DIY Let’s Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket

Happy Monday everyone! It’s getting super hot out there, and a cute ice bucket is an absolute necessity for any summer parties. So here’s a fun (and totally easy) tutorial for making an awesome “Let’s Party” tropical palm frond ice bucket using vinyl decals made with the Silhouette CAMEO®!

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

This tropical ice bucket was inspired by a sign that I made for the bar at Paper Party 2015 using a vinyl decal made with my Silhouette CAMEO® on painted acrylic. The sign featured gorgeous “Let’s Party” lettering from Jenna of Mon Voir Calligraphy surrounded by amazing palm frond illustrations by Courtney of Swiss Cottage Designs. This tropical motif is absolutely perfect for summer! And it turns out that a pretty vinyl decal is an awesome way to take your ice bucket game to the next level.

Oh So Beautiful Paper / Paper Party 2015 / Photo by Charlie Juliet Photography

Photo by Charlie-Juliet Photography

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Okay, now onto the fun part – making the decal!

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

The original ice bucket. Totally fine, but just begging for an upgrade.

Supplies

Silhouette CAMEO®

12″ Matte Dark Green Vinyl (or another color of your choice)

12″ Transfer Paper

Vinyl Ice Bucket (mine was vintage via eBay – but you can find new versions here!)

Scissors

Exacto knife (optional)

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Instructions

1. Download the decal file right here and open the file in Silhouette Studio – it’s all traced and ready to go! My ice bucket measures around 7.5″ tall and 24″ around, but I made the file a full 12″ tall with some extra tropical leaves along the bottom so you can fill in as needed if your ice bucket has different dimensions.

2. Cut a piece of vinyl 24″ in length. Load your vinyl into the machine, adjust the page size to 24″ wide by 12″ high with no cutting mat, set the cut settings to vinyl, then click Send to Silhouette and watch the machine do its thing!

3. Carefully remove excess vinyl from the liner, leaving just your words and tropical leaves. Use the exacto knife to hold down thin parts of the decal while removing the excess vinyl and to pick out the tiny bits inside the lettering and leaves. If needed, trim the decal to the height of your ice bucket and cut away any unnecessary leaves.

4. Place a piece of transfer tape over the entire decal, remove the liner backing, and transfer to your ice bucket as desired, making sure to press down firmly and smoothly along the entire decal.

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Let's Party Tropical Palm Frond Ice Bucket / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Such a fun way to upgrade your ice bucket! Stay cool out there this summer!

Note: Let’s Party calligraphy by Mon Voir and palm frond illustrations by Swiss Cottage Designs. This artwork is made available for personal use only and may not be copied, altered, or distributed in any way.

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Silhouette. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita

We’ve spent the last month using infusions in our cocktails and, honestly, this has been a bit of work but also a lot of fun. Here’s our last for the month, a tremendously flavorful play on a Margarita that uses an intense, gorgeous watermelon-cilantro infused Mezcal. – Andrew

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita / Cocktail Recipe by Liquorary / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita Cocktail Recipe Card / Shauna Lynn Illustration/ Oh So Beautiful Paper

Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita

2 1/2 oz Watermelon-Cilantro Mezcal
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur
1 dash Chocolate Mole Bitters

Combine the Mezcal, lime juice, liqueurs, and bitters over ice. Give everything a stir, garnish with a chunk of watermelon, and enjoy!

We infused the Mezcal – Tequila’s smokey older cousin – with fresh watermelon and fresh cilantro picked from our garden. We used an unaged, silver joven Mezcal so we would pick up the clearest flavors during the infusion. I’ve seen recommendations for infusions to use two parts flavoring ingredient to one part spirits by weight, but I don’t have a kitchen scale, so here’s how I made our watermelon-cilantro Mezcal: I made sure the watermelon was covered completely by the Mezcal, threw in some cilantro, and waited a week. I checked the jar occasionally and, when I thought there wasn’t enough cilantro, I added some more. That’s it. No need to overthink things.

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita / Cocktail Recipe by Liquorary / Oh So Beautiful Paper

After a week, I filtered the Mezcal first through some cheesecloth and then through a coffee filter to remove all of the sediment. (You’ll probably go through a few coffee filters during this process.) Using fresh watermelon means diluting my Mezcal with a lot of water because, you know, watermelon, so we bumped up the amount of Mezcal in our drink and built it directly over ice so our drink would include less diluted water.

Watermelon Cilantro Mezcal Margarita / Cocktail Recipe by Liquorary / Oh So Beautiful Paper

The watermelon-cilantro is intense: smokey, vegetal, fruity, spicy. Delicious. The drink we made with it is the same: recognizable as a Margarita, but with lots and lots of flavor on top. Infusions really are an easy way to turn familiar cocktails into something extraordinary.

Pro Tip: Infusions often work best when using dried ingredients – dried fruits, herbs, and the like – because dried ingredients contain less water. Instead of extracting water, your spirits will extract more flavor.

(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! I can’t believe it’s the last week of June already! This summer is flying by – but all I want to do is just slow things down and enjoy summer as much as possible. Sophie starts preschool at the end of this summer, so these weeks feel even more precious. I’m off to chase after an energetic toddler and a crawling infant, but in the meantime…

Mon Voir Calligraphy Watercolor Philodendron / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Photo Credit: Mon Voir Calligraphy via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Check back this afternoon for this week’s cocktail recipe! Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

Pretty Paper in the Office: Carts

Whether they’re meant for the kitchen or the bar, rolling carts are quickly becoming an office staple. Everything you could need, no matter the task or the work space, can travel with you. And if they tuck away under a desk or table, that’s even better! With such a range of carts available, for any and all spaces and in all styles and colours, you’ll roll up on the perfect piece in no time.  – Julie

Pretty Paper in the Office - Carts - Oh So Beautiful Paper

1. Williams Sonoma

2. World Market

3. Target

4. World Market

5. Amazon

6. Bed Bath & Beyond

Inspired By: Iridescent Everything

Perhaps I’ve gone completely off the deep end, but I’m completely gaga for the iridescent thing happening everywhere right now. From holographic metallic foil and leather to straight up opalescent shimmer, if it shines and has a subtle rainbow glow to it, I’m 100% on board. Iridescence is best done in small doses, which is probably why it works so well in stationery form, but iridescent balloons and garlands would also be a fun addition to a party!

Inspired By: Iridescent Everything / Oh So Beautiful Paper

1. Baggu Hologram Wallet

2. Ban.do Mobile Charger (in Disco)

3. Lionheart Prints Totes My Fave Hologram Foil Card

4. Holographic Moon Balloon

5. Iridescent Fringe Garland

6. The Social Type Killin’ It Gold Hologram Foil Notepad

7. Ashkahn Thank You For Existing Silver Hologram Foil Card

8. Vintage Iridescent Cocktail Glasses

p.s. You can find more iridescent favorites and inspiration right here!