The Violet Hours

Time to Plan a First Birthday Party

It's totally mind-numbing that my daugher is turning 1 in a month. I guess we as parents all have that feeling that the days are long, but the years fly by. So on top of the emotions that surround this milestone, it's time to plan a party. Fortunately, I just did this story for the March issue of Parents magazine (on stands now)!

One certainty of becoming a parent is the enormous amount of photographs that you take of your baby—from the first sneeze to the first time he stares at a toy. Riveting material. Here's an easy decor solution: use your baby's precious face to decorate the party! Find the how-to's on Parents.com. {Edit note: baby-in-hat garland is my little Sommer Alice!}

 

I don't know about you, but I have the hardest time throwing away baby food jars. Here are 3 cool ways to resuse them—favors, vases, and votive holders—for your baby's first birthday party.

 

Running 72 errands and buying 34 different craft materials is the last thing you want to do when DIYing your baby's first birthday party. I have such a crush on the crepe paper from Cartefini.com that I designed an entire party using that solo material!

 

The handprint is such an icon of babyhood. Make a stamp of your baby's hand and use it to decorate napkins. Click here to learn which ink pads are best for napkins. Plus you can watch a video too!

(Gorgeous photos by Tara Donne and genius styling by Martha Bernabe)

Time for a Glittered Oscar Party

I used to throw Oscar parties...back in the day when I saw movies. Sigh. My day will come again, I know it, and I'll be ready, with glitter in hand. Check out these sparkly, glittery ideas for a DIY Oscar Party that shines!

One of the best parts of Oscar parties is the guessing slash voting. Learn how to make these very mod Oscar ballot envelopes at Studio DIY. (Though I'd recommend using a glittered paper or craft foam like this, but that's just me. It'll cut your work/mess in half.) You can download any of these amazing Oscar 2013 ballots.

 

I can't even stand how gorgeous these glittered ombre champagne bottles are. These are definite keepers. Found via 100 Layer Cake.

 

You'll need to serve some glittered bites to go with your glittered champagne bottles and flutes. Check out these gems from The Purl Bee.

 

No need to stock up on cheesy Oscar decorations from Party City. Instead, fill clear glass vases with glittered stars. Understated and elegant. These are from Pottery Barn, believe it or not. Maybe you can just raid your Christmas decorations for something similar.

Time for Teacup Crafts

I always come across lovely, single teacups at flea markets and almost buy them. I think it's time I shell out the cash to make some of these amazing projects.

I don't know if these are pincushions or just little soft, teacup sculptures. And honestly, I don't care. I love them. Found via Susan Anderson's pinterest page. (Follow her if you don't!)

 

I think these are genius—bracelets made out of teacups. For the delicate wearer. You can buy them on Stay Gold Mary Rose's Etsy store.

 

You don't need any electrical skills to craft these precious teacup lights from Ideas Mag.

 

Use mis-matched teacups to store jewelry in your dresser drawer. It's almost too pretty to hide! Via Martha Stewart.

 

I always love the scene in Willy Wonka when he takes the daffodil and drinks from the center like it's a teacup. Then he takes a bite out oit. I think kids will love doing that with these edible teacups from the Disney Family website.

 

Another edible teacup, these look like they're made from marshmallows, Lifesavers, and nonpareils. Via Tip Junkie.

Time to Plan a Dinner Party Around the Dishware

A rather unusual blog post title today, but bare with me. I think I'm on to something. I saw these gorgeous trays from Feinedinge on Pinterest today, and it made me think—how cool would it be to have a dinner party where every place was set with one of these trays, full of bowls of delicious bites? How gorgeous would that be? And then I thought that €220 was a little steep for one place setting, so what are other alternatives? (I would have posted photos of my collections but I'm currently in Atlanta, visiting family.)

Divided cafeteria trays are totally underrated. They are great for a kitschy dinner party or even a little craft party where all supplies are served on the tray. You can buy these gems on Moxie Thrift's Etsy store.

Have you ever seen these amazing buffet plates from the 60s? Some call them luncheon plates. I have 2 sets of them where the little cup fits right in the plate, next to the ashtray. Yes, you heard right. Sign of the times. What should I serve in the ashtray at my party? For sale here.

Time for Paper-Cup Animal Crafts

This post makes me want to write a whole book on crafts to do with paper cups. As I was stumbling upon these, I started searching for crafts that I swore had to exist and they didn't! But the overwhelming amount of genius paper-cup animal crafts was staggering. Who knew?

