The Violet Hours

Time for the Color PINK

I was driving to Michael's the other day, and heard a fascinating report on NPR. The author of a new book called Drunk Tank Pink, Adam Alter, was discussing with Ira Foster how hidden currents, from reactions to color to our attraction to certain letters of the alphabet, affect our behavior and thoughts in significant ways.

The term "drunk tank pink", I just learned from this website Color Matters, is the name that was given to the color that was used in jail cells to calm violent prisoners. It was discovered that this hue (R:255, G:145, B:175) had a calming influence, even affecting a person's heart rate, but could then create adverse effects after about 15 minutes of being subjected to it.

Then there's the story about the head football coach at the University of Iowa who painted the opposing team's locker room pink to weaken their performance on the field. Rumor has it that the visitors would cover everything with newspaper as best they could before entering the locker room to derail this bubblegum assault.

So naturally I began to think about pink in a new way...little girls clothed in pink, sleeping inside pink walls, chewing on pink plastic giraffes. Do we push this pacifying color onto them or is it a biological attraction? 

A few years ago I blogged about this project by South Korean artist JeongMee Yoon on Parents magazine's Goodyblog. Starting with her 5-year old daughter Yoon conducted a documentary-esque study of children and their possessions. She orderly arranged their belongings, from clothing to pencils to books, in their bedrooms. The resulting photographs are astounding. The diptych is of a set of twins that both started out in the pink world, and then went their separate ways to pink and purple.

I am usually not drawn to pink for my 1-year-old daughter Sommer and much of what she wears is hand-me-downs from her brother (she survived the winter being mistaken for a boy in a navy-blue coat). I'm curious to see how it all shakes out; if one day, she'll be fighting to paint her half of the room blush or bashful.

Time for a Toddler Bed (literally!)

I pinned this photo from a French blog a while ago as aspiration. This is my goal for how I want my kids' room to look. Loose, fun, casual. I'm on my way, for sure...we have a knitted bunting, a mushroom table lamp, a poppy, apple green side table, cool wallpaper from Fine Little Day...and now, we have a toddler bed.

Yes, Oliver has graduated, and thank goodness! Poor Sommer has been waiting for her fashionable, Kalon Studios Caravan crib for months now. We got Oliver the Gulliver bed from Ikea; now I just need to hack it a little bit to give it some European style. I wanted something simple that could compliment the Caravan, but at a lower price point. I plan to style it like a little day bed, and honestly, I can't wait to start pinning textiles.

Tonight will be the first night as a big boy. Must mark it down in the calendar.

Time for Alt Summit NYC!

If you tried to register for Alt Summit NYC, then you know the agony that I went through on Friday at 12pm EST. Servers crashing...error messages...it was nasty. And sadly, I didn't get a spot.

But, by the grace of the design-blogger gods, I got an email yesterday that, in fact, I'm in! I just had to finish my registration and click submit. Best submit button ever.

This photo illustrates my extreme elation that I get to rub elbows with the craftiest ladies of the interweb!

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 Patchwork Inspiration

I can't even describe the visceral feeling that I get when I see these amazing aerial photographs by Normann Szkop of tulip fields in Holland. Those colors! I'm obviously not the first nor the last to think of gorgeous patchwork quilts when looking at these squares of bright hues. But then it made me wonder if patchwork has a place off the bed and into other design-y places in the home. I think I've discovered the answer to be yes. {Photo via This is Colossal.}

Patchwork walls are a dime-a-dozen, but this one from Decor8 grabbed me because of the mix of paper genres, so to speak—scrapbook paper, posters, book pages. I think if you try to control it too much you get trapped into a corner of color, style, or shape. But when you fully let go and let it be as random as possible, you can't mess it up.

 

I'm crazy about this patchwork tiled floor from an old issue of Budget Living that I found on Pinterest. Individually, I would never pick most of those tile patterns, but once they are all put together, they form such a soft, cool patchwork effect.

 

Fabric is obviously the logical material to use for patchwork. These lovely cushions spotted on Chic & Posh are a great surprise when you pull the red chair out from the table.

I'm feeling the patchwork itch. It's a perfect motif for kids since it's so free form. Where will it end up in my book?

Time for Gold Sharpie Projects

I know today's topic is awfully specific, but honesty, I'm amazed how one little pen can make things look so fancy, delicate, and expensive. Check out what you can do with a gold sharpie pen! {UPDATE: After starting to embark upon my own gold-sharpie mug project, I learned that you need to use the Oil Based Paint Sharpies...not the regular markers! Now carry on...}

Draw your design and then bake in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Endless possibiities here! I may just have to head over to Fishs Eddy this weekend to experiment. Via My Home Lookbook.

 

I've seen the vintage-teacup-turned-candle quite a bit, but adding a little gold bling with words or edging can make all the difference. Here's a perfect example of how the gold sharpie just kicks it up on the elegance scale. By Hey Gorgeous Events.

 

These gorgeous walls were stencilled with a gold sharpie. One word. Wow. By Rethink Design via Bazaar of Serendipity.

 

Embellish white ceramic drawer pulls so easily with a gold sharpie. Via Creature Comforts.

 

A ruler, white paper, and a gold sharpie = lovely wrapping paper. Via Paper Crave.

Time for Faceted Finds

Can you call faceted a trend? Or maybe it's called the facet trend. However you say, I've been seeing it everywhere for a while and I love it! Here's a mix of some DIY and products I've spotted...

What a gorgeous way to display place cards for a daytime wedding! Via Design is Mine.

I love the unpredictable colors of these gem-shaped holiday cookies. Via The Jewels of New York.

There's nothing wrong with a little bling inspiration in the kitchen. These are too cute to keep in a drawer! Via Design*Sponge.

This vase is made out of paper. For real. Via Curbly.

How elegant is this faceted clock? As the light changes during the day, the tones on the facets will transform. It's a shape-shifting clock. Via RawDezign on Etsy.

I heart the jewel tones of these ceramic magnets. Get it? Jewel tones? By Pigeon Toe.

If you have a budget of $12,000 for a chandelier, then here you go. This is just beyond. Via Matter Matters.

Fun for kids to hold, these Crystal Crayons come in a set of 6 for $10 at Kikkerland.