Spring is definitely in the air here in DC – and it just happens to be my favorite season of the whole year!  So naturally, I’m loving all of these beautiful new spring designs from one of my favorite stationers, Dear Hancock!
 
 
Check out more over at Dear Hancock!
Photo Credits: Dear Hancock
Happy Monday everyone! Â We’re starting off the week with a sweet illustrated wedding save the date by NYC-based designer and photographer Matthew Novak. Â Matthew’s clients, Mark and Laicie, are planning a fall wedding on a farm in California, so Matthew created a light hearted design inspired in part by a camping permit and in part by the wedding location!
From Matt:Â Mark and Laicie are getting married on a farm in California, but have a love for camping and the outdoors. Â We decided to create a save the date that was inspired by a camping permit.
We played with the wording a bit to make sure it was light hearted and fun. Â I had received a rough pencil sketch of what the farmhouse looked like. Â I used this as a guideline to create the farmhouse illustration on the bottom of the save the date.
 
I love letterpress, so the decision to go in that direction was easy.  The third “color” – a blind (inkless) impression – really helped sell the permit style by creating dividers throughout the whole piece.
Thanks Matt!
Design: Matthew Novak
Letterpress Printing: Dingbat Press
Photo Credits: Tin Sparrow
It’s not summer yet, but with 70-degree weather like yesterday’s (at least here in DC) you might think it is. Â In that spirit, here’s one of the most refreshing drinks out there: the French Gimlet.
Continue reading for the recipe!
French Gimlet
2 oz Dry Gin
1 oz St. Germain
1 oz Lime Juice
Combine all the ingredients and shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a lime wheel and enjoy.
 
The Gimlet – gin and lime juice or lime cordial – is a fantastic drink by itself, crisp and tart, citrusy and fantastically refreshing, the perfect thing to cool off on a muggy summer night.  The addition of the elderflower-flavored St. Germain liqueur adds a layer of floral complexity and a bit of sweetness to the French Gimlet that makes this an easy drink to sip.
The Royal Navy claims one of its own naval surgeons, Sir Thomas D. Gimlette, invented the Gimlet (or Gimlette as it was reportedly known at the start) sometime around the start of the 20th century. Â Gimlette was apparently looking for a way to ensure sailors would drink the lime juice they needed to stave off scurvy. Â It’s a good story, and it was an even better idea. Â I, for one, am scurvy-free.
 
The Gimlet was probably made originally not with fresh lime juice, but with lime cordial, a sweetened preserved lime juice. Â Lime cordial was invented in the 1860s to keep fresh the sailors’ lime ration that they were, apparently, so reluctant to drink that Sir Gimlette had to dump gin into it. Â I do not recommend you use a lime cordial, like Rose’s, in the French Gimlet: the St. Germain adds plenty of sweetness on its own, and the tartness of fresh lime juice is a good balance to the drink’s other ingredients.
That said, I wonder how this drink would work with Old Tom Gin in place of dry gin, or even Genever…as always, experiment away.
Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper
This week felt like it was all about change – the change of seasons from winter to spring, the change of letting some things go, and the change of looking forward to lots of amazing things to come over the next few months.  It was also the first week that I didn’t feel completely overwhelmed by my never ending to do list, so maybe the two things go hand in hand.  This weekend I’m looking forward to heading out to the DC Big Flea and catching up with friends.  But in the meantime…
Photo Credit: flourfight
…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
Today I’m loving these beautiful and elegant (yet simple!) letterpress cards from Donatella of Tella Press. Â Donatella created this collection with the intention of making a range of message cards with a straightforward and classic feel. Â The embellished type is so pretty!
Check out more from Tella Press right here!
Photo Credits: Stanislav Ginzburg for Tella Press