01/21/2014

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine’s Day, Part 3

I’m making my final preparations to head out to Alt Summit bright and early tomorrow morning, but I couldn’t resist sharing a few more Valentine’s Day cards before I leave! And as always, you can check out the full round up right here, and previous highlight posts here!

2014-Valentines-Day-Cards-Part5

1. Dahlia Press; 2. Studio SloMo; 3. Fat Bunny Press; 4. Power + Light Press; 5. Tabletop Made; 6. Lark Press

2014-Valentines-Day-Cards-Part6

7. The Hungry Workshop; 8. Smock; 9. Farewell Paperie; 10. Happy Cactus; 11. 9th Letter Press; 12. Yellow Owl Workshop

Lots more love cards in the full round up right here!

{images via their respective sources}

01/21/2014

DIY Tutorial: Love Letter Dinner Party Placecards

If you’re anything like I am, you enjoy an excuse to throw a party with a theme. So I say embrace Valentine’s Day for what it is… a reason to get your friends together for good food and drinks, a great time, and a little awesome decor thrown in. Of course, if a heart explosion isn’t your thing, today’s tutorial is perfect. These little mini love letter place cards read Valentine’s Day without throwing it in your face. And you’re going to die over these scrapbook papers â€“ velvet and ostrich and roses, oh my! Â —Mandy of Fabric Paper Glue

Materials

Pretty Paper*
Mini Envelope Template
Pen/Pencil
Scissors
Craft Glue
Cardstock

*Confession: I don’t venture down the scrapbook supply aisles very often, so I was surprised to find such luxe textures on a recent perusal of the paper section at my local big box craft store. Check them out. Â You’ll want to make mini envelopes until you’re blue in the face.

Step One:Â Trace the mini envelope template onto the back of the pretty paper.

Step Two:Â Cut out each mini envelope.

Step Three:Â Fold each of the envelopes’ flaps in. To get a crisp fold, gently score the fold lines with the back of a craft knife first.

Step Four:Â Add a few small beads of craft glue to secure each envelope.

Step Five:Â Cut pieces of cardstock to just smaller than each of the envelopes.

Step Six:Â Write your guests’ names at the top of each of the pieces of cardstock. I added “Dear” to the beginning just to drive the idea home. You could even leave each guest a little note if you’re feeling particularly ambitious.

Step Seven:Â Tuck each note into an envelope just far enough so that the names are still visible.

Photo Credits: Mandy Pellegrin for Oh So Beautiful Paper

01/21/2014

Danna + Hillary’s Classic Floral Wedding Invitations

These wedding invitations from Dara at Rafftruck Designs are the perfect mix of classic sophistication and feminine floral! The invitations combine a neutral color palette, elegant typography, and floral details in the envelope liner and rsvp card. Dara even created a badge with Danna and Hillary’s initials to use on everything from coasters to thank you cards. So pretty!

From Dara:Â I was thrilled to design and print this suite for Danna and Hillaryâ€™s autumn wedding in Brooklyn. They shared with me a beautiful floral mood board which acted as the inspiration behind the design.

Danna and Hillary both new what they wanted from the start â€“ a minimalist design with a feminine touch. To accommodate their requests, a neutral color palette and romantic rose envelope liner were used to complement the elegant typography. A badge featuring the coupleâ€™s initials (which we also used on their digital save the date) was featured throughout the suite and on coasters for the reception.Â We also created a rubber stamp with the design to seal the envelopes.

All the pieces, from invitations to seating cards to thank you cards, were letterpress printed on 100% cotton paper. The invitation itself was printed on extra thick 220 lb paper to give it that little something extra! In the end, it was the perfect combination of simple and sweet.

Thanks Dara!

Design + Letterpress Printing: Rafftruck Designs

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Rafftruck Designs

01/20/2014

Vivi Mae’s Peach + Gold Birth Announcements

Happy Monday everyone! For those of you not enjoying a long weekend, I thought I’d start the week with these beautiful peach and gold baby announcements from Val Marie Paper! After welcoming her first child â€“ an adorable daughter named Vivienne Mae â€“ Valerie drew inspiration from gold envelope liners for the birth announcements. Valerie made sure to include Vivi’s stats and a photo of the happy new family of three while also conveying Vivi’s nickname to friends and family. So sweet!

From Valerie:Â As a designer, I had been eyeing some beautiful envelope liners from Paper Source and knew they would be perfect for Vivi’s peach and gold color palette. From there, I teamed up with Katherine Holly to calligraph Vivi’s name.Â We wanted to incorporate a few fun aspects knowing many of our friends and family had met Vivi before they received the announcements. We included some of Vivi’s nicknames during the first few weeks. She has even more now!

We also wanted to include a photo our new little family. I know when I see friends with new little ones, I always love to see photos of the parents too in their new element. And this being the year of Prince Edward, I thought it would be fun to add a little seal of Vivi’s initials that we can use on future designs. Not quite as fancy as the future king of England’s but fun nonetheless!

Part of our challenge was including her full name but letting people know what we would be calling her. Creating a two-sided card with her full name and info on the back seemed like the best solution for us!

Thanks Valerie!

Design: Val Marie Paper

Newborn Photo: Ell Photography

Calligraphy:Â Katherine Holly

Photo Credits: Val Marie Paper

01/17/2014

Friday Happy Hour: Hot Mint Julep Toddy

I like mint. I like bourbon. Unsurprisingly, I like mint and bourbon together in Mint Juleps. But Mint Juleps are icy summer drinks! And it’s cold outside.* Mint Juleps won’t do. But I also like Hot Toddies! But Hot Toddies usually don’t match mint and bourbon. So, being the genius that I am, I recently wondered: what if I made a Mint Julep, just hot? So I gave it a try. And it worked! A Hot Toddy that’s also a Mint Julep, or maybe a Mint Julep that’s also a Hot Toddy. Or, maybe names don’t matter as long as a drink tastes good and helps you feel good. Which this does: the Hot Mint Julep Toddy.Â â€“ Andrew

Illustration byÂ Shauna LynnÂ for Oh So Beautiful Paper

The Hot Mint Julep Toddy

8 oz Mint Tea
2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Sugar

Combine everything, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy!

Cool, vegetal mint and rich, oaky bourbon are perfect together, hot or cold, as this Toddy demonstrates. It has all of the delicious smoothness of the Mint Julep but with the soothing warmth of a Toddy, perfect for this gloomy winter we’ve been having. Just make sure to use a 100% mint tea, like a Moroccan mint. A black tea with mint will have an entirely different flavor and pack a caffeine punch. Neither of which would be totally undesirable! But it would make for a different drink, probably worth an experiment or two, that we’d have to write about in a different post. Maybe next fall…

And yeah, there’s no lemon garnish in a Mint Julep, so I confess to taking a slight liberty in translating the sacred Mint Julep into Hot Toddy form. I mean, it’s not a Hot Toddy without some lemon, right? I find that the lemon oils from the zest really help bind all the flavors together. Feel free to omit if that’s not your cup of tea you’re not a fan.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

* More accurately, it’s chilly outside. DC has been seeing weather in the 40s and 50s since that polar vortex went away. It’s basically a gloomy March outside right now. Make up your mind, nature!