Oh So Beautiful Paper

Archive for July, 2009

hi there!  it’s Alyson from Unruly Things signing off from my guest posts this week.  I’ve had fun sharing my love for paper with you while Nole has had a wonderful break.  I’ve had the best time writing about my newest venture and sharing with you a fun DIY and some of my favorite artists.  I’ll leave you today with my signature friday post, right this second.

I’m so glad:
that Friday is finally here.

I’m really loving:
this letterpress thank you card.
this die cut card.
this print.
and these shoes, so so much.  {I had to sneak them in there}

I’m looking foward to:
driving down the Pacific coast tomorrow with wind in my hair and my partner in crime by my side.

and I’m greatly honored and thankful:
to the lovely Nole for having me here.

happy weekend friends!

{photo by the lovely mrs. french}

hi there!  it’s Alyson from Unruly Things and I’m having so much fun guest blogging for Nole this week.  yesterday I mentioned my new venture, Postal Press, an online shop filled with letterpress stationery and packaging goodies.  I also mentioned that the Summer Social online sale starts tomorrow at 10am PST.  so, I thought I’d give you a little peak at what’s going to be in the shop from Postal Press.

love something?  quantities are limted so hop onto the Summer Social online shop at 10am PST tomorrow, Friday July 31 for your first chance at these goodies.

Images from Martha Stewart Weddings (right styled by Rebecca Thuss)

Hello, everyone! It's Maddy from the Inspired Bride blog, here to once again fill in for Nole.

Everybody is thinking of ways to save money nowadays, and the first things to go are the ones that aren't in the "absolutely necessary" column. For a lot of brides, that means sacrificing hand calligraphy – while it's gorgeous, it also can rack up quickly if you have lots of guests. Here are some suggestions on how to cut the calligraphy without losing the great first impression it makes.

Make an investment in a commercial calligraphy face and print your envelopes. Please don't go down the free font route! I've pleaded this case on my blog before because, as a graphic designer, it can be a little painful to see. There's a reason they're free – typographically, they're generally not up to par with pay fonts, and when that craftsmanship is not there from the get go, you won't be leaving the impression with your guests that you want. There are plenty of typefaces available for affordable prices, and I've covered some on the Inspired Bride. A great resource for affordable fonts is MyFonts – I would recommend you start there. Remember that the more you use the fonts, the better deal you're getting, so consider using them on favors, place cards, and programs, as well – anywhere you would have originally considered using calligraphy.

Do the wrapping label. Normally, it's considered a faux pas to put labels on an invitation, and in most cases I'd agree – however, the trend of making a wrapping label (as shown above), I think, is incredibly modern and gives an added element of "specialness". Plus, it just looks great – I loved the look so much, I nixed the hand calligraphy on the envelopes of my escort cards and used wrap labels instead in my own wedding two months ago.

DIY, literally. I came across a brilliant idea a few months back, but I definitely would recommend this only for those of you with steady hands and a heck of a lot of time and patience. This blogger had the brilliant idea to print her envelopes with a slightly darker ink on dark envelopes to use as a "trace line". She then went back over the slightly visible letters with an opaque white ink pen to give the quirkiness of hand calligraphy to the letters without being a trained professional.

hi there!  this is Alyson again with Unruly Things and I’m so happy to be here blogging for Nole while she’s out this week.  on Unruly Things I’ve been talking about my newest venture called Postal Press.  Postal Press is a little shop I’ve been working on stocked with letterpress stationery and packaging goodies.

last weekend, I participated in the Summer Social Sale, hosted by Abby of Abby Try Again, and debuted my collection of goods.  one of the hottest sellers was this little scratch pad, letterpressed and assembled by me.  and today is your lucky day because I’m here to share with you how you can make your very own scratch pad notebooks.

here are the supplies you’ll need:

• padding compound – the consistency of elmer’s glue and available in white or red.
• scratch pad covers – for mine I used Crane’s 110lb Lettra paper, letterpressed with my own design and cut to size.
• interior paper – unless you have a high power paper cutter, I’d suggest having it professionally trimmed.
• cardboard backing – I used a thin piece of kraft colored cardboard backing, also pre-cut to fit my pads.
• a small paint brush.
• a big working table with a good edge.
• something heavy like a small book, glass jar or that insanely huge quart of padding compound that you have.

1.  start by gathering all of the paper together for the scratch pad, including the cover and backcover, and make sure that all of the sides match up evenly by striking it on your table or workspace.

2.  next, grip the paper with your pointer finger and thumb on one side and your other fingers on the back for support.

3.  take a small amount of padding compound on your brush {seriously, this stuff will last you forever} and lightly brush it onto the edge of your scratch pad.

4.  brush the padding compound on in a light layer.  {you’ll do a second coat so don’t feel like you need to pile it on there}

5.  wipe off any excess padding compound from the edges of the scratch pad.

6.  set your scratch pads on the edge of your working surface, as close to the edge as you can get them without smearing the compound.  place something heavy on top of them to keep the pages from popping up.  make sure to keep the pressure even over the edge where you’ve brushed the compound.  I like to stagger my scratch pads on top of one another so that I don’t use up too much of my workspace.

7.  once the padding compound has dried, repeat with another light layer.  allow to dry completely.

et voilà!  you have a handmade scratch pad, ready for use!  and pretty darn cute scratch pad at that.  I’m sold out of these scratch pads at the moment, but I hope to have more ready to put in the Summer Social online shop, which opens this Friday July 31 at 10am PST.  the Postal Press online shop will open in August.