11/28/2016

Seasonal Stationery: 2016 Holiday Cards, Part 1

How is it already time to talk about the holidays!? Here in New York City, holiday markets are setting up, subway stations are lined with an array of posters for this year’s Christmas-themed movies, and retailers are decking out their storefronts for the holiday season. Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, this is your gentle reminder to start thinking about how you want to share your holiday greetingsÂ with friends and family. In that spirit (yes, pun intended!), we gathered up some of the latest and greatest 2016 holiday cards. Whether you prefer to celebrate the season with confetti, gingerbread, or foliage, we’ve got you covered. Below is just a small selection of the vast array of holiday greeting card options â€“ all non-denominational! â€“ from some of our favorite stationers. â€“ Shauna

1. The clever and most inclusive Mr. BoddingtonÂ wants to wish you the very best of everything this holiday season.

2.Â Hello!Lucky offers location specific holiday greetings from New York City (as well as Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Texas, Boston and San Francisco).

3. Elegant script and foliage alwaysÂ makeÂ for a festive greeting (from Wild Hart Paper).

4. Nothing says fun more than confetti! Knot +Â Bow has got your personal snail mail party covered.

5. Warm things are the best things according to Gold Teeth Brooklyn.

6. Sugary snark from one of our perennial favorites, Ashkahn.

7. Modern typography and elegant line work from BryloÂ Studio.

8. Let’s not confuse the message – the holidays are all about eating and drinking according to Dear Hancock.

9. Even if you aren’t familiar with the intricacies of letterpress printing, you have to appreciate fine details of this Hammerpress card.

10. Saving my personal favorite for last – it’s just so cute! This pop-up greeting comes from The Museum of Modern Art.

We’ll be back later this week with more Christmas and holiday cards!

11/26/2016

Shop Small 2016

Hi everyone! For those of you doing some holiday shopping this weekend, I thought I’d round up some of the sales offered by stationers and independent artists â€“ I’ll do my best to update this list with any Cyber Monday sales, and if I missed anyone feel free to add your sale in the comments! The list is below, and thanks for supporting small business this holiday season!

Image by Archer & Olive via Instagram

And Here We Are – 20% off with code THANKS

Angela Liguori – 15% off through Monday, November 28 with code grazie2016

Antiquaria – 30% off through Monday, November 28 with code merry2016

Archer & Olive – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code THANKS20

Bash Party Goods – 50% off select items in the shop through Monday, November 28, no code needed

Belle & Union – 30% off with codeÂ SHOPSMALLYALL

Blushing Confetti – 30% off through Monday, November 28 wiht code blackconfetti

The Dancing Cat – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code BLACKCATFRIDAY

Dinara Mirtalipova – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code SALETIME

Emily McDowell – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code FOODCOMA16

The Everyday Co. – 20% off orders $50+ on Saturday and Sunday with code shopsmall20

Ferme Ã Papier – 25% off through Sunday, November 27, no code needed

Fig.2 Design – 40% off and free shipping on orders over $50 on Monday, November 28 with code FESTIVE16

Fisk and Fern – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code THANKFULYOU

Franca – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code SHOPSMALL

Golden Fox Goods – 30% off through Monday, November 28 with code BLKFRIDAY

The Good Twin – 20% off through Monday with code SALEAWAY

The Great Lakes Goods – 20% off through Tuesday, November 29 with code THANKFUL

Heartswell – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code THANKFULHEART

Idlewild Co. – 30% off through the weekend with code THANKFUL4U

Jill Rosenwald – 20% off through December 8 (!!) with code holidays

Julie Song Ink – 30% off with codeÂ THANKYOU

Knot + Bow – Free tag and twine boxes with orders of $50+ and special discounts of up to 50% on select items, through Monday, November 28

lalagraceÂ -Â 50-75% off everything plus free shipping on orders over $15, no code needed

Laura Hooper Calligraphy – 25% off through November 30 with code HOLIDAY2016

Legion Paper – 15% off orders from letterpresspaper.com through December 2 with code cybermonday

Litterae Studio – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code JOY

MATINE – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code THANKYOU

Moglea -Â Holiday dÃ©corÂ is 50% off through midnight on November 28!

