Matthew from A Fine Press recently created these amazing thank you cards for photographer Clayton Austin, and from the beautiful letterpress to the stitching details to the elegant wax seal these cards are seriously a work of art.  I’m particularly loving the simple bird illustrations that make an appearance in a few different spots throughout the card.

From Matthew:  We had the paper handmade with full deckled edges by Porridge Papers in their classic ecotan and a custom rust/brown.  They did the letterpress work in a matching rust and deep brown, and a blind pass for the front.  I hand-dyed the muslin to match the dark brown ink and stamped one of Clayton’s classic birds in a brown ink that, quite fortuitously, came out in a rust color almost identical to the front of the envelope.  The birds on the front piece were laser cut – one at a time – by Image Creations.

Thanks goes to my wife for allowing me to borrow her (modern) Singer to bind the entire card.  Clayton and I vacillated between a zig-zag stitch and long, straight stitch for the bindery and have settled on a long, straight stitch for the remainder of the the cards to keep things simple and understated.

I had a custom wax seal made with another of Clayton’s birds and sealed each with Atelier Gargoyle’s Espresso Brown sealing wax.  These were early attempts; it takes a while to get used to the way this wax sets.  The key is a cool seal with a vapor barrier on it (when I completed the run, I kept the seal on an ice cube and dabbed it on a damp rag before each impression – the results were remarkable).

From the paper to finish work, this was truly a hand-made project.  The paper was hand-made and printed one-by-one.  The bindery was completed at my dining room table one at a time.  It was great to work with a client like Clayton, who places so much value on process and craft.

Such gorgeous cards!  You can check out more of Matthew’s awesome work right here!

{image credits: clayton austin}

*A Fine Press is one of my fabulous sponsors; for more on my editorial policies, please click here.