DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Happy Monday everyone! Today I’m excited to share a fun idea for adding some color to your next gathering – DIY iridescent rainbow vases! My friend Christine from Yellow Owl Workshop used this amazing iridescent vinyl in her booth at the National Stationery Show last year, and I’ve been wanting to use it in a DIY project ever since. But you guys, this project is so quick and easy I’m almost reluctant to even call it a DIY. These iridescent rainbow vases are the perfect way to dress up a table or buffet during a party – go with the full rainbow color spectrum, or just choose a couple of hues that fit your party color palette. Wouldn’t they be especially cute at a baby shower or rainbow-themed birthday party??

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Supplies

Glass bud vases or cans in varying sizes

Iridescent vinyl in pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Ruler

Pencil or bone folder

Scissors

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

If you’re using glass bud vases, all you really need to do is measure and cut the vinyl! I wanted all of my vases to have color at different heights, so I measured various lengths in each vinyl color. Then I used my ruler and a bone folder to score the vinyl at the appropriate length and cut along the scored line with scissors. You could also use a pencil to score the vinyl, but since it is transparent I wouldn’t recommend using a pen or permanent marker to draw any lines. Next, remove the protective bottom layer from the vinyl and apply the sticky side to the vase. Work your way slowly around the entire vase and smooth the vinyl down as you go to avoid air bubbles.

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

I also love the idea of repurposing old cans (or even smooth glass jars with straight sides) to make your own vases! I had a bunch of cans around the house from our most recent taco night, so I just removed the labels and spray painted the jars white. The vinyl application is the exact same as the glass bud vases. And if you’re not into painting, you could also wrap the cans with white paper and apply the vinyl over the white paper. So fun and modern!

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

If you don’t have much experience with creating floral arrangements, keep things simple by just using one type of flower! I used a few different kinds of flowers, but used only one type of flower in each individual vase. The tall bud vases work best with long, leggy flowers – like sweet peas (my fave!), tulips, or even a single peony stem. For the cans, I used clusters of carnations and garden roses paired with seeded eucalyptus. Here’s a little floral chart so you can find these beauties at your local flower market!

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy

For those of you planning rainbow-inspired parties, this DIY is for you! I made these vases with my daughter Sophie one afternoon after school, and she immediately claimed the pink and purple vases as her own. YES! Kid approved = job well done.

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Stationery A-Z: Copper Foil

We’ve often waxed poetic about our love of gold, holographic, and rose gold foil on wedding invitations and greeting cards, but today we thought we’d sing the praises of copper foil! Copper has a striking beauty all its own (case in point: this stunning skirt from Proenza Schouler or this sleek light fixture from Anthropologie), and is quickly making a home for itself in the stationery world. I’m especially loving the use of copper on dark backgrounds (so modern!). Here is a collection of some recent favorites:

Trendspotting: Copper Foil

From top left:

1. A copper foil cocktail on gorgeous blush pink paper from Fox & Fallow

2. Fun striped copper foil party plates from Bash Party Goods!

3. The combination of hand lettering and copper foil in this birthday card from Hello!Lucky is the perfect balance of elegance and fun

4. If you’re behind on your Valentine’s day greetings (or missed all three of our earlier posts), might you consider this simple, yet direct, message from The Social Type.

5. The copper is the whiskey…get it? This clever usage comes courtesy of Idlewild Co.

6. Stunning metallic cotton ribbon from Angela Liguori

7. Toss some of this copper confetti from Knot & Bow into a greeting card for a fun surprise – or sprinkle it on a table at your next party!

8. I’ve been a fan of printmaker Katharine Watson’s work for awhile now and I love that she moved in the foil space.

9. Meg from Moglea always comes up with the most amazing color stories and combinations, so it’s not surprising that she was an early adopter of this metallic trend.

10. Now, this is what I’m talking about: copper foil on gray paper is so fresh. Add some illustrated flowers and you’ve got yourself a winner. By Kelsey Garrity Riley for Red Cap Cards.

What’s your favorite metallic foil these days? Classic silver or modern gold? Are you loving copper foil, or feeling all things holographic? Let us know in the comments below!

 

Happy Weekend

Three Potato Four via Instagram

Image from Three Potato Four via Instagram

Hi everyone! I haven’t written one of these Friday posts in a while… mostly because I honestly don’t know what to say most of these days. I know you come here for the general inspiration and some happy sparkle in the middle of the day, and many of you don’t want any political discussion on this platform. But I can’t just pretend that everything is light and happy given our current circumstances. So I’m going to change up this Friday round up post to share a few of the more serious stories and links from the week, along with some of the things bringing me joy during the week. We’ll see how it goes!

