Sneak Peek – Martha Stewart Weddings Spring 2011 Issue

Spring is almost here – which means that a new issue of Martha Stewart Weddings is just around the corner!  The Spring 2011 issue is all about wedding details, and the editors have put together an 8-page story all about beautiful calligraphy.  I’m thrilled to help share a little sneak peek!

Martha-Stewart-Weddings-Spring-2011-Cover

The feature includes more than a dozen calligraphers (and even more calligraphy styles!) with ideas for incorporating the written word throughout your wedding – from traditional day-of wedding stationery to edible calligraphy on favors and food!

Martha-Stewart-Weddings-Spring-2011-Calligraphy-Story Martha-Stewart-Weddings-Spring-2011-Edible-Calligraphy

I already spy some of my favorite calligraphers in the images above, and you can check out the full story in the new issue on newsstands in just a few days!

Photo Credits: Cover by Con Poulos, Calligraphy Photography by Marcus Nilsson | Martha Stewart Weddings, Spring 2011

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone!  These last couple of days have been absolutely gorgeous here in DC – so I’m heading out to enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!  Do you have anything fun planned for the weekend?  After the hustle and bustle of another busy week I’m hoping to relax and recuperate a bit before next week.  But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

{image credits: yvestown via mary ruffle}

Whimsical Calligraphy from Barbara Kua

Toronto-based calligrapher Barbara Kua sent over some of her recent work, and I couldn’t resist sharing it with all of you!  Barbara has a lovely and whimsical calligraphy style, with lots of cute little swirls and hand drawn frames to give envelopes, menus, and wedding invitations a little something extra.

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-Brown-Blue-Wedding-Menu

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-With-Frames

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-Scallop-Coasters

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-Gray-White-Wedding-Invitations

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-Gray-White-Wedding-Invitations

Swirly-Romantic-Calligraphy-Blue-White-Wedding-Menu

Thanks Barbara!  You can check out more of Barbara’s beautiful calligraphy right here!

{image credits: barbara kua}

Hannah + Young’s Modern Destination Wedding Invitations

This gorgeous destination wedding invitation from Curious & Company might be one color, but with beautiful calligraphy from Neither Snow and subtle texture details from the letterpress printing the design rises to a whole new level.  Brooke from Curious & Company sent over this lovely invitation created for a destination wedding in Lake Las Vegas, Nevada – take a look!

Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation

Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation

From Brooke: Hannah came to us looking for an invitation suite that would highlight the Lake Las Vegas location of her wedding, while not being overly “destination-y” in terms of design, and also taking her budget into consideration.  We worked with a lovely shade of blue, created patterns to reflect her modern style and show off the letterpress texture, and also worked in a subtle map motif of Lake Las Vegas.

Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation-Calligraphy

Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation-Calligraphy

Calligraphy from the talented Mara of Neither Snow was the perfect accent that we worked into the invitation and two response postcards – one for the wedding, and another for the day-after brunch.

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Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation-Texture

Printed by Cleanwash Letterpress, this suite is a wonderful example of how a one color letterpress suite can still be beautiful and interesting without the cost of additional ink colors.

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Modern-Blue-Pattern-Letterpress-Wedding-Invitation-Map-Detail

So delicate and beautiful!  This invitation was a custom project, but you can also check out Curious & Company’s collection of letterpress wedding invitations called the Claremont Collection!

{image credits: curious & company}

Organic Gray + Gold Announcements for Baby Maeve

Yay, baby announcements!  Karly from Oscar + Emma sent over the gorgeous announcements that she designed for her daughter Maeve, and I’m completely smitten with the natural color palette of gray, gold, and white.  Darling baby silhouette?  White calligraphy on a kraft envelope?  Yes please!

Organic-Gray-Gold-Baby-Announcements

From Karly:  I pride myself on always thinking of the little things and I didn’t want any detail to go unnoticed.  Although pink is customary for a baby girl I chose not to go that route.  Maeve is a unique little individual and I really wanted to reflect that with her birth announcement. I was really inspired by 3 design styles… organic, elegant, and precious.

Organic-Gray-Gold-Baby-Announcement Organic-Gray-Gold-Baby-Announcements-White-Calligraphy

The organic part was brought in with the materials I used.   The announcement design was letterpress printed and foil stamped on Crane Lettra 100% cotton paper tucked inside a cotton muslin bag which was gocco printed with a special message and finished with a tiny gold “M” and heart charm tied to each one.  All of this was then mailed inside a kraft envelope.

Organic-Gray-Gold-Baby-Announcement

The elegance was achieved with the actual design of the announcement and by using a subtle gray ink and gold foil.  I asked Grace Edmands Calligraphy to hand address the envelopes.  Her work is gorgeous and she is such a lovely person, so I really wanted her elegant touch.

Organic-Gray-Gold-Baby-Announcements-Silhouette

And finally, the precious element was brought in by using Maeve’s darling silhouette for the announcement and custom postage stamp.  I also created a gray gingham pattern to line the kraft envelopes.

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So darling!  Thanks Karly, and welcome little Maeve!

{image credits: oscar + emma}