Liam’s Colorful Letterpress Birth Announcements

While we’re on the subject of babies, how sweet are these birth announcements from Kimberly of Honizukle for her second son, Liam?! When it came time to design Liam’s announcements, Kimberly knew she wanted to incorporate lions in a yellow, mint, and navy color palette. Add in a sweet polka dot envelope liner, adorable baby photos, and some washi tape, and you have a recipe for seriously cute baby announcements!

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From Kimberly: I can say that three distinct things were on my mind when designing Liam’s announcement. The color yellow, which, for some reason, I’ve always associated with Liam. Lions, which I also associate with Liam because of a little Lion my husband got him even before he was born. Finally, handwritten fonts, which I’ve been obsessing over for some time. I thought there was a recipe in there somewhere for a good design.

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I knew I wanted Liam’s name to be large and yellow and I wanted the lion in his announcement to be this little lion I had designed previously and had a soft spot for. I had recently been printing with a lovely mint color I had mixed and became infatuated with, so I knew that also had to make its way in. Once I put those together I added a bit of navy, polka dots and a few carefully chosen fonts to come up with a sweet design for my sweet, little boy.

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Photos of my boys were included in a wax pouch decorated with yellow and navy polka dot washi tape that matched the polka dot liner I had designed. I opted to use photos of both of the boys as the announcement came from Liam’s older brother John Patrick, better known as Jackie, figuring there can never be too many photos of cute, little boys.

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I had planned to design a label to address the announcements as well but as a mother of two now, I didn’t quite have all the time in the world and so ended up using a lovely stamp I had purchased from Wit & Whistle a couple of months back. It worked perfectly with navy ink and finished off the announcement nicely.

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Thanks Kimberly!

Announcement Design + Printing: Honizukle

Address Stamp: Wit + Whistle

Photo Credits: Honizukle

Our Baby Shower!

Today we’re taking a quick trip back in time… to our baby shower! The ladies at On To Baby were kind enough to feature our shower yesterday, and I thought I’d share a few of my favorites here. My dear friends Janice and Maggie hosted the most beautiful shower for us, inspired by my love of all things constellation! Funny story: because I ended up having to be induced with Sophie 3 weeks early, our baby shower took place the DAY before we went into the hospital for the induction. Those last few days were a complete blur of anxiety and nerves, so it was really nice to have a day to spend with our friends and family before Sophie’s arrival!

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Sugar Paper did an amazing job with the invitations, incorporating gold and white foil on die cut kraft paper, calligraphy from Lisa Holtzman, and a custom constellation envelope liner. Janice worked with Verde Studio to select astronomy-themed vintage postage as the finishing touch.

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We’re not the most traditional of people, so we wanted an informal co-ed shower that gave us an opportunity to spend time with our friends and family. Janice asked her sister (a private chef) to put together a buffet of our favorite brunch food, and Andy came up with a trio of brunch cocktail recipes. There was also a coffee bar and dessert bar featuring cupcakes and macarons from our local favorite The Sweet Lobby.

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This is Maggie and Trevor’s pup, Eleanor, when she was just a tiny wee thing! I think it should be mandatory to have at least one puppy at every party.

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Thank you, thank you, thank you Maggie and Janice! Check out the full details over on On To Baby!

Event Planning: Bellwether Events and Maggie Adams

Invitation Design: Sugar Paper

Invitation Calligraphy: Lisa Holtzman Calligraphy

Day-of Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy

Postage: Verde Studio

Catering: Leslie Raybuck

Desserts: The Sweet Lobby

Photo Credits: The Observatory

{happy weekend!}

Sigh. Week two of this ridiculous government shutdown. And the more I listen to the news, the angrier I get. So! Time for distractions! Last weekend, we hopped into the car for a spontaneous trip to the mountains. We were only gone for a couple of days, but it was nice to get away from DC – and even more nice to see some real fall foliage. And this weekend, Paper Camp is in DC! I’m so excited to see some of my fellow panelists and meet the new students! But in the meantime…

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Photo by me via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Check back soon for this week’s cocktail! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo

Alphabet Art

When we first found out we were expecting a baby last year, my thoughts quickly turned to nursery artwork. I’m a big fan of incorporating alphabet prints in nurseries – pretty to look at and educational! So today I thought I’d round up some of my favorite alphabet artwork to share with you!

Alphabet Nursery Prints + Posters via Oh So Beautiful Paper

1. Rifle Paper Co.; 2. Sass & Peril; 3. Clementine Creative; 4. Jessica Hische; 5. Petit Collage; 6. Bookhou

p.s. Lots more art for kids right here!

Lindsy + Eric’s Hot Pink and Navy Floral Wedding Invitations

For her cousin’s wedding this past may, designer Kate Holgate was inspired by the garden reception location to create these beautiful floral wedding invitations! The design features classic navy and white for the main invitation, with vibrant watercolor flowers throughout the suite. Absolutely gorgeous!

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From Kate: Lindsy is my cousin and I was thrilled when she got engaged to her longtime boyfriend, Eric. They are an amazing couple. Lindsy and Eric were married in May at a formal Catholic church in Connecticut. The ceremony was followed by a gorgeous reception in a garden. When designing their invitations, I wanted to capture the beauty of springtime flowers….floral watercolors punctuated every piece.

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Paired with navy, sophisticated type and textured felt paper, the suite was elegant and classy. Eric plays hockey so we even subtly incorporated some symbolism in their monogram. Their wedding could not have been a more perfect occasion. They are now expecting their first baby in February, so more happy occasions are ahead!

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Thanks so much Kate!

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Kate Holgate