Summer is hands down my FAVORITE season for cocktails. Fresh ingredients typically served over ice – or frozen entirely! Sign. Me. Up. Here are some of our favorite summer cocktail recipes from the archives!
p.s. A few more favorite summer cocktails from years past!
Designer Chloe Marty created the most adorable hand lettered black and white invitations for her son’s first birthday party – and I’m thrilled that she’s sharing the invitations for his 2nd birthday here today! This year’s invitations paired playful hand lettering with illustrations of some of Raffa’s favorite things and a royal blue, pool, and chartreuse color palette!
From Chloe: For my son Raffa’s 2nd birthday party invitations, I knew that I wanted to do hand lettered invitations. After sketching and doodling some lettering, the idea suddenly evolved and I decided I wanted to add some illustrations as well. I also decided that I didn’t want to do the lettering and illustration myself; I specifically wanted some one else to bring my ideas to life. So, to accomplish the lettering and illustration, I turned to Shannon Snow. I have worked with Shannon several times and I was confident that she could bring my creative vision to life.
Under my creative direction, Shannon created an invitation with lettering on the front and illustrations on the back. The party itself was a park and donut theme, which covered two of Raffa’s favorites. The illustration on the back also included: Raffa’s dump truck, his checkered Vans, his crayons, pancakes + syrup, Asher, Starbucks iced green tea, his Finkelstein kitty, donuts, “coffee” (hot chocolate) from Huckleberry Roasters, his bunny, the park, his red trike, and reading books.
Once Shannon sent me the black and white vector lettering and illustrations, I set to work adding a bright color palette to it all. I paired the digitally printed white and royal blue invitation with a small chartreuse business card-sized enclosure with a photo of Raffa and an explanation that the invitation contained his favorite things. The Paper Souce Lake colored envelopes were sealed with a custom return address sticker and some “donut sprinkle” washi tape. I hand addressed the envelopes and went with “From me to you” Forever stamps.
Thanks Chloe!
Creative Direction: Chloe Marty
Illustration: Shannon Snow
Photo Credits:Â Chloe Marty
I’m so excited for this brand new collection from Hello!Lucky! They’ve teamed up with Recycled Paper Greetings to create a line of 64 awesome new greeting cards exclusively for Target – everything from birthday cards to thank you cards to just because cards. Each design showcases spirited illustrations and fun treatments like glitter, gold foil, and debossing.
You can find the new Hello!Lucky + Recycled Paper Greetings collection in a Target store near you starting today!
Infusions are a great way to introduce big, clean flavors into a cocktail. And what could be more perfect this time of year than tropical fruit and rum? This week we’re taking a classic and simple recipe, the Daiquiri, and punching it up a notch with some fantastic infused rum. – Andrew
Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper
Pineapple Mango Daiquiri
2 oz Pineapple-Mango Rum
3/4 oz Falernum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Combine the rum, falernum, lime juice, and bitters in a shaker filled about two-thirds with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy!
To make the rum, we infused twelve ounces of silver rum – in this case, the Nicaraguan Flor de Caña Rum – with about a quarter of a chopped pineapple and half a chopped mango. (However much you want to use, the rum should cover all of the chopped fruit.) We let it sit for a week, shaking occasionally, and then filtered the rum through some cheesecloth. So easy.
The infused rum turns this into a rich drink redolent with citrusy tropical flavors. You really taste the fruit here. The pineapple and mango shine through cleanly, and the tartness of the infused rum means you need less lime juice than you’d normally use in a drink like this. The rum also picks up a bit of sweetness from the fruit, so you need less sugar too. I used falernum, a liqueur or syrup made from almonds and Caribbean spices, as our sweetener. (You can find Velvet Falernum liqueur at your local liquor store or make your own at home, though I think we’ll save that discussion for next month…) It adds an extra layer of flavor to an already great drink.
(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 LiquoraryÂ
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you had a wonderful week! It’s hot and humid (and DEFINITELY summer) here in DC, but I’m looking forward to checking a few things off our summer bucket list – like taking the girls (well, Sophie) blueberry picking – and of course celebrating Father’s Day on Sunday! But in the meantime…
Photo and lettering by Joya Rose (via Instagram)
…a few links for your weekend!
This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper: