The Violet Hours

Time for an Owl Party

Ok, here's the thing about me and owls...I collect them. And I swear, I've been collecting them for years longer than they have been the bird of the moment. Both of my grandmothers collected figurines, jewelry, tape dispensers, belt buckles...all with owls. So when my niece Grey asked if I would help plan an owl party for her 7th birthday, it was a no-brainer.

The party started with a hunt for gold rocks in the front yard, followed by this adorable owl craft. My sister-in-law Dena found a pile of magnolia branches on the side of the road and took them home to slice and seal them with polyurethane.

 

  

 

Here's how to make the owl:

1. We used Mod Podge to cover 3" styrofoam balls with tissue paper. (We saved ourselves the mess and did this step for them.) We put them on skewers so the girls would have something to hold.
2. We cut large feathers out of brown felt; they became the wings and feathers to cover the backs of the birds. They girls glued them on to their styro ball.
3. Dena pre-cut hundreds feathers from felt (yes, she's a little nuts). Starting at the bottom, we glued the feathers in rows to cover the ball. 
4. Once the ball is covered, glue a triangle pointing down in the front to the top of the head.
5. Then, glue two buttons on either side of the triangle.
6. Use hot glue gun to attach to a log or stick. 

Here are some pics of these adorable little girls having the best time!

   

   

Time for Paris vs. New York

As a lover of Paris and a resident of New York, I have great appreciation for this well designed comparison. Via Charlotte's Fancy. Check out the blog Paris Vs. New York for more.

 

Time for a 5-minute Homemade Toy

I've blogged about Made by Joel before...he's one of my absolute faves! Here, he made the simplest toy: he gathered sticks and twigs with his kids and then drilled a few holes in a sanded piece of wood. The kids inserted the twigs in the holes and voila, insta-forest! It doesn't beep, light up, or move. But it does entertain, in the simplest way.

Time for Technology of Yesteryear

When I saw this adorable knitted record player on All The Beautiful Things I Want, I realized that my son Oliver will never know what a record player is. Or a cassette tape. Or even a compact disk for that matter. It got me thinking of other passé technology that he'll never know and how I can introduce it to him in a toy version. Just trying to keep the nostalgia alive.

 

And then there's the rotary phone. Or honestly, just a phone with a cord will be foreign to him! You can make your own with Caffa Knitted's Rotary Dial Telephone knitting pattern.

Oh, and the typewriter. No screen. No backspace. No iTunes. Felt typewriter found on Double Takes.

Oliver will never see a dude walking down the street with a 15-pound boom box on his shoulder. This felt boombox by Sewn by Blythe is really a work of art.

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 Personalized Baby Prints

My standard baby gift for years has been Ida Pearle's name print (see below). The world of personalized prints has expanded before my very eyes. Here are my current faves...

  

  

When I saw these prints, I had one of those "why didn't I think of that" moments. Brilliant idea No. 1:  numbers mark the child's birthday. Brilliant idea No. 2: the intersecting circles have mom and dad on top and bottom with baby in the middle. By Ruka-Ruka. Found via All the Beautiful Things I Want.

The primary colors in this alphabet print spell out the child's name. So crisp and graphic. By Made by Girl.

English Muffin Shop's name prints are punctuated with cute little animals. So sweet.

                  

And of course here are Ida Pearle's name prints. A classic in my household.

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 Snow (Globes)

We had record snow fall here in New York the last few days, so in honor of the gorgeous, thick white blanket covering the city, here are the most fabulous snow globes ever!

Found via Black Eiffel. You can see the full collection of globes here.

Time for Typewriters

Do kids today even know what a typewriter is? Will the nostalgia of typewriter fonts keep them alive? There does seem to be a fascination with them in the design world, as proven by these ideas...

British artist Keira Rathbone uses typewriters to create amazing images. Take that, MacBook pro! Found via One Cool Thing a Day.

Even though it's become rather common, I love the idea of a typewriter guest book at a wedding. Found via Project Wedding.

I'm in love with these dinner plates that are embossed with typewriter strikers. For sale on Inaeent's Etsy store.

Time for Holiday Wishes

Wishing you a very sweet and cozy Christmas!

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