The Violet Hours

Time for Last-Minute Valentines

Ok, it's February 13th and you know what that means. Procrastination must turn to action—now! Valentine's Day is just minutes away and it's time to get resourceful and use what you have. You're at work with no craft supplies you say? Fear not—these last-minute Valentines can all be made from "borrowed" office supplies from your desk drawer.

Grab some Post-it notes and after your love falls asleep, arrange them in a heart-shape on the wall of your bedroom or living room. If you really want points, write all the reasons you love him on the the backs. It's okay if you don't have a gorgeous array of colors like these from The House that Lars Built. See below...the effect is still totally presh.

Post-it note heart from Desire to Inspire.

 

This is a Blik wall decal, but can easily be replicated with Post-it notes! Via Brooklyn Bride.

 

You probably don't have heart stickers laying among your legal pads, but just grab a marker and draw a heart or write I LOVE YOU on some Avery mailing labels. Easy peasy. These cute stickers are from Inspire Lovely on Etsy.

 

Ok, no Post-it notes or plain labels on hand? Tacks, cardboard, and binder clips make cute little frames for your kids' artwork. Via Martha Stewart.

You're welcome.

Time for Little Valentine's Surprises

My favorite way to celebrate Valentine's Day is in the unexpected. Seriously, you can really keep it simple with a big impact.

Add a little red food coloring to milk and freeze it in heart-shaped ice-cube trays. There is not a kid on this planet (or adult) that wouldn't blush over a little love with their milk and cookies. From A Subtle Revelry.

A little more effort (and a bit of skill) goes into this little Valentine's Day surprise. Just stitch a little red heart under his collar, so he'll see it when he's tying his tie in the morning. (Sadly my man wears a tie only at weddings, funerals, and bar mitzvahs. And the occasional geek-chic-under-the-sweater-vest-look.) Via Pinterest. (For the more casual dude, you can just embroider a heart on the inside of the pocket flap comme ça.)

The effort put forth in this cute heart-balloon-in-the-closet surprise from Oh Happy Day is primarily a pulmonary effort. Maybe go for the smallest closet in the house.

Oh yes. Indeed you can even hide a heart in a cupcake. By Sky Blue's Kitchen.

Oh Happy Day (yes again) went as far as to make a heart stamp for these cute cups, but really just grab a red marker and do it freehand. A little hot love on the morning of February 14th is a darn good thing.

Little surprise, big smiles. Will someone forward this post to my husband? xoxo

Time for the 10 Best Valentine Cookies

Yes, this is my second baked goods post in a row; I'm not sure how to interpret that. This post could have gone on for pages, but I reigned it in to 10 of the sweetest confections to make on February 14th. In no particular order, here are my 10 favorite Valentines cookie treats!

{1} Conversation heart cookies had to make the list, but what took these beauties from Martha Stewart over the top were the sewn pouches.

{2} I love that these dot cookies from The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle are not red, white, and pink.

{3} Twice the love with these double-decker heart cookies from Bake at 350.

{4} I love the classic cookie and milk combo for sure, but the arrow straw? A genius confection and presentation by Cookies and Cups. (PS...if you want to try this, you can get these precious farmstand milk bottles at Shop Sweet Lulu.)

{5} You don't need a special pan to make these heart-shaped whoopie pies by Annie's Eats. Just trace a heart template onto wax paper and use a pastry bag pipe the dough within the pencil lines. So smart!

{6} This Hayley person is one talented chick! I love her color choices and the tone-on-tone "I Love You" cookies. Very chic. By Hayley Cakes and Cookies.

{7} Lovely cookie-lollipop combo by Martha Stewart.

{8} Love this stack of heart cookies by Patti Paige Baked Ideas.

{9} Need Valentine cookies for your manly man? These woodland ones from Whipped Bake Shop on Etsy are yours with the click of your mouse.

{10} Hugs and kisses or edible tic-tac-toe? These x and o cookies from Woman's Day can go either way.

 

Eat your heart out, lovebirds (sorry, I just had to say it)!

