The Violet Hours

Time for Instagram Love

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 that prints postcard-quality prints of your Instagram photos. And then packages them in that amazing box. I'm doing this. Even if I have to pay shipping from Australia.

 

I love the way A Beach Cottage arranged Instagram photos of a beach vaca on a wall in the shape of a heart. Because face it, who doesn't love the beach? And Instagram. So if you are a shutter-happy photographer on one subject, this project will visually link the imagery and colors nicely.

 

Seriously, this is a dream of mine: a huge frame with hundreds of Instagram photos. If only I had the wall for it. Found via Because I'm Addicted.

 

Young House Love framed their Instagram photos in jewel cases. Always a fabulous, photograph vehicle. (PS...I'm so proud to share a book publisher with them! How on Earth did that happen?)

Time for the Color PINK

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 influence, even affecting a person's heart rate, but could then create adverse effects after about 15 minutes of being subjected to it.

Then there's the story about the head football coach at the University of Iowa who painted the opposing team's locker room pink to weaken their performance on the field. Rumor has it that the visitors would cover everything with newspaper as best they could before entering the locker room to derail this bubblegum assault.

So naturally I began to think about pink in a new way...little girls clothed in pink, sleeping inside pink walls, chewing on pink plastic giraffes. Do we push this pacifying color onto them or is it a biological attraction? 

A few years ago I blogged about this project by South Korean artist JeongMee Yoon on Parents magazine's Goodyblog. Starting with her 5-year old daughter Yoon conducted a documentary-esque study of children and their possessions. She orderly arranged their belongings, from clothing to pencils to books, in their bedrooms. The resulting photographs are astounding. The diptych is of a set of twins that both started out in the pink world, and then went their separate ways to pink and purple.

I am usually not drawn to pink for my 1-year-old daughter Sommer and much of what she wears is hand-me-downs from her brother (she survived the winter being mistaken for a boy in a navy-blue coat). I'm curious to see how it all shakes out; if one day, she'll be fighting to paint her half of the room blush or bashful.

Time for a Toddler Bed (literally!)

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 bit to give it some European style. I wanted something simple that could compliment the Caravan, but at a lower price point. I plan to style it like a little day bed, and honestly, I can't wait to start pinning textiles.

Tonight will be the first night as a big boy. Must mark it down in the calendar.

Time for Rocket Crafts

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 Guusjes Appeltaart, a Dutch blog. She made stamps of rockets, stars, and flying saucers to create these gorgeous forms. I just love them.

 

Bonus points go to a rocket craft that can actually fly, like this cute project found on Dollar Store Crafts. You blow through the straw to make it soar through the air. Big fun.

 

Here is the elegant version of a rocket craft...those gold letters really take it up a notch! Apparently it's a party favor (so says the blog, My Garden Party).

 

Rockets make natural bookmarks because of their shape, like this one that I saw on Pinterest. Add a little weaving lesson that doubles as flames and you're ready for take off.

 

Now why haven't we seen this idea a gazillion times? It's genius...a cardboard rocket "playhouse". And notice, the aliens are made from bottle tops. It's pretty amazing and really gets me thinking about how I would do it. Nice work, Se7en!

ps...I promise to come back next week with a recap of Sommer's 1st birthday party, as promised! It's been a crazy week of book production!

Time for DIY Play Money

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: I love that they are in denominations of treats, rather than money amounts.

 

What's better than a kid seeing her own mug in the center of currency? I love the iron-on and stitched details of this homemade play money.

Time for Spring Break Staycation Activities

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 scavenger hunts for the grocery store, the mall, and traffic to keep your kids busy while you run errands!

Check out the rest of the story on mom.me!

Time for Jar Lid Crafts

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, covered, or disguised in any way.

 

Are you serious? You can bake a tart in jar lids? I would probably never do it, but that's just amazing. Found via Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body.

 

I've seen a gazillion jar lights, but never have I seen a light with just the lid. Found via Pinterest.

 

How cute is this printable jar-lid matching game from Smashed Peas & Carrots?

Time for Last Minute Easter Egg Crafts

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 Day.

Time for Pom-Pom Bunny Crafts

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 pom-pom bunny by Dekotante Rock My Home.

 

Just the noses...that's all the pom-pom you need to give these envelope bunnies a soft touch. By Martha Stewart.

 

What a clever little party favor! Give your Easter guests a pom-pom necklace buy displaying it as the tail of a paper bunny. By B. Jane Brewing.

Time for Easter Candy Decorations

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!

Martha Stewart always takes Easter to a different place. I wouldn't let my kids anywhere near these beautifully styled jars of Easter candy!

 

What's prettier than a sugary, gumdrop wreath like this one from A Pretty Cool Life? Just shellac it and save it for Christmas!

 

I love the idea of using candy-dot paper strips as easter basket decor like this one from Parents magazine (ok, I know...but I used to work there!).

 

You can't talk about Easter candy decorations without Peeps. This sweet topiary by Country Woman magazine is amazingly easy to make. Go ahead and use your glue gun on this one...who wants to eat peeps anyway?