Oh So Beautiful Paper

Archive for May, 2010

I know, I know, it's only Wednesday but I'm taking a very short blogging break for a very good reason, I'm moving to a new site on my very own url!  Over the next couple of days we'll be moving all of the content over to the new site and getting it ready to share with all of you!  I hope you'll come check out the new digs starting Tuesday, June 1 (after the holiday weekend), where I'll have a Father's Day card round-up, a couple giveaways, and some truly spectacular wedding invitations that I've been saving for you!  But in the meantime… 

…a few links for the rest of your week and weekend!

• Check out these gorgeous recent projects by Erica from Thoughtful Day
• Love these DIY thank you cards using handmade rubber stamps!
• Library card invitations are also my fave
• I never get tired of poster-style invitations
• Stunning pops of white on this party invitation from Studio on Fire

That's it for me this week come visit me over at the new location next week!

{image credits: Karen Mordechai for Martha Stewart Living via A Cup of Jo, floral arrangement by Saipua}

I love the concept behind this week’s real invitations a collection of individual pieces resembling vintage paper ephemera from the 1800s through the 1950s!  Hello!Lucky, the design team behind this custom wedding invitation suite, combined letterpress and digital printing to create a sense of romance and nostalgia:

From the Hello!Lucky team: We designed these invitations for our dear friend Erin and her fiance Jeremy for their upcoming destination wedding in Calistoga, California.  The bride and groom are both academics Erin teaches law and Jeremy is an astrophysicist so they wanted their invitation to have a book-ish feel.

We decided to use the concept of a collection of found paper memorabilia including a book-page invitation, a snapshot of the bride and groom, map and shuttle bus enclosures, brunch ticket, and RSVP telegram giving the invitation suite a vintage, romantic and nostalgic feel.

The wedding invitation is inspired by the opening chapter of a classic novel (think Jane Austen) and was letterpress printed on deckle-edged paper to emulate a page torn from an authentic book.  Wedding details are printed on a vintage-style postcard from Calistoga, the wedding’s location.

The RSVP card is a letterpress printed Western Union telegram and includes witty, mad-lib style blanks that guests can fill out.  We also designed a 1950′s-style “advertisement” for the free wedding shuttle, including a information card enclosed in a small coin envelope, as well as a vintage bus-ticket invitation to the farewell brunch.

A old-fashioned map of downtown Calistoga guides guests to their hotels and local attractions.  We also designed a state fair-inspired rehearsal dinner invitation for a Kansas City style BBQ (the groom hails from Kansas City), featuring a picnic napkin checker pattern and a blue-ribbon pig.  Finally, we included a small black and white snapshot of the bride and groom posing in a bookish manner.

Sigh… I love the romanticism of the novel page invitation, while the accompanying enclosures bring an overall balance to the full suite.  So lovely!

{image credits: Hello!Lucky}

*Hello!Lucky is one of my fantastic sponsors; for more on my editorial policy, please click here.

Today is my 2nd wedding anniversary!  I can’t believe how quickly time has flown by – or how much has happened and changed in the last two years!  It has truly been an incredile first two years.  So in celebration of our special day, I thought I’d round up a few of my favorite anniversary cards for all of you!

{snap and tumble}

{ink and wit}

{sycamore street press}

{maginating letterpress – I would also include the bacon n’ eggs card from the NSS, but it’s not available in the maginating letterpress shop just yet}
{night owl paper goods}

{sweet letter press}

{enormous champion}

{hammerpress}

{simple matters}

{embellished ink}

Also, for something a bit more on the snarky side, these anniversary cards from Oddball Press definitely make me laugh!

