Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! We made it through the first FULL week of the year! Before I get to this week’s links, if you haven’t already – please take a couple minutes to fill out our 2018 Reader Survey! We use the survey to help determine our content for the year (and beyond!), so your input is enormously helpful. And after you complete the survey, leave a comment on this post to enter to win a pack of stationery from me! Yay! But in the meantime…

Home is Where My Plants Are / Wild Hart Paper

Image from Ms. Vintage Nicole via Wild Hart Paper in #dailydoseofpaper

…a few links for your weekend!

Serena Williams on marriage and being a new mom. My favorite line: “I think sometimes women limit themselves. I’m not sure why we think that way, but I know that we’re sometimes taught to not dream as big as men, not to believe we can be a president or a CEO, when in the same household, a male child is told he can be anything he wants. I’m so glad I had a daughter. I want to teach her that there are no limits.”

Totally obsessed with this gorgeous tassel chandelier

Feeling the love for neutral vintage rugs

10 of the world’s most beautiful road trips (who wants to go with me?)

These blush pink dining chairs are so pretty – I wish I needed new chairs!

Interesting: Facebook says it will start showing more content from friends and family, less content from brands and advertisers. What do you think? Is this a move in the right direction?

This modern cut glass decanter would look so lovely on any bar cart

The holidays may be over, but that won’t stop me from enjoying this mulled latte (it sounds delicious!)

 

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Glamorous mixed metals wedding invitations

Behind the Stationery with Baltic Club

Did you sign up for the Blueprint Model 2018? Let me know!

Beautiful first birthday party invitations inspired by The Little Prince

So much inspiring calligraphy from Hello Maurelle

Don’t forget to take our 2018 Reader Survey!

 

That’s it for me this week! I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy and Design

Hello to the new year (and finally some non-freezing temperatures here in New England!). As dependable as a blizzard in Maine (the great children’s book Blizzard Wizard is written by a Maine author, after all), it’s safe to assume that looking at beautiful calligraphy from the most talented and inspiring calligraphers puts you in a good mood. So here goes with today’s inspiration, Maurelle Calligraphy. Let’s take a peek! – Jen

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Maurelle was introduced to calligraphy when she was just fourteen — and fell in love with the art. “College happened, and I never picked up the pen again until six years ago,” she says. “This time around, I discovered script calligraphy (Copperplate), and I fell in love the second time around.” Maurelle channeled her natural entrepreneurial spirit and started her design business four years ago.

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Christine Pienaar Photography

How Maurelle describes herself in her own words:

“A creative soul, lettering artist, designer and teacher. A full time mother to three children (with a new baby that arrived 2 months ago) and wife to a very supportive husband living in the beautiful British Columbia.”

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Rachel May Photography

Maurelle first learned the traditional Copperplate calligraphy, with all of its rules to follow. “Along the way, I have used these essential rules to transition to a modern style of calligraphy,” she shares. “My lettering style is inspired by nature, the natural and delicate movement of foliage. It is now a culmination of old world charm, minimalism and beauty in imperfection.”

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: White Linen Photography

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Maru Photography

One of Maurelle’s favorite projects was a custom invitation for a wedding in Iceland. The invitation included a hand-drawn painting of the venue and church. “It was an incredible experience because I stepped out of my comfort zone when I used acrylic as a medium to draw,” shares Maurelle.

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Mackenzie Jane Photography

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Melissa Gidney Photography

What happens when you make a mistake as a calligrapher? People make mistakes, right? Here’s what Maurelle shared:

“Mistakes are opportunities to learn! Since calligraphy is usually done using traditional dip pen and ink, sometimes errors are just unavoidable. For wedding invitations, it is more forgiving since I have to digitize my design first and edit it with a program before sending it to the printer. For place cards and envelopes, I usually require at least 20% extra stationery, and I have learned techniques from past experiences to minimize mistakes. For custom work like a wedding vow sometimes an ink blot or wrong spelling can get in the way at the very last sentence, I just take a deep breath and start all over again!”

