11/20/2015

Handwritten Holiday Traditions with Shutterfly

ThisÂ postÂ isÂ sponsoredÂ byÂ Shutterfly.Â ThisÂ postÂ isÂ sponsoredÂ byÂ Shutterfly.Â ShareÂ andÂ celebrateÂ yourÂ familyÂ update.Â ShopÂ Shutterfly forÂ personalizedÂ holidayÂ cards thatÂ are unique,Â meaningfulÂ andÂ thatÂ areÂ justÂ theÂ wayÂ youÂ want.

The holidays are all about tradition. Both the old traditions we grew up with and the new traditions we establish as we marry and grow our own families, likeÂ sending beautiful holiday cardsÂ with a thoughtful handwritten note to family and friends! Laura is a recent newlywed, longtime OSBP reader, and a stationery enthusiast. Laura and her husbandÂ Jeremy eloped earlier this summer, but celebrated their marriage a few weeks ago with a big, epic, DIY wedding for all of their family and friends. This will be Laura and Jeremy’s first time sendingÂ holiday photo cardsÂ as a married couple and we wereÂ super excited to workÂ with ShutterflyÂ to start this new tradition!

Laura and Jeremy did everything for their wedding by hand â€“ enlisting the help of their very talented friends to hand dye lanterns, wrap favors, create flower crowns and bouquets, and so much more. TheÂ gorgeous wedding photos by Emily Wren were just begging to make an appearance on her holiday cards! Shutterfly’s beautiful foil-stamped holiday photo cards were the perfect way to share a favorite wedding photo with friends and family. Laura wasÂ immediately drawn to Shutterfly’s Susurration of Snow design with rounded edges and a simple holiday message in gold foil, which paired beautifully with a photo from Laura and Jeremy’s first dance.

From Laura:Â This is our first time sending holiday photo cards! I love all things paper, so I was really excited to start the tradition of sending holiday cards as a married couple. I’m the kind of person that likes to do things myself and our wedding was an epic DIY affair, so it was important to me that our holiday cards included calligraphy elements and had a space for a handwritten message.

I fell for theÂ Susurration of Snow designÂ because it reminded me of all the things I love about the holidays.Â I was really attracted to the gold foil and the handwritten calligraphy elements, which made the card feel extra special. When we paired our first dance photo with that particular design I felt like the snow flakes really warmed up the photo visually â€“ like a cozy hug. I also loved how the snowflakes and snow dust blended seamlessly with the sparklers in the background.Â The cheerful envelope liners were also a big bonus! The liners make the holiday cards feel extra special for everyone receiving them and bring a sense of importance to our holiday cards.Â The overall design feels very warm and inviting â€“ and will remind our families of what a happy year 2015 has been for us.

The gold foil with a black and white wedding photo? So gorgeous. When it comes to holiday photo cards, I prefer a matte photo printed directly onto the paper. It just feels so much more luxe and special. Also, I’m completely obsessed with Laura’s flower crown, and the fact that Laura and Jeremy are positively glowing made it the perfect choice for her holiday photo cards.

We left the back of the card blank to allow for a handwritten message to friends and family and picked out an adorable envelope liner to complement the design. White envelopes addressed in shimmery gold ink by Meant To Be Calligraphy and paired with songbird postage stamps were the perfect finishing details!

Laura and I are both thrilled with how her holiday photo cards turned out, and I know her friends and family will love receiving a card that represents such a joyful moment in their life together!

ThisÂ postÂ isÂ sponsoredÂ byÂ Shutterfly. ShareÂ andÂ celebrateÂ yourÂ familyÂ update.Â ShopÂ Shutterfly forÂ personalizedÂ holidayÂ cards thatÂ are unique,Â meaningfulÂ andÂ thatÂ areÂ just theÂ way you want.

Photo Credits: Laura’s wedding photos by Emily Wren, all other photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

09/03/2015

How to Shop for Vintage Glasses

Whether you’re having a few friends over for pre-dinner drinks or hosting a full scale party, the perfect drink deserves the perfect glass. And if you really want to impress your guests, try serving them a drink in a beautiful vintage glass! They really just don’t make them like they used to anymore. Here are a few tips for how to shop for vintage glasses for your home collection in partnership with eBay!

