11/04/2015

DIY Marbled Indigo and Gold Place Cards

I’ve been wanting to try paper marbling for so long â€“ and I finally did it! I just love the soft swirls and unique patterns in marbled paper. Marbling is a beautiful (and easy!) way to spruce up your table dÃ©cor for the holidays, or really any time of year! I put these marbled holiday place cards together with blue food coloring and a bit of liquid gold gilding, and I absolutely LOVE the way it turned out. I can’t wait to use these to set our holiday tables, but they’d be a wonderful addition to any dinner party throughout the year!

Supplies

Blank Place Cards
Foam Shaving Cream
Food Coloring
Liquid Gold Gilding
Gold Paint Pen
Paintbrush
Paper Towels
Washi Tape (optional)

To make the DIY marbled indigo and gold place cards:

Step 1. Add a thick layer of foam shaving cream to a bowl or rectangular baking dish (I used a disposable baking pan). Then add a few drops of food coloring in your color choice. Use the back of a spoon or a spatula to spread the food coloring around the shaving foam, creating soft swirly patterns.

Step 2. Press a place card into the shaving foam, making sure that the place card makes as much contact with the shaving foam as possible. I chose to only press the front side of my place cards. You could also use washi tape along the top middle edge of the place card to create a crisp line between the marbled and non-marbled section.

Step 3. Gently lift the place card out of the shaving foam. Set the place card on a work surface covered with paper towels (food coloring will leave stains!). Use a ruler or knife to scrape as much of the shaving cream as possible off the place card onto paper towels. Use a fresh paper towel to blot away any remaining shaving cream and set aside to dry.

Step 4. Once the place cards are dry, use a size 14 round paint brush and liquid gilding to paint the front bottom of the place card. Write the name of your guest using a gold paint pen â€“ and voila!

There you have it! Super easy, with a vibrant pop of color and a bit of shimmer! What could be better??

p.s. How to make marbled paper and printable hand lettered wedding favor stationery

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!

11/02/2015

What to Grow in a Cocktail Garden

It’s no secret that food and drinks taste better with fresh ingredients â€“ and that goes for cocktails as much as it does for anything else. Growing your very own cocktail garden is the perfect way to make sure you have your favorite ingredients on hand at all times. And you don’t need a huge amount of space to grow a cocktail garden. A kitchen window is all you need to grow a few favorite herbs, while berries and citrus can be grown in pots on a patio or balcony. Here’s what to grow in a cocktail garden!

1. Mint
If you only have room for one or two herbs â€“ perhaps even just on a kitchen shelf or window â€“ go for mint. It’s a classic ingredient in everything from Mojitos to Juleps and makes a wonderful garnish even if not directly called for in a particular recipe. Mint thrives under most conditions and spreads easily, making it the perfect candidate for a kitchen window garden or outdoor container garden.

2. Basil
Basil is an underrated ingredient in cocktails â€“ and one of my personal favorites. Sweet Basil is the most well-known variety, but there are several other varieties that do amazing things in cocktails including Opal Basil, Sweet Thai Basil, and Lemon Basil. Basil grows quickly and can easily be grown indoors â€“ and it’s well worth the effort.

3. Rosemary
While mint and basil are staples of summer cocktail recipes, I love mixing sprigs of rosemary into fall and winter drinks. Rosemary pairs wonderfully with whiskey and bourbon â€“ two spirits that I associate with cooler weather.

4. Sage
Sage has such a wonderful and subtle flavor profile â€“ and it’s so versatile! Pair with fresh fruit for light summer cocktails or savory spirits like whiskey and bourbon for the fall and winter.

5. Citrus
If you have the ability to grow any type of citrus where you are â€“ DO IT. Lemons, limes, and oranges are all cocktail staples. And if you aren’t able to grow citrus outside you could always try a potted tree inside!

6. Berries
When the weather gets warm I want nothing more than to pack my cocktails full of fresh seasonal fruit and berries. Blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries are fantastic in everything from muddled drinks to summer sangria!

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!

10/20/2015

Quick Pick: Kristy Rice

Artist Kristy Rice has spent the past few years creating some of the most striking hand painted invitations and wedding stationery through her company Momental Designs â€“ you can see plenty of evidence in her Rolodex page here and in past features on OSBP here! Yesterday Kristy launched a brand new website where you can now find everything from original art pieces and gold foil art prints to wallpaper (!!) and phone cases with her beautiful floral patterns! Kristy is also offering bundles of hand painted notecards and some adorable baby milestone cards!

(wallpaper!)

Isn’t it all just so pretty?? You can find more from Kristy right here!

10/19/2015

Cobalt Calligraphy Wedding Invitations

Sometimes all you need is just one really spectacular color combined with gorgeous calligraphy and hand lettering! For these beautiful wedding invitations, Kim fromÂ Bright Room Studio combined elegant calligraphy and casual hand lettering with the most amazing cobalt blue ink! And those cobalt blue envelopes?? Total perfection!

FromÂ Kim:Â Olivia and Brianâ€™s wedding invitation suite was all about simple elegance. But for me, that doesnâ€™t mean boring or traditional. We combined sophisticated calligraphy with casual hand lettering to make the invitation feel special, but not overly formal.

The olive branch details throughout added a rustic touch, especially when added in unexpected places like the calligraphy on the RSVP card. I then had my amazing printer, Mercurio Brothers, letterpress print the whole suite in a spectacular cobalt blue color, which really brought the lettering to life! The matching cobalt blue envelope made the whole suite really pop. I love how playful the design feels, while also being very elegant.

ThanksÂ Kim!

Design:Â Bright Room Studio

Invitation Letterpress Printing:Â Mercurio Brothers

Bright Room Studio is a member of theÂ Designer RolodexÂ Â â€“ you can see more of Kimâ€™s beautiful workÂ right hereÂ orÂ visitÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Bright Room Studio

10/08/2015

Quick Pick: Parabo Press

Have you all heard about Parabo Press? It’s a brand new app and photo printing service inspired by small batch printing processes â€“ and it just launched yesterday! Like most parents these days, most of my photos of my kids live on my phone, so I’m always on the hunt for new ways to print those photos and display them at home â€“ or even give them to family as gifts!

Parabo Press is from the team behind Photojojo, which joined forces with photo printing service Zoomin in 2014. Parabo PressÂ printing processes are optimized for the photos on our phones â€“ no DSLR required! Although of course they will work with DSLR photos, too, but it’s awesome to be able to format and print right from your phone. Parabo offers art book-quality photobooks, small prints in geometric shapes, square photo prints, and accordion photobooks.

I’m most excited about the Parabo Press larger art prints, including huge 3′ x 4′ black and white engineering prints, risograph prints, and full color newsprints. At price points of $20-$30 the art prints are ridiculously affordable! The risograph prints might be my favorite of the bunch. Risograph prints are printed on Xerox-esque machines that originated in Japan in the 1980s and have a screenprint-like effect. The risograph prints are available in neon pink, neon orange, teal, and blue. It would be amazing to print a favorite photo of my girls in one of those bright colors! And my mind is absolutely spinning thinking of all the party and wedding possibilities, from cocktail menus to seating charts!

In addition toÂ prints and photobooks, Parabo Press offers fresh and modern display accessories and hardware for hanging the prints on the wall â€“ no framing required! I’m loving the custom wood rails, mylar tape, and pon pins that allow you to pin photos on a wall or cork board without putting a hole in the photo! Genius!

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Search Results for: blue

DIY Marbled Indigo and Gold Place Cards

What to Grow in a Cocktail Garden

Quick Pick: Kristy Rice

Cobalt Calligraphy Wedding Invitations

Quick Pick: Parabo Press