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 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 Calendars

I used to look forward to buying a new calendar at the end of every year. I'm sad that this tradition died with the efficiency of the computer calendar. But it's undeniable...the digital record can't be beat. Thank goodness for people still making creative calendars...like these.

This perpetual calendar/journal from Design Sponge is my fave of the season. The idea is very simple — flip to the current date and at the end of the day, write down something that happened. Some days it is big things like “Annie took her first steps.” Other days it is small, like “needed more than one cup of coffee this morning.”

Instead of recording an event per day, this calendar from Brigada Creativa allows you to record your mood by drawing an emoticon on a yellow circle. How do you draw brilliant?

I love the Twenty Eleven calendar from The Moustache. No page flipping required.

I love the detail that went into this perpetual calendar by Chelsea Nordstom.

This calendar allows the user to arrange the year as one sees fit. Are the days ordered in a strict chronological fashion or does it appear more like a blur? Does winter feel longer that summer and so on. The individual dates are held in place by magnets, so each day can be moved around. The different days can also be used to hold in place theater tickets or reminders. By StokkeAustad.

You know those tear-off calendars with a word-of-the-day? Or a Cathy cartoon? Well here's font of the day. For the love of fonts. Check out Typografie.

Time for Holiday Wishes

Wishing you a very sweet and cozy Christmas!

(2D Christmas tree by Tanja Soeter. Found via Bloesom.)

Time for Christmas Crafts

Yes, I know it's late to be posting Christmas crafts (if yours aren't up yet, then really, just don't bother). But late is the story of my life these days with an infant. 

Here are some crafts from my Christmas caroling story for the December issue of Parents Magazine.

The letters for this garland were cut from colored index cards.

Little felt florettes decorate moss wreathes. Full instructions here.

This is a great craft for even little kids. The trees are made from circle punches with clothespins as the trunks.

If you go out caroling, be sure to carry lights. These little lanterns are made from small water bottles. For reals.

Come in from the cold and stir up some hot chocolate with these handsome choco spoons.

 

Time for Downloadable Gift Tags

It's the final countdown to Christmas and it's seriously possible that you've run out of cards, stationery, or gift tags. Thank goodness for the generosity of creative people in the blogosphere. Here are some of my favorite free downloadables...

Simply perfect. Really. By Eat Drink Chic.

Cuteness courtesy of Orange You Lucky.

I love how sweet and prissy these are. By Simply Modern Mom.

If you want to steer clear of the Christmas jargon, these tags by Whisker Graphics are darling.

Not a gift tag, but how clever is this downloadable garland? I do heart Fawn & Forest. Found via Creature Comforts.

Time for Advent Calendars

I'm a huge fan of advent calendars, and I think they can be used for way more than the countdown to Christmas. You can countdown any special occasion...a birthday, a wedding, or a baby's due date. Here are some of my faves, both products and DIYers.

Here is my new favorite! It looks like this adorable and simple countdown calendar is made from cans. I just love it! Found on Room Envy.

How cute and graphic is this advent calendar made from metal tins? Found on Twig & Thistle.

I was amazed the first time I saw this toilet paper tube calendar by Maya Made. So clever!

You can buy this lovely advent calendar at Pottery Barn. Found on Oh Happy Day.

This is one of my fave advent calendars of all time by Pickles...little gifts hanging from plastic rings. A child's dream...snowing presents! Found via The Crafty Crow.

You can make your own embroidered felt calendar with the help of the Purl Bee.

 

Time for a Thanksgiving Craft

I am crazy about these wooden spool and feather turkeys made by Joel Henriques of Made by Joel from the November issue of Parents magazine. Super cute and easy!

Materials: Wooden spool, Covered floral wire (12-inch piece), Wire cutter or old scissors, Scissors, Colored paper, Small button, Feathers, Pen, Clear tape

Step 1: Wrap the middle section of wire twice around spool tightly. Twist together to secure. Bend wire to make a foot on each leg and trim excess with old scissors or wire cutter.

Step 2: Trace the end of a spool and a button about 1" apart on paper. Connect the circles to form a neck, and add points on head. Cut out shape, and draw eyes, beak, and spiral.

Step 3: Tape the paper body to one end of spool, then flip over and attach 3 feathers to other side, taping each one individually. Adjust feet so turkey stands.

Time For A Halloween First

As Halloween was fast approaching, I did not have a costume for Oliver. It was truly like the cobbler's kid with no shoes. So based on his wardrobe, he was either going to be a teddy bear (brown onesie), an elephant (gray onesie), or a frog (green onesie). He has frog-like gestures sometimes so I went frog. I modeled the collar and wrist/ankle bands after this costume from Parents magazine, but the tongue/pacifier was my most proud invention! He may look back one day with a big eye roll!

Time for a Halloween Party

Planning a backyard Halloween party? Check out these fun games and adorable (if I do say so myself) decorations that I designed for this month's Parents magazine.

I made homemade stencils and spraypainted the letters to the broom bristles. Seriously, my favorite Halloween decoration ever!

Have a bone hunt: paint a bunch of dog bones white and one orange and send the kids on a mission to find them. The one that finds the orange one wins a special prize.

Wrap a bunch of boxes in black paper and make windows, doors, and shingles using yellow post-it notes. Have a contest with the kids to see who can build the tallest haunted house.

Make a spooky street sign with scrap wood and black paint.

Give your pumpkins some personality by dressing them up for the occasion!

This old fashioned game never goes out of style! Put grapes, noodles, and baggies of pudding in glass bowls, blindfold the kids and have them guess what they are touching!