10/08/2014

Hand Embroidered Fabric Invitation Pocket with Craftsy!

Today we’re continuing our series with Craftsy, an online craft class platform. They gave me the opportunity toÂ take a few of their online classes and learn some new skills â€“ and this time we wanted to expand our horizons a bit by combining embroidery with paper by takingÂ Design It, Stitch It Hand Embroidery class with Jessica Marquez.Â For this post, I roped in my talented DIY contributor Mandy PellegrinÂ â€“ she used her new skills to create a beautiful embroidered fabric invitation pocket! And of course we’re offeringÂ a serious discount for you to take the class too!

Here’s Mandy:

One of the first craft skills that I ever learned was embroidery from my grandmother. For this and many other reasons, it’s always been one of my favorite mediums for getting creative. I was excited to dust off my embroidery skills and pick up some great new tips with the help ofÂ Craftsy’sÂ Design It, Stitch It Hand Embroidery class with Jessica Marquez. I’m even more excited to share with you what I created with my newly refreshed skills â€“Â a completely custom, hand-embroidered invitation pocket:

My favorite part ofÂ CraftsyÂ classes is how accessibleÂ they are â€“Â no matter where you are. I propped myself up in bed with my iPad and the Craftsy app to work my way through the class. If you don’t have an entire afternoon to spend boning up on embroidery,Â no worries!Â Once you’ve signed up for a class, it’s yours forever. Â TheÂ Hand EmbroideryÂ classÂ is organized into eight lessons coveringÂ everything from the very basics of quickly threading a needle to embroidering on specific typesÂ of fabrics, and each lesson is subdivided into discrete sections making later reference an absolute breeze, which is pretty clutchÂ for revisiting some of the more complicated stitches. I also really appreciatedÂ all the inspiration that Jessica shared at the end of each lesson. It really got my gears turning for fresh and modern ways to put the stitchesÂ to use.

I’mÂ pretty pleased with how I decided to put my new knowledge to use â€“Â creating custom invitation pockets. This is a paper blog, after all! I knew the star on the invitation and RSVP card were just screaming to be embroidered. I used a fairly simple set of stitches, but Jessica’s class covers over 30 different stitches and includes downloadable patternsÂ for a handful of projects.

Click here to take the Hand Embroidery with Jessica Marquez yourself complete with a special discount just for Oh So Beautiful Paper readers!Â Read on for some tips on how to put the lessons learned in the class to use to create your own invitation pockets.

Materials
cotton fabric
marking pencil
embroidery floss
embroidery needle
embroidery hoop
thread
sewing machine

For each invitation pocket, cut the fabric so that the width is 1/2″ larger than the width of theÂ invitation and 1″ larger than the length.Â Be inspired by the details of your invitation to create and transfer your own embroidery design using the helpful tips from theÂ Craftsy class. Once you’ve completed the designÂ using a combination of stitches learned from the class, double fold the ends that will comprise the mouth of the pocket, press, and top stitch in place. Fold in half lengthwise with right sides facing, and stitch 1/4″ from each side. Turn right-side-out, press, and stuff with your invitation.

You could also incorporate an embroidered fabric pocket into a baby announcement, moving announcement, or party invitation â€“ the options are endless!Â Click here to take the Craftsy Hand EmbroideryÂ class â€“ with a big discount for Oh So Beautiful Paper readers!Â This discount is only available for a week â€“ so sign up soon!

Styling + Photos by Mandy Pellegrin for Oh So Beautiful Paper / Invitation sample from Kalo Make Art

This post is sponsored by Craftsy.Â AllÂ content, photos, ideas, and words are our own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that help make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

10/07/2014

Guest Post: Eva of Sycamore Street Press

I’ve asked some of my favorite creative mamas to help out while I’m away with our new baby. Today, the talented Eva from Sycamore Street Press is sharing some thoughts on motherhood! And p.s. to any new or aspiring stationers out there: check out Eva’s new online class: Stationery Business 101!Â â€“Nole

5 Things ThatÂ Surprised Me About MotherhoodÂ â€“Â Eva Jorgensen of Sycamore Street Press

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1) It’s not always easy to get pregnant and have a baby.

Of course, I knew that things like infertility and miscarriages existed in the world… I just never thought they would happen to me. And then they did. And then I began to see that they happen to a lot of other people, too. Now I know, of course, that they are frightfully common. Yet they are still frustrating and heartbreaking every time.

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It took me over 3 years to have Ingrid. During that time, I couldn’t talk about it. It felt too close â€“Â too personal. Once in a while, I might open up to a close friend or family member â€“Â or more likely â€“Â another woman who had struggled with something similar. I feel incredibly fortunate that I have my two children now. I think the wait made having them that much sweeter for me. But I know it could have been much worse. My heart goes out to everyone who is struggling with the desire to grow their family, but for whatever reason, is unable to.