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Erin Sousa

Inspiring Calligraphers: Maurelle Calligraphy

Photo Credit: Minted Photography

I just love when calligraphers dabble in illustration, too. So pretty! A big thanks to Maurelle of Maurelle Calligraphy and Design for sharing a sweet roundup of her lettering work. See you soon!

p.s. Check out all of our past calligrapher features right here!

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitation

Hi everyone! Just a quick housekeeping note before we jump into today’s post: Registration for the Blueprint Model 2018 closes at 11:59 pm TONIGHT! Check out my blog post with all the details from earlier in the week, or go here to register!

We can all agree that The Little Prince is one of our all-time favorite children’s books, yes? I love that artist Kristy Rice of Momental Designs used this beloved book as the inspiration for her son’s first birthday party invitation! If you’re familiar with Kristy’s work, then you know that she always goes the extra mile to create the most special and thoughtful invitations. You’ll just have to read below to see all the details she incoporated into this “The Little Prince” first birthday party invitation – it’s absolutely dreamy!

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

From Kristy: Izzy’s beautiful and unique first birthday invitations were a high art twist on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved children’s story “The Little Prince.” All of the artwork for the stationery was developed in a more detailed and realistic style compared to the original book’s illustrations.

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

Perhaps the most special piece for the whole event was a calligraphy backdrop written by Sarah of Flourish Grace. We wrote a letter to Izzy and gave her the text, so all guests could share in our sentiments to him. Here is what we wrote:

“Dear Isaac our Izzy Wizzy baby guy,

You’ve shown us what it is to live, really live…to love bigger, to trust more, to make time for what matters, to pay attention, to put our phones down, to listen to God more, to love mornings, to marvel… to blow raspberries and let it be the best part of the day. 

Love, Mama and Papa”

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

For the invitation itself, we created a custom game board-style box inspired by the Little Prince. At 17 inches by 10 inches, it was even the size of a board game! A spinner asked guests “What will the Little Prince teach today?” and allowed them to indulge in a bit of play as the explored the invitation. Each box had specially sized compartments to hold a copy of the book, a sheet of custom watercolor stickers, and small trinkets inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s beloved words.

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

And we could not send our guests home without special favors! We curated a case full of fun stuff, with the title “A Visual Map and How-to Guide to Seeing with Your Little Kid Eyes.” Each mini suitcase was stuffed with time-honored goodies guaranteed to turn back the hands of time, even just for one afternoon; candy cigarettes, garbage pail kids, balsa wood airplane, bazooka bubble gum, Lip Smackers lip balm, Pop Rocks and a Slinky!

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

In the lid a watercolor map was custom fitted, calling out the “steps” to revisiting your childhood fun! To name a few: “Pop some rocks and swig some soda if you’re brave”, and “Read The Little Prince, it’s weird and wonderful and witty, just read it…k?” We really wanted our guests not only to read the book, but to experience the lessons of this classic story in a fun and interactive way, and to take a child-like perspective on life, even just for a few minutes.

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

The Little Prince First Birthday Party Invitations by Momental Designs

Thanks so much Kristy! BTW – you can see Kristy’s whimsical adoption baby shower invitations right here!

Design: Momental Designs

Calligraphy: Flourish Grace

Momental Designs is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beautiful work right hereor visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Dolci Momenti Photography

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations

It’s the first wedding invitations of 2018 – and we’re going glam! These glamorous mixed metals wedding invitations from Taryn of Twinkle & Toast bring an extra dose of sultry drama, with gorgeous gold foil on matte black and metallic gray paper. And can you believe these invitations were created for a wedding in Malibu, California?? We love that Taryn and her clients chose to deviate from a typical bright and cheery aesthetic for a darker, moodier aesthetic. To round out the look she included amazing custom stamps and a custom watercolor envelope liner she painted herself!

