Stephanie + Trey’s Tropical Passport Save the Dates

I’ve been dreaming of a tropical beach vacation for months, and these save the dates from Melissa and Amy of Atheneum Creative for a wedding in the Bahamas are only making me even more anxious to get myself to a warm and sunny beach asap.  Melissa and Amy were inspired by the destination wedding to create a passport-style save the date with a unique linen cover letterpress printed by the ladies of Sideshow Press.  So pretty!

From Melissa + Amy: Stephanie and Trey are getting married in the Bahamas and wanted to play to the travel theme as much as possible… so what better way than to start with a passport save the date! 

We are seen so many passport designs and really wanted to give Stephanie and Trey something a little more unique.  We letterpress printed on linen for the cover and digitally printed the inside text on a soft textured paper.  We incorporated a map of the Bahamas along with travel and weekend information.

Thanks Melissa + Amy!

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 beau­ti­ful cus­tom invitations!

Photo Credits: Chelsea Davis Photography

Friday Happy Hour: The Gin Rickey

Our nation’s capital is, in many ways, a really great city.  Nole and I have called it home for about a decade and we have no plans to leave any time soon.  But that’s not to say DC doesn’t have its drawbacks, not the least of which is the oppressively hot and humid summer.  Last summer, it got as hot around here as it was in Baghdad and we’ve already had days in the 80s (in early March!).  Congress gets to go on recess during the summer, but for the rest of us who aren’t so lucky, there’s the Gin Rickey.

Read below for the full recipe!

The Gin Rickey

2 oz Gin
1 Half Lime
Sparkling, Carbonated, or Tonic Water

Juice half a lime into a highball glass and drop the lime shell in too.  Add the gin, fill the glass with ice, and top with the carbonated water.  Give it a stir and enjoy.

 

Here’s what you get: one of the most refreshing, cooling drinks I’ve ever tasted.  It’s tart, crisp, bubbly, and gloriously cold.  If ever there was a cure for August in DC, this is it.  It’s no wonder that the Rickey became DC’s official cocktail last July.

The Rickey is one of the few drinks the history of which is well known.  Joseph “Colonel Joe” Rickey was a Missouri Democrat and political operative who stumped for Grover Cleveland (who won!) and Williams Jennings Bryan (who didn’t).  During the 1883 campaign, Rickey was a fixture at Shoomaker’s bar in DC which was – I believe – located where the JW Marriott is now at 14th and Pennsylvania NW.  Rickey ordered his signature drink more than once (many more, I’m guessing) at Shoomaker’s, the bartender decided to name it after him, and the rest is delicious history.

 

You can make a Rickey with pretty much any spirit you want, but thanks to Derek Brown and David Wondrich, we know gin and whiskey are the original options.*  I also tried it with Genever instead of gin and the verdict is: wow.  Let’s call that a Dutch Rickey.

* Wondrich’s book Imbibe! is, by the way, essential reading for anyone interested in cocktails or America’s drinking history.

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

{happy weekend!}

It’s officially my favorite season in DC; the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom, the sun is shining (mostly), and everything is our garden is starting to come back to life.  Yay!  I’ve been working with the windows open all week and trying to spend as much time outside as possible.  I’m looking forward to doing some gardening this weekend – and sometimes we take our cat Olive outside with us (she loves it!).  But in the meantime…

Cherry-Blossoms-National-Geographic

…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

Photo Credits: National Geographic

Paloma’s Pink + Playful First Birthday Party Invitations

I love a kid’s party invitation that is just all about fun and celebration, and these birthday party invitations from Nichole of Coral Pheasant definitely fit the bill!  Nichole was inspired by the uber-girly inspiration board created by the birthday girl’s mama, with lots of pink, playful fonts, and a scallop border – not to mention beautiful calligraphed addresses.  So cute!

From Nichole: When an old col­lege friend reached out to me to design a first birth­day invitation for her daughter Paloma, I knew we were in for some fun.  As an artist herself, Audra had been busy developing a pink piggy-themed inspiration board on Pinterest filled with graphic patterns and loads of tulle and ruffles.  With so much eye candy I quickly developed a super-sweet invitation for the most adorable little girl.

 

The design is a mix of a play­ful script and a chunky mod­ern font with vary­ing shades of pink and the scal­loped edge adds a play­ful touch to the piece.  A small photo card doc­u­ment­ing each month of Paloma’s first year was tucked into a glas­sine enve­lope and mailed with the invitation.  Hands down, my favorite part of the suite is the piggy snout and curly tail label that wraps around the shim­mer pink mail­ing box sealing it shut.  Audra com­pleted the suite by pen­ning the beau­ti­ful cal­lig­ra­phy on all of the boxes.  She is one talented mama!

Thanks so much Nichole!

Photo Credits: Coral Pheasant

Stationery A – Z: Anniversary Cards

For the next installment in our greeting card series, we’re turning to a familiar topic: anniversary cards.  Whether you’re sending them to your own partner or friends and loved ones, it can be challenging to find the perfect card for this annual occasion.  How could one card perfectly encapsulate another year of wedded bliss?  Whether you’re celebrating a first or thirtieth anniversary, these cards showcase paper craftsmanship while also pulling at our heart strings. – Tashia

Letterpress Anniversary Card - Vintage Year Champagne Bottle by Missive

Missive

 

Going Strong Anniversary by Hello!Lucky (left); Heart Wood Veneer card by Sugar Paper (right)

Parrott Design Studio

Our Love Is Here to Stay by Enormous Champion 

Our Love Is Here to Stay by Enormous Champion (left) and Happy Anniversary Honey by Smock (right)

Happy Anniversary Greeting Card by Dutchdoor

Dutch Door Press

Our love is written in the stars by Colleen Ellse Hot Stuff Anniversary by Hammerpress

Our love is written in the stars by Colleen Ellse (left) and Hot Stuff Anniversary by Hammerpress (right)

Letterpress 'Love' Card by Dahlia Press Shop

Dahlia Press

{images via their respective sources}

*Hello!Lucky, Parrott Design Studio, and Smock are sponsors of Oh So Beautiful Paper