Mr. Boddington’s Studio – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code DASHER

My Mind’s Eye – 30% off through Monday, November 28 with code BLACKFRIDAY2016

Native Bear – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code BLACKBEAR16

The Paper Cub – 40% off and a free grab bag with orders over $25 with code SAVE40

Paula and Waffle – 30% off on Monday, November 28 with code SOTHANKFUL

Parrott Design Studio – 30% off through Monday, November 28 with code cheers30

Paper & Clay – $20 off orders of $100 with code CYBERMONDAY20 and $30 off roders of $200 with code CYBERMONDAY30

Printerette – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code shopsmall

Richie Designs – 40% off on non-custom orders through Sunday with code SMALLSATURDAY

Rifle Paper Co. – Up to 30% off all weekend, no code needed

Secret Holiday Co. – 20% off banner orders through Monday, November 28 with code GIVETHANKS

Shannon Kirsten – 30% off on Monday, November 28 with codeÂ CYBER30

Smudge Ink – 30% off on Monday, November 28 with code GOWILD

The Social Type – 40% off all weekend long AND a free gift with every purchase with code 40forU

Sophie and Lili – 25% off most items through Monday, November 28 with code HOLIDAY25

Sugar Paper – 30% off on Monday, November 28 with code JOINTHEPARTY

Sycamore Street Press – 40% off through Monday, November 28 with codeÂ THANKYOU16

Underwood Letterpress – 25% off today only with code shoplocal2016

Whimsy & Wild – 30% off OR free shipping through Monday, November 28 with the following codes – 30% off: SMALLBIZ, free shipping: FREESHIPPING

Wild Ink Press – 25% off plus free shipping on domestic orders over $75 on Monday, November 28

Wilde House Paper – 15% off through Sunday with code GIMMIE15

Wit + Whistle – 30% off through Monday, November 28 with code YIPPEE30

Yellow Owl Workshop – 25% off through Monday, November 28 with code weloveyou

Yield Design Co. – 20% off through Monday, November 28 with code SHOPSMALL

11/22/2016

Planter’s Punch: A Tiki Bowl Rum Punch

After several decades, punches are finally making their way back into cocktail fashion. Two hundred years ago, Americans would spend an evening sitting around a punch bowl, slowly drinking it down in convivial company. The Thanksgiving weekend is the perfect excuse to mix up a big bowl of punch, so before we all go running off for the holiday we wanted to share a Tiki spin on a classic rum punch. EnterÂ the Tiki Bowl! Popular during Tiki’s golden age and a feature of the Tiki Revival, Tiki Bowls straddle the line between cocktail and punch, combining the simplicity of batching up a cocktail with the social aspect of a punch bowl. So this week, we’re drinking a big bowl of Planter’s Punch!Â â€“Andrew

Planter’s Punch

8 oz Jamaican Rum
8 oz DemeraraÂ RumÂ
8 oz Lime Juice
4 oz GrenadineÂ
4 oz Honey-Pineapple Syrup
2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
16 dashes Angostura Bitters

To make the honey-pineapple syrup: combine equal parts honey and pineapple juice in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir frequently until the honey is melted into the pineapple just. Bottle and refrigerate.

To make the cinnamon syrup:Â break up two cinnamon sticks into bits with a muddler in a sauce pan, then add a cup of sugar and a cup of water. Melt the sugar into the water over low heat, stirring frequently until all the sugar is dissolved. Cover and remove from the heat; let the pan sit for at least twenty minutes. Strain through a sieve, bottle, and refrigerate.

Combine everything in a punch or Tiki bowl with 8 ounces of cold water and give it a stir. Add ice and garnish with mint and, if it suits your fancy, a flaming lime shell. Ladle into cups to serve or, better, drop in some straws and enjoy together. Makes about 8 servings.

Planter’s Punch has its roots in Jamaica, from which it spread throughout the Caribbean and to America through Charleston.Â There’s no authoritative recipe, and variations run the gamut â€“ rum and lime and sugar in all of them; grenadine in many but not all; orange juice in a few; you get the idea. It’s more of anÂ ideaÂ of tropical refreshment, aÂ reference point for tweaking and experimenting. We went with grenadine, which adds a dark tartness; pineapple for tropical fruitiness; and honey for rich, earthy sweetness. Between the grenadine and pineapple and lime, this turns out pretty tart, so we added just a touch of cinnamon syrup to balance it out. This Planter’s Punch is rich and tropical and just a bit spicy.

