DIY Tutorial: Hot Air Balloon Birth Announcement

Within the past few months, we’ve had babies on the brain. We’ve had numerous requests lately from crafty moms-to-be wanting chic, custom stamps so that they can make their own birth announcements for their new bundles of joy. This balloon announcement design is sweet, feminine and the perfect way to share the birth of a beautiful little girl with family and friends. – Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

DIY Tutorial: Chic Rubber Stamp Baby Announcements by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

Combining different pink hues (bright peony pink with the more traditional ballet pink) makes the design a bit more modern. And best of all…it’s super simple!

DIY Tutorial: Chic Rubber Stamp Baby Announcements by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4)

Step One:  Lay an A2 card (4 1/4″x5 1/2″) card down on a firm surface. Ink your stamp (we used our “Hot Air Balloon” Birth Announcement Stamp) thoroughly and center it over your card. Once it is positioned correctly, press down to make a print. Use both hands to ensure even pressure. Lift off and let the print dry. For more information on this process go here.

DIY Tutorial: Chic Rubber Stamp Baby Announcements by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper (3)

Step Two: Using the same technique as in Step One, print your return address (we used our Calligraphy Custom Return Address Stamp) on the back flap of an A2 envelope. To jazz up the back of the envelope, we used some adorable pink & gold washi tape!

DIY Tutorial: Chic Rubber Stamp Baby Announcements by Antiquaria via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

Step Three: Now all that’s left to do is to address the envelopes, add postage (we used vintage postage from Verde Studio) and send them on their way!

A quick tip for expecting parents: Since you will have your hands full once the baby is born, it is smart to stamp and address the envelopes before the big day arrives. This way, all you will have to do is stamp the announcement (you will need all the baby’s info for this piece), stuff and mail the envelopes, leaving more time to enjoy your new little one!

Materials List:

“Hot Air Balloon” Birth Announcement Stamp

Calligraphy Custom Return Address Stamp

A2 Card in Luxe White

A2 Envelope in Luxe Blush

Stamp Pad Peony

Washi Tape

Verde Studio Vintage Postage

Photo Credits: Antiquaria

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! I spent all day yesterday thinking it was Wednesday, so it feels like the weekend kind of snuck up on me! And do you know what else is sneaking up? The National Stationery Show – it’s only two weeks away! Stationery Show mailers are starting to arrive and one of the photos below is a little sneak peek of something very special that I’ll be sharing in greater detail after the show. Next week I’m kicking off my NSS sneak peek coverage with some new exhibitors and returning favorites. Yay! But in the meantime…

Paper Party Invitation Sneak Peek by Oh So Beautiful Paper via Instagram Stationery Show Mailers by Oh So Beautiful Paper via Instagram

Roses by Oh So Beautiful Paper via Instagram Lilacs by Oh So Beautiful Paper via Instagram

Photos by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Check back soon for this week’s cocktail!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

Allie + Ryan’s Baby Gender Reveal DVD Covers

Allie of Allie Ruth Design and her husband Ryan are expecting their first baby later this year (congrats you two!), and they wanted a fun way of sharing the baby’s gender with their family scattered around the country. They put together a sweet little video, burned some DVDs, and Allie printed these DVD covers using a rubber stamp with one of her illustrations. Too cute!

Baby Gender Reveal DVD Covers by AllieRuth Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (3)

From Allie: For the announcement itself, we made a quirky video, but we needed a cute way to get the news to my family in Florida, and Ryan’s family here in the midwest (without giving it away to any of our friends first). So I burned the video onto some DVDs and created this block-printed sleeve in which to send them.

Baby Gender Reveal DVD Covers by AllieRuth Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

For the block, I had a custom rubber stamp made of one of my calligraphed illustrations. Our last name is Peach, so I was sure to incorporate a cute little peach at the bottom. I printed the image onto blank kraft DVD sleeves. For the envelope, we went with a gender neutral mint, so as to not give away the secret before our families saw the video.

Baby Gender Reveal DVD Covers by AllieRuth Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (1)

I used my vintage typewriter to print each set of grandparents’ names onto little handmade, vintage-inspired tags and tied them on with black and white baker’s twine.

Baby Gender Reveal DVD Covers by AllieRuth Design via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4)

Thanks Allie – and congratulations again!

Photo Credits: Allie Ruth Design

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! I know it’s still snowing in some parts of the country (sorry folks), but here in DC spring is in full effect – the cherry blossoms are finally blooming and the sun is shining! We still have so much work to do to get the inside of our house in order, but the gorgeous weather makes me want to get outside and start working on our small garden. I hope you all have fun plans and wish you gorgeous weather this weekend! But in the meantime…

Alexandra Nelson Lettering

Lettering by Alexandra Nelson

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Check back soon for this week’s cocktail!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

Emma’s Sweet Pink “Coming Home” Baby Announcements

As a new mom, I was in tears when Jackie from Believe Notes shared the story of new mom Karen and her twin girls – Emma Claire and Gabriella Hope – born 16 weeks premature last summer. Gabriella sadly passed away a couple hours after birth, but her sister Emma fought and grew stronger each day. Emma finally came home after six months in the NICU and her parents decided to send announcements to friends and family. I’m honored to share Karen’s story and Emma’s announcements today.

Pink "Coming Home" Baby Announcements by Believe Notes via Oh So Beautiful Paper (2)

From Emma’s mom, Karen: Emma Claire and her identical twin sister, Gabriella Hope, were born 16 weeks premature at 24 weeks gestation on Friday, July 13th, 2012. Gabriella’s lungs were too immature to survive and she passed away 2 hours after she was born in our arms. We were told it was not likely that Emma would make it, but she continued to defy all odds with each day she spent in the NICU. After 6 months in the NICU, Emma came home on January 11th, 2013. Since we were so consumed with having her in the hospital when she was first born, we didn’t get a chance to send out birth announcements. When she started getting close to coming home, we decided we would send out a coming home announcement.

Pink "Coming Home" Baby Announcements by Believe Notes via Oh So Beautiful Paper (3)

It was important to us that the announcement illustrated how far she had come in her first 6 months so we knew we wanted to include her birth stats as well as her coming home stats. Jackie took our ideas and created the perfect announcement to celebrate our brave little girl!

Pink "Coming Home" Baby Announcements by Believe Notes via Oh So Beautiful Paper (4)

Thanks so much Karen and Jackie, and big hugs to sweet Emma Claire!

Photo Credits: Believe Notes