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Over 100,000 visas have been revoked due to the ban.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

 

Printable Valentine’s Day Envelope Liners

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner – and today I’m sharing a fun printable project to add an extra dose of love (and color) to your Valentine’s Day cards: printable Valentine’s Day envelope liners! I’ve teamed up with Courtney of Swiss Cottage Designs to offer two beautiful envelope liner patterns for you to enjoy. And the best part is that these liners are totally versatile, so you can use them with envelopes of all shapes and sizes!

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

Courtney created two absolutely gorgeous illustrated liner patterns celebrating two of our favorite things: love letters and flowers! The little bouquets in the floral liners are my favorite thing ever – and can be used any time of year to send some love! And seriously, how cute are all those little illustrated postage stamps, airmail stamps, and wax seals?? Add ’em in to an envelope with a favorite greeting card, or use them with any colorful envelope to send a special hand written message. Bonus points if you add a bit of colorful confetti to your envelope. The more love the better these days!

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

These would even be fun for weddings and bridal shower invitations, no?

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

ribbon + scissors| ceramic dish | tissue paper confetti

We’ll need a few basic supplies before we get started:

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

To make the envelope liners:

Step 1. Print your liner pattern of choice onto a letter sized sheet of text weight paper. If you don’t have a home printer, you can easily print these at your local copy and print shop – my printer isn’t that great at printing pink tones, so I had mine printed at my local Staples.

Step 2. On the back of the liner, lightly trace your liner template with pencil. For pointed flap envelopes, I like to use these liner templates from Paper Source. If you’re using square flap envelopes or prefer to DIY your own template, just trace the outline of the back of your envelope onto a sheet of thick card stock. Cut the template from the card stock, being careful to cut on the inside of the lines, and trim an additional 1/16″ off the left and right side and 3/4″ off the bottom of the template. Trace the liner template on the back of each printed liner until you have enough liners for all your envelopes, then carefully cut out each liner with scissors.

Step 3. Place the liner in the envelope. Use a glue stick or double sided tape on the back of the liner (along the top triangle and just above the crease) to adhere the liner to the envelope. Don’t worry about placing any adhesive on the lower part of the liner, since it’s tucked into the envelope it should stay put. Place a ruler along the crease of the envelope flap, then use your bone folder to score the envelope liner. This will help you maintain a clean line when you close your envelopes!

Step 4. Add a fun hand written note or greeting card, and close the envelope. Address the envelope in a playful hand lettering style using a brush marker or writing tool of your choice, and voila! You’ve got yourself a snazzy envelope that is guaranteed to bring a smile to someone’s face!

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

Since the liner patterns are a full letter-size sheet of paper, you can make them work for any size envelopes, including larger square envelopes, rectangular #10 envelopes, and all standard size greeting card envelopes. No matter what size envelope you’re using, we’ve got you covered!

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

Are you as obsessed with these liners as I am? When you print them out and use them, don’t forget to share your photos on Instagram and tag #madewithosbp so I can see them! I can’t wait!!

Printable Valentine's Day Envelope Liners

Download the envelope liner patterns from Swiss Cottage Designs right here: Love Letters and Floral Love!

 

All artwork © 2017 Swiss Cottage Designs created exclusively for Oh So Beautiful Paper. All artwork is made available for personal use only. By downloading the patterns you agree to the terms of use.

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

 

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Betsy Dunlap

I’ll be honest: the last couple of weeks have been very difficult for me. It feels strange and trivial to share pretty pictures during such a time of upheaval. I know this site is a respite from our difficult political climate for many of you, and I’ll do my best to share things that help lift our spirits and bring a bright spot to some very dark days. But I also want you to know that I’m very much affected by these current events, and if you’re struggling these days, you’re not alone. I spent more than six years working on Somalia at the U.S. Department of State, working closely with people from Somalia, including refugees – and I have very strong feelings regarding this Executive Order. I shared a few ways to help on Instagram yesterday, and I’ll continue to share more in the coming days and weeks. In the meantime, I wanted to help spread some love by sharing these beautiful custom calligraphy Valentine’s from Betsy Dunlap in her shop Litterae.

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Litterae / Betsy Dunlap

I’ve been a fan of Betsy’s unique modern calligraphy style since I first started blogging in 2008 (!!), and I seriously cannot imagine anything more romantic than sending your love a beautiful hand calligraphed Valentine! These unique custom valentines will feature Betsy’s lettering in your choice of Sunset Gold metallic ink or jet black Sumi ink on cream Italian paper and Dutch felt paper. The folded cards include a monogram or word of choice surrounded by a calligraphed circle on the outside, and a maximum 30-word message on the inside. Each envelope will feature marbled envelope liners and vintage postage stamps – and of course hand written mailing and return addresses penned by Betsy. Valentines will ship out on February 7th, just in time for Valentine’s Day!

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Litterae / Betsy Dunlap

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Litterae / Betsy Dunlap

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Litterae / Betsy Dunlap

Custom Calligraphy Valentines from Litterae / Betsy Dunlap

You can order your custom calligraphy valentines from Betsy’s Litterae shop right here!

Photo Credits: Betsy Dunlap

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations

When your sister is expecting – and happens to love sharks – ocean inspired baby shower invitations are a perfect way to welcome the little bundle of joy! Jessica from Jamber Creative drew inspiration from under the sea to design these bold and whimsical blue and green invitations, complete with adorable seaweed graphics. This combination of whimsical graphics and bold patterns is so festive!

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Jamber Creative

From Jessica: I created this ocean inspired baby shower invitation suite for my sister, Rachel. She has always been fascinated with sharks, so when she found out she was having a little boy, she knew she wanted his nursery to have touches of sea life, especially her favorite toothy fish. She also wanted to incorporate bold colors and graphic patterns in shades of blue and green so that the nursery didn’t necessarily have a “theme” but instead just felt like a fun and vibrant collection of cozy, kid-friendly elements.

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Jamber Creative

When creating her invitations, I went straight to her nursery for inspiration. We all agreed it was our favorite room in her home, and I wanted to bring this feeling to her invitations. I wanted to give a nod to the marine life of the nursery without being too overt or literal. Instead of using actual sharks, I created an underwater graphic with coral and seaweed, along with some fish and whimsical bubbles. I used this same element on her enclosure card and created a pattern with the fish and bubbles for the envelope liners. For an accent, I printed the back of each piece with various patterns that were actually present in the nursery. Crib sheets, rug and curtains provided inspiration for fun, unexpected pops of pattern when guests flipped over each card.

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Jamber Creative

The entire suite was tied together with hemp cord and a bright green tag to announce the baby’s gender. For guest favors, I created and printed coasters using the “Oh Boy” text and a few fish, tying them together with striped jute cord. Guests loved the little reminder for when Baby Clow (August) would make his debut!

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Jamber Creative

The invitations were digitally printed on 120lb smooth white paper, and the coasters were printed on this same paper, duplexed.

Ocean Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Jamber Creative

Thanks Jessica!

Design & Printing: Jamber Creative

Photo Credits: Jessica Williams

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations

We love the juxtaposition of soft watercolor illustrations with rugged, rustic wedding details! Amanda Franz of Wide Eyes Paper Co. created these illustrated Lake Tahoe inspired wedding invitations, featuring the stunning illustrated scenery of the Lake Tahoe area throughout the invitation suite. We’re also loving those adorable engraved wooden tags featuring the couple’s custom monogram. So fun!

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

From Amanda: Named after the Lake Tahoe Basin’s most plentiful tree, The Jeffrey Pine suite was created for two lovers getting married in majestic Lake Tahoe. Heather and Jon hired us to create an invitation suite that was both classic and sophisticated with a woodland flare. For a touch of rustic elegance, this set also features a wooded watercolor scene alongside the beautiful shores of Lake Tahoe.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

The watercolor scenery was incorporated into various elements of the invitation to create a stunning visual experience. One of our favorite places where we incorporated the watercolor artwork was on the custom envelope liners.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Heather and Jon wanted to go a more informal route, so we designed a postcard style RSVP enclosure. These were great because they did not require an envelope and we printed their return address directly onto the back of the card. The watercolor scenery is also seen on the front of the RSVP card, which was another fun element of surprise.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

In addition to the watercolor artwork, we created a custom monogram for the pair that is showcased on our signature wood engraved tags. We also included the custom monogram on the envelope liners to push their aesthetic even further.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Another amazing detail seen in this suite is the colorful watercolor map we illustrated. Maps are such a fun, quirky way to point out special landmarks that hold significance to the couple.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

We love how the olive green envelopes play with the lake themed accents in the design. For the final touches, we printed each guest’s name and address onto the envelopes. Their custom monogram is printed on the back flap of the envelope to create a cohesive look and feel.

Illustrated Lake Tahoe Inspired Wedding Invitations by Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Thanks Amanda!

Design: Wide Eyes Paper Co.

Printer: Advanced Reprographics

Wide Eyes Paper Co. is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of Amanda’s work right here or visit the real invitations gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Nicole Mason