{images from their respective sources}

Whew!  Eleven recap installments later and I’m finally ready to wrap up the coverage of this year’s Stationery Show.  I saved the most photo-heavy booths for last, so let’s dive right in!  First up, the Crane booth, where I caught a glimpse of the new Studio collection as well as old stationery and invitation favorites:

{love the grosgrain ribbon lamp and fold-out folio for seating card displays at a wedding!}

{cards from the new Studio collection}

{gorgeous embossing details on this wedding invitation}

{crane & co.}

Did you know that every single card from Crane’s bordered stationery collection is hand painted?  This year, Crane brought two hand-bordering artisans down to the Stationery Show to demonstrate their craft:

{a bone folder is the only tool used to create a uniform width for each border}

{the final product!}

Next up are a couple of what I affectionately refer to as the “mega booths” with several participating exhibitors in one booth area.  First, the Ladies of Letterpress booth, featuring Pistachio Press, Thomas Printers, May Day Studio, Paper Mill Designs, Ink & Iron, Hazel and Violet, Dandy Lion Press, and Flywheel Press!

{may day studio}

{hazel and violet}

{thomas printers}

{pistachio press}

{ink & iron}

{flywheel press}

{paper mill designs}

Next, the Let {her} Press booth featuring Bird Dog Press, Paper Stories Letterpress, Paper Parasol Press, Robin Beth, and Lucky Bee Press:

{bird dog press}

{paper parasol press}

{paper stories letterpress}

{lucky bee press}

{robin beth}

I also stopped by the Vigo booth to check out the latest from Delphine, as well as cards and gift wrap from 1973 and many others:

{delphine}

{I love the foil stamping details on these cards from sanna annukka}

{cute cards from the claudettes}

{awesome gift wrap}

So that’s it from this year’s show!  If you missed any of the recaps from the show, you can check them all out right here.  I’m already looking forward to next year’s show!

{all photos by Oh So Beautiful Paper}

*Delphine is one of my fantastic sponsors, for more information about my editorial policy please click here.

Before I wrap up my coverage of this year’s National Stationery Show tomorrow, I’ve got a few more booths that I’d like to share with you.  First up, another perennial favorite – Fugu Fugu Press – with their incredibly sweet letterpress cards and new fill-in-the-blank letterpress dinner party invitations:

{fugu fugu press}

I’m always impressed by the work from Maginating Letterpress – from the adorable characters to the near-perfect letterpress registration on each card, no detail is overlooked:

{quite possibly the cutest card ever!}

{love the spot varnish on these two holiday cards}

{maginating letterpress}

I also stopped by the Pearl & Marmalade and The Great Lakes booth to check out their latest cards, prints, and get a sneak peek at their upcoming 2011 calendars:

{pearl & marmalade}

{the great lakes}

I spent some time catching up with Carrie and Hal from Red Cap Cards and checking out their latest greeting cards (I always love Carrie’s illustrated Halloween cards), notebooks, and a new series of cards featuring a collaboration with illustrator Blanca Gomez:

{Carrie’s illustrations look even more amazing when letterpress printed!}

{red cap cards}

Over on the other side of the Javits Center, I probably could have spent an hour just in the Egg Press booth gawking at all of their new cards – not to mention the new wrapping paper!

{a sneak peek at the 2011 desktop calendar}

{love the multi-dimensional elements of this die cut birthday card}

{egg press}

Old School Stationers also had a bunch of new botanical prints for this year’s show – my favorites are the bees and mason jar prints below – as well as new installments in their series of animal prints and cards:

{old school stationers}

I always love stopping by the Blue Barnhouse booth — Brandon’s letterpress cards are both impeccably printed and completely hilarious:

{love this “build a community” letterpress print}

{blue barnhouse}

I always love running into the ladies (and fellow DC residents!) of Haute Papier — their new wedding invitation book is stunning!

{haute papier}

Of course, a trip to the Stationery Show wouldn’t be complete (at least for me) without a trip over to the Smock booth to check out their latest wedding invitations and everyday stationery designs:

{smock}

I’ve got a few final booths left for tomorrow, plus a big announcement coming up a bit later in the week!

{all photos by Oh So Beautiful Paper}

*Smock is one of my fantastic sponsors, for more on my editorial policy please click here.