I’ve noticed lots of stitched paper around lately, from beautiful embroidered patterns and calligraphy, to more tongue-in-cheek renditions of typographic fonts. Â I love the combined texture of paper and thread. Â Here are some of my favourites:
1. From pi’lo
2. From Stitchographie
3. From Painted Fish Studio
4. From aQuick Study
1. From Curious Doodles
2. From aQuick Study
3. From Crooked Sister
4. From Stitched Cards
“Stitched” is a guest post by Jane Flanagan of Ill Seen, Ill Said.
Handwriting holds a special kind of allure. Â It would be a tough call to decide between using a beautiful font or handwritten calligraphy. Â I think I would opt for the latter more times than not. Â Nole has certainly featured the very most beautiful calligraphy on paper on this blog. Â But, the warmth of the handwritten word is often taken beyond paper too.
I’ve long loved this rug from architect and designer, Joaquim Ruiz Millet who is also a writer, filmmaker and gallery director. Â His Manuscrit Rug (2003) is an expression of all of his passions, and features a romantic poem that he wrote in his native Catalan.
Manuscrit Rug from Design Within Reach
There are many more examples of handwriting being transferred to household objects, jewelry and even clothing. Here are a few of my favourites:
1. Human Heart Decoupage by John Derian
2. Jeanine Payer, Edmond necklace from Moondance Jewelry
3. Black Script Large Fabric Thumbtacks by Fabricfarrago
4. Flourish Folio Cushion from Natural History
5. Mr. Darcy Proposal Dish Towel by Brookish
6. Postcup(TM) by Bailey Doesn’t Bark
“Handwritten” is a guest post by Jane Flanagan of Ill Seen, Ill Said.
Our first set of wedding invitations today come to us all the way from Dubai! Â Mariam from Natoof Design sent over a gorgeous and modern wedding invitation suite that she designed for a wedding this past October. Â The wedding theme revolved around the rose petal and a color palette of gold and white, so Mariam incorporated a gorgeous die cut rose and beautiful gold foiling throughout the invitation.
From Mariam: The invitation couldn’t be more delicate and elegant with two die cut rose shapes folded to reveal golden metallic paper inside.  The Arabic calligraphy wordings were gold foiled and we included a small pocket to hold the VIP entrance cards.
Not wanting to defer the attention from the invitation, we used a plain white envelope with flower shape cut in the middle to show the invitation inside.
Mariam and her design team also created several accompanying pieces over a 3-month period, including: rose pendants, entrance cards, stickers for box gifts and tissue boxes, and gift tags.
Thank you so much Mariam!  For more of Mariam’s work, check out her website and blog right here.  Mariam was also recently featured in the inaugural issue of Martha Stewart Weddings Middle East – so exciting!
{image credits: natoof design}
Red, gray, and white is one of my favorite color combinations any time of year – but is even more so during the winter holiday season.  Bryn from Paperfinger provided calligraphy for these wedding invitations, letterpress printed  in a gorgeous shade of red and soft gray by Coeur Noir.  I also love the use of red ribbon and notching detail for an added little touch.
{all photos by Jen Huang Photography via paper tastebuds}
There’s nothing like a beautiful letterpress blind impression to make me go a bit weak in the knees, but combine that technique with map design details and modern calligraphy, and I’m officially swooning.
Both invitations are the result of collaborations between Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress and calligrapher Betsy Dunlap. Â Printed on super thick paper with Betsy’s calligraphy letterpress printed in a soft gray, both invitations are truly frame-worthy works of art. Â Check out Riley and Robert’s New Orleans wedding invitation suite here and Phyllis and Armstead’s topographic map wedding invitation suite here!
{image credits: Blackbird Letterpress}
