I love a pretty cookie. I really do. But I come up against a very confusing battle of the senses...a stand-off between my eyes and my stomach.
I want to eat this, says my tummy.
I want to admire this, say my eyes.
Tummy wins. Sorry, sense of sight. You'd win at the museum.
Check out these amazing cookies over on my other blog, Everyday Fun on Parents.com.
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{via I Spy with my Salad Eyes}
If you don't love confetti, you don't have a soul. Ok, maybe it's a mess to clean up, but even the cheesiest of metallic confetti has a glittery, sparkly, ephemeral impact. Check out these surprising ways to use it....
Put a packet of confetti in your wedding invitation. I'm beyond in love with this one that I found on Pinterest!
How awesome are these tube confetti throwers from Oh Happy Day? Love love love...
I still love the confetti gift wrap that I blogged about two years ago!
Love the look but hate the mess? Try a stamped table runner (you can use a pencil eraser, a wine cork, or a sliced carrot) that gives the illusions of confetti like this one from Love Luxe.
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Yes, you heard me. And yes, you are reading The Violet Hours blog. I know, decorating with fruit may sound super grandma to you, but after you look at this post, your mind will be forever changed!
Oh Happy Day always gets it right, and this fruit balloon garland proves it. I'm obsessed!
I specifically sought out a pineapple wallpaper because I won't deny that I love it. And how perfectly crafty is this color-by-numbers one by Jenny Wilkinson found on Design*Sponge?
Call me crazy (Michael-husband, I hear you the loudest), but I could really get behind a glass fruit chandelier in my life one day. Found via Pinterest.
What is it with pears that make us love them so? I love all three of these lovely dolled up plastic pear crafts. Sources: Glitter pears, We Heart It; Chalk pears, The Empty Nest; Jute Pears, I Should Really Be Sleeping.
Oeuf never ceases to fail when it comes to their garlands. I'm in love with this crocheted cherry one.
If this pomegranate iPhone wallpaper were real wallpaper, it would be in my bathroom.
Almost as good as Willy Wonka's lick-able wallpaper, these bananas from Flavor Paper are scratch-n-sniff. For real.
Are you inspired now? But just pick one. You don't want your home looking like a giant fruit salad.
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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?
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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.
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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?
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One of the last stories I produced as Lifestyle Director at Parents Magazine was this Easter egg story by the amazingly talented Jocelyn Worrall. Prepare yourself for some overwhelming cuteness!
These beauties were made with just a simple brush and tempera paint.
We've all seen the chick Easter egg craft before, but these yellow-dyed large eggs are sitting in jumbo egg shells. Genius. Watch the how-to video here.
This technique uses rubber cement. So easy to do and the results are gorgeous! Watch a how-to video here.
Wrap a ceramic or wooden egg in white yarn to make these fluffy bunnies that you can use year after year. Watch a how-to video here.
These little guys might possibly be my favorite. Keep clicking through the slideshow on Parents.com to see the instructions.
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It's March 14, hence 3/14, hence the reason to celebrate PIE! (If you are math-challenged, read about Pi here.) I'll take any excuse to eat, talk about, read about, look at pie. In fact, I think I need more pie in my life. I love this image of a potluck pie party from Bon Appetit. I could seriously get behind that. Feast your eyes on some more fun PIE play...
This felt pie looks good enough to eat. Found via Thursday Night Smackdown.
The first time I saw this pumpkin pie Thanksgiving kids' favor from One Charming Party, I nearly died. It was one of those "I wish I had thought of that" moments!
Cakes get stands, so why don't pies? I love the rustic look of these galvanized pie stands from BHLDN. They'd be great for the pie potluck!
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Ok, I must confess, this is one holiday that I fully ignore every year. I don't wear green underwear and I don't buy gold chocolate coins. But it's 2013, the era of the elevated craft, so of course St. Patty's Day has taken on a whole new modern, elegant aesthetic. Oleander & Palm has shown me the path of the sophisticated St. Patrick's Day. I didn't think it could be done, but she did it. Bravo!
Not just green and gold silhouettes, but green and gold silhouettes of kids holding 4-leaf clovers. So sweet.
Seriously, I could live with this shamrock wall decal on my wall all year round.
Everyone should enjoy a green beverage on St. Patty's Day. And it doesn't have to be held with a coozie or make you belch. A lime shebert fizzy drink? I'd drink you even without the cute gold-heart shamrock.
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I never had an egg cup growing up (I think that constitutes neglect), and now as an adult, I'm a little unnaturally obsessed with them. From vintage to the handmade to the hipster (yes, there are hipster egg cups), I want all 10 11 of these egg cups!
1. My Egg and Soldiers by Takae Mizutani, found via Dot Coms for Moms.
2. Oak Bunny Ears Egg Cup, for sale on Hop & Peck.
3. Egg Nests, found via HGTV's Design Happens.
4. Vintage egg cups from Three Potato Four.
5. These are made with cups cut from an egg carton. By Zakka Life.
6. Bad boy egg cups, via Fitzsu. Beyond.
7. Perfectly Scandinavian egg cups, via Finnish Design Shop.
8. Do you have a habit of serving under-cooked eggs? Never again. Via Trend Hunter.
9. Rocket egg cup, found via Fab.
10. Origami egg cup. Via Breakfast Lover.
11. (I couldn't resist adding this one!) Hold On Egg Cup (it's magnetic and will hold a spoon!). Via Moco Loco.
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