Time for Wearable Valentines

Yes, you can wear your heart on your sleeve, but you can also wear it in your hair, on your collar, on your shoe. Here are some great gifts and DIY's just in time for Valentine's Day!

I love elbow patches, and this heart-shaped one from Honestly WTF is such a cute surprise.

I made these Heart Felt pins for Parents magazine last year. Sew easy!

Hearts make the perfect ear covers for a knitted hat. Spotted on Nicole Hill's blog.

Turn these clay hearts into necklaces, pins, or magnets. Watch a how-to video on Parents.com. (Yes, that's me!)

 

Hearts on your shoes? Yes, please. From Ban.do.

Diane Von Furstenberg makes these sweet heart ear buds. Only $15 on Net-a-Porter.

I think I'd have to have this cute hair-do to wear this headband by Giant Dwarf.

 

Time for Couch Crafting

Last night was a smorgasbord of television—the Golden Globes plus the 2 pre-shows, episode 2 of Downton Abbey, then the season premiere of Girls on HBO. It was a hunkered-down, DVR-set, Indian take-out kind of a night. Yes, it is totally permissable for a mother of 2 babes (okay, a toddler and a baby) to zone out for a night in front of good television, but it's also fun to take to some couch crafting. Yes, there are crafts you can do beyond knitting, sans glue and paint, that can be done cleanly in the comfort of your living room. Let's explore the options, shall we?

Pom-poms are the perfect couch craft. Yes, they leave a little fuzz behind, but all you need is yarn, scissors, and your hand to make awesome pom-poms. These gorgeous gems are by Fox & Owl.

Origami is another ideal project for sofa crafting. Here is a great project that you can tackle to get you ready for Valentine's Day! These orgami-heart bookmarks make a perfect Valentine craft for the kids to give out at school. By Oh Dear!.

A tiny needle craft is a fabulous activity to keeps your hands moving during tv time. Plus if you can make something utilitarian, even better! I love this cross-stitch iPhone case spotted on The Purl Bee. It's tradition and technology all in one. You can buy the blank kit here (it comes in 6 colors).

Dear readers, what are other good, clean couch crafts? After all, Smash starts up again soon!

{cardboard tv via pinterest}

Time to Get Ahead for Valentine's Day

I always feel like I'm behind the 8-ball when it comes to Valentine's Day. I guess I find myself in a craft coma post-holiday and Valentine's Day creeps up on me. So this year, I vow to plan ahead to share something sweet.

I love this free download from Sweet Muffin Suite because it suits boths kids and adults. For an added treat, you could switch out the pencil for a pixie stick.

One of the best gifts I ever gave my husband was custom-made match boxes. Here's a quick way to get a little flirty when you light candles for a romantic dinner. Download and print at Camille Styles.

 

The talented Corinne Gill made these snowflake valentines for my Parents mag Valentine story this year. Here's a video (of yours truly) of how to make them.

This origami XO garland pretty much blew my mind when I spotted it on How About Orange.

 

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 Last Minute Valentine

As an individual, I don't celebrate Valentine's Day traditionally. But as a crafter, I simply can't avoid it. It is a holiday ripe with creative possibility! And, I'm a bit of a sap, so one small gesture per year is allowed.

If you are in need a last minute Valentine for the significant other in your life, this one packs a big punch. Last year, I made a numbered list of each day that I had known Michael. I know, it sounds daunting, but with auto-type on Word, it's super easy. I figured out important dates (like when we were in Argentina, I wrote in Spanish) and described them accordingly. To make it easier on myself, I often copied the same sentence over and over to complete the list. I rolled the scroll and tied it with twine.

So for this Valentine, you just have to have patience and math skills.

(Love to you all.)

Time for Message Cookies

I'm not really a fan of conversation hearts (although I hear their recipe is new and improved), but a cookie that tells me that I'm Hot Stuff or a Sweet Heart or a QTπ is alright in my book. You customize the cutters by sliding in letters or premade words to form a name or message. When you press the cutter into the dough, your lettering is imprinted on the cookie.

Message-in-a-Cookie Cutters via Just Our Story.

PS...if you have a soul and love cookies, check out my friend Scott Sternberg's cookie blog.