The Violet Hours

Time for a Heart Shaped Hole Punch

Is it a necessary item? No, would it improve hole punching on a regular basis? I think yes. A love-filled Valentine gift for your work wife. (C'mon, you know you have one!)

Found via Design for Mankind, made by Fred Flare.

Time for Upcycling Piñatas

Ok, it's one thing to make your own piñata, but it's another to pick up the scraps after it's been beaten to a pulp and continue crafting! Not something for the faint of craft. How cute are these piñata scrap bags from Giddy Giddy? And those piñatas? Bestill my beating heart...

 

Time to Upcycle Wine Bottles (or Happy New Year!)

Just a little crafty thought as you head into a night of boozin'...here are some lovely uses for your wine bottles, saving them from the recycling bin.

Happy New Year from The Violet Hours! xxoo

How gorgeous are these wine bottle torches? Find the how-to on Design Sponge.

I love this frosted look, like these bottles have been sitting out in the snow. Found on Style Files.

Turn a wine bottle into a mini terrarium. Here's a how-to on cutting the bottle. Love the fiddlehead ferns! Found on Wedding Bee.

How's this for an amazing reuse? Instead of buying those blown glass balls to automatically water your plants, use a wine bottle! Found on Chica and Jo.

And of course, the bottle chandelier. For sale on Pottery Barn.

You'd have to be a brave soul to load this shelf up. Found on DeTnk.

And the corks? Well that's a post for next year. Here's to safe, happy, and healthy New Year!

Time for Cupcake Liner Crafts

Did anyone see this genius use of cupcake liners in the Good Things section (my fave) of the August issue of Martha? It then sent me on a quest to find other cupcake liner uses...

Better Homes & Gardens did a similar thing as above, just with a different purpose. Here the paper liner becomes the top of a gift wrap (although I'm not sure I'd drop jewelry in a clear cup to give as a gift...perhaps it's better as a party favor. Fill a cup with bright jellybeans and top with a colorful cupcake liner.).

I've seen a million garlands made from this material, but this one is different since it's interspersed with circles of vintage fabric. This garland was a lovely collaboration of Simple Suppers and 100 Layer Cake; Find a tutorial on 100 Layer Cake.

I love how light and airy this cupcake tree is, made from white cupcake liners. It could be more kid-like if done in color: the trunk could be brown, and the majority of the tree could be green with colored spots for ornaments. By Sweet Paul.

Zakka Life made this little party favor, using 2 adorable cupcake liners from Bake It Pretty.

 

I like this abstract and very inexpensive wall art. Found on Craft Gossip. 

And now to end with Martha, I love these festive flower balls to hang above a dinner or buffet table. 

Have you seen or made anything adorable with cupcake liners?

Time for DIY Rock Placecard Tutorial

Since I started The Violet Hours, my most linked-to post has been the air-dry-clay rock placecards that I made for my wedding. After many requests for a tutorial, here it is!

What you’ll need: white air dry clay, a sponge, cooking oil, small letter stamps, paper towel, q-tip, glossy varnish, sponge brush, parchment paper, rapidograph pen

1. Form clay into an organic rock shape, about 3" long x 2" wide x 1" tall. Smooth with wet sponge and let dry for ten minutes.
2. Dip your finger in olive oil and smear across the surface of the clay. Stamp letters into the clay to spell names (the oil allows for a clean release). Blot oil off with a paper towel, and smooth any dings or divots with a wet q-tip.
3. Let rocks dry completely on parchment paper, which may take a few days due to density of the clay.
4. Using a sponge brush, coat dry rocks with varnish just over the name. This will dry in less than an hour.
5. Using a rapidograph ink pen (the tip is very fine and almost functions like a syringe dispensing ink), fill in the letters with dark ink.
6. Let ink dry and coat entire rock surface with a final coat of varnish.

Time for Japanese Goodness

I think I need to go on a shopping expedition to Japan. Here are three reasons why...

1. The sweetest craft supplies I've simply ever seen! Found via Eat Drink Chic. 

 

 

 

2. Plate, utensils, and chopsticks, all in one. Found via Spoon & Tamago.

 

3. Beautiful, aged housewares from Five From the Ground. Found via Handmade Charlotte.

Time for Craft Kits

Just like I'm not big on boxed parties (except these), I'm not a huge fan of craft kits. I'd rather give kids a table of fabric scraps, pipe cleaners, glue, and a pile of magazines and see what they invent, rather than giving them a picture to follow. But there's always an exception to the rule, especially when it comes to good design and packaging.

 

This really isn't a kit exactly, but more like a goody bag of tools that encourage a child's imagination. Developed by Karen Kimmel, the canvas bag includes different organic-like stencils and colored pencils, with no instruction book. I've seen kids in action with these tools, tracing, layering, and rubbing to create masterpieces. Visit Kimmel Kids to find retailers near you.

 

 

Even though the kits by The Little Experience are rather directed, they are are just so darn cute! And bonus, each box comes with instructions of how to turn it into a prop that accompanies each craft.

 

 

The vintage packaging of these Wild & Wolf kits just sends me. I spotted these at the Stationery Show this week and I can't wait to see them on shelves in the US.

Time for Nesting Dolls

Russian dolls, nesting dolls, matryoshka dolls, babushka dolls...who knew there were so many names for these cute collectibles?

    

How cute would your reminders be with these nesting doll post-its from Nothing Elegant.

Babushka doll fabric by Mikodesign. Check out her Etsy store for more cute items. 

Paint your own set of teeny matryoshkas. Buy a set at Romp. 

You can even wear 'em in your hair. Made by Fluffs Stuffs, found on Bluelines. 

Have you ever forgotten which is bigger, a Megabyte or a Gigabyte? Never wonder again with these Byte Nesting Dolls found on Craziest Gadgets. 

If your love of these dolls is that strong, visit Nesting Doll Square in Manzhouli, China.

Time for Craft Supply Storage

As I'm thinking about moving into my new apartment (today—woot!) I'm trying to figure out how I am going to solve the ever-consuming problem of organizing my craft supplies. It's daunting, really, so this blog post is a very self-serving one.

 

 

If you are a crafter, you know that it's painful to throw out a 3x3-inch piece of paper. I love this idea from The Crafts Dept.—store your scraps in presentation sleeves by color. 

Oh to have such a manageable collection of materials! If only I had 10 sheets of scrapbook paper, 4 pairs of scissors, or four spools of twine, only then could my craft space look like this. But this photo does display one of my fave storage ideas...the jars mounted underneath a shelf. Found on Ohdeedoh.

Chez Larsson came up with this precious way to store materials. She took photos of her materials and decoupaged the print-outs to wooden Ikea drawers.