02/11/2015

Rustic Hand Lettered Wedding Invitations

I love the mix of elegant and nature-inspiredÂ details in these rustic hand lettered wedding invitations from Kim atÂ Bright Room StudioÂ â€“ from the burgundy website tag and envelope calligraphy to the leather cord and kraft paper welcome reception invitation! So beautiful and perfect for a fall wedding!

FromÂ Kim:Â I loved creating this invitation suite for Adam and Lauren. Together we created what I think is the perfect mix of rustic and elegant. We kept the suite neutral with a small red accent on their website tag.

Everything in the suite was lettered by hand, giving it a casual feeling, but the double-thick paper, leather cord wrap, and vintage stamps made it all feel really special (the leather cord also made it smell amazing!). The kraft paper for the welcome dinner was a perfect way to set that piece apart, while still making it feel like it coordinated with the whole suite.

I was also lucky enough to design a modern Ketubah (Jewish marriage contract) for Adam and Lauren. Their promises to each other were hand lettered and surrounded by simple vines and then screen printed with gold ink on to a beautiful cotton paper. They signed it on their wedding day!

ThanksÂ Kim!

Design:Â Bright Room Studio

Invitation Letterpress Printing:Â Mercurio Brothers

Ketubah Screen Printing:Â Jill Fawcett/Studio Mamas

Bright Room Studio is a member of theÂ Designer RolodexÂ Â â€“ you can see more of Kimâ€™s beautiful workÂ right hereÂ orÂ visitÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Bright Room Studio

02/10/2015

DIY Tutorial: Mini Love Note Pegboard

I think an important part of any relationship is reminding your partner (and perhaps even yourself) of all the reasons why you love, like, and just generally enjoy them. While IÂ think this is an important thingÂ to do all year round, tis the season for acts of love, so I say we turn this little piece of relationship advice into a craft activity!Â With this tutorial, weÂ turn a plain ole pegboard into an expression of the dozens of ways that we love our significant other. When the Valentine’s season has passed, keep the wooden bead pegs in place and use it as message board or even an escort card display for a big event. â€“Â Mandy Pellegrin

Materials

Pegboard (mine came pre-cut in a manageable size from the hardware store)
Wooden Beads
Toothpicks
Twine
Card Stock
Heart Punch
Mini Hole Punch
Scissors
Pencil/Pen

Step One: String each bead onto a piece of twine about 6″ long. Create a grid of pegs with the beadsÂ by passing both ends of each piece of twine through a single peg hole. On the backside of the pegboard, tie the ends tightly aroundÂ a toothpick. My grid ended up beingÂ 6Â beads wide by 9 beads tall for a total of 54 pegs.

Step Two: Punch out lots and lots of card stock hearts — as many as you have wooden bead pegs. If you don’t have a heart punch, you could also just cut out hearts the good old fashioned way…with scissors.

Step Three: Punch a small hole in the top corner of each heart.

Step Four: Attach each heart to a string. Tie the ends of the string together using a long knot to create a loop from which to hang each heart.

Step Five: Now, here’s the couple’s therapy part! Add sweet love notes to each heart, and hang onto your grid of wooden bead hangers.

Photo Credits: Mandy Pellegrin for Oh So Beautiful Paper

02/10/2015

Fresh Cut Paper Flowers: Anemone

You guys, I am not a winter person. Like, at all. Here in the Mid Atlantic the trees are bare and everything is brown and gray and lifeless â€“ and I’m just completely over it. But spring? I live for spring. Cherry blossoms, lilacs, peonies, wisteria… I can’t get enough. So how could I resist when Rachael from Appetite Paper offered to stop by Oh So Beautiful Paper on a regular basis to share some of her gorgeous paper flower creations?? Today Rachael is here to share her first creations and give us something pretty to look at in the doldrums of winter. Welcome Rachael!

When you’re in the dead of winter, some fresh cut paper flowers certainly do the trick. These cute, dainty paper flowers are inspired by a personal favorite of mine, the Anemone. They are always so welcoming with their cheerful bloom. Made famous by their classic black and white combo, I couldnâ€™t resist playing around with some fun coral hues and blush pink petals for some paper inspiration today! â€“ Rachael

Photo Credits: Appetite Paper for Oh So Beautiful Paper

02/09/2015

Romantic Modern Blush and Gold Wedding Invitations

I don’t often see wedding invitations that manage to be both modern and feminine â€“ but if anyone can pull it off, it’s Ellie from Hello Tenfold! For the Clara suite from her brand new wedding invitation collection,Â Ellie went for it with a feminine color palette of blush taupe and gold combined with some of Hello Tenfold’s signature patterns throughout the suite. So pretty!

From Ellie:Â The first thing I designed for this suite was the save the date pattern, which morphed into the pattern for the envelope liner, was used again at a much bigger scale for the detail card, and then I used the same motif to create a delicate border for the invitation and menu. Combined with some dots, the motif shows up again on the reply card and thank you card. I love taking a few simple elements and expanding upon them throughout an entire stationery suite. This suite features one of my favorite color schemes: blush pink, taupe, and gold. The cotton ribbon and hang tag pull it all together!

Thanks Ellie!

Design: Hello Tenfold
Styling: Michelle Smith
Envelope Calligraphy: Layers of Loveliness
Flowers: Serendipity Designs

Hello Tenfold is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ you can see more of Ellie’s beautiful work right here!

Photo Credits:Â Lissa Gotwals

02/06/2015

Kentucky Coffee

Last month was all about Champagne cocktails, as was befitting the New Year. But this month the cold of winter is here, for real, so we’re going to spend some time with hot drinks. Because we could all really use something to warm us up right now. Here’s our spin on Irish Coffee, using one of our favorite bourbons: Kentucky Coffee.Â â€“ Andrew

Illustration byÂ Shauna LynnÂ for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Kentucky Coffee

2 oz Kentucky Bourbon
1/2 oz Brown Sugar
6 oz Hot Mint Coffee
Cream

In a mug or heat-proof glass, combine the bourbon, sugar, and coffee. Top with cream, lightly whipped, and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Enjoy!

To make the mint coffee, brew a cup of strong black coffee as you normally would, but add a tablespoon of dried mint leaves to the grounds first. The easiest way to do this is to pick up some mint tea bags, like Moroccan mint tea. (Look for bags of justÂ mint, not mint mixed with green or black tea leaves.) This isn’t onlyÂ for cocktails â€“ this is one of my favorite ways to drink coffee in the morning, and mixing teas in with your coffee is an easy, natural way to add interesting flavors.

An Irish Coffee â€“ Irish whiskey, hot coffee, sugar, and cream â€“ is just fine for this weather too. We wanted to take the original and give it a playful American spin, so we replaced the Irish whiskey with Four Roses Small Batch bourbon. And what goes better with bourbon than mint? The result is richly minty, creamy, sweet, and dark. It’s hot and it has caffeine, which basically make it prescription medicine for February. It’s decadent and full of calories and who cares this time of year?

Whipping cream for drinks like this need to involve a lot of work: a cocktail shaker can do in a pinch. Add a few tablespoons of heavy cream to the shaker, shake vigorously, and pour. Pouring over the back of a spoon held just above the surface of the drink can also help the cream float instead of settling in the glass.

(Full disclosure: the folks at Four Roses sent us a bottle for review.)

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram, where we’ve been posting lots of our experiments before they reach our Friday Happy Hour column!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper