director at Parents Magazine was this Easter egg story by the amazingly talented Jocelyn Worrall. Prepare yourself for some overwhelming cuteness! These beauties were made with just a simple brush and tempera paint. We've all seen the chick Easter egg craft before, but these yellow-dyed large eggs are sitting in jumbo egg shells. Genius. Watch the how-to video here. This technique uses rubber cement. So easy to do and the results are gorgeous! Watch a how-to video here. Wrap a ceramic or wooden egg in white yarn to make these fluffy... Continue reading

This morning my head is swarming with craft ideas, so I need to be fast on the blog. This image from The Purl Bee is so full of yummy color, texture, material...it makes me feel hopeful that beautiful will churn out of this studio today. Glue gun in plugged in, the French press is full, Pandora is singing, my babies are happy...and off I go. Happy Monday everyone! Continue reading

Allenah - El Nido, Philippines Writers, photographers, reporters, and documentarians travel the world to search for differences and similarities in all aspects of countries and cultures—food, politics, landscape, architecture, and the list goes on. The general consensus is there is very little that is universal except perhaps the basic need for necessities like food, shelter, and clothing. Alessia - Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy Photographer Gabriele Galimberti travelled the world, examining a very unique relationship— the connection of children to their toys. After 18 months of shooting these gorgeous photographs of children with their toys, he discovered that “at their age, they... Continue reading