04/23/2013

Sarah + Matthew’s Rustic Letterpress Wedding Invitations

These pretty wedding invitations come to us from the husband and wife team Jordan and Dani of Noteworthy Letterpress. The duo was inspired by the oak trees at the wedding venue to create a rustic design that incorporates a tree motif and a custom monogram over copper ribbon. Beautiful!

From Dani:Â This invitation suite was done for my brother-in-law’s wedding. He and his fiancÃ©e were married in October at a cute outdoor venue in Temecula, California called Lake Oak Meadows. The venue was near a small pond surrounded by oak trees. The setting and the time of year inspired the fall themed wedding suite.Â We quickly settled on an oak tree design that was carried over to the RSVP card. The couple chose copper and brown for their wedding colors and I hand mixed all of the inks to achieve just the right colors.

We letterpress printed the tree design with a white ink on pearl white cotton paper, which resulted in a subtle color difference so that the tree design was visible but without being too overpowering.

The entire suite was packaged in an Envelopments enclosure and completed with a burlap and brown ribbon and a letterpress printed monogram on copper paper, with a copper leaf â€“ all assembled by hand with lots of glue gun burns to show for it.

Thanks Jordan and Dani!

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

Photo Credits: Noteworthy Letterpress

04/22/2013

April + Matt’s French Garden Party Wedding Invitations

These beautiful wedding invitations from Nichole at Coral PheasantÂ combine garden parties with French inspiration with such delightfully whimsical results! Nichole also made sure to adhere to the bride’s wish to use sustainable materials and practices when producing the wedding invitations. The quirky font and calligraphy by Brown LinenÂ is the perfect finishing touch!

From Nichole:Â April and Matt were married late last summer. The vision for their day was inspired by 1920s garden parties and the delightful French movie Amelie. It was also important to AprilÂ that sustainable materials be used. With this inspiration in hand we developed a playful suite with free-flowing text typeset in a quirky calligraphy font.

The main invitation was letterpress printed on double-thick 220# ecru Crane’s Lettra while all the enclosures wereÂ letterpress printed on 110# Lettra. Lettra is a 100% cotton sheet isÂ made from cotton fibersÂ gleaned from the cotton seeds, after having been cleaned for garmentÂ production and before being processed for cotton seed oil. This made it a perfect choice to honor April’s request of using sustainable materials.

French elements were brought into the design on the RSVP and the quote that graces the inside of the kraft mailer. I love when I’m given the opportunity to have fun with the RSVP envelope and can integrate the stamp in a dynamic way. In this instance, the stamp was framed in flourishes the complimented the font. To ensure the envelope would travel successfully through the mail, we did a test mailing before having the envelopes printed. The cards were tucked inside the kraft mailer creating a unique package for guests to open and experience.

The kraft mailer was made from 100% post consumer waste and all the inks wereÂ soy based. The cherry on top? My printer has a strict recycling and conservation programÂ and uses bicycle messengers for the majority of their local deliveries.Â The mailer was sealed with a strip of wash tape and addressed with the beautiful calligraphy of Brown Linen.

Thanks Nichole!

Design: Coral Pheasant

Calligraphy: Brown Linen

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

Photo Credits: Coral Pheasant

04/22/2013

Janet’s Nautical Vintage Map Party Invitations

Happy Monday everyone! I’m feeling refreshed after spending the weekend working in our garden, enjoying the beautiful spring weather, and visiting one of my favorite spring spots, the Mount Vernon estate just outside of DC. We’re starting the week with some really fun nautical and travel-inspired party invitations from Bonnie at Tenn Hens Design. I’m particularly loving the amazing map envelopes and gold wax seal!

From Bonnie: An event planner in Nashville that we’ve partnered with over the years, Elizabeth James, came to us with a very special project this past winter. Her client was hosting an intimate party at sea. And not just on any old boat, but a ship.Â They wanted to treat their guests to a truly unique affair.Â There were various parties tied around this weekend so we designed two different looks that still complemented one another.

Each invitation was hand delivered in an envelope made from map paper and secured with a gold wax seal. The first invitation was letterpressed on both sides and duplexed (just to make the cotton paper even more luxurious). We ended up adding an addendum tag at the last hour when Hurricane Sandy came into the picture, but mother nature certainly has a way of being unpredictable!

The main invitation was a more subdued palette of warm grey letterpress + gold foil. I adore the look of the foil and the texture it adds.

Thanks Bonnie!

Photo Credits: Tenn Hens Design

04/19/2013

Friday Happy Hour: The Dark & Stormy

About this time last year, Nole and I were enjoying our first trip to the Caribbean. To celebrate the memories of the trip, here’s a quintessential Caribbean cocktail, the Dark & Stormy. This is a drink that’s really great on a hot day, rich and fizzy and full of flavor, and somehow both spicy and smooth at the same time.Â â€“ Andrew

Illustration by Caitlin KeeganÂ for Oh So Beautiful Paper

The Dark & Stormy

2 oz Dark Rum
3-4 oz Ginger Beer
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Combine everything with ice, give it a good stir, garnish with a lime wedge and enjoy!

The proper rum to use here is Gosling’s, a Bermudan rum that’s a little spicy and a touch funky. But any dark and heavy rum, like a rich Demerara, could do nicely. The lime is not original to the recipe, which also hails from Bermuda, but is a great addition that really makes the other flavors pop.

The Dark & Stormy is a trademark of Gosling’s, which has been making rum since 1806, since the early 20th century. But the drink’s origins probably go a little further back than that. British sailors started receiving a daily rum ration sometime in the 17th century* which, by the mid-1800s, was two ounces of heavy, dark rum of the sort Goslin’s made. Sometime later, the British navy also decided to build a ginger beer bottling plant (weird, right?). Some enterprising sailors (the original inventors of so much of what we drink today) likely started putting together their rum rations and ginger beer quickly thereafter; Gosling’s just made it official.

*British sailors received their last rum ration on July 31st, 1970 â€“ Black Tot Day. There’s a very small amount left from the last consignment, and I hear it’s very unusual and very delicious. It’s also very, very expensive â€“ I’ve seen bottles for sale for nearly a thousand dollars â€“ so, sadly, I don’t think we’ll be featuring it in any Cocktail Fridays any time soon.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

04/19/2013

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone! With all the gorgeous spring weather we’ve been enjoying lately, I just want to close my computer and sit outside all day long! The lilacs are blooming, peonies are just around the corner, and my favorite Kazan cherry blossoms are in bloom all over the city. Yay spring! Also, I just realized that there’s only ONE MONTH until the National Stationery Show! I can’t believe it’s coming up so soon! But in the meantime…

Photos by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend:

Love
Did you see Jenny’s faux Malachite painted desk? Amazing!
Loving everything in this collection
PDX residents! An awesome sample sale from Egg Press and Schoolhouse Electric
MAKE: Peanut butter bacon pancakes

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

A round up of favorite Mother’s Day Cards: Part 1 and Part 2 (with the full round up here!)
Rustic burlap + wood wedding invitations
Quirky “awkward family photo” save the dates
Modern mint + coral wedding invitations
Inspiration for incorporating menu signs into your wedding
Well Said Type:Â Filmotype Lacrosse
Sweet illustrated Aspen tree invitations for a wedding in Colorado
Pretty + Paper: Emerald and Gold

Check back soon for this weekâ€™s cocktail! Â I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and Iâ€™ll see you back here on Monday!Â xoxo