Oh So Beautiful Paper

Archive for August, 2010

I love the hand drawn quality of these cards from Linea Carta – which is no surprise since each card features an original illustration then hand screen printed by artist Diva Pyari.  Perfect for sending someone a short + sweet note!

So pretty!  She also has such lovely handwriting and beautiful wedding invitations…

{image credits: linea carta}

The good folks at Felt & Wire recently asked me to curate a selection from their online shop – I had so much fun pulling together a collection with some of my favorite design details, from stitching to gold foil:

Check out the full collection right here!

{image credits: one fine dae, a.favorite, and paper + cup, all via felt + wire}

Today’s real invitations come from one of my very favorite bloggers, the lovely Alyson from Unruly Things!  You might remember Alyson from her guest posts last year.  In addition to her fabulous blog, Alyson also runs a letterpress studio called Postal Press, so when Alyson first got engaged and started planning her wedding, I knew the invitations would be incredible no matter what.  Then Alyson mentioned vintage botanical imagery as her main inspiration and I got even more excited!  So as you can imagine, I’m absolutely thrilled to welcome Alyson back to Oh So Beautiful Paper  with her stunning wedding invitations!

From Alyson: When Levi {most commonly known as DLB on my blog} and I started planning our wedding, we looked at only one venue and knew it was for us.  If you know me at all from Unruly Things, you know that Levi and I have a strong love for all things nature inspired.

Our wedding was at beautiful lake in the middle of the old growth forest in the Columbia River Gorge. 95% of our guests traveled from out of town for our wedding, so we wanted them to get a really good feel for the venue as well as our wedding style from the invitations.  We opted for fonts with a classic feel and botanical illustrations inspired by vintage book plates.

I collected vintage postage stamps during our engagement that we used for our envelopes and contacted Kathryn Murray to write the beautiful calligraphy for our guest’s addresses.  Months before the wedding, I taught Levi how to letterpress so that he could help with the printing.

We letterpressed our invitations on brown bag paper and included fun extra details: an illustrated map to the venue, a letterpress kraft tag with hotel accommodations and, my favorite, a Columbia River Gorge wildlife cheat sheet – complete with typical specimen of plants and animals our guests might see during the event  {no one saw any elk, but we heard that one of our guests came upon a baby bear late in the evening!!}  Over all, I couldn’t have imagined our wedding any other way.  It was entirely us.

Alyson also sent over a few photos from her wedding, captured by Erin Grace Photography, including the gorgeous botanical place cards and ceremony programs!

Stunning… seriously just stunning.  Each detail fits together perfectly, from the kraft paper invitations details to the amazing botanical elements (hello gorgeous ferns and moss!) to the apothecary glass centerpieces.  Congratulations Alyson!

{image credits: invitation photos by alyson graves brown, wedding photos by erin grace photography}

A few weeks ago, event designer Brandi Brown wrote in seeking advice for the invitations for her twin sons’ first birthday party – Brandi’s theme revolved around the story of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and she wanted something that would mimic the boys’ straw hats.  I suggested that Brandi use burlap as the main element, and did a quick burlap round-up that she could use as inspiration.  Brandi sent over some photos of the invitation and party, and they’re absolutely fantastic!

To create the invitations, Brandi glued a square of burlap to a thin piece of balsa wood.  The invitation details were printed by a local printer onto green card stock and layered on top of the burlap.  A silhouette image of two boys fishing represents both the birthday boys as well as Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer.  So cute, right?!

{a custom burlap banner from funkyshique}

{LOVE the cute little menu cards!}

{more burlap details – a burlap tablecloth above, and burlap sippy cups for littlest party-goers below}

{the perfect favors, a personal hardback copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn!}

Brandi worked with fellow event planner Kate Landers, and you can check out additional details from the party on both Brandi’s blog and Kate’s blog.  Congratulations Brandi – I can’t wait to see what you do for the boys’ second birthday!

{image credits: inga finch photography}

Happy Friday everyone!  The siren call of the weekend is absolutely calling my name today.  I find myself getting more and more excited for each weekend to arrive, since I know that Fall is only a few more weekends away.  I can’t wait for cooler weather and everything else that Fall brings – the ability to turn off the AC, fall clothing, and changing leaves.  I’m heading off for a weekend with no specific plans, which is actually kind of a nice change – but in the meantime…

{love this William Morris quote from the Wild & Wolf booth at NYIGF}

…a few links for your weekend!

• LOVE these scratch off maps!
• Beautiful stitched necklaces
• I wish I’d thought of this idea – stretching party lights right down the middle of the table!
• Hello there, thai iced tea cream
• Crane just launched their new website
• Wood type coffee table (I want!)

And in case you missed it, a quick round up of posts from this week:

• Vintage-inspired emerald + aqua wedding invitations
• Beautiful mobiles and garlands
• Embroidered artwork and totes from K Studio
• NYIGF Part 1: letterpress stationery, silhouettes, and papel picado!
• NYIGF Part 2: jonathan adler, embroidered pillows, and gorgeous booth design
• NYIGF Part 3: global influences, textiles, and robots
• NYIGF Part 4: my favorite picks – from bold neons to wire letters to artwork for kids
• Sweet art prints from hello jenuine

That’s it for me this week!  I have stunning wedding invitations from one of my favorite bloggers to share with you next week, so I’ll see you all back here on Monday!

{photo by my dad}