Seasonal Stationery: Valentine’s Day Cards

Love is in the air! At least, it is at all the shops in my neighborhood. Valentine’s Day greeting cards are always a stationers favorite (the seemingly endless puns!), so the bevy of designs can be overwhelming. For those in a committed relationship, the options are truly endless, but what about all the other people you want to express affection to? While many Valentines Day greeting cards focus on romantic love, there are plenty of people in our lives we love in other ways – your mom, your besties, your work wife. We know it can be easy to dismiss Valentine’s Day, but honestly, the whole world could really use more love these days. In this initial Valentine’s Day card round up, we’re focusing on more universal messaging without any romantic notions (but stay tuned for next weeks round up if you are looking for saucier options). Enjoy!

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine's Day CardsFrom top right:

1. A sweet floral wreath in a rustic watercolor style from Little Truths Studio.

2. Share Valentine’s Day greetings with red foil and soft pink paper from Rifle Paper Co.

3. Send a rainbow of affection with this Valentine’s Day card from One Canoe Two.

4. This double heart note from Meeschmosh conveys the perfect dose of platonic affection.

5. It wouldn’t be Valentine’s Day without at least one food-related pun. The berry nice design (see what we did there?) comes courtesy of Mr. Boddington’s Studio.

6. This doily inspired greeting card is available as an online design (as well as paper). Designed by Hannah Berman for Paperless Post.

7. Keep it short, sweet and to the point with this simple message and hand-lettered text from And Here We Are.

8. Loving this red and pink block print inspired design from the good folks at Kansas City-based Hammerpress.

9. This card definitely leans more to the romantic side, but still feels appropriate to send to your best friend The red, white and pink roses are so sweet! From Clap Clap Design.

10. This floral die cut comes courtesy of Amy Heitman.

11. Really enjoying the combination of brush lettering with a soft palate from Evermore Paper Co.

Next week: Romantic Valentine’s Day designs for your (romantic) love!

Stationery A-Z: Engagement Congratulations

Wild guess, but do you know someone who just got engaged? I’ll bet you do, as we’re currently in the midst of engagement season (no, really – 40% of all couples get engaged between the months of November and February). Before all the bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and actual real life weddings start consuming the majority of your free time, why not sit back, pick up your trusty pen, and send that dear, newly engaged friend a heartfelt letter of congratulations? Today we’re sharing a quick engagement congratulations card round up with a few of our favorite picks to help celebrate this momentous occasion:

Engagement Congratulations Card Round Up

From top left:

1. Celebrate your bestie’s engagement with illustrated confetti and general exuberance with this design from Smudge Ink.

2. Spending two months salary on one item is no joke, so why not honor the generosity of that purchase with this bling-ed out foil stamped design from Wrap Magazine?

3. Love this sweet watercolor illustration from Golden Fox Goods. No sentiment needed.

4. Don’t forget to accessorize with a fun illustration and a punny messaging from Hello!Lucky.

5. I wouldn’t think twice about saying yes to gold hologram foil. From The Social Type (if you are in the Los Angeles area, be sure to check out their new brick and mortar location!).

6. One Canoe Two has got your reaction down pat. Plus diamonds.

7. This card from Our Heiday honors engagement with a soft abstract painterly design, a touch of gold foil, and a celebration of the impending marriage.

8. Let’s call a spade a spade: some occasions just require a giant sparkling ring (a classic from Snow & Graham).

9. This Ferme à Papier design is great for its gender neutral palate and casual sentiment. I also really like that it addresses both members of the couple – after all, they’re both getting married!

10. Finally, what better occasion for some IRL confetti? Those party experts at Knot & Bow have got you covered. Literally.

Next week: the Valentines extravaganza begins!

Best of 2016: DIY

We had SO many fun DIY projects on OSBP this year! I tried to incorporate more printables into the mix, from notecards to printable art prints to Thanksgiving menus, along with plenty of projects involving watercolors, colorful pens, and iridescent materials. There were DIY googly eye classroom Valentines, DIY watercolor artworkHalloween projects, and my first ever DIY wreath tutorial. And we even learned how to make marbled paper! I have tons of new DIY ideas and projects up my sleeves for 2017 that I can’t wait to share with all of you! But in the meantime, here are a few of my absolute favorite DIY projects from 2016!

Best of 2016: DIY Hand Lettered Dinner Plates

DIY Hand Lettered Dinner Plates with printable templates – you could even make some of these for holiday dinners this weekend!

Best of 2016: DIY Colorful Watercolor Envelope Address Ideas

These DIY colorful watercolor envelopes will probably go down as one of my all time favorite projects!

Best of 2016: DIY Tropical Leaf Easter Eggs

I shared my first Easter egg tutorials this year! Three to be exact: printable tropical leaf Easter eggs (above), painterly gold and pink Easter eggs, and marbled Easter eggs using food coloring.

Best of 2016: Printable Vellum Favor Tags

These printable vellum party favor tags are perfect for bridal showers and baby showers. I’m also planning more fun vellum projects in 2017!

Best of 2016: DIY Iridescent Favor Bags

DIY iridescent treat bags using old school label makers – how fun would these be for Valentine’s Day??

Best of 2016: DIY Shibori-Inspired Watercolor Placemats

DIY shibori-inspired watercolor placemats – they also make gorgeous table runners if you’re looking for options for your holiday dinner table!

Best of 2016: Iridescent Marbled Pumpkins

These marbled iridescent and hologram glitter Halloween pumpkins were soooooo much fun to make!

Best of 2016: Printable Thanksgiving Menu

Printable Thanksgiving dinner menus with illustrations by Swiss Cottage Designs

Best of 2016: Metallic and Iridescent Star Table Confetti

Okay, so this project is just from earlier this week, but it’s already one of my favorites! Gold, silver, and copper metallic leaf paired with iridescent mylar and colorful card stock – all turned into beautiful star shapes.

You can find all of our past DIY projects right here!

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! And yay for long weekends! Do you all have anything fun planned for President’s Day weekend? It’s supposed to be bitterly cold here this weekend, so I’m trying to come up with new fun indoor things to do to entertain my girls. Museums are usually our go-to solution for hot summer and cold winter days – and the U.S. Botanic Garden is perfect for a dose of greenery in the middle of winter. But in the meantime…

A Petal Unfolds / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Photo by A Petal Unfolds via Instagram

…a few links for your long weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for me this week! Check back a bit later for this week’s cocktail recipe! I hope you have a wonderful long weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Tuesday! xoxo

Calligraphy Inspiration: Paula Lee Calligraphy

There’s no arguing that the handwritten touch is the epitome of romance. Love letters, Valentines, vows and invitations; calligraphy is the way to go to capture the air of amour. Enter Paula Lee Calligraphy. Based in Toronto, Canada, Paula offers calligraphy and design services for weddings, events and businesses. From light and airy vellum to gauzy fabrics and handmade papers, her work floats across the surface drawing your gaze with its flirtatious curves. –Julie

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

Paula Lee Calligraphy / Oh So Beautiful Paper

To see more of Paula’s beautiful work, visit her website, Facebook, or Instagram for updates and snapshots from the life of a calligrapher.

Photo credits: 1, 3 right Dallas Curow; 2, 5 Michelle Mez Photography; 3 left, 4, 6 right Julia Park Photoraphy; 6 left Paula Lee