Ice is key to a cold punch; you want to make the biggest block of ice you can fit into your freezer (and your punch bowl) to cool your punch without melting and diluting your punch too quickly. Cake pans are handy for this; we used a Bundt pan to make our big block of ice. We filled ours with lemon and lime slices, but you can freeze all sorts of garnishes into your ice, which both look great and add flavor as the ice melts â€“ fruit, herbs, whatever suits your fancy. Lay your garnishes in the bottom of the cake pan, then fill the cake pan with crushed ice and, finally, top with water before you put it in the freezer. The crushed ice will keep your garnishes in place as the ice block freezes up.

(Donâ€™t forget to follow us onÂ Instagram!)

Glassware byÂ Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

11/22/2016

Illustrated Printable Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

It’s Thanksgiving week! Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays (I’m generally a fan of any holiday that involves gathering around a table full of food), and this year I wanted to offer a little something to help make this year’s Thanksgiving dinner even more enjoyable. So before we all go running off to spend the long weekend with family and friends, I’m teaming up with Courtney of Swiss Cottage Designs to create this printable Thanksgiving dinner menu full of Courtney’s beautiful illustrations!

The menus feature illustrations of some of our favorite fall foods and ingredients, including potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash â€“ all essential ingredients of any Thanksgiving feast. Oh, and pie â€“ because Thanksgiving dinner just isn’t complete without at least one pie! Just grab the printable template right here, print on letter size card stock, and use a paper cutter to trim each menu down to size along the provided crop marks. The black and white menu can be printed on card stock of any color to match any Thanksgiving table, but I’m really loving the black and white vibe!

We left a bit of space at the top of each 5″ x 7″ menu so that you could write the names of each dinner guest at the top â€“ making the menus double as place cards! I used my favorite extra fine gold Pen-touch marker to hand letter each name at the top. Or just leave that space blank for more informal seating!

You can write out your menu by hand or use an editing program (I used Adobe Illustrator) to add in your own text. These menus definitely aren’t meant to be fussy, so use whatever method works for you!

Download the printable Thanksgiving dinner menu template right here!

Safe travels everyone â€“ and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

All printable artwork Â© 2016 Swiss Cottage Designs created exclusively for Oh So Beautiful Paper. All artwork is made available for personal use only and may not be altered, reproduced, or sold in any way. By downloading the artwork you agree to the terms of use.

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

11/21/2016

Classic Gray and French Blue Letterpress Wedding Invitations

Romantic elegance will never go out of style! These classic gray and french blueÂ letterpress wedding invitations from Lauren of Darling + PearlÂ feature a custom crest illustration, an illustrated map of the wedding venue, and elegant type selections â€“ all letterpress printed on cool gray and white paper with handÂ torn edges. We’re loving the combination of classic serif type with an elegant script that conveys the look of modern, organic calligraphy. What a lovely, and classic, invitation suite!

From Lauren: I find that clients with a clear, cohesive vision are just as much fun to work for as the clients that really want to put the creative power directly in my hands. Both creative “scenes” are the birthplace for beautiful design that really, in the end, reflect each couple and stationery that fits their history as well as their event.

Kara first contacted me with a very clear vision for her wedding invitations. KaraÂ and her fiancÃ©, Andrew, were planning their October 2016 wedding at Fernbrook Inn and Farms in central New Jersey. Fernbrook is a stunning farmhouse style wedding and event venue and we really wanted to encompass an organic and classy experience within their wedding stationery. The venue is a gorgeous 1750s Georgian Manor House in the middle of a 250 acre active farm with tented reception area.

The list of Kara’s must haves in regards to their invitations included: mature modern style script, torn edges, and the cherry on top was an illustrated map of the grounds complete with parking areas, outlines of several ceremony options, the reception area, and T-Bone, the farm mascot.

The weather vane crest was taken in part from the groom’s own artwork. We added a more detailed and textured rooster and they both couldn’t have been more blown away with the final result. Not to mention, I really enjoy that little guy looking towards the future, how fitting for a union of two amazing people!

The entire wedding invitation suite was letterpress printed with french blue ink on a combination of cool grey and natural white 100% cotton stock. And naturally, ALL the edges were hand torn. These were an absolute pleasure to design, have on press and see through for the final result. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Robinson!

Thanks Lauren!

Design: Darling + Pearl

Map Illustration: Erin Niehenke

Darling + Pearl is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ you can see more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Lauren Reed of Darling and Pearl