Catherine + Adam’s Rustic Chipboard and Lace Save the Dates

Sometimes the most beautiful designs are also the most simple.  Allie from Allie Ruth Design created these save the dates using two very simple materials: chipboard postcards and rubber stamps!  Allie started with her unique hand lettering before adding doily rubber stamps in contrasting white ink.  So pretty!

From Allie: Catherine wanted something rustic with lace details for her save the dates, so I immediately thought chipboard postcards would be perfect.  I hand lettered all of the text, using custom rubber stamps to print the text on the chipboard.  The doily imagery is from a set of Japanese rubber stamps that I found on Etsy.  We added vintage stamps at the end, et voila!

Thanks Allie!

Check out the Designer Rolodex for more tal­ented wed­ding invi­ta­tion design­ers and the real save the dates gallery for more beau­ti­ful cus­tom save the dates!

Photo Credits: Michelle Soden

Mary + Ben’s Elegant and Rustic Day-of Wedding Stationery

As promised, we’re back with some of the day-of wedding stationery that Melissa and Amy from Atheneum Creative put together for Mary and Ben’s wedding.  As with the save the dates and wedding invitations, Melissa and Amy continued to incorporate wood veneer elements to complement the elegant and rustic wedding style – from ceremony programs and escort cards to menus and table numbers.

 

From Melissa + Amy: The ceremony program reflected the rustic element, with a wood veneer cover and letterpress printed pages mounted inside.  The wood veneer cover was also letterpress printed with Mary and Ben’s names and the wedding location.

 

We also created cocktail napkins and bathroom towels with Mary and Ben’s wedding logo.  The escort cards were a combination custom pocket envelope and digitally printed slip-in card with the table number.  Guest names were calligraphed on the outside of each envelope.

 

For the table numbers, we wanted to continue with wood as our material but do something a little different in the production process.  We used hand written calligraphy numerals and laser die cut each table number.

So cool!  Thanks Melissa + Amy!

Design: Atheneum Creative

Letterpress Printing: Sideshow Press

Photo Credits: Chelsea Davis Photography

Mary + Ben’s Elegant and Rustic Letterpress Wedding Invitations

Happy Monday everyone!  You might remember these fabulous wood veneer save the dates from Melissa and Amy at Atheneum Creative – and today they’re back with the gorgeous wedding invitations and day-of stationery.  We’ll start with the invitations first before moving onto the stationery details a bit later today.  Melissa and Amy honored the rustic elegance of the save the dates with subtle wood veneer elements in the invitation suite.  So pretty!

From Melissa + Amy: We are so grateful that Mary and Ben trusted us with the stationery for their entire wedding day!  They allowed us to push the envelope on all their materials and challenged us to step it up!  We previously shared the letterpress printed wood save the date, which really set the tone for the invitation and day of materials.

 

For the invitation we introduced calligraphy while keeping the rustic look from the save the date.  Mary loves mixing materials and printing methods, so we letterpress printed the invitation and backed it with wood veneer, while foil stamping (and letterpress printing) the reception card.  The whole set is bound by a velvet bellyband and letterpress printed wood tag.

 

Just gorgeous!  Check back a bit later for the day-of stationery from Mary and Ben’s wedding, including their beautiful menus and ceremony programs!

Design: Atheneum Creative

Letterpress Printing: Sideshow Press

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

Photo Credits: Chelsea Davis Photography

Friday Happy Hour: The Widow’s Kiss

Something that Europeans do very well (that Americans don’t really do at all) is the digestif.  In a lot of places, any decent meal takes a long time and ends with a digestif, a drink designed to aid digestion.  Given the number and range of digestifs, you’d think that Europeans have lots of trouble with indigestion: brandy and whiskey; aromatic wines like port, sherry, and vermouth; French herbal liqueurs like Chartreuse and Benedictine; and all those wonderful Italian bitters like Cynar, Campari, and Zucca (not to mention the deliciously sweet, lemony Limoncello).  Digestifs are traditionally consumed neat or straight, but they also make for some amazing cocktails.  Here’s one you should try after your next big meal: The Widow’s Kiss.

Read below for the full recipe!

The Widow’s Kiss

1 1/2 oz Apple Brandy or Calvados
3/4 oz Yellow Chartruese
3/4 oz Benedictine
3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

 

Combine the ingredients and stir well with ice (or shake – which you normally shouldn’t do with an all-spirits drink – to give it a nice texture), then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and enjoy.  You can garnish with a lemon twist or a cherry, but this drink doesn’t really need one.

Here’s what you get: a deeply herbal drink with a warm apple finish from the brandy.  It’s rich and sweet, so save this one for sipping during a long, lingering conversation after dinner.  The Widow’s Kiss can be too sweet for some people, though I find its herbal complexity balances its sweetness.  If you prefer a dryer drink, try reducing both liqueurs to 1/2 oz or adding a few more dashes of bitters.

 

The Widow’s Kiss is the creation of George Kappeler, head bartender at the Holland House hotel on Fifth Avenue back in the 1890s.  This was right around the time that bartenders were starting to expand their ingredients to include liqueurs beyond the traditional maraschino and orange.  As David Wondrich notes: we don’t know if Kappeler had a particular widow in mind when he made this drink, but if he did, she must have been quite a lady.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

{happy weekend!}

I’m super excited about this weekend for a couple of reasons.  First, my husband’s 30th birthday is this weekend!  Second, the second seasons of both The Killing and Game of Thrones premiere on Sunday – yay!  Yes, I’m a giant nerd and have read all five books of the Song of Ice & Fire series, so I’m excited to see the way the producers translate the second book to the screen.  But in the meantime…

Chocolate Strawberry Layer Cake via The Sophisticated Gourmet

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

As usual, we have a fun cocktail coming up for you this afternoon, so check back a bit later for the recipe!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!  xoxo