Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates

Eat your veggies, folks! With carrots this adorable, I will happily eat twice my portion. Amanda of Wide Eyes Paper Co. created these rustic illustrated carrot coaster save the dates for a wedding on a farm in New York’s Hudson Valley. The dainty cuddling carrot illustration is paired with a classic serif typeface with a sweet and simple save the date message. So perfect for a farm wedding!

Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

From Amanda: As designers, we are always on the lookout for new avenues for creativity within the wedding stationery industry. We derive inspiration from tackling new projects like these rustic, farm-inspired, save the date coasters. This custom letterpress design was a downright fun project and a chance to offer a new product to future clients.

Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Lucy’s custom order brought our team into new territory and gave us a chance for innovation, but what was really great about it was that it was such a fruitful collaboration of different skills. As she was actually living on the breathtaking Stonegate Farm that was to be her wedding venue, Lucy was truly a well of agrarian inspiration. She had done her own illustration of what she wanted – two carrots growing together in a sweet, twisting embrace. It was great to get that running start on the creative vision and then head to work within our individual expertise.

Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

First, we hand-illustrated the cuddling carrots in a style inspired by woodblock printing. Then, we paired the intricate line drawing with some graphic design magic. Creating organic-inspired pieces is often a balancing act; to counter the playful whimsy of the embracing carrots, we chose a serif font with a more stately feel to ground the design as a whole. The beauty of these coasters is really born from this delicate interplay of styles. The whole is definitely greater than the sum of its parts, in this case! Once we found a harmony between text and line, we fired it off to our letterpress printer.

Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

For letterpress printed designs with multiple colors like these coasters, each color requires a separate plate. The metal plates are fabricated, coated in ink, and then run through the letterpress printing machine one by one. These hearty coasters were printed on 220 lb 2-ply Pearl White Crane’s Electra Cotton Letterpress stock; basically, the finest, ultra-thick letterpress stock available.

Rustic Illustrated Carrot Coaster Save The Dates by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Thanks Amanda!

Design: Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Letterpress Printing: Clove St. Press

Wide Eyes Paper Co. is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Amanda’s work right here or visit the real invitations gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Kelly Wilde

Seasonal Stationery: Romantic Valentine’s Day Cards

Last week’s Valentine’s Day card round up focused on universal designs that worked for anyone and everyone on your list. But what about that really special love (or loves, no judgment here) that you want to convey romantic (or otherwise) affection for? Look no further! From the sweet to the saucy, these romantic Valentine’s Day cards send messages ranging from true love to pure lust. Pick one, two – or even a few to organize a Valentine’s Day card scavenger hunt at home. Here are a variety of options to make sure this February 14th is a resounding success!

Romantic Valentine's Day Cards

From the top right:

1. If you’re lucky enough to have found your true love, shout it from the rooftops with this card from Heart Swell Co.

2. Who wants to spend Valentine’s Day at a crowded restaurant? This Sugar Paper design with sweet pink stripes is straight to the point.

3. You + me = love from Ashkahn

4. A sweet and simple message in gorgeous script lettering (and neon pink envelopes!) from Anne Robin Calligraphy

5. Whether you’re browsing Tinder on the daily or in a full-on relationship, this card from Emily McDowell is just the right amount of brazen humor.

6. I mean, who wouldn’t love to receive this card from Ink Meets Paper?? So sweet!

7. Loving the gorgeous vintage-inspired gold foil patterns and innovative die cut shape of this Valentine’s Day card from Rifle Paper Co.

8. Dear Bespoke Letterpress: please make a print of this downright gorgeous gold foil, script, and watercolor masterpiece. Framer!

9. You really can’t go wrong with a bunny covered in kisses for Valentine’s Day. Such a sweet illustration in this Dear Hancock love bunny card.

10. The candy made us do it! A fun ode to the conversation heart in this card from Ghost Academy.

11. There’s really nothing more romantic than pink hearts and glittery gold foil. According to Hartland Brooklyn, that is.

12. Definitely no hidden innuendoes here! Simple, saucy and straight to business (illustrated by Barbara Dziadosz for Red Cap Cards).

 

Next time: No beau this Valentine’s Day? No problem! We’ll be sharing a few friendship-based Valentine’s Day cards for your BFFs in our next installment.

Vibrant Purple Floral Watercolor Wedding Invitations

These invitations are so vibrant and fun! Kyle Sommer of Sommer Letter Co. created these vibrant purple floral watercolor wedding invitations for an elegant-meets-casual summer farm wedding for two high school sweethearts in Indiana. The floral illustrations and watercolor hand lettering are the perfect match for a summer barn wedding!

Vibrant Purple Floral Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Sommer Letter Co.

From Kyle: Taylor and Jalen, high school sweethearts, came to me looking for a beautiful way to capture the vibes of their dreamy summer wedding in Indiana. They had chosen an amazing variety of purples for their wedding colors: a mix of lavender, violet, amethyst, and lilac. The couple chose to get married at Joseph Decuis Farm, an event space that describes itself as “a farm dressed in a tuxedo.” It truly carries a formal vibe in an unexpectedly casual environment. Throughout the design process, we tried to walk that line between formal and friendly. Taylor told me she wanted to keep things elegant, but also reflect the casual barn wedding atmosphere. She really emphasized that she didn’t want the event to feel stiff – she wanted her guests to feel at home.