Quintessential Shapes

It seems like cocktail glasses come in all shapes and sizes. But there are really only five key shapes that you need in your glassware cabinet: highball, lowball, cocktail,coupe, and flute.

A highball glass is tall and straight and perfect for summer drinks filled with lots of ice â€“ like the classic Mojito. A lowball glass is your everyman glass and works for everything from the classic Old Fashioned to party-friendly Tiki recipes. Lowball glasses (also called rocks glasses) can be rounded or have straight sides. A cocktail glass (pictured above) is what you might think of as a classic Martini glass: a wide rim and angled sides that narrow to a slender stem. The coupe is a close cousin of the cocktail glass with a wide rim and rounded bowl. And a flute is the perfect way to enjoy champagne (and champagne cocktails) for special occasions!

The classic cocktail glass / Photo Credit: Sweet Root Village for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Build Your Collection

The size of your glassware collection will depend on how often you entertain and your kitchen storage capacity. But I recommend trying to have at least 6-8 glasses in each of the main shape categories. Cocktail glasses and coupes are best for smaller gatherings, while highball and lowball glasses are perfect for backyard parties and larger get- togethers.

A colorful Highball

Color and Pattern

One of the best things about vintage glassware is the sheer variety of colors and patterns! Everything from floral motifs to fruit, silver rims to all-over gold, iridescent glass to frosted pastels. Don’t be afraid to pick something fun that reflects your personality â€“ but stick to a consistent color palette so your collection looks cohesive.

The Coupe

Crystal vs Glass

Leaded glass (aka crystal) was commonly used in glassware until the mid-twentieth century to both make the glass stronger (so they could make it thinner) and make it sparkle. But, despite what collectors might want you to think, when it boils down to it crystal isn’t any more special than non-leaded glass. Buy glassware because you love it, not because someone else tells you it’s fancy.

The Flute

Alternative Shapes

In addition to the five quintessential glass shapes, there are a few alternatives that you might consider for your collection. If you love beer, invest in a set of vintage Pilsner glasses. If you like to try different liqueurs, a set of small (1-2 ounce) cordial glasses might be right up your alley. Punch bowl and glass sets are great for large parties â€“ you can make an entire bowl of punch and let your guests serve themselves all night! And when it comes to punch glasses, the smaller the better. The whole idea is that guests would drink from a small glass (3-4 ounces), making frequent trips back to the punch bowl where they could meet and mingle with other party guests. So fun!

A rounded midcentury modern Lowball

I also pulled a few favorite vintage glassware selections from eBay in my Bottoms Up collection! So many gorgeous glasses!

This post was created in partnership with eBay. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

03/03/2015

NYNOW Winter 2015, Part 7

I always describe the Kate Spade and Ban.do booth as the happiest booth at any trade show. And really, with that much sparkle and color in such a small area, how could it not be??

OSBP-NYNOW-Winter2015-Lifestyle2

1. I seriously covet that amazing watermelon cooler bag and leather totes (oh, and this striped duffel bag) from Ban.do â€“ and a sneak peek at their 2016 planners coming soon!

2. So much sparkle at Kate Spade, from a gold polka dot ice bucket (WANT) and hologram silver leather notebooks to gold glitter coasters!

3. Love the gorgeous fabric totes, bags, and zip pouches from Maika â€“ so many wonderful patterns and colors!

I’ve got one final post from NYNOW coming up in just a bit â€“ and you can also see more from NYNOW on Instagram at #OSBPatNYNOW!

01/09/2015

Lavender Champagne Cocktail

You don’t have to put away the champagne after New Year’s Eve.Â After last week’s Rosemary-Pear French 75, Nole and I decided it would be fun to devote the month of January to Champagne cocktails. So we’re going back to basics with our own twist on a classic: the very first Champagne cocktail wasÂ TheÂ Champagne Cocktail, one of the oldest and one of the best.Â â€“ Andrew

Illustration byÂ Shauna LynnÂ for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Lavender Champagne Cocktail

Champagne or Another Dry Sparkling Wine
1/2 oz St-Germain
2 dashes Lavender Bitters

Add the St-Germain and bitters to a flute, then fill the rest of the glass with chilled Champagne. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy!

