June Desktop Downloads!

A couple of days late, but worth the wait! Katie from The Good Twin just got home after exhibiting at the National Stationery Show and she still took the time to create two beautiful illustrated wallpapers for your computers and phones (thanks Katie!)! Enjoy!

June Illustrated Wallpaper by The Good Twin for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Desktop | iPhone

Summer Hat Illustrated Wallpaper by The Good Twin for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Desktop | iPhone

For personal use only. All illustrations by The Good Twin for Oh So Beautiful Paper

If you’re a designer or illustrator interested in contributing your own designs to this column, please email your design to submissions(at)ohsobeautifulpaper.com with the subject line “desktop downloads.” If it’s a good fit I’ll add it to the post for the following month!

Paper Party 2016: The Cocktails (and Recipes!)

In yesterday’s post, I mentioned that we offered two signature cocktails to guests at Paper Party 2016. In the past we’ve offered an open (cash) bar so that guests could order whatever they liked, but I’ve always wanted to do a custom cocktail menu – after all, it is kind of one of the things we do best around here! So we finally did it! Andrew came up with two recipes that we thought worked well for both the time of year and the number of guests (we were estimating around 250 people): a Pineapple Mai Tai and a Lavender Collins. They’re both so, so good and perfect for summer get togethers! Today we’re sharing the recipes for both drinks, along with the cocktail coasters, stir sticks, menus, and matchbox favors that we made for the Paper Party!

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

First, the stationery! Sarah from Parrott Design Studio designed the gorgeous cocktail menus – I printed them at home using my Epson WorkForce WF-7610 printer (which can print borderless!). I printed a smaller 5×7 size to scatter around the venue, and a larger 8×10 size to display at the bar.

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

We also worked with Foryourparty.com to make some fun wood cocktail stir sticks in shiny lavender foil, coasters in shiny lavender foil, and – my personal favorite – Riviera matchbox party favors with shiny silver foil on lavender Color Plan paper. I just can’t get enough lavender these days!

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Okay, so I may have gone a bit coaster crazy for the party this year, but after seeing this absolutely AMAZING hologram foil called Micro Glitter at Bella Figura when selecting a foil for the Paper Party invitations, I asked if they’d be willing to print up some coasters for the party. Can you blame me? The Micro Glitter hologram foil is just ridiculously awesome. It reminds me of a disco ball! How could I resist?

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menus, Stir Sticks, Coasters, and Matchbox Favors / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Okay, now on to the cocktail recipes! I wanted one of the cocktails to be fruity and tropical, and the other cocktail to be effervescent and refreshing (especially after a long day at the Javits Center). A Pineapple Mai Tai and Lavender Collins were the perfect fit! I highly recommend giving both of these cocktails a spin at home!

Paper Party 2016 Cocktail Menu / Design by Parrott Design Studio for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Cocktail menu design by Parrott Design Studio

Pineapple Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Pineapple Mai Tai

1 oz Silver Rum
1 oz Aged Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz El Guapo Orgeat
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Orange Curaçao

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker filled two-thirds with ice and shake gently. Strain into a lowball glass filled with crushed ice and garnish with a mint bouquet. Enjoy!

One quick note about shaken drinks: If you’re making a large quantity of a shaken cocktail recipe in advance, chances are you won’t individually shake each cocktail in a cocktail shaker. But! Shaking a cocktail with ice adds water to a drink, so without it the drink can come out a bit on the strong side. When pre-mixing a large batch of cocktails in advance, you’ll need to add extra water to the recipe to compensate. We recommend adding about half an ounce of water per serving for these kinds of drinks.

Pineapple Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Lavender-Lemon Collins Cocktail Recipe / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Lavender Collins

2 oz Dry Gin
1 oz Royal Rose Lavender-Lemon Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
Soda Water
Mint

Add mint and ice to a highball glass, then add the gin, lavender-lemon syrup, and lemon juice. Top with soda water and give it a good stir to combine. Enjoy!

Lavender-Lemon Collins Cocktail Recipe / Oh So Beautiful Paper

A huge thanks to El Guapo Bitters and Royal Rose who so generously donated their syrups for the Paper Party so that we could make these wonderful cocktails!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Tote Bags – and giveaway!

Yesterday I shared the photos from Paper Party 2016, and today I’m super excited to share (and give away) the tote bags that we made for this year’s party! We collaborated with the ladies of Sugar Paper on this year’s tote bags, and I am completely over the moon about how they turned out! They’re just so unbelievably perfect, with classic Sugar Paper on the front and this year’s Paper Party logo on the back. Don’t you love it?? I carry mine with me all over town!