2) Giving birth makes you a superhero.

Both times, giving birth has felt like an incredible athletic event to me â€“Â an extreme sport! (This articleÂ explains it so well.). Afterwards, I felt so proud of myself. And I felt in awe of all the millions of mothers who have gone before me and given birth to children of their own. I remember after I left the hospital with Ingrid, I looked at every mother I met with new eyes. I was in awe of them. I still am.

3) Feeding babies isn’t always as simple as it seems.

I’m the oldest of 4 children, and have worked as a nanny in the past, so I didn’t think I’d be in for much of a surprise when I took my first baby home from the hospital. And I especially didn’t think I’d have any surprises when I took my second baby home â€“Â after all, I’d gone through it before!

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But you guessed it â€“Â both babies were full of surprises. Ingrid wasn’t thriving and didn’t get back to her birth weight for 6 weeks after she was born, despite all of our efforts and frequent visits to the pediatrician. It turns out she had a tongue tie â€“Â the kind that’s not easy to diagnose â€“Â and her mouth simply didn’t work the way it was supposed to. Once a lactation consultant figured it out for us, it was a simple fix. But I still feel so bad for baby Ingrid when I think back on that time.

Lars had the exact same tongue tie. We figured that out right away, of course. What we didn’t count on was that he would also be colicky, have acid reflux, and multiple food intolerances. We were grateful that he always seemed to gain weight just fine, but the poor little guy just cried and cried around the clock, no matter how hard I tried to comfort him. We eventually figured out ways to lessen his discomfort, but it was mainly a waiting game until he grew out of it. (And thankfully he did.)

4) Kids have a mind of their own (starting at a very young age).

Ingrid is 3 1/2 years old now. Since the age of 2, she’s been very opinionated about her own appearance. She insists on wearing “braided pigtails” every single day. She picks out her own outfits, shoes, and accessories every single day. She even gets upset if we can’t find the right coordinating pajama top and bottom. I get a kick out of it, but on the other hand, I’ll admit that I had visions of dressing my little girl up until junior high — ha! And Lars â€“Â at 15 months, he doesn’t talk much yet, but he is still very clear about his likes and dislikes. I know just which books, toys, and foods are his favorites.

Sycamore-Street-Press-Ingrid-Braids

It’s so fun to see their little personalities emerge.

5) As much as I love my career, I would give it up if I thought that was the best thing for our family.

Having a family was always a dream of mine. And I always knew that my life would revolve around family. However, I also love Sycamore Street Press and have put my heart and soul into it for 7 years now. I never thought that I wouldÂ everÂ be willing to give it up. But now that I have these two beautiful little miracles in my life â€“Â I would do it. I would give up my career if that was in my family’s best interest.

Sycamore-Street-Press-Family

Luckily, I don’t have to make that decision, though! Sycamore Street Press provides for our family. It allows my husband, Kirk, and I work together, from home, and on a flexible schedule. It’s a blessing in our lives. (So don’t worry about it going away anytime soon, ha ha.)

Photo Credits:Â Jessica Peterson

10/06/2014

DIY with Kids: Hand Carved Stamp Wrapping Paper

I’ve asked some of my favorite creative mamas to help out while I’m away with our new baby. Today, one of my favorite stationers â€“ and mama of two boys! â€“ Lisa fromÂ Good on PaperÂ is sharing a super fun and creative DIY project that can be done with children: gift wrap made with hand carved stamps! â€“Nole

Hi guys! ForÂ my final post while Nole is on maternity leave, I’d like to share a fun and easy DIY project I did with my 4-year old son Lucas, based on my friend Sally J. Shim’s new book, Pretty Packages: 45 Creative Gift-Wrapping Projects. I love beautiful packaging, but am not the best gift wrapper. Our family has been going to a lot of kids’ birthday parties lately, which often means quickly stuffing a gift in tissue paper and throwing it into a party bag. Pretty Packages has so many ideas, many of which are kid-friendly, but the one that really stood out to me was the Hand-Carved Stamped Wrapping Paper. I had done some hand carving before, and Lucas loves stamping (both paper and his body!). The instructions were simple and I was able to turn it into a kid-friendly project that we can do over and over. Below are the instructions and materials needed.Â â€“Â Lisa from Good on Paper

Materials

Scrap paper

Carving block

Archival stamp pad

Paper for wrapping your gift

Tools

No. 2 pencil

Bone folder

Speedball Linoleum Cutter Handle

Speedball Linoleum Cutters (blades Nos. 1 and 5)

X-ACTO knife

Instructions

1. Using the No. 2 pencil, draw your stamp design on the scrap paper.

2. Flip the paper right-side down onto the carving block and rub the back of the paper using the bone folder.

3. Lift off the paper and you will see the transferred design on the carving block. Using a No. 1 linoleum carving cutter, carve out the outline of the stamp design. If the design has details, carve the negative space from the design.

