Apricot Tiki Mocktail

Hard to believe January is almost over! We’re digging out from under a mountain of snow here in DC, and as I shovel snow for the umpteenth time my thoughts go, naturally, to warmer destinations and Tiki cocktails. Since we’re still on the subject of mocktails this month, we created an Apricot Tiki Mocktail recipe to share with all of you. Can we all agree to #TikiTheSnowAway? – Andrew

Apricot Tiki Mocktail Recipe / Liquorary for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Apricot Tiki Mocktail

1 1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Falernum Syrup
1/2 oz Coconut Chai Tea
1 tbsp Apricot Preserves
2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine everything in a cocktail shaker filled two-thirds with ice and shake well. Finely strain – using a Hawthorne strainer with a tight coil (like this one) or a tea strainer to remove any solids from the apricot preserves – into a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Garnish with mint and enjoy!

Apricot Tiki Mocktail Recipe / Liquorary for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Tiki cocktails enjoy a deep bench of flavors – tart citrus, grassy sugarcane, sweet tropical fruits, nuts and flowers, exotic spices, you get the idea – which makes them an ideal source of inspiration for mocktails. You don’t need to worry as much about losing depth of flavor when you take alcohol out of the picture when you have all these layers of flavor playing out in your mocktail.

Apricot is a flavor that, somewhat surprisingly, also shows up in quite a few Tiki drinks, including classics like the Zombie. Here, it adds a bit of summery fruit, but the preserves also help to thicken the drink and give it a more convincing mouthfeel. (The last thing you want is for your mocktail to feel like a glass of sweetened lime juice.)

Apricot Tiki Mocktail Recipe / Liquorary for Oh So Beautiful Paper

We included tea in our mocktail, which adds spice and, more importantly, an astringency that mocktails tend to lack. A coconut chai tea is something you can probably make at home, but Owl’s Brew makes a really tasty one you can get by the bottle.

(Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, where we’ve been posting our experiments before they make their way onto this column!)

Glassware by Liquorary

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

 

 

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! We’re still digging out from a TON of snow here in DC. But we’ve done all the snow things – sledded, built snowmen, thrown snowballs – and the girls have loved it! This is Alice’s first real winter and she seems particularly enamored by the snow. She loves carrying little snowballs around with her and uses a little sand scoop to shovel snow, which is so ridiculously cute. I’ll be honest though, I’m looking forward to the snow melting when we get some warmer weather later this weekend! But in the meantime…

A Petal Unfolds / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Photo by A Petal Unfolds

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for me this week! Stay tuned for another mocktail recipe this afternoon! If you missed it, last week’s Winter Fruit Mocktail (with sparkling grapefruit) was seriously delicious. I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

The World of Illustration

Today I’m thrilled to introduce a brand new column on Oh So Beautiful Paper: The World of Illustration! I’m completely fascinated by and enamored with illustration – and there are so many amazingly talented illustrators that I’ve been hoping to feature in a more meaningful way here on Oh So Beautiful Paper. And we’re finally making it happen! I’ve enlisted Julie (who already authors our fantastic calligraphy column) to profile the work of a different talented illustrator each month. Here’s a little sneak peek of what you can expect to see in the coming months! – Nole

The world of paper leaves many possibilities for art and beauty. We see so many shining examples here on Oh So Beautiful Paper with the stationery and paper goods we showcase. This is why I’m so pleased to be sharing a new column with our readers that puts the spotlight on the amazing world of illustration! We’re going to dip our toe in today as I share a few inspirations of late; hopefully this will get you all as excited as I am for this new feature. – Julie

 

The World of Illustration: Danielle Kroll / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Danielle Kroll

The World of Illustration: Tammie Bennett and Emilie Ely / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Left: Tammie Bennett; Right: Emilie Ely

The World of Illustration: Kate Pugsley / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Kate Pugsley

The World of Illustration: Jen Collins and Zanna Goldhawk / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Left: Jen Collins; Right: Zanna Goldhawk

The World of Illustration: Monica Ramos / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Monica Ramos

The World of Illustration: Anna Emilia / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Anna Emilia

The World of Illustration: Emily Isabella / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Emily Isabella

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations

How fun are these hand lettered San Diego wedding invitations from Katie at Odd Daughter Paper Co.?!? I’m completely obsessed with every detail in this invitation suite, from the playful invitation wording, to the modern hand lettering, to the illustrated map of San Diego food spots. I wish every wedding invitation came with an illustrated food map – don’t you?

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations by Odd Daughter Paper Co. / Oh So Beautiful Paper

From Katie: This San Diego wedding invitation suite was all about hand lettered type and a custom illustrated map. The couple is hysterical and had awesome wording for the invitation and reply card. I wanted their wording and the hand lettering to shine so I kept the design fairly simple with black text on white paper. Czar Press did an amazing job on these letterpress pieces and I think the simplicity of the design also highlights the beauty of letterpress printing.

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations by Odd Daughter Paper Co. / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations by Odd Daughter Paper Co. / Oh So Beautiful Paper

In addition to their love for each other, the couple LOVES food. And their city! Did I mention they were so fun to work with?! We decided a map highlighting the best food spots in San Diego was the perfect way to personalize the invitations AND give their out of town guests the inside scoop on the best places to eat. I chose to do a tri-fold piece so that we could fit the map, all of the food descriptions, and a few additional wedding details all in one place. The bride requested little hand drawn illustrations at each spot on the map (“I’m picturing a tiny bowl of noodles and a tiny beer bottle… etc.”) and this is where I was able to add some little pops of color. The map was printed digitally on cotton paper by Czar Press, which gives it a luxurious feel without the cost of multiple letterpress colors.

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations by Odd Daughter Paper Co. / Oh So Beautiful Paper

The invitation suite was finished with a custom address stamp that included the couple’s names in hand lettering combined with a simple serif font. For envelopes, we went with a classic gray #10 envelope for the invitation and a sweet coral 4bar for the reply card. All that to say, it was such a fun invitation. I had such good wording and content to work with!!

Hand Lettered San Diego Wedding Invitations by Odd Daughter Paper Co. / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Thanks Katie!

Design and Hand Lettering: Odd Daughter Paper Co.

Printing: Czar Press

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

Photo Credits: Odd Daughter Paper Co.