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And inside the bag? Pretty much the most awesome stationery from some of my favorite stationers: The Adventures Of, Amy Heitman, Antiquaria, Ashkahn, Bella Figura, Cardtorial, E.Frances Paper, Fox & Fallow, Hartland Brooklyn, Hester & Cook, Hello!Lucky, Ink Meets Paper, Katharine Watson, Katie Leamon, La Familia Green, Moglea, Odd Daughter Paper, The Paper Cub Co., Parrott Design Studio, Power & Light Press, Ramona & Ruth, Rifle Paper Co., Smitten on Paper, Smock, Snow & Graham, The Social Type, Thimblepress, Wild Ink Press, Mixbook, My Mind’s Eye, Sakura of America, Legion Paper, and a selection of Etsy Wholesale sellers. Whew!

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If you weren’t at the Paper Party to collect a tote bag in person, today’s your lucky day – because today FIVE of you have the opportunity to win a Paper Party tote bag! I have one tote bag full of stationery awesomeness and four unfilled (but still completely awesome) tote bags to give away. They’re kiiiiiinnnd of the coolest tote bags ever, so you definitely want to enter the giveaway below!

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To enter, just follow the options on the Rafflecopter below – there are three different ways to enter!

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

Photo Credits: Oh So Beautiful Paper

*Sorry, limited to U.S. readers only. Limit one entry per person. $150 approximate total retail value. Winners will be contacted via email after comments close.

Paper Party 2016! (aka Pastel Rainbow Iridescent Disco Party Inspiration)

As promised, I’m sharing the photos from this year’s Paper Party during the National Stationery Show! I can’t believe the party was already two weeks ago – the whole evening went by so fast! The iridescent disco vibes that helped shape the invitation design also helped guide the overall party design. We incorporated a pastel rainbow color palette – lavender, mint green, light blue, and shades of pink and peach – along with plenty of sparkle!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This year’s party was again held at Hudson Terrace in the 2nd floor Salon. My talented friend (and professional event planner) Janice from Bellwether Events helped me plan the party and kept the entire evening running smoothly. Our amazing group of sponsors and creative partners helped us bring the party to life, including the National Stationery Show, Mixbook, Etsy Wholesale, My Mind’s Eye, Smock, Bella Figura, Sakura of America, Hester & Cook Design Group, Legion Paper, Mailchimp, Crow & Canary, Honeybook, Sugar Paper, Foryourparty.com, Soirée Floral, Meant to Be Calligraphy, Ashley Buzzy, Parabo Press, Sarah from Parrott Design Studio, and Smilebooth.

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

I printed the sponsor thank you banner on a 3′ x 4′ color engineer print from Parabo Press! Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy provided the calligraphy lettering, which I combined with my own text and layered over the watercolor background from the invitations – then just printed the whole thing! Easy peasy. We decorated with our signature honeycomb clusters with mini disco balls! We also incorporated iridescent tassels made from fringe door curtains.

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

I also hand painted the Paper Party 2016 logo (designed by Ashley Buzzy) on a 3′ x 4′ engineer print from Parabo Press. The lettering is actually made of holographic silver glitter over glue. It didn’t photograph very well, but it looked really cool in person!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Can you seriously believe this paper fan wall?? It was definitely the highlight of the entire party. The team from My Mind’s Eye put the entire thing together – they even made the disco ball YOLO letters! Amazing.

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Tote Bag by Sugar Paper / Oh So Beautiful Paper

(image by Sugar Paper)

Sugar Paper made the gift tote bags for this year’s party – stay tuned for more on that soon! Hint: there will be a giveaway involved!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

I always like to have an interactive element at the party – and this year that activity involved Sakura of America pens! We asked our party guests to help us celebrate 70 years of the National Stationery Show by writing a little love note using Sakura of America Glaze, Gelly Roll, and Soufflé pens or Pen-touch paint markers. Janet from Fox and Fallow used silver Pen-touch markers to make a little sign to display amongst the colorful notes and pens. I loved the bright pop of color and seeing all the beautiful notes left by the party guests!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

AND OMG THE FLOWERS. Dawn from Soirée Floral creates the most gorgeous arrangements for the Paper Party year after year. I really don’t know how she does it! This year I asked Dawn to create arrangements comprised mostly of greens – ferns, tropical leaves, vines, etc. – with just a few pink blooms tucked into each arrangement. For the blooms we used a mix of peonies, ranunculus, roses, and cymbidium orchids. They turned out even more beautifully than I could have possibly imagined!