4. When you are finished carving the stamp design, use the No. 5 carving cutter to carve a thick outline around the design. This will help you cut the stamp from the block.

5. Hold the block with one hand and use the X-ACTO knife to carefully cut the stamp image from the block. Please cut with care, and avoid cutting your fingers.

6. Hold the stamp right-side up and press the stamp pad onto the stamp, applying an even layer of ink. Test the stamp on the scrap paper to make sure it prints evenly. If there are any areas that do not stamp clearly, go back and use the No. 1 linoleum cutter to make the stamp edges more crisp. Once you have a stamp that produces a clear image, place the wrapping paper on a flat surface, right-side up, and stamp a pattern. Make sure to apply even pressure on the stamp to ensure a clean printed image. You can stamp a random or repeated pattern.

7. Let the stamped wrapping paper dry for 1 hour before wrapping your gift.

8. Wrap up your gift!

– From Sally J. Shim,Â Pretty Packages: 45 Creative Gift-Wrapping Projects

Lucas recently learned how to write his name, which is so cool! I had him write his name out on the scrap paper, then used the linoleum carving cutter to cut around the letters. Lucas chose three ink colors (white, neon pink, and neon yellow) to stamp his name onto the kraft butcher paper. He was so excited to get stamping, and so proud of himself when he saw the finished product and wrapped gifts. Of course, these gifts are covered in his name instead of the recipient’s, but at least the person will know who it’s from! It would also be cute to write out something else, like “Happy” or “Hello”.

10/06/2014

A Day in the Life with Liz from Linda & Harriett

I’ve asked some of my favorite creative mamas to help out while I’m away with our new baby. Today we get a look behind the scenes at a day in the life of one of my favorite stationers â€“ and mama of two â€“ Liz from Linda & Harriett! â€“Nole

Photo by Kristin Gladney

6:15 am
Wake up to take our dog for a run in the park. I hear Griffin singing to himself in his room, so I go in & ask him if he wants to watch Arthur while I go for my run. Of course he says yes! This way, he wonâ€™t wake up my husband John for at least another 28 minutes, and wonâ€™t be too bummed (at all, really) that Iâ€™m leaving. He still asks for a kiss & a hug – and lately has been pretty fierce with both which makes my heart swell.

7:30 am
Back from my run and find John, Griffin and Louise all eating breakfast. Get ready for the day. For some reason, the morning is the one time of day where it doesnâ€™t even occur to me to look at email, texts or Instagram. The rest of day, not so much.

9 am
Griffinâ€™s preschool hasnâ€™t started yet, so I leave for work a bit later, once our beloved nanny arrives. Always with an iced coffee in tow. Itâ€™s supposed to be 90 degrees today!

9:30 am
At the studio and write seven cards to go with the seven care packages Iâ€™m mailing to Sweden today â€“ to thank Johnâ€™s aunts and cousins for hosting us for a week this summer. Iâ€™m sending them all the L&H Seasonal Card Box Set, one of my favorite gifts to give. Johnâ€™s aunt & uncle who hosted us the whole time (and even gave us their bed!) is also getting two mugs & kitchen towels from More & Co., my favorite online shop for buying gifts.

10 am
My assistant Sarah is busy fulfilling orders. We have our big 25% off sale this week, so itâ€™s busy around here. Our USPS guy is on vacation and weâ€™re trying to figure out how to get these out, since scheduling a pickup doesnâ€™t seem to be working. Our building neighbor, Tattly, nicely offers to send their USPS woman up to us. And it works! Phew!

10:15 am
Call with Dara from Simply Framed, the online frame shop weâ€™ve partnered with for our new prints. They do such a fantastic job & Iâ€™m thrilled to be working with them to offer my customers high quality framing. Dara is working on a project and has asked me to get involved. I love her energy and am fueled by it.

11:15 am
Emailing a lot! Weâ€™re trying to find a new studio space because our current building in Dumbo isnâ€™t renewing leases. Iâ€™ve been looking for four months and finally found the right one. So Iâ€™m going back and forth a lot right now with the sales rep as well as my husband â€“ who, thankfully, is way more real estate savvy than I am (and also thankfully has a ton of patience for me being way less savvy). Fingers crossed it works out!