Vibrant Purple Floral Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Sommer Letter Co.

I really wanted to carry that breezy, summery, barn wedding feel into the wedding invitation suite. We decided a hand painted floral bouquet would be the perfect fit. It would capture the beauty and elegance of florals, but we gave it a bit of an “undone” look by imagining a bouquet with a few loose leaves poking about, and a handful of lavender stems drooping downward. We chose to feature their names and titles with a bit of large, scribbly, watercolor hand lettering.

Vibrant Purple Floral Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Sommer Letter Co.

To top it off, Taylor chose a shimmery champagne envelope and vintage floral postage stamps. We kept the outside of the envelope fairly traditional. I chose to write names and addresses in a simple brush pen lettering style. Guests would receive formal, traditional looking envelopes, but open them to discover rich purple hues and the couple’s welcoming vibes.

Vibrant Purple Floral Watercolor Wedding Invitations by Sommer Letter Co.

Thanks Kyle!

Design, Styling, & Lettering: Sommer Letter Co.

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Natalie Kunkel Photography

Cards of Love and Solidarity

Did you march on Saturday? Either here in Washington, DC or in one of the sister marches across the country or around the world? I marched here in DC, with my husband, some close friends, and all of our children. It was a beautiful thing to see so many people (probably more people than I’ve ever seen in one place) marching together for tolerance, respect, inclusion, equal rights for all, and so much more. Making their voices heard in a peaceful way. Everywhere I looked, all I could see was PEOPLE. It gave me so much hope. So many of the signs that I saw involved messages of love and kindness, so I thought I’d start the week with a quick round up of cards to help keep that message going. Cards with simple but powerful messages of love, solidarity, encouragement, and support – all things that I know I’ll be holding dear for the next four years.

Cards of Love and Solidarity

1. laLa Grace for Love is Mightier

2. Send a message of support with this card from Heartell Press

3. E. Frances Paper

4. Love and solidarity in one card from And Here We Are

5. Love is love (is love is love is love) from Heart Swell Co.

6. Love in the prettiest indigo brush letters from Sycamore Street Press

7. + 8. Sweet and simple gold hearts from Sugar Paper and Parrott Design Studio

9. Gorgeous gold foil calligraphy and indigo marbling from Antiquaria

10. Wild Ink Press

11. L-O-V-E from Idlewild Co.

12. One of my favorite cards from Our Heiday

p.s. Stationers – I think I’ll make this a regular feature throughout the year, or as long as needed. If you have cards that represent the values of love, kindness, inclusiveness, and solidarity, please feel free to send them our way! You can email them to submissions(at)ohsobeautifulpaper.com, and don’t forget to review our submission guidelines here for appropriate image sizes, etc.

Glogg: Traditional Swedish Mulled Wine Recipe

We’re back with a new recipe, this one in the spirit of hygge – the Danish concept of comfort and coziness that is perfect for making it through gloomy Scandinavian winters and our dreary, drizzly January here in DC. This time, we’re making Glogg (which you might also see as Glögg or Gløgg), a traditional Swedish mulled wine. It’s hot and it’s sweet and and it’s rich and it will warm up your cold bones. –Andrew

Glošgg Recipe / Hygge Cocktail Ideas

Glogg

1 750 ml bottle Bordeaux
1 cup Brandy
1 cup White Port
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Raisins
1 cup Blanched Almonds, Slivered
1 Orange Peel
6 Cardamom Pods, Cracked Open
4 Cloves
2 Cinnamon Sticks, Broken Up
1 Star Anise Pod

Combine everything in a big sauce pan and simmer together until the sugar is melted. Remove from the heat, cover, and let infuse for at least an hour and overnight if possible. Strain through cheesecloth, squeezing the cheesecloth to extract as much liquid as possible from the raisins. To serve, reheat and ladle into cups or mugs. Enjoy!

Glošgg Recipe / Hygge Cocktail Ideas

This is a perfect comfort drink: mild, warm, with lots of baking spice and sweet almond and mellow citrus flavors.

Glošgg Recipe / Hygge Cocktail Ideas

When Nole suggested that we make a Glogg, I went digging through recipes. And I discovered that no two were alike. Some called for brandy, others for rum, and still others for bourbon to fortify them. Some used raisins and almonds and others didn’t. Some even called for setting the mix on fire (I was really tempted to try one of those…) to extract flavors from the spices and orange peel. They were all over the place!

Glošgg Recipe / Hygge Cocktail Ideas

And I realized that of course there should be no single recipe. Glogg was the sort of thing that each family would have made at home, probably from memory and probably without trivial details like measuring. So take this recipe with a grain of salt, a starting point rather than anything definitive. Play around with the spices (maybe some allspice next time?) and the fortifying spirits (maybe some aquavit and sherry instead?) and the citrus (maybe some lemon or some exotic winter citrus?) until you come up with your own family recipe.

Glošgg Recipe / Hygge Cocktail Ideas

And then memorize that recipe, and never write it down, and pass it down to your kids for winters to come.

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Glassware by Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper