11/09/2015

How to Use Vintage Stamps

I love, love, LOVE using vintage postage stamps on envelopes. They add a little something special to everything from wedding invitations to dinner and cocktail party invitations to baby announcements. Vintage stamps offer a wonderful opportunity to represent your personal style, whether chosen thematically or by color palette. And since unused postage never expires, there are endless options to suit every type of occasion â€“ from a formal black tie wedding to a casual backyard gathering. Here are a few of my tips for how to use vintage stamps â€“ plus, I put a collection together with some of my favorite vintage stamps that you can use in your own projects!

Photo Credit: La Happy Design & Calligraphy

1. Add it Up

First things first: vintage postage must add up to current postage rates. While searching and shopping for stamps, make sure that you have one stamp worth at least 25Â¢ (or more!). Wedding invitations and birth announcements mailed in a larger envelope usually require a minimum of 71Â¢ postage. The 3Â¢ and 8Â¢ stamps are great for rounding out a color palette or subject theme, but youâ€™ll need a 29Â¢ or 33Â¢ stamp in the mix to make up the difference in the total postage amount.

Photo Credit: Diana McGregor Photography / Calligraphy by Wondrous Whimsy

Photo Credit: Stephanie Collins Photography / Calligraphy by Anne Robin / Vintage Postage by Underwood Letterpress

2. Plan it Out

Plan your stamp arrangement ahead of time to make sure you leave room for an address â€“ and to maximize visual impact. Some stamps look best in a straight row across the top of an envelope, while others look best in a puzzle piece arrangement in the corner. It all depends on the stamps you select!

Calligraphy: The Weekend Type / Floral Styling: The Moss & Rose / Styling: Two Be Wed / Photo Credits: Korie Lynn Photography

Photo Credit: Stephanie Collins Photography / Calligraphy by Anne Robin / Vintage Postage by Underwood Letterpress

3. Color Theory

The easiest way to group vintage stamps together? By color! Let your wedding color palette guide your vintage stamp selections and your envelopes will shine! You can even address the envelopes using ink in a complementary color to make your envelopes even more special and complete the overall look.

Photo Credit: Antiquaria Design Studio

4. Personal Geography

I love it when couples share a glimpse of their personal history â€“ and geography! â€“ in their vintage stamp selections. It can be as simple as a stamp with the city or state where the couple met, along with stamps of their home state. Perhaps they grew up in Montana and Texas but met in college in DC. When placed together on an envelope, these stamps tell such a fun story!

Photo Credit: Coral Pheasant

Photo Credit: Lauren Chism Fine Papers

5. Stick to a Theme

Love science? Have a passion for architecture? Maybe you’re both crazy for horses, or you met while working on a political campaign. Whatever your interests, let them shine in your envelope postage! You can find vintage postage stamps for practically any topic or theme, from travel to modern art.

Photo Credit: Blue Eye Brown Eye Calligraphy

6. Pretty Botanicals

If themes aren’t your thing, go with flowers! My favorite vintage stamps feature floral designs â€“ and they look so incredibly beautiful when grouped together on a wedding invitation envelope! My favorite floral stamps are the Mississippi and Alabama statehood stamps, along with this love stamp.

p.s. Where to find (and buy) vintage stamps and more inspiration for mixing vintage stamps

This post was created in partnership with eBay. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

10/19/2015

Halloween First Birthday Costume Party Invitations

Okay, this might be the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen: a first birthday COSTUME partyÂ on Halloween! Such a fun way to celebrate a first birthday this time of year! DesignerÂ Lauren Chism designed the fun invitations to appeal to both kids and adults â€“ mission accomplished!

FromÂ Lauren:Â I love designing for my friends. From their weddings to baby showers, to birth announcements and birthday parties, it’s such an honor to get to design for such special celebrations. So when my friend Kristen, whoseÂ colorful baby shower invitationsÂ I designed last year, asked me to design her daughter Drew’s first birthday invitations, I was so excited. However, when she said it was a birthday COSTUME party on Halloween, I was downright giddy.

I haven’t done many Halloween designs, so I started to brainstorm ideas with Kristen’s requests in mind: a design for kids AND adults, not scary, and FUN. I started with classic Halloween motifs and costumes and just started playing with things. I didn’t start with a concept in mind and I love when it comes together in such an organic way. At the end I snuck in a pirate hat (becauseÂ Kristen wore one to my Derby party) as the finishing touch. I love how they turned out and most importantly, Kristen did too!

ThanksÂ Lauren!

Design:Â Lauren Chism Fine Papers

Lauren Chism Fine Papers is a member of theÂ Designer RolodexÂ â€“ you can check out more of Laurenâ€™s beautiful workÂ right here!

Photo Credits:Â Lauren Chism

09/22/2015

How to Send Beautiful Mail

I’m all about sending beautiful mail. And this goes beyond the adorable card on the inside (which, ahem, I’m assuming you already found the perfect card right here on OSBP) to include the actual envelope as a way of brightening someone’s mailbox. With the holiday season â€“ and holiday cards â€“ right around the corner, I thought we could all use a few tips on how to send beautiful mail, from colorful envelopes and envelope liners to quirky off-center address alignments! Let’s all step up our envelope game this year!

Card by Sugar Paper

1. Colorful Envelopes

I’m going to assume that you already have a super cute card picked out â€“ or that you made your own. But if you can, ditch the white envelope in favor of a bright colorful envelope. It becomes a literal bright spot in an otherwise dreary mailbox.