12:00 pm
A text comes through from Molly at Chairloom. Itâ€™s a photo of a love seat sheâ€™s just reupholstered in the custom textile design I did for her â€“ an Alexander Calder inspired Philadelphia print. A pretty thrilling moment to see it come to life! I text her back immediately with lots of high five and praise emojis, and then secretly send it to a few family and friends who I know will appreciate it. I share it with my assistant Sarah. Weâ€™re both excited.

12:15 pm
Lunch at my desk. Open faced sandwich: (always open face – which to me feels like I get two sandwiches!) sourdough with avocado, sea salt and cheddar. Itâ€™s easy & never fails to the spot. Siggis yogurt. Seltzer. This is the one time during the day at the studio where I check my favorite sites, like Oh So Beautiful Paper 🙂 or Cup of Jo or NY Magazine. Because I like to be home with my kids in the morning and evening, my time at the studio is limited, so I try to stay focused on work while Iâ€™m there.

12:45 pm
Finally sit down with my brush, ink & lots of paper — my staples. I have been silently working on a big project that will debut next year, and I am trying to develop as much work as possible for upcoming meetings with my partner. I did some drawings today that made my heart race (like literally beat faster – no joke) which is always a good sign and motivates me to keep at it.

4:15 pm
Leave studio early to take Griffin on a play date. School hasnâ€™t started yet, and itâ€™s not often that he & I have one on one time anymore, so I jump at the chance when my friend asks if we want to come over. She whips up a batch of kale chips while our kids build garages out of magna tiles and throw airplanes around the room. On the way home, I feel grateful for the flexibility to do this this afternoon.

6:30 pm
Return home to hear hip hop blaring from the bathroom where John is giving Louise a bath. This is a common bath time ritual for John. He loves all kinds of music and plays it during bath time on a portable speaker, so it can get pretty loud. Because of these bath time sing-a-longs, Griffin can now accurately identify images of Bob Marley and Toots & the Maytals.

7:30 pm
Our kids are generally pretty good at going to bed, which allows us some nice down time. Tonight, we order in Indian food, which despite the 85 degree heat, weâ€™re both craving and havenâ€™t had in months. While we wait for it, we clean up a bit and then hop on our laptops. I see an email from the sales office of the new studio to say that our application has been approved â€“ hooray! One step closer to a new space.

8:30 pm
I shamelessly find watching tv to be a great way to wind down, (maybe with a glass of wine too!) but we have been in a funk lately. Orange is the New Black, House of Cards â€“ we need to get on it! John suffers through a DVRâ€™d episode of the RHONY Reunion show with me, which is pretty bad, but pretty good. But pretty bad. Buuuut, pretty good. I take this welcomed brainless time to look over our calendar for the fall and put some deadlines in place for work. I canâ€™t function without a deadline on the Google Calendar. I also place an order with soap.com — my go-to source for all our baby & household needs. I even buy my fancy mascara through them! I donâ€™t know what I would do without online shopping. Itâ€™s pretty much this working momâ€™s dream come true.

10 pm
I love reading magazines through Next Issue on my iPad every night before bed. Tonight I read the Obsession with Foxcatcher in New York Magazine, and it has me excited to see the movie – which takes place near where I grew up.

10:45 pm
Reading before bed always makes me so sleepy. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thanks for having me, Nole!

10/03/2014

Guest Post: Erin Austen Abbott of Amelia + Pen Pals!

I’ve asked some of my favorite creative mamas to help out while I’m away with our new baby. Today, the wonderfulÂ Erin Austen AbbottÂ from one of my most favorite shops â€“Â AmeliaÂ â€“ is sharing a favorite tradition with her son Tom Otis: pen pals! Thanks Erin! â€“Nole

As a child, I wrote a lot of letters. I wrote to my grandparents weekly, to friends and family while I was aways at summer camp, to aunts, uncles, my brother at college. I wrote letters of thanks, sorry, and the general hellos. I also had a few pen pals from around the world. We wrote about different home life, what school was like and the types of foods that we loved. I was in the 3rd grade and a West African councilor from my summer camp had his students writing to a few of us campers. I remember it being so fun for me, to see the stamps that my pen pal used, loving the look of the airmail envelope and just the general excitement of being eight and getting mail. (It’s only natural that I went on to open a store that carries so much stationery).Â â€“Erin

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While letter writing is a lost art for some in the modern day world of computers and smart phones, it’s something I want to make sure my son, Tom Otis, is given the chance to experience. We’ve started writing to friends’ children in other states and countries. We have a list of friends that we plan to surprise with a letter, most with children around the same age as him. Tom is two, so while he can’t write yet, he draws a picture and loves pressing the stamp into place. We head to the post office and he loves watching it disappear into the slot.

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