03/04/2013

Sabrina + John’s Neon Destination Wedding Invitations

I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting New Mexico, but Sabrina and John’s destination wedding invitations remind me of what I imagine a famous New Mexico sunset might look like! Sabrina, a designer at Smudge Ink, wanted to stay true to her modern design style, incorporating a vibrant neon coral ink and bold purple into the design. Love it!

From Sabrina:Â John and I had a destination wedding in Santa Fe back in September. We had never even been to New Mexico before when the idea came to mind, but after making a weekend getaway there we had completely fallen for its small town warmth and desert landscapes. So when it came to the creating the look and feel for our wedding, we knew we wanted to celebrate the best of Santa Fe while keeping true to our modern tastes and playful personalities.

As someone who works with brides on their wedding stationery for a living, I naturally looked forward to designing all of the paper touches. The invitations reflected the serene mountain scenery but in a more modern light with the use of straight lines letterpress printed in fluorescent coral ink and bold text in prune. We also incorporated a pair of chiles as a humorous nod to our love for spicy food.

Fortunately, I had everyone at Smudge Ink to give me a helping hand and Megan Chapin Calligraphy to address each one in matching prune ink. And how happy do you think I was when I saw that the USPS had just released commemorative stamps in honor of New Mexico!

John and I tried to keep things fun and light in our day-of pieces too. From our ice breaker escort card pins to our ceremony â€œspiritâ€ wands. The interactive nature of these pieces really got the party going!

Thanks Sabrina!

Design & Letterpress Printing: Smudge Ink

Calligraphy: Megan Chapin Calligraphy

Smudge Ink is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ you can see more of their beautiful wedding invitations right here orÂ Â real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Sabrina Garber and Karen Kristian Photography

03/01/2013

Friday Happy Hour: Rosewater-Cardamom Brown Derby

The Brown Derby was one of the first drinks that started my love affair with cocktails. It helped me realize that, when well-crafted, well-balanced, and made from quality ingredients, a cocktail â€“ even a simple Sour â€“ could really be a thing of beauty. From the Golden Age of Hollywood, the Brown Derby is a mellow but somewhat plain drink, despite a couple of uncommon ingredients. So we’ve tried to put a more modern spin on it and spice it up a bit (pun a little bit intended).

â€“ Andrew

Read below for the full recipe!

Illustration by Caitlin Keegan

Rosewater-Cardamom Brown Derby

2 oz Bourbon
1 oz Fresh Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Rosewater-Cardamom Honey Syrup

To make the honey syrup, mix equal parts honey and water over low heat to fully melt the honey. (Adding honey by itself to a cold drink doesn’t do much good, as the honey will just glop together at the bottom of the glass, but you can solve this problem by turning it into a syrup that will mix nicely.) Add some crushed cardamom pods and a dash or two of rosewater and stir. Slowly add more cardamom and rosewater; it’s tricky to get a lot of flavor that will shine through in the final drink without ending up with a cloying syrup that tastes too much of rosewater, so taste frequently as you go.

Once the syrup is done, combine it with the bourbon â€“ I went with W.L. Weller, a wheated bourbon â€“ and fresh grapefruit juice. Shake well with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy!

The original Brown Derby was probably invented at the Vendome Club in Los Angeles, a popular hang out spot for 1930s Hollywood notables, though a few others around the country lay claim to it. The owners of the Vendome allegedly named it in honor of their chief rival, the Brown Derby â€“ which was, oddly enough, shaped like a giant brown derby hat. Go figure. It was made with bourbon, grapefruit, and honey and, like I said, is good and mellow but can be a little plain. But it really shines when spiced up with some rosewater and cardamom, a fantastic flavor combination from the Middle East and South Asia that’s fantastic in everything from ice cream to coffee to cocktails.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

03/01/2013

{happy weekend!}

Well, it was bound to happen… we caught our first family cold this week. Sophie and I were first to come down with it on Monday, followed quickly by my husband on Tuesday, and I’m hoping we’re now at the tail end of it. Boo colds! We’re all feeling pretty run down, so this weekend we’ll be trying to rest up (and recover) as much as possible. But in the meantime…

Photo by me (via Instagram) of last year’s cherry blossoms

…a few links for your weekend!

