DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Happy Monday everyone! Today I’m excited to share a fun idea for adding some color to your next gathering – DIY iridescent rainbow vases! My friend Christine from Yellow Owl Workshop used this amazing iridescent vinyl in her booth at the National Stationery Show last year, and I’ve been wanting to use it in a DIY project ever since. But you guys, this project is so quick and easy I’m almost reluctant to even call it a DIY. These iridescent rainbow vases are the perfect way to dress up a table or buffet during a party – go with the full rainbow color spectrum, or just choose a couple of hues that fit your party color palette. Wouldn’t they be especially cute at a baby shower or rainbow-themed birthday party??

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Supplies

Glass bud vases or cans in varying sizes

Iridescent vinyl in pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple

Ruler

Pencil or bone folder

Scissors

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

If you’re using glass bud vases, all you really need to do is measure and cut the vinyl! I wanted all of my vases to have color at different heights, so I measured various lengths in each vinyl color. Then I used my ruler and a bone folder to score the vinyl at the appropriate length and cut along the scored line with scissors. You could also use a pencil to score the vinyl, but since it is transparent I wouldn’t recommend using a pen or permanent marker to draw any lines. Next, remove the protective bottom layer from the vinyl and apply the sticky side to the vase. Work your way slowly around the entire vase and smooth the vinyl down as you go to avoid air bubbles.

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

I also love the idea of repurposing old cans (or even smooth glass jars with straight sides) to make your own vases! I had a bunch of cans around the house from our most recent taco night, so I just removed the labels and spray painted the jars white. The vinyl application is the exact same as the glass bud vases. And if you’re not into painting, you could also wrap the cans with white paper and apply the vinyl over the white paper. So fun and modern!

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

If you don’t have much experience with creating floral arrangements, keep things simple by just using one type of flower! I used a few different kinds of flowers, but used only one type of flower in each individual vase. The tall bud vases work best with long, leggy flowers – like sweet peas (my fave!), tulips, or even a single peony stem. For the cans, I used clusters of carnations and garden roses paired with seeded eucalyptus. Here’s a little floral chart so you can find these beauties at your local flower market!

DIY Iridescent Rainbow Vases

Calligraphy by Meant to Be Calligraphy

For those of you planning rainbow-inspired parties, this DIY is for you! I made these vases with my daughter Sophie one afternoon after school, and she immediately claimed the pink and purple vases as her own. YES! Kid approved = job well done.

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Happy Weekend!

Nevertheless / And Here We Are via Instagram

Image by And Here We Are via Instagram

Happy Friday everyone! How was your week? Are you covered in snow right now? We had a few flurries yesterday, but nothing compared to the many inches a bit further up north! This week was a bit of a whirlwind for me, since I spent most of last weekend and the early part of this week at the semi-annual NYNOW trade show in New York before coming home to DC. If you like, you can see some of my favorite finds from the show here. It’s always a fun show, with lots of great things to see.

Everyday Watercolor from Jenna of Mon Voir is officially available for pre order!

Tips for penning the perfect love letter

This year, I’ll be planting all my houseplants in pink pots

Super cute DIY classroom valentines without the candy (and with free printables!)

How cute are these aqua-dipped ceramic canisters?

These chocolate-dipped wafers would be fun to make for a birthday party!

Absolutely in love with this glam velvet settee (that brass base!)

 

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

Enrollment for the Modern Calligraphy Summit 2.0 is NOW OPEN!

Copper and burgundy baby shower invitations

Even more examples of our love affair with copper foil!

Calligraphy inspiration from Rachel Anne Design

Fun black and gold foil surprise birthday party invitations

Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here next week! xoxo

Copper and Burgundy Star-Inspired Baby Shower Invitations

Happy Monday everyone! Before we jump into today’s post, just a quick announcement for those of you looking forward to the upcoming Modern Calligraphy Summit 2.0 – there’s a FREE video series from some of the instructors going on now through February 8! You’ll meet all seven instructors, including Katherine of Script Merchant, Lauren of A Fabulous Fete, Jenna of Mon Voir, and Karla of Written Word Calligraphy. They’ll share their preferred tools for traditional calligraphy, modern calligraphy, and brush lettering, along with their inspiring stories about how they got started, and changed their lives, with calligraphy. Find all the details here – you won’t want to miss it!

Okay, onto today’s gorgeous baby shower invitations! Fresh, delicate, and adorable; these refined copper star inspired baby shower invitations are nothing short of darling! Alana of Bourne Paper Co. is expecting a baby girl later this year and had the amazing joy of designing her own baby shower invitations. The twinkly star motif that she wove through the invitation design and elegant copper and burgundy color palette are perfect for a mid-winter baby shower.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

From Alana: As a designer, personal celebrations are special not only because they’re milestones but because they’re the perfect excuse to create pretty paper! I’m expecting my first child (a baby girl) this spring. When my family offered to host a baby shower, I was immediately given full reign over the invitations. I knew I wanted something that was seasonal and modern, but not overly feminine. Since my shower took place during the winter, I decided on a color palette of copper and burgundy.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

My invitation design was centered around a delicate star motif paired with modern typography. The invitations were printed using copper foil on a pure white card stock. I opted for a 200lb. card stock to give the invitation a more substantial feel. Having used a lot of matte gold, silver and rose gold in my recent greeting card collection it was fun to create a project that used bright copper – it has such a vibrant shine to it.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

I paired the invitations with a rich burgundy envelope which also featured the copper foil star motif. I distributed the stars throughout both the envelope front and flap, something I hoped would make them stand out when they arrived in my guests’ mailboxes. Elegant copper calligraphy from Nancy Hopkins Lettering  completed the invitations. I thought her beautifully flourished calligraphy was the perfect compliment to the simple, clean type used on the invitation. Not to mention, she was able to create a perfect color match with the copper foil.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

In addition to the invitations, I created matching thank you cards. I opted for flat notecards which used the same copper star motif and burgundy envelopes as the invitations. Overall, I was pleased with how beautifully the delicate stars seemed to shine in copper foil and hope to turn this motif into a new greeting card collection in the future.

Refined Copper and Burgundy Star Inspired Baby Shower Invitations by Bourne Paper Co.

Thanks Alana!

Design: Bourne Paper Co.

Calligraphy: Nancy Hopkins Lettering

Bