Black + White Stripe Birth Announcements for Baby Felix

I’ve always had special affection for fun and creative baby announcements, but of course these days I’m paying extra special close attention to baby-related stationery.  I was thrilled when my friend Claudia from Fig. 2 Design Studio sent over the announcements that she created for her new baby nephew!  Claudia is known for her love of super bright colors and patterns, and for these announcements she went with graphic black and white stripes paired with bright blue neon accents.  I love the playful yet masculine design – perfect for a baby boy!

From Claudia:  I designed this baby announcement for my nephew Felix.  Inspiration came partly from the baby shower invitations I designed earlier, where we used a chevron pattern.  My sister and  brother-in-law like graphic patterns, however, I decided to go with stripes to vary things and not make it too matchy-matchy.  I’ve been feeling black and white patterns a lot lately and was dying to try neon blue ink!

 

I’ve also had a thing for arrows recently and I thought using arrowheads was friendly enough for a baby announcement, while still having that masculine feel.  I was so touched when my good friend and super talented calligrapher Michele of Meant To Be Calligraphy offered to do his name as a gift to my sister!  It was the sweetest touch and now little Felix has lovely letterpress printed personal stationery.

So awesome!  Thanks Claudia!

Design: Fig. 2 Design Studio

Calligraphy: Meant To Be Calligraphy

Styling: My Simple Details

Fig. 2 Design Studio is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Claudia’s fabulous work right here!

Photo Credits: Mary Kate McKenna

Thalia’s Spring-Inspired Fabric Pocket Birth Announcements

Happy Monday everyone!  I’m thrilled to be back after a wonderful week of vacation in St. Lucia (more from that later) – and I hope you all enjoyed our little mini guide to Washington, DC while I was away.  Today I’m jumping right back into the wonderful world of paper with these sweet spring-inspired fabric pocket birth announcements from Elpitha at Print in Cursive!

From Elpitha: Staci and Jason welcomed sweet Thalia just the day before Christmas Eve.  Despite the frigid winter air outside, she brightened the room as if spring had suddenly appeared (How appropriate she was to be named Efthalia, which means ‘to blossom’).

 

When it came time to think about a design for Thalia’s announcement, Staci knew she wanted a way to send multiple photos to family and friends.  A fabric pocket, lovingly sewn by Grandma, was the perfect way to package these photos along with a sweet note.  The announcement was letterpress printed in 3 colors on 220# Lettra cotton paper. 

Thank you so much Elpitha!

Design and Letterpress Printing: Print in Cursive

Newborn Photos: Katie Dudley Photography

Photo Credits: Print in Cursive

p.s. Thank you all so very much for all of your sweet comments, tweets, and emails regarding our happy news!  I can’t even begin to tell you how much all of your love and support has meant to us over the last week… we’re so excited to share this exciting journey with you!

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone!  I don’t know if it’s the time of year, but lately I’ve been thinking a lot about simplifying – getting back to the things that I really love (and that make me the most happy), and making more time in my daily and weekly routine to enjoy my city and hang out with friends.  This has meant letting go of a few projects and saying no to some other ideas.  I’ve also been on a mission to declutter our apartment, which is a huge challenge for a natural pack rat like me!  As difficult as these things can be, I feel a million pounds lighter with each step.  Do any of you go through stages like this?  Anyway, we have family visiting this weekend and I’m looking forward to exploring more of DC with them.  But in the meantime…

Magnolia garland and tiding wall decal by Shanna Murray

…a few links for your weekend:

  • Gorgeous illustrated notebooks
  • A pretty new print from Christine Wisnieski
  • Yum!
  • A fun DIY project: silkscreened placemats
  • DC-area folks, help Pyramid Atlantic celebrate its 31st birthday this Saturday!
  • Another one just for DC folks – but as a Capitol Hill resident, I’m really excited about this
  • Lynn from Satsuma Press is offering a fantastic deal on her beautiful letterpress calling cards.  Use code 6LSY8L to order 250 two-color calling cards for just $195 (a 40% discount!), or code ZEA68L for 10% off 100 two-color calling cards.  Offers are good through the end of April.

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

As usual, we have a fun cocktail coming up for you this afternoon, so check back a bit later for the recipe!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!  xoxo

Classic Monogram Birth Announcements for Baby Rhett

Savannah-based stationer Emily McCarthy of emma j design recently welcomed her first child, an adorable baby boy named Rhett.  For the birth announcements, Emily stayed true to her Southern roots with a sophisticated design featuring a custom pattern and elegant monogram.  I’m absolutely in love with the tiny “Mc” detail in Rhett’s monogram – so cute!

From Emily: Rhett’s birth announcement was inspired by a custom pattern that I designed while planning his nursery.  The pattern was created out of “R”s for Rhett and I wanted to give the hint of a celtic knot keeping true to our Irish heritage.

 

The double-sided announcement features Rhett’s pattern and a photo on the front, while the back displays a custom monogram design that has been used on his stationery as well as embroidered items like linens and clothing.  The announcement and corresponding envelopes were letterpress printed by Steve at Fireside Printing on 100% cotton Crane 220lb Lettra.

Thanks Emily!

Design: emma j design

Letterpress Printing: Fireside Printing

Photo Credits: emma j design

{happy weekend!}

Wow, Friday already?!  Although this week has mostly flown by, I’ve been feeling a little run down and uninspired these last few days, so I’m looking forward to a mostly quiet weekend.  And while we’ve had the mildest winter I’ve ever experienced in DC, I can’t wait for spring.  Spring in DC is such an inspiring time of year with all of the cherry blossoms, daffodils, and my favorite – lilacs.  Sigh.  But in the meantime…

Photo Credit: Yours Is The Earth

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

As usual, we have a fun cocktail coming up for you this afternoon, so check back a bit later for the recipe!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!  xoxo