Some of the many reasons why the immigration ban will not help make us more safe.

What you need to know about the terror threat from foreigners

Over 100,000 visas have been revoked due to the ban.

We said Never Again in 1945. We have to mean it.

Maybe it’s because I live in DC, but I find this endlessly fascinating: How the National Mall evolved over 200 years to become what it is today

From a couple of weeks ago: How the White House transitions from one president to another in five hours

Such a cute idea: DIY Valentine Balloon Surprise Box

I desperately want a set of these iridescent mini bowls

I seriously can’t get over the gorgeousness of this embroidered jacket (or this one!)

Loving these new blue, gray, and black bamboo papers from Bella Figura

Congrats to BerinMade on their beautiful new website!

Feeling frustrated by your political representatives? Run for office!

 

And this week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Brand new illustrated desktop and phone wallpapers for February!

Printable Valentine’s Day envelope liners

Beautiful custom calligraphy Valentines from Betsy Dunlap

And some Valentine’s Day cards for friends!

Bilingual wedding invitations with a gorgeous illustrated envelope liner

 

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner

Bilingual invitations can be tough, especially when you want to keep the design modern and simple. Do you go with a double sided layout with a different language on each side? Or print separate invitations in each language and mail them to the appropriate guest? Today we’re sharing these clean and modern bilingual wedding invitations with a beautiful illustrated envelope liner from Designer Rolodex member Melissa from Atheneum Creative. Doesn’t the illustrated envelope liner serve as the perfect complement to the crisp type-driven design and letterpress printing of the invitation?!

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

From Melissa: Jamie and Pascal came to us in need of a bilingual wedding invitation, but wanted to keep the design simple and clean. Bilingual invitations can sometimes get too wordy, too busy and too complicated, so keeping the design simple is always a challenge. We talked about all the options… run the two different languages with one on the front and one on the back, simply create two different invitation sets, or work to try and fit it all on the front – which was the direction we took in the end.

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Keeping all the information on the front, with the exception of the reply card, allowed us stay within the budget and utilize both letterpress printing and foil printing. We the invitation and ceremony card were both letterpress printed, while the accommodations card featured white foil on dark gray paper and the reply card was digitally printed.

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

We decided to keep the entire wedding invitation suite in shades of gray to allow the envelope liner to really pop when guests opened the envelope. The couple wanted something very meaningful for the envelope liner: a custom illustration of the church they were getting married in. It was a church that has a lot of history with the couple and family. Once the pen illustration was complete, we adjusted the colors in the illustration to be very saturated and bold. We increased the blacks and the contrast while keeping the blues and greens very vibrant.

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Bilingual Wedding Invitations with a Beautiful Illustrated Envelope Liner by Atheneum Creative

Thanks Melissa!

Design: Atheneum Creative

Illustration: Alice Holleman

Atheneum Creative is a member of the Designer Rolodex – see more of their beautiful work here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Chelsea Davis Photography

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

Hello friends! I kicked off January with some big goals in mind, in true new year’s fashion. And then I promptly went searching for pretty illustrations related to stuff I’m saving for and making wishes on stars for — everything including a perfect knit winter sweater, a home of our own, and maybe even some travel thrown in to see friends in big cities. So it was rather kismet when I stumbled on the Instagram account of Sydney-based illustrator and artist Jia Guo. Her illustrations were just the inspiration I was looking for on these frosty January days. Jen

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

Saturated colors and whimsical style makes this painterly illustration of sweaters one I’d love to frame and hang in my bedroom. (And I choose the blue-and-white fair isle style sweater for real life.)

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

This illustration looks seemingly simple and effortless, which is when you know art really speaks to you. I love how the color palette is a happy mix of sunset shades.

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

Anyone else dreaming of a lake home? The pickup truck is my favorite detail in this illustration by Jia.

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

Jia includes many home illustrations in her portfolio, including this illustration of a farm on an autumn day. I’ve never been to Australia, but these colors do feel like New England fall to me.

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

I love this fashion illustration Jia created of women in the 1960s. That was a great decade in style! The jackets with big pockets. The simple flare. And she uses a similar color palette in the train illustration, above, which gives it that retro modern vibe.

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

A work in progress by Jia Guo, who calls herself a crazy cat lady (some of my favorite people go by the same label).

The World of Illustration: Jia Guo

Jia’s recent illustration of the day included cats as a fun welcome to the new year. For a peek into more of her work, you can check out Jia Guo Illustration. Anything big on your wishlist for the new year? Let me know and I’ll be sure to scout out some illustrations to match up! See you soon, friends!

Images: Jia Guo Illustration