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

From Taryn:  Melanie and Matt are both from the east coast, but currently reside in Southern California. Since many of their family and friends still live on the east coast, this was going to be a destination wedding for several of their guests, and they really wanted to create a special, effortless California evening. They found the most beautiful venue in Malibu: a working olive tree farm that overlooked the ocean in the rolling hills. It was romantic and charming with breathtaking views. Their wedding was in October, which called for lots of moody dark colors of burgundy, gray, and black with mixed metals and vintage flair. This couple had a laid-back attitude and a great eye for design (the groom is an art director himself).

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

The whole invitation suite featured custom oversized spot calligraphy throughout. The main invitation had a pale gold foil print on a super silky pitch-black noir paper. To incorporate some burgundy, we had custom painted deep florals featured on their RSVP card and insert card. The accompanying cards were printed on a smooth ivory paper to tie in their vintage touch. The main envelope was a metallic black and the RSVP envelope was metallic gray, which gave it a smoky dark feel. Both metallic envelopes had a pale gold foil stamp return address, with metallic gold pointed pen calligraphy ink for the guest address.

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

We also designed custom postage stamps with the burgundy floral design on both envelopes. One of my favorite features was the custom painted envelope liner on the main envelope. We wanted to showcase the Malibu setting, but do it in a dark and moody way. Instead of a bright and airy sunset, I painted a sunset with hues of purple, black and blue, showing both the ocean and mountain setting surrounding Malibu.

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Overall their vibe was moody, chic, sultry and romantic. The invite really set the tone for an intimate, elegant autumn evening for everyone meet in Malibu.

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Glamorous Mixed Metals Wedding Invitations by Twinkle and Toast

Thanks Taryn!

Invitation Design: Twinkle & Toast
Florals: Catalina Neal 
Ring Box: The Mrs. Box
Styling Surface: Simply Rooted Surfaces
Postage: Zazzle (custom designed) 
Rings: Marrow Fine

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

Photo Credits: Jenna Joseph

The Blueprint Model 2018

Creative entrepreneur friends, this one is for you! Every business needs help along the way, whether you’re just starting out or you’re ready to scale up and expand. A couple summers ago, I was feeling really overworked and overwhelmed. I felt like I was at a breaking point in my business where I either needed to expand and diversify my business or basically close up shop, but I didn’t know how to take my next steps. I heard about Shanna Skidmore’s Blueprint Model program from a friend, so I signed up for the program! Shanna JUST reopened registration for this year’s class, so I thought I’d share a little about my experience with the program!

The Blueprint Model

The Blueprint Model is like an MBA for creatives: a 12-week business program designed specifically for creative entrepreneurs, with 10+ hours of coaching and advice from other creative entrepreneurs, more than 25 ready to use templates, a 60-page workbook, and tons of other extras. Over those twelve weeks, Shanna covers everything you need to start, grow, and eventually scale a thriving creative business – from figuring out how YOU personally define success (which was totally eye opening) to pricing and spending plans, including how to pay yourself a salary and set up a cash flow that will help cover slow months. I won’t pretend to have everything figured out, but Shanna and the Blueprint Model taught me SO much, both about what I want for my future AND how to run a sustainable business for the long haul. The Blueprint Model was absolutely invaluable in helping me figure out the direction I want to pursue and in identifying some of the key ingredients that were missing from my business model. I really can’t say enough good things about this program! Fellow alums include fine artist Britt Bass, flower farmer Erin Benzakein Floret Flower, creative director Megan Gonzalez of Mae Mae Co., and lots more.

Henry David Thoreau / The Blueprint Model

Registration for the Blueprint Model is only open ONCE per year, and that’s right now! So if you’re feeling stressed and overworked or if you’re just starting out and want to get your business off the ground in a sustainable way, I’d really encourage you to look into the program. Plus, you get lifetime access to the course materials, so you can continue to revisit the program as your business grows and develops. As a Blueprint Model Alum, I’m planning to go through the course materials again this quarter (while things are a bit quiet!) to help refocus my energy and business priorities. Registration closes at 11:59 pm on Thursday, January 11, so don’t wait!

The Blueprint Model 

Stationers and other creative friends, you can sign up for the program here. There are also programs geared specifically to fine artists, floral designers, or event planners. Go claim your seat now!

Photos via The Blueprint Model