DIY Wedding Reception Table Numbers

Summer brings wedding galore, and for us…that means party decor! We’ve been helping clients create gorgeous day of stationery and in the process have come up with some fun and festive table numbers that you can do yourself! We know that by the time couples usually think about reception stationery, they’re usually over their budget and are short on time. Luckily, these table numbers are not costly or time consuming. You could easily knock them out in an afternoon. There are endless options once you have the basics of creating them…so the only limit to the project is your imagination! We’ll show you three different styles to kick start your creativity. To complete your tablescape, we’ll also show you place cards to complement to each design. – Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Up until adding the actual numbers to the cards, the process is exactly the same. We will be making 5.5″ square tented cards (showing the pattern on both sides) and the size works perfectly with a standard 8.5″ x 11″ piece of card stock.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step One: Select your paper and cut the cards to size. Cut a rectangle measuring 5.5″ x 11″. If you’re using a standard sheet of paper like we did, that is only one cut (since the length is already 11″).

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Two: To make the tented card and have a clean fold, you’ll want to score the paper at the 5.5″ mark on a score board. Repeat steps one and two until you have enough cards to accommodate all of your tables (usually between 8-25 for a standard wedding).

Option One: Painted Script Floral

For the first version that we put together, we used our “Paloma” Blue Floral Card Stock and painted the table numbers (spelled out) in navy blue acrylic paint. The effect is playful and traditional at the same time.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

With a small pointed paint brush, write out the table number in cursive across the middle of the card. Go back over the letters, adding weight to the lines (as shown above). If you need help finding out where the weights should go or what shape to paint the letters, refer to a favorite script font or perhaps your invitation suite! That way, everything will coordinate.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Option Two: Modern Neon Geometric

In this interpretation, we’ve put a modern spin on the technique. We used our “Geo” patterned card stock and wrote the number in a simplistic style to create the look. Pops of neon pink painted on help add some punch to the cards.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

First you’ll write the table number in the center using a permanent black marker. Fill in and bulk up the number as needed (shown above).

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Next you’ll add the final touch of neon using hot pink gouache. We painted into different shapes already printed on the paper making sure they all balanced with one another.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Option Three: Autumn Garden Floral

For our final interpretation, we used our “Diana” floral card stock to create the perfect garden inspired table decor. The gorgeous rich shades of the pattern mean that this style would just as easily work for fall and winter weddings.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

With a small pointed paint brush, paint the word “TABLE” about 1 inch from the fold with white acrylic paint. Below that, in cursive, paint the word “Number,” trying to center it as much as possible. Finally, you’ll add the numeral centered below. Go back over the number, adding weight to the lines (as shown above). It would be extremely helpful to have these cards planned out on a separate sheet of paper before painting on the lettering. That way, you can know exactly how to center the text, and how large you should make it.

DIY Tutorial: Wedding Reception Table Numbers by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

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Materials

Patterned Paper

Self Healing Mat

Craft Knife

Metal Ruler

Scoreboard

Acrylic paints

Permanent Marker

Anti­quaria is a mem­ber of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beau­ti­ful work right here!

Photo Credits: Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Watercolor Calligraphy Wedding Invitations by Julie Song Ink

I’m a huge fan of the beautiful calligraphy and whimsical watercolor from Julie Song Ink – I always look forward to seeing her latest custom design projects! Julie recently channeled all of that watercolor amazingness into a stunning summer wedding invitation collection, all featuring romantic floral designs and Julie’s signature calligraphy style. And my oh my, each invitation is more beautiful than the last!

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Each design was originally painted by hand, and the collection is printed on thick, textured cotton paper to preserve the authenticity and nuances of the watercolor artwork. The color palette, text, and envelope color can be customized to fit an individual couple’s aesthetic and taste. And each individual suite includes the full array of day-of wedding items, from menus to programs, signage, and thank you cards!

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Thanks Julie!

Julie Song Ink is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Julie’s beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Julie Song Ink

Urbanic Faves | Campfire Adventures

Hello Oh So Beautiful Paper friends and happy July to you! It’s right about this time every year that I start craving an escape from the city to an adventure into the great outdoors. There is nothing that quite compares to the wonder of a star filled sky, being surrounded by miles of nature and getting cozy in a sleeping bag. The most magical part for me, is time spent sitting around a campfire. Whether socializing, toasting, roasting, or even just reflecting, campfire time always seems to lift the worries of life away. This month’s inspiration is all things camp! Here are some of our favorites from around Urbanic and beyond. xo – Audrey

Urbanic Faves: Campfire Adventures for Oh So Beautiful Paper 

1. Polar x Stumptown camp mug; 2. Gold Teeth Brooklyn cards; 3. Izola thermos; 4. Hammerpress card 5. Kikkerland camping utensils; 6. Small Adventure card; 7. Ello There camp banner; 8. P.F Candle Co. candles; 9. Ello There explorer’s patch; 10. Wondermade s’mores marshmallows; 11.Rise and Shine Paper card; 12. Field Notes notebooks; 13. Fletcher and Fox arrows; 14.  Ello There national parks print; 15 Now Designs summer camp napkins and  paper placemats; 16. Scout’s Honor Paper cards

