Sophie’s First Birthday Party!

As you know, we celebrated Sophie’s first birthday last month! We threw a little birthday party for her, with family and a few close friends. Given the roller coaster of the last few months, it was so nice to spend a beautiful afternoon with some of our favorite people to celebrate making it through the first year!

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First, the invitations! Sophie is completely fascinated with balloons, so we knew that we wanted to bring them into her birthday party. I told Catherine from Printerette Press that we wanted something joyful and colorful and she dreamed up this amazing five-color design with her unique hand lettering for the text. My dear friend Michele of Meant to Be Calligraphy addressed the envelopes in neon pink ink in her Jackson script. I love the invitations SO much!

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We chose one of our favorite hidden spots in DC, Montrose Park in Georgetown, as the venue for Sophie’s party. It has lots of picnic tables and a big playground with swings, all of which was perfect for our needs. Sophie’s cousins came down from upstate New York for the party and had such a great time running around the playground, while the adults could chill out under the trees.

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We wanted the party decorations to be really bright and colorful, with lots of balloons, honeycombs, and garlands. My friend Kelly sent over some of her balloon honeycombs, which went perfectly with our balloon inspiration. I also made a bunch of tassels out hot pink, peach, and gold yarn, and spray painted a birthday banner in shades of hot pink, coral, and lavender.

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We served a mix of sandwiches from one of our favorites, Taylor Gourmet, along with cupcakes from The Sweet Lobby. My Dad took a few photos of Sophie enjoying her birthday cupcake! I chose red velvet for her, which she loved.

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Kelly also made Sophie a birthday crown! She wouldn’t keep it on for more than a few minutes, but it was completely adorable while it lasted.

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Photo Credits: Vicki Grafton Photography, except where noted

Lauren + Marshall’s Rustic Mountain Wedding Invitations

For these mountain top wedding invitations, Caroline from Lovely Paper Things incorporated a ton of texture, from real birch wood to recycled chipboard to raw twine. Caroline carefully rubber stamped the entire invitation suite by hand for the perfect rustic touch. So lovely!

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From Caroline: When this super sweet pair came to me, they were looking for a really unique wedding invitation that would make their guests want to kick off their boots, relax, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains! Each piece was happily hand stamped and incorporated modern hand-lettering, rustic illustrations, and a sprinkle of warm whimsy.

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For Lauren, there has always been something magical about Sun Valley. From its breathtaking views, to the precious memories she has of spending time there with her family, and Marshall’s adorable art gallery proposal; it holds such a special place in her heart! Their happy history with this gorgeous spot made it an easy decision for them to pick Sun Valley as the perfect place to shout their love from the mountain tops!

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Natural materials like real birch wood, recycled chipboard, textured watercolor paper, raw twine, and vintage luggage tags create an overall down to earth, blissfully elegant, mountainous vibe – perfect for a weekend getaway full of love!

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Thanks so much Caroline!

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Lovely Paper Things

James + Molly’s Cozy Woodland Toile Wedding Invitations

Last week I had the pleasure of featuring these awesome interactive invitations for a destination 40th birthday party, and today the ladies of Ladyfingers Letterpress are back with some equally stunning autumn wedding invitations! Inspired by the Lake Placid Lodge where the wedding took place, Arley-Rose and Morgan incorporated an illustrated woodland toile pattern into the design complete with a loon and an elk!

Woodland Toile Wedding Invitations by Ladyfingers Letterpress

From Arley-Rose and Morgan: When we were approached by Molly and James who were planning their autumnal wedding, they said they wanted their invitations to “feel like you’re wrapped in a cashmere blanket.” Little did we know that we would be incorporating cashmere into their suite!

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Molly sent us some cashmere and wool samples which we individually cut and attached as envelope liners. Unfortunately, we didn’t have any leftovers for the photo shoot, but I can assure you, it was utterly luxurious!

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Molly sent us an incredible Pinterest board that painted a gorgeous picture of the feeling she and James wanted. They mentioned that they were in love with the idea of having a “woodland toile” somehow integrated into their suite, so we made drawings of a loon, an elk, and scenes from the Lake Placid Lodge where they tied the knot.

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The suite was letterpress printed in two colors on thick, 220lb Crane’s Lettra; with a copper interior envelope (lined with cashmere which is not shown) and Crane’s outer envelope.

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Thank you so much ladies!

Ladyfingers Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex – check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Ladyfingers Letterpress

{happy weekend}

Happy Friday everyone. Truth is, I’m having a really hard time keeping a smile on my face these days. Despite what some on the television news might want you to think, this shutdown does affect real people. My husband and several of our close friends are among the 800,000 federal government employees furloughed until the government reopens. With the shutdown, half our income immediately disappeared. No expectation of backpay and no idea when he might be allowed to go back to work. The last shutdown lasted nearly three weeks. I’m trying to look on the bright side of things and be thankful that our situation isn’t worse. I’ve also never been more grateful for leaving federal employment three years ago, so that I can at least continue to earn while Congress gets its act together. With all of this uncertainty, this is a pretty scary time for our family. But it has also gotten us thinking about some larger changes we’d like to make in our life. Changes that will help us live our life on our own terms, rather than the whims of politicians. But in the meantime…

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Photo Credit: Maple and Belmont

…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 next week! xoxo