Paper Party 2016 Flowers by Soiree Floral / Oh So Beautiful Paper

photo via @exit343

Paper Party 2016 Flowers by Soiree Floral / Oh So Beautiful Paper

photo by Carrie Fleck

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

We served two signature cocktails at this year’s party: a Pineapple Mai Tai and a Lavender-Lemon Collins. We’ll be sharing the cocktails and recipes tomorrow – they were so good! Sarah from Parrott Design Studio was kind enough to design a cocktail menu for the party. I love her illustrations and hand lettered recipes!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Mixbook sponsored this year’s Paper Party photobooth – and they made a book with photos from past Paper Parties (aw, memories!) for guests to browse while waiting for their turn in the photobooth, along with a few other photo book examples and some of their gorgeous photo cards. So fun!

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 / Pastel Iridescent Rainbow Disco Party Inspiration / Sara Wight Photography for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Smilebooth Photos! / Mixbook + Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Smilebooth Photos! / Mixbook + Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Smilebooth Photos! / Mixbook + Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Smilebooth Photos! / Mixbook + Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Smilebooth Photos! / Mixbook + Oh So Beautiful Paper

You can find all of the Smilebooth photos from Paper Party 2016 right here!

Finally, a HUGE thank you to the wonderful sponsors and people who made the evening possible:

  • Infinite thanks to Janice and Carrie for all of their invaluable help over the past few months and throughout the evening – and our small army of friends (Kristina and Rob, Sarah, Mindy, Sam, Brad Burks, and more!) who helped stuff gift bags or with set up before the party. We couldn’t have done it without you!

And of course a big thanks to Sara Wight for the gorgeous photos and Hudson Terrace for having us!

Party Sources

Event Coordination: Bellwether Events

Floral Arrangements: Soirée Floral

“Yolo” Paper Fan Wall: My Mind’s Eye

Engineer Prints: Parabo Press

Pens and Paint Markers: Sakura of America

Gift Tote Bags: Sugar Paper

Cocktail Menus: Parrott Design Studio

Lavender Foil Coasters, Stir Sticks, and Matchboxes: For Your Party

Micro Glitter Hologram Foil Coasters: Smock

Marbled Paper Placemats: Hester & Cook Design Group

Venue: Hudson Terrace

Photo Credits: Sara Wight Photography

Paper Party 2016: Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations

I’ll be sharing the photos from this year’s Paper Party in just a bit – but first, I wanted to help set the scene by sharing the photos of the rainbow watercolor and hologram foil invitations that we created for this year’s party! As with previous years, the invitations were a group effort. The ultra-talented Ashley Buzzy designed the invitations and envelope liner, Bella Figura printed everything on their smooth cotton paper, and Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy addressed the envelopes. This year’s invitation design featured hologram foil over a digitally printed watercolor background!

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

I’ve been really inspired by all things iridescent lately, so I used that as the starting point for the rest of the inspiration for this year’s party. I created a moodboard for this year’s party, which contained an image of crinkled iridescent cellophane and a few images of disco balls – and voila! Party inspiration! I thought Ashley Buzzy had the perfect design aesthetic to complement my iridescent rainbow disco party theme, and I was thrilled when she agreed to create the invitation design!

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Ashley was super inspired by the rainbow overtones of the iridescent cellophane in the party moodboard. She created this gorgeous rainbow watercolor background by layering a rainbow gradient over a watercolor splatter pattern that she scanned into her computer. Ashley also created a rainbow watercolor splatter envelope liner that complemented the invitation design without mirroring the design too closely.

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

I really, really, really wanted to use hologram foil for the printed party invitations – but I had no idea there were so many different types of hologram foil! I must have looked at more than 40 hologram foil swatches at Bella Figura before settling on this smooth rainbow-y silver hologram foil called Spectrum. I love how the foil shows a different color and light spectrum at every angle! Bella Figura also letterpress printed the design and printing credit on the reverse side of the invitation and the envelope return address in a beautiful teal ink.

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

For the envelopes, I once again turned to my favorite envelope finishing trick: dip dyeing! I decided to continue the rainbow theme by dip dyeing the envelopes four different pastel colors: lavender, blue, green, and pink. Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy addressed the envelopes in black ink in her beautiful Durham style.

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paper Party 2016 Rainbow Watercolor and Hologram Foil Invitations / Design by Ashley Buzzy / Printed by Bella Figura / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Those are the rainbow watercolor and hologram foil invitations for Paper Party 2016! I hope you love them as much as I do!

Design: Ashley Buzzy Lettering & Press

Printing: Bella Figura

Envelope Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper