Rustic Market-Inspired Fabric Wedding Invitations

I’m completely smitten with the idea of fabric wedding invitations, whether printed on vintage handkerchiefs or swatches of linen or muslin. But vintage-inspired miniature grain sacks? Such a great idea! Inspired by farmer’s markets, these fabric invitations from Erin at Lucky Luxe are paired with letterpress printed enclosure cards – all tucked perfectly into the invitation itself!

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From Erin: We recently finished up my favorite invitation suite of all time — it’s called Market. From the rolling hills of California to the lavender fields of Provence, Market is the quintessential wedding invitation for an elegant rustic wedding in the countryside. Inspired by French grain sacks and fresh picked farmer’s market herbs, enclosure cards tuck inside our 100% cotton miniature grain sack invitations which are handprinted and available with or without vintage red stripes.

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Thanks Erin!

Lucky Luxe is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Lucky Luxe

Friday Happy Hour: The Spring Fling

Beer is a fantastic cocktail ingredient. It can add all sorts of complicated flavors – sweet, bitter, malty – as well as volume and carbonation. But sometimes you want all those flavors without volume and carbonation. Enter beer syrup, a way of transforming beer into a more traditional cocktail ingredient. I was delighted to discover beer syrups recently and wanted to share the results of my first experiment: the light but complex Spring Fling. – Andrew

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Illustration by Shauna Lynn for Oh So Beautiful Paper

The Spring Fling

1 1/2 oz Tequila
1 oz Hops Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 Dashes Chocolate Mole Bitters

To make the hops syrup: empty a bottle of IPA or another very hoppy beer into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Quickly reduce the heat and simmer the beer until it has reduced by about a third to a half, about twenty to thirty minutes. Pour the beer into a measuring cup and figure out how much you have left, then return it to the pan and add an equal amount of sugar. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let the syrup cool, pour it into a bottle, and keep it in the refrigerator.

Combine all your ingredients over ice and stir. Strain over fresh ice and enjoy.

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Hops are used to flavor and preserve beer. They add bitterness but also complex floral flavors to beer, in addition to their antibacterial flavors. (Hops are actually grown around the world just for this one purpose: beer.) An IPA or another similarly hoppy beer can make for a syrup that is bitter sweet but also conveys a lot of very interesting and unusual flavors.

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Tequila’s earthy botanicals are a good match for the hops syrup, and the lime adds a sharp, citrusy finish to round it out. Most recipes with citrus involve shaking, to ensure the juice is blended evenly, but I recommend stirring here. The flavors of the hops syrup are delicate and stirring will add less water than shaking, diluting the drink less and helping the delicate flavors of the hops syrup to stand out.

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I haven’t tried it yet, but I don’t doubt this recipe would benefit from another splash of fresh beer at the end, to add a bit of effervescence. Perfect for this gorgeous spring we’re finally having.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! Thankfully this week was easier than last week; Sophie is feeling much better, which definitely makes for a happier household overall. I’ve been keeping very busy with behind-the-scenes preparations for my upcoming annual Paper Party during the National Stationery Show – the invitations have been printed and we’re busy getting ready to mail them out to retailers and friends! I can’t wait to share them with you here, but for now you can see a teeny tiny sneak peek right here. And in the meantime…

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Photo by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

There are also a bunch of new members of the Designer Rolodex to welcome!

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

Puerto Rico and Sophie at 18 + 19 Months

Sophie turned 19 months old earlier this month – and since my last update was just after the 15-month mark, I figured it was high time for an update! And it’s a nice opportunity to share a few photos from our trip to Puerto Rico a few weeks ago. But be prepared: Sophie still looked like a baby in my last update, and these days she is very much a toddler. I still can’t believe how fast time is flying!

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The big news is that Sophie is walking – and running – everywhere and anywhere these days! There are times that she still wants to be picked up and carried, but typically she’ll request “down” or “walk” wherever we go. We discovered a little plaza full of pigeons in Old San Juan during our trip to Puerto Rico, and it was hands down Sophie’s favorite part of the entire trip. She wasn’t chasing the pigeons (at least intentionally) – she wanted to give them all hugs!

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We’ve really enjoyed watching Sophie’s personality emerge over the last few months. She is generally a happy child, full of smiles, laughs, and the occasional high five for everyone around her. She has a wonderful sense of humor and, like any toddler, loves to play – current favorites include peekaboo, both duplo and wood blocks, and pretty much anything on wheels. She’s also independent and stubborn (just like her mama), and thoughtful and curious (just like her papa). And so many words! She seems to learn a new word every day. It’s amazing to see her verbal skills develop right in front of us.

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But as we leave Sophie’s babyhood, we’ve also started to experience some of the tantrums and frustrations of toddlerhood. She gets frustrated when she lacks the words to communicate something to us or doesn’t have the physical ability to do something she wants to do. And Sophie has already figured out that she doesn’t have to do everything we tell her to do, which makes for some interesting experiences as she pushes her limits and we try to reinforce good habits and boundaries. Parenthood!

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A few days after we came home from Puerto Rico, the cherry blossom trees (finally!) bloomed in DC. We took Sophie to our local cemetery one evening, where many of our neighbors walk their dogs, to see the blossoms in person. Sophie was in heaven, but not so much for the blossoms. She loooooves dogs and wanted to say hello to every dog she passed – she didn’t want to go back home!

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The last few months have been some of the most exhausting (so. much. toddler. energy!) but also some of the most fun in my time as a parent. I can’t wait to see what the next few months bring!

p.s. Sophie’s Hi romper from Baby Gap (but sadly no longer available online), silver moccasins from Freshly Picked, and navy dress from Egg by Susan Lazaar

Quick Pick: Garance Doré by Rifle Paper Co.

Waaaay back at the NYNOW Winter Market we received a little sneak peek at the brand new Garance Doré collection by Rifle Paper Co., which in February was still very much under wraps (at least for the press). The collection officially launched in late March, but after reading this profile of Anna’s average workday on Design Sponge, I realized I hadn’t yet featured it here! The new collection features several of Garance’s original illustrations and hand lettering, paired with shiny metallic foil and a sophisticated color palette. Such a wonderful collaboration!

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Lots more over at Rifle Paper Co.!

Photo Credits: Rifle Paper Co.