Oh So Beautiful Paper

Kraft paper is one of my favorite materials any time of year, but even more so during the holiday season.  I love the combination of kraft paper (or even chipboard) and white lettering for party invitations and place cards.  You can also use kraft paper lunch bags as easy menus for holiday dinners or attach little flags to toothpicks or straws to help guests keep track of their drinks for a New Year’s Eve party.  Since Thanksgiving is next week (!!), I thought I’d round up a few of my favorite kraft paper details…

No. 1 Kraft paper + cobalt paper flowers Hey Look via The Sweetest Occasion; No. 2 Invitations Rebecca Hansen via Once Wed; No. 3 Kraft paper drink flags Michael and Anna Costa via Style Me Pretty; No. 4 Neither Snow via Design Sponge; No. 5 Kraft paper favor bags Tec Petaja via Once Wed; No. 6 Menu Karen Mordechai for Sunday Suppers; No. 7 Place card via Martha Stewart Weddings; No. 8 Table setting via Country Living

p.s. A few favorite kraft paper posts:

• Chevron + kraft save the dates
• Alyson + Levi’s botanical kraft paper wedding invitations
• Kraft paper bridal shower invitations
• Christine + Ian’s woodland wedding invitations

Chevron stripes aren’t exactly a new trend, but it’s easy to see why they’re so popular these days.  From weddings to interior design to stationery, chevron stripes are a wonderful and modern way to include a bit of pattern in a design.  Chevrons can have multiple personalities, from the subtle pattern of a letterpress blind impression to bold pops of color and contrast to a soft tone-on-tone effect.  I particularly love chevron stripes as envelope liners for wedding and party invitations – such a fun surprise when you open the envelope!

No. 1 Paper + Parcel wedding invitations; No 2. SweetBeaker calling cards; No. 3 Wit and Whistle notebook; No. 4 Maida Vale letterpress cards; No. 5 Wiley Valentine chevron + watercolor wedding invitations; No. 6 West Elm; No. 7 Sweet Estelle chevron stripe goodie bags; No. 8 Pistachio Press letterpress cards; No. 9 Chevron Twill Tape

I also love this linen tea towel from Erin Dollar – the white chevron stripe on the neutral linen is so subtle and beautiful!

{images via their respective sources}

*Pistachio Press and Wiley Valentine are two of my fab­u­lous spon­sors; for more on my edi­to­r­ial poli­cies please click here.

The resurgence of gold foil is hands down one of my favorite design trends this year.  Foil comes in a myriad of colors (as you saw from Fig. 2 Design Studio on Monday), but gold foil will always have a special place in my heart.  Gold foil can be a big and bold statement or a subtle detail depending on the project and design, but it looks great on everything from wedding invitations to baby announcements to business cards and everything in between.  Gold foil also looks fantastic whether on its own, paired with a classic black and white design, or combined with lots of bright color!

No. 1 Hayley & Lucas via the Keep Calm Gallery; No. 2 Sugar Paper; No. 3 Dauphine Press; No. 4 SeeSaw; No. 5 Rifle Paper Co.; No. 6 Kate Spade; No. 7 Earmark Social Paper Goods

If you’re curious, you can learn more about the foil printing process right here!

I’ve been in love with the neon design trend since May, when the bright fluorescent colors made a big splash at several exhibitor booths at the National Stationery Show.  More recently, I’ve been pleased to see neon used as accents for wedding invitations, from envelopes (like Jon and Alecia) to edge painting.  So today I thought I’d do a little round up of awesome neon paper goods and accessories!

No. 1 Neon wedding invitation edge painting by Delphine; No. 2 Nutcracker print with orange neon details by Bombina Studios; No. 3 Neon twine (available here in multiple colors) by Angela Hardison via You Are My Fave; No. 4 Gift tags by Knot & Bow (and more from Lox + Savvy here); No. 5 Neon washi tape (also available here) via Minimega; No. 6 Neon crayons from MOMA; No. 7 Neon letterpress greeting cards by Fig. 2 Design Studio; No. 8 Neon papercut wedding invitations by Love Citron

These aren’t made from paper, but I couldn’t resist including these gorgeous scarves with neon details from lemlem.  So, so pretty.

{images via their respective sources}

I’ve been fascinated with astronomy ever since I was a little kid; my Dad and I had a telescope and would spend hours gazing into the night sky trying to see Saturn’s rings or Jupiter’s moons.  So today I thought I would round up a few of my favorite zodiac- and constellation-inspired paper details!

No. 1 Stargazer letterpress prints by Poshta Stationery and Design; No. 2 Zodiac cards by Printerette Press; No. 3 Constellation screen prints from Little Gray Owl Studio; No. 4 Constellation artwork by Nature’s Cubbyhole; No. 5 Print from The Wheatfield; No. 6 Constellation embroidery by Chloe Giordano

And finally, this screen printed constellation poster from designer Scott Benson is just about the coolest thing ever.  It even glows in the dark!

{images via their respective sources}