I must confess: I’m not the biggest fan of Champagne, at least not by itself. Much of the Champagne made these days is very dry and acidic and not at all fun for me to drink. But that’s the beauty of the Champagne Cocktail: it takes a base spirit that can be rough to drink by itself, tempers is a bit with some sweetness, then rounds it out with the complexity of bitters. And the result â€“ here a lightly sweet, deeply floral cocktail â€“ is still wonderfully effervescent. So much fun to drink. (And if you’re not making this drink to impress the ladies in your life, you’re not doing it right.)

Champagne is an excellent showcase for other flavors, especially floral and fruity liqueurs. We used the elderflower-flavoredÂ St-Germain, but you might also enjoy Cointreau, Creme de Violette, or blood orange liqueur.

The original Champagne Cocktail goes all the way back to 1850 and looked a little different: a sugar cube dissolved by some aromatic bitters, like Angostura, then topped with Champagne and crushed ice, poured back and forth between two glasses to chill. Mixing with ice meant that the drink would go flat quickly, so you were meant to drink this versionÂ veryÂ fast, and then order another in quick succession. Not a bad plan.

But it’s a little plain, and Champagne demands partners as ostentatious as itself. Pairing with liqueurs like this also lets you set up a fun DIY cocktail station if you’re serving this drink at a party: set out some bottles of different liqueur, bitters, and some Champagne on ice, with a bowl of lemon peel garnishes, and let guests fix themselves their own Champagne Cocktails.

PS–You can find a set of these vintage silver-rimmed flutes over at our Etsy Shop!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

// Ed Note: I topped our champagne cocktail with a tiny bit of edible gold leaf for a bit of extra sparkle. But you can stick with the traditional lemon peel garnish or even a couple sprigs of lavender if you’re making this at home. â€“Nole //

12/31/2014

Rosemary-Pear French 75

It’s the season for bubbly cocktails, and if there’s ever a night that demanded a cocktail with a bit of sparkle â€“ it’s New Year’s Eve. This year, we took inspiration from one of our favorite classic cocktails and some fresh seasonal ingredients to create something that all your friends and loved ones will enjoy: the Rosemary-Pear French 75.Â â€“ Andrew

Illustration byÂ Shauna LynnÂ for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Rosemary-Pear French 75

2 oz Chamomile-Infused Dry Gin*
1 oz Lemon
1 oz Rosemary-Pear Syrup*
Champagne or Sparkling Wine

Combine the first three ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with sparkling wine and enjoy!

*Chamomile Gin:

Add a tea bag of chamomile to a bottle of dry gin and let stand for a day or two to infuse. Remove the tea bag and discard.

*Rosemary-Pear Syrup:

1 cup Sugar
1 cup Water
1 Red Anjou Pear
1 sprig Rosemary

Thinly slice the pear and strip the leaves from the sprig of rosemary. Combine the sugar, water, pear, and rosemary in a saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring, for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and cover. Let it sit for another hour, then strain and bottle.

Sparkling wine adds, of course, bubbles to your drink. The French 75 is basically a pepped up Gin Sour â€“ not a bad drink, but one that becomes wonderfully effervescent when you add that sparkling wine. Many sparkling wines, especially most champagnes these days, are also very dry and acidic, so don’t feel bad about adding a dash or two of extra syrup.

And that syrup! The rosemary is a wonderful complement to the earthy sweetness of the pear. And, if you make it using a red Anjou pear, skin and all, the resulting syrup will have a gorgeous pink hue.

Oh, and why chamomile? Why not! Liquors are fantastically easy to infuse, and herbal teas offer an easy way to add interesting new flavors to your spirits. Chamomile is earthy and floral, a nice addition to the complex botanicals of a dry gin. Along with the rosemary-pear syrup, it helps give this drink a solid, mellow base that fits my mood this winter.