The Violet Hours

My Favorite Kid Gift This Year!

Ok, so I often read about new toys or products being developed, and I think, wow, that's a smart person. I want to be that person, or at the very least, know her. I read about this great new product Toy Mail this weekend on The New York Times and not only did I read the article from beginning to end, but I actually gave money to their Kickstarter campaign.

Here's how it works. You download an app to your iPhone and record a message. You hit send and it delivers that message to one of these cute little critters (adorably named and ironically shaped like a streetside mailbox). Your kid, at least one old enough to push a button, gets an alert and then can push the button to hear the message, and even press another button to record one back.

And then, there's the story of the co-founders and best friends, Gauri Nanda and Audry Hill. Nanda created Clocky and then pulled in her BFF, registered nurse, and mother of 3 Audry (no background in product design) to work on this with her. Love that!

5-Minute Pumpkin Crafts

I know, I know...it's been an eternity. I keep promising to blog regularly, but I keep getting distracted by other craft projects, magazine stories, and blogs! Speaking of blogs, I've started blogging on Parents.com at a blog called Everyday Fun. Check it out! It's very, well, FUN!

Now, back to the good stuff...Halloween! I love pumpkins and I've done my fare share of complicated carvings and etchings. But with 2 toddlers and too much work, I have no time or patience for a big production. So here are 3 super-fun, 5-minute pumpkin decorating ideas!

1. I'm obsessed with these neon spikes that I found at M&J Trimming. Just glue them on with E6000 for a strong bond. Punk-kins? Yep, I think that's their official name.

2. My son and I were at the farmer's market last weekend and he picked out this pumpkin that he wanted to bring home. It sat naked on the kitchen table for a few days and I realized it needed some flair. So I looked around the room and spotted a Mr. Potato Head body part...there it is. Oliver and I picked out the features to make this guy! I thought it was a genius idea of mine until I discovered that the Mr. Potato Head people already thought of it. But for a quickie decorating job, just use what you have (and change his features daily)!

3. Spray paint a pumpkin and glue on some faux antlers! I bought these at Jamali Gardens, but I'm sure you can find them at your local Michaels.

Literally, none of these guys took more than 5 minutes (except the spray paint took about 20 to dry). And they all feel unique and playful!

 

Time for DIY Play Money

I saw this adorable fabric play money on Estefi Machado's blog (one of my favorite craft blogs that happens to be in Portugese), and it inspired a search for other clever homemade play money. She used a really cool technique...she coated a piece of cotton in spray mount, let it dry, then ran it through the printer. (At least this is how I understood the google translation.) Being on fabric save them from wrinkles and rips. Here are a few other clever DIY money crafts that caught my eye...

These homemade wooden coins by Lil Blue Boo are super cute: I love that they are in denominations of treats, rather than money amounts.

 

What's better than a kid seeing her own mug in the center of currency? I love the iron-on and stitched details of this homemade play money.

Time for Toy Stories

Allenah - El Nido, Philippines

Writers, photographers, reporters, and documentarians travel the world to search for differences and similarities in all aspects of countries and cultures—food, politics, landscape, architecture, and the list goes on. The general consensus is there is very little that is universal except perhaps the basic need for necessities like food, shelter, and clothing.

Alessia - Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy

Photographer Gabriele Galimberti travelled the world, examining a very unique relationship— the connection of children to their toys. After 18 months of shooting these gorgeous photographs of children with their toys, he discovered that “at their age, they are pretty all much the same. They just want to play.” This piece by Ben Machell from The Times Magazine reveals some interesting insight into how the affluence of the kids affected how they allowed Galimberti to interact with their toys and how their homeland and parents influenced what they chose to play with.

Stella - Montecchio, Italy

Bethsaida - Port au Prince, Haiti

Of course this all made me think about my kids, Oliver and Sommer, and their relationship to their most prized toys. At almost a year, Sommer, for the most part, wants whatever her 2 and a half year old brother has, but Oliver's proclivities are a little more telling. He loves his toy New York City Subway trains, since he knows that Mommy and Daddy ride the train to work. He loves his paints, markers, and crayons; Mommy seemingly "plays" with those materials all day. And I guess for Sommer, I can say that she grabs her one babydoll (we named her Automn), enthusiastically hugging and kissing her; she is probably modeling my desperate attempts to hug and cuddle my baby girl, fearing that she is growing up too fast.