Modern Tiki Party Cocktail Recipes

It’s Tiki time! Tiki drinks have a pretty bad reputation, probably because there’s no other category of modern drinks that has been more abused and more misunderstood. Chances are, if you’ve encountered a Tiki drinks, it’s been a brightly colored, syrupy mess. But it doesn’t have to be this way! Tiki drinks can be silly and fruity and kitschy and escapist, but still good. All that takes are a few things: fresh ingredients, balanced complex spices, and fun. â€“ Andrew

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Tiki had its start in the 1930s. A couple of entrepreneurs – Ernest “Don the Beachcomber” Gantt and Victor “Trader Vic” Bergeron – started restaurants meant to evoke the exotic South Pacific. They combined a fantasy version of Pacific Islands culture with cocktails, mostly Caribbean-inspired, that became the foundation of Tiki culture. They offered escapism to a country emerging from decades of sacrifice, after the Great Depression and the Second World War. These are drinks with ridiculous names: the Zombie and the Scorpion and the Navy Grog. They are often, but not exclusively, full of rum. They should be sweet and fruity without being cloying. They should have layers of complex spicy flavors. They should be full of freshness – fresh fruits and fresh juices and homemade syrups, not artificially colored, factory made ingredients. They’re supposed to be fun and completely self-aware.

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Oh My Tai

2 oz Bacardi 8 Year Aged Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz St-Germain
1/2 oz Orgeat Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum
2 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Combine everything with lots of ice and shake well. Strain into a tumbler filled with fresh ice.

Mai Tai Cocktail Recipe Card Illustration by Dinara Mirtalipova for Oh So Beautiful Paper

All illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova for Oh So Beautiful Paper

The Mai Tai is the queen of Tiki drinks, a intensely flavorful rum sour with tons of spicy flavor. Both Don the Beachcomber and Trader Vic claimed to have invented the Mai Tai and there are about a million different versions of the recipe out there – and you know what? It doesn’t really matter. As long as you throw together some rum, some lime, and some orgeat – that ancient Middle Eastern almond almond syrup that should have no business in a Polynesian-themed drink but is amazing there anyway – you can mess around with other ingredients and still end up with an awesome drink. We added St-Germain to ours for some fruity, floral notes and falernum, a syrup made from rum, lime, and spices like cloves, vanilla, allspice, maybe ginger and almonds. It’s sweet and tart and full of flavor and delicious.

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The Hurricane

2 oz Bacardi Select Black Rum
3/4 oz Cognac
3/4 oz St-Germain
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
Angostura Bitters

Combine the spirits and juices with ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice. Mound more ice on top, then add the grenadine and 5-6 dashes of bitters.

The Hurricane Cocktail Recipe Card Illustration by Dinara Mirtalipova for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This is our spin on the classic Hurricane, a Tiki drink invented in New Orleans in the 1940s that takes its name from the hurricane lamp-shaped glass they were first served in. We use a big bold dark rum as a foundation for all those other flavors but mellow it out a bit with the Cognac. St-Germain’s fruitiness, reminiscent of lychee fruit, takes the place of the original’s passion fruit syrup. I love saving the grenadine and bitters for last, because drizzling them on top will produce fun streaks of bright red that eventually turn the drink a pale red – like watching a tropical sunset. The Hurricane is a big bold Tiki drink full of tons of flavor and a hint of bite. Wonderful.

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Shipwreck Punch

1 oz Bacardi Gold Rum
1 oz Bacardi Oakheart Spiced Rum
1/2 oz Hibiscus-Infused Gin
1/2 oz St-Germain
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Coconut Milk

Combine everything with lots of ice and shake well. Strain into a tall glass filled with fresh crushed ice and garnish with tropical fruit.

Rum Punch Cocktail Recipe Card Illustration by Dinara Mirtalipova for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Ok, there’s clearly a lot going on in this drink – two kinds of rum and some hibiscus gin just to start, demonstrating Tiki’s layers of flavor but also showing that Tiki doesn’t just have to mean rum. Two kinds of citrus juice balanced by St-Germain’s fruity, flowery sweetness, and the rich, creamy coconut, and that passion fruit syrup – sweet and tart, with hints of mango and lots of tropical flavor. (To make our passion fruit syrup, we dissolved equal parts sugar and passion fruit juice over low heat.) This drink started out as something of a spin on the Piña Colada, mixing rum with coconut and pineapple, but quickly spiraled into something very different. It’s sweet and creamy without being cloying, thanks to a deep spiciness. Plus, it’s pink! Which is a bit ridiculous but still fun and friendly.

And that’s what Tiki should be. There’s no formula, no rule set for Tiki recipes. But if you can put together some fresh ingredients with lots of flavor, in rich layers, that’s still fun and friendly, that evokes some tropical beach and helps you escape for a few moments – then you’ve nailed it.

All illustrations by Dinara Mirtalipova for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Calligraphy Cocktail Menu Cards: Meant to Be Calligraphy

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

This post is brought to you in collaboration with Bacardi and St-Germain. All content, photos, recipes, and words are our own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!