I can't even contain my dropped-jaw expression for these artful paper cup animals by Gautam Datta. You also have to see how he crafted Hindu divinities from paper and cups. Amazing.

I found these on Pinterest, but there's no source from where they came. Sad. Because they are beyond the beyond. The winking bunny sends me.

Yes, this last one from Handmade Charlotte has a Christmas slant, but how smart is it to cut up straws to make antlers on a reindeer cup? Love. Love. Love.

 

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 a Super Bowl Party

I got roped into throwing a last minute Super Bowl party, and I'm scrambling a bit for what to make, do, craft, etc. I'm going with the traditional menu of high-caloric, greasy foods that includes wings, Lipton's onion dip, and my husband's Saltine Surprise (basically, it's milk chocolate melted over buttered saltine crackers—he's famous for it). But I refuse to accept a cheesy aesthetic that can be bought at Party City (not that I have anything against the amazing party superstore). So here's my attempt at a tastefully crafted Super Bowl soiree!

I have to cover my table with something, so why not make a little football field? I'll probably go with brown butcher paper, white tape, and white sticker numbers since I have all of those on hand. Photo via Parents.com.

 

Unless you have enough beer koozies for everyone, coasters are a must. I love that I can download these chic, vintage designs from Design*Sponge. Designed by Fawnsberg.

 

And this might be the cutest Super Bowl craft to date. Make your own little "finger" finger puppets in the team colors for the kids. By the talented Kendra Smoot for Holidash.

I will never claim to be a sports fan, but I throw a mean party. Enjoy!

Time for a Toddler's Idea of a Birthday Cake

 

My birthday has come and gone, and as planned, Oliver and I baked a cake together. It took 3x as long as it would have alone, but it was adorable and his enthusiasm for "helping" was precious. The best part, for everyone involved, is the way he decorated it. I put together a little time lapse video so you can follow his genius from beginning to end (it's only 25 seconds, I promise).

Have a lovely weekend!

Time for Drinking Straw Crafts

   

How is it possible that every utilitarian object now has a design-y counterpart? Let's take the drinking straw, for example. Never did I ever imagine that I'd utter the words "oh my, what a darling straw you have." After researching for this post, I'm firmly dedicated to adding a straw craft to my book. (Floral straws from Emerald & Ella, amazing Birch-tree straws from Jazzy Apple Girl on Etsy, and Polka Dot straws from Shop Sweet Lulu.)

The straw flowers are really a dime a dozen, but these are really pretty gorge. By GCD Spa Stuff.

Alone, I think this straw garland by Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line would feel pretty sad, but I love how she mixed it in with the dots. Super cute.

I know it's a little early to be thinking Easter egg crafts, but seriously, come on. I could not resist sharing these precious dye-ving eggs from Spoonful with you!

Tell me, if this jewerly by Creme de La Craft wasn't pictured in a straw round-up, would you really know that the gold triangles were made from drinking straws?

When I saw these coasters in Country Living magazine last summer, I gasped when I learned they were made from woven plastic straws.

Straws make the perfect frame for kite crafts. Found these on Make and Takes.

Time for Gumballs

This photograph makes me happy and sad at the same time. Happy because those first few moments after the turn of the machine's nickel crank (am I aging myself?) are the most exciting, anticipatory seconds. Is red going to be cherry or strawberry? Will the blue turn my mouth blue? And sad, well, because they are scattered on the sidewalk, just waiting to be swept up and tossed in the trash. So today, I felt the need to honor the shiney, sugary everlasting gobstopper of my youth: the gumball. (Photo found via pinterest)

I totally get the urge to wear gumballs around my neck. Doesn't everyone? Via Formal Fringe.

Why aren't there more gumball machine toys? I love love love this wooden one that I found at A+R.

Gumballs have the potential to be turned into many things. Least of which—apples. By The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

...or chicks. Also by The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle.

And lastly, I found the artist Stefan Sagmeister on The Jealous Curator and was fascinated by this exhibition that he erected called The Happy Show. In this installation, he asks the viewer to rate her/his happiness on a scale of 1 to 10 by taking a gumball from the corresponding cylinder. It looks like 7 was winning that day which makes me feel pretty hopeful. What number would you be? Today I'd say I'm a solid 9. Pretty good for girl woman who's turning 38 tomorrow.