This may be my new favorite party idea!
A gorgeous new collection of foil stamp wedding invitations from Hello! Lucky
Sycamore Street Press is having a sale!
Thinking vs. Doing
MAKE: Buttermilk Beignets
WANT: This beautiful print (via Ez)

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Super cool x-ray save the dates for a pair of engaged doctors
I’m feeling inspired by cherry blossoms + a round up of cherry blossom stationery
Well Said Type: Mandevilla
Gorgeous calligraphy from MM Ink
Art Nouveau wedding invitations inspired by a vintage book cover
Fun spring-inspired invitations for a Texas garden party wedding
Beautiful dresses made of paper!
A fun DIY tutorial with a fig + gold color palette
Tons of color inspiration in the spring issue of Martha Stewart Weddings!
Loving these prints from artist Jorey Hurley

We have a fun cocktail coming up for you this afternoon, so check back a bit later for the recipe! Â I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and Iâ€™ll see you back here on Monday! Â xoxo

02/28/2013

Sneak Peek: Martha Stewart Spring 2013 Issue!

As you could probably tell from yesterday’s cherry blossom post, I’m kind of anxious for spring to arrive. And now I have another reason to look forward to spring â€“ theÂ new issue ofÂ Martha Stewart WeddingsÂ is about to hit! It just so happens that the spring issue is my favorite of the year: the Color Issue!

The Spring issue has tons of color combinations, ideas, and stories to get you thinking about what kind of wedding to plan. And of course there is tons of stationery inspiration throughout the magazine. You’ll definitely want to check out the full issue (also available to download on your iPad) to see the beautiful suites below for yourself!

The issue includes everything from a delicately engraved invitation byÂ SmythsonÂ toÂ aÂ simple suite fromÂ Minted,Â stationery that perfectly combines the elegant calligraphy ofÂ Bernard MaisnerÂ and the custom heraldry ofÂ Happy Menocal,Â aÂ vibrant watercolored set byÂ Julie Song Ink,Â calligraphed escort cards byÂ Nancy Hopkins, a pastel pink letterpress suite byÂ Two Paper Dolls, and a punchy suite fromÂ Cheree Berry.Â Plus plenty of downloadable clip art so you can put your own spin on things.

Keep an eye out for the new issue soon!

Cover Photo Credit: Patricia Heal/Martha Stewart Weddings, Spring 2013.

02/28/2013

DIY Tutorial: Fig & Gold Calligraphy Save the Date

A few years ago, we participated in a gorgeous vintage plum & gold inspiration shoot. Besides contributing our Gold Leaf Collection place settings to the shoot, we were also asked to provide a calligraphy menu and all of the place cards for the table. To this day, we still inquiries for save the dates or invitations that reference the menu from that shoot because the combination of the fig paper with gold calligraphy is so incredibly striking.Â â€“Â Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

By embossing these stamps with gold powder it really creates a high end, custom looking save the date!

Step One: Place your A2 card on a stable and firm surface. Ink your save the date stamp (we used our Calligraphy Save the Date, No.2 stamp) and center the stamp over your card. When ready, press the stamp down with moderate pressure to make the print. Lift the stamp off and quickly move on to step number two. For more information about inking your stamp or making prints, please watch this video that shows the process in more detail.

Step Two: Once you’ve made your print, immediately cover it with embossing powder by sprinkling it across the paper. Shift the powder around until you have covered the entire image. Now, you will pour the excess powder off of the card onto a scrap piece of paper so that you can reuse it for future prints. Heat set the print, using an Embossing Heat Tool. You will be able to see the powder melt into a smooth and shiny gold when it’s done.

Note:Â One key thing about embossing is that it is wise to try to closely match your ink color with your powder color. By doing this, you will get much more crisp and opaque results. Since we are wanting a lovely and shiny gold print, we used both a gold stamp pad and gold embossing powder.

Step Three: You will now just repeat this inking and embossing process for your remaining pieces (we used our Floral Calligraphy Return Address stamp and our Floral Calligraphy Accommodations stamp) that will coordinate with your save the date. For the accommodations card, you will use a standard business sized card.

Step Four: To add a little extra personality to the suite, we added an envelope liner made from some awesome kraft and gold polka dot gift wrapping paper. It really helps tie the whole thing together! Trace the template onto your paper and cut it out with scissors. To install, simply use stick glue or double sided tape to adhere them into your envelope.

Finally, address the invitations, add postage, and send them off to delight your guests! You can also accent the suite with sparkly gold washi tape if you like!

Materials:

Calligraphy Save the Date Stamp, No.2

Floral Calligraphy Return Address Stamp

Floral Calligraphy Accommodations Card

Stamp Pad

Embossing Powder

Heat Gun

A2 CardsÂ in Fig

A2 EnvelopesÂ in Antique Gold

Business CardsÂ for the Accommodations piece, in Antique Gold

Gift Wrap to be used as an envelope liner, ours was purchased locally from Urbanic

Envelope liner templates