Rose Gold Foil Envelope Liners by Bella Figura from Alice’s Birth Announcements

2. Envelope Liners

Envelope liners are a great way to signal that the contents of that envelope are particularly special. I like to use envelope liners for milestone stationery like birth announcements and wedding invitations â€“ as well as our annual holiday cards. Vintage wallpaper and gift wrap sheets make fantastic DIY envelope liners!

Photo Credit: Antiquaria Design for Oh So Beautiful Paper

3. Creative Addresses

Now that you have the inside of the envelope sorted out it’s time to think about the outside of the envelope! It can be fun to think creatively when writing out the address â€“ from asymmetrical alignments to incorporating brush pens (or even actual brushes!).

Calligraphy by Anne Robin Calligraphy / Vintage Stamps by Underwood Letterpress / Photo Credit: Stephanie Collins Photography

This envelope features brush watercolor lettering for the name combined with a fine tip pen for the street address. Brush lettering requires a bit of practice to get a hang of the technique but isn’t as hard as you might think!

Hand Lettered Envelope Address Ideas by Ladyfingers Letterpress

This envelope was addressed with paint pens â€“ a wonderful way to add even more color to an envelope! A white paint pen is also the best way to address in white ink on a dark colored envelope.

DIY Colorful Rubber Stamped Envelopes

4. Adorn the Envelope

Add a bit of decoration to your addressed envelope! Playful polka dots. Bold lines. Even an illustration or two! Rubber stamps (and pencil erasers in a pinch) work well for adding a colorful pattern to any envelope.

Dip dyed envelopes by Oh So Beautiful Paper with gold address calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy

If you are working with white envelopes, dip dyeing is a quick and easy way to add a pop of color to your envelopes! You can use anything from food coloring and Kool-Aid to Rit Dye, so the colors are completely customizable!

Calligraphy by Letter Love Studio / Photo Credit: Sarah Carpenter Photography

5. Pretty Stamps

The final step! Pretty postage stamps are a surefire way to elevate any envelope into a work of art. Vintage postage stamps are readily available in large quantities and look amazing when grouped together â€“ but you can also find some really beautiful stamps from USPS these days.

Now stick your beautiful card in the mail and make someone’s day instantly brighter! Isn’t sending (and receiving) mail the absolute best?!?

This post was created in partnership with eBay. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

08/24/2015

Four Tips for Awesome Paper Styling

Last week I mentioned my new partnership with eBay. They asked me to curate some shopping collections around my favorite topics. And I’ve been having so much fun pulling them together! My first two collections featured home bar essentials and a fun group of cocktail picks, stir sticks, and paper straws! I also thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite paper styling props and some tips for awesome paper styling! I know through experience that even the prettiest wedding invitations and birth announcements can be really hard to photograph. But with the right technique and a few styling props, you can take your paper photography and styling to the next level!

Start with the Right Conditions

A great photo starts with good lighting conditions and a few pieces of equipment. Always take photos using bright and even natural light, ideally on a table placed near or next to a large window. Buy the highest quality camera you can afford and invest in a great 35 mm or 50 mm lens. A few basic pieces of inexpensive equipment, like light diffusers, reflectors, and white foam core, can help you create a makeshift light box and avoid harsh shadows or bright spots.

Photo Credit: Coral Pheasant

Choose Your Backdrop

I always recommend styling and photographing paper against a flat surface placed on the floor or a table near a window. White or colorful foam board makes a fantastic neutral backdrop. You can also choose a neutral linen or fabric in a complementary color to elevate your photographs. If you’ll be taking lots of photos, consider investing in a styling surface â€“ Erickson Surfaces, Woodville, and One Stone West are all great places to start.

Photo Credit: Mandy Busby Creative / Design by Holly Hollon

Style it Up!

I always return to the same favorite props for my own styling needs. Choose items in a variety of shapes, sizes, and dimensions to direct the viewer’s eye and fill negative space. Vintage postage stamps, brass paperclips (especially in unique shapes!), twine, silk and cotton ribbon, washi tape, brass scissors or letter openers â€“ anything with texture or that adds a vintage patina is perfect for adding character to photos! Natural elements like seashells and dried lavender also make fantastic styling props.

Photo Credit: Lauren Chism Fine Papers

Avoid a Grid

Paper styling and photography should be fun! Try to photograph everything straight on, with a few fun props scattered around to add visual interest. Have at least one thing (and maybe three) slightly off-kilter in each image. Square or rectangular paper pieces turned on a slight angle feel playful and whimsical. Have some elements touch or overlap in the photo to create depth and texture. Ribbon and washi tape can also run off the image to create movement and add visual interest.

Photo Credit: Antiquaria Design Studio

Finally, don’t forget to take photos of the full paper suite, especially for wedding invitations and birth announcements, along with plenty of detail shots of individual pieces. And those detail shots are a great excuse to rotate and add in new props!

For any stationers out there, whether you have a wholesale stationery line or specialize in custom design, you’ve probably heard about the importance of styling a million times over. And to be honest, it’s a huge factor when I’m deciding which submissions to feature here on Oh So Beautiful Paper. Great styling can really help elevate a beautiful design and make it stand out from the crowd!

This post was created in partnership with eBay. All content and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make Oh So Beautiful Paper possible!

07/02/2015

Happy Weekend â€“Â and Happy 4th!

Hi Everyone! I’m heading out a bit early for the long holiday weekend â€“ I hope you all have a wonderful Independence Day! This will be Alice’s first fireworks and I’m excited to see how she reacts. We’ve been getting lots of rain and thunderstorms lately, hopefully the fireworks won’t get rained out! Either way, it will be nice to have a relaxing weekend at home. But in the meantime…

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