Li Yi Chen - Shenyang, China

Maudy - Kalulushi, Zambia

Do your kids' toys reflect where you live, who you are, or what you, as parents, do for a living? Do their toys bring you back to your childhood?

There is so much emotion, symbolism, and narrative to decode in Galimberti's exquisite photographs. I want to know so much more about each child, her family, and what his toys mean to him. Visit Galimberti's site to see the rest of the series, each one more captivating than the last.

Time for 3.14 ~ Pi ~ Pie Day!

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!

Time for Perler Bead Crafts

When I see buckets of perler beads at Michaels, I move past with no hesitation. I'm not totally against plastic, but I just don't have a mind for what to do with them. I think my opinion changed after seeing these delicate pastel, perler-bead bangles from Maker Mama. Look at these other amazing crafts made with perler beads! They are not just for alligator keychains anymore!

I'm so in love with these perler bead people, I don't know what to do with myself. I don't speak German so I have no idea what/where they are, but I heart them! Via Skidt & Kanel.

 

Now this is true perler bead genius—3-dimensional perler bead food. I don't even know where to begin to understand how they did this! From the top, the picnic food is from Fave Crafts, the sushi is from this Japanese site, and the cakes are from here.

More of the traditional perler-bead world, but I still love these heart valentines from Camille Styles.

Time for Plastic Easter Egg Crafts

{Precious bird and bunny garland from Parents.com.}

So, I didn't grow up celebrating Easter, and every year that I worked at Parents magazine, I needed a refresher as to how Easter worked. What happens with the eggs? Do you hide the ones you decorate? Do you hard-boil them and eat them? And the bunny...what's his role again? I swear, I have the whole Christmas-Santa-Mistletoe thing down, but Easter confounds me every year.

But, this confusion in no way reflects upon my awe of the Easter Egg. This will be the first of a few Easter craft posts, I imagine...so I'll start with what is its own miraculous transformation—the plastic Easter egg. Scroll down and you'll see ways to use it that have nothing to do with Easter!

 

These play teacups are made from half of a plastic Easter egg and a button glued to the bottom to make it stable. By Creativity in Progress.

 

I'm obsessed with these plastic egg maracas made by MADE.

 

Put an educational spin on your plastic eggs with this letter matching game from Playing House.

 

I believe these are a product, but how cute would this chicken egg be as a craft? Note to self. Found on Lulusoso.

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.

Time for Pretend Play

The one room I wish I had in my Brooklyn apartment is a playroom (I can say this because I already have a craft room). I would love to trick out a space with so much creative play, Oliver and Sommer's brains would hurt from excess imagination. 

Harry is one lucky kid with a mom that would would put this hardware store together for him for Christmas. By Kate's Creative Space, Harry's Hardware Gas & Auto covers all the pieces a hardware store needs. Seriously, just go to her blog to check out the details of this adorable tableau.

The potential with this DIY dollhouse from the Land of Nod blog, Honest to Nod, is huge. I love everything going on here from the colorful clouds, to the train-track walkway, to the bright wallpaper choices. Just darling.

My friend Jocelyn Worrall made this cardboard kitchen for Parents magazine a few years ago, and it's still one of my faves. The oven dials are made from Play-doh lids. Enough said.

These are genius, free printables from Kitschy Digitals that would go perfectly in the cardboard kitchen.

See what I mean? Now I'm really ready for my...I mean their...playroom.

Time to Play Under the Table

Now that I have a toddler, I am starting to experience the "everything-is-a-toy/playspace" concept. Shoeboxes, bubble wrap, paper towel tubes...all viable objects to play with. We spent a week with friends in New Hampshire over the holidays and the space under the dining room table became an ant home. So the kids (and adults) cozied up with pillows down there (as all ants do, naturally). That empty space has so much potential, as exhibited by these amazing ideas...

I don't even know where to begin with this amazing table by Dennis Drouet. Children can hide under the table and pull the strings, which creates a moving pattern on the table’s surface above. Found via Inhabitat.

This is beyond the beyond! Who wouldn't love a little R&R time in an under-the-table DIY hammock? Found via Handimania, by Joyful Abode. 

I saw this DIY idea in Country Living years ago, and it has stayed with me since. Decorate some cheap roller shades with windows and doors and install them underneath your table. If your table has a lip that over 2" tall, it will hide the rollers nicely. It's an instant play house, and a retractable one at that! (I can no longer find the CL link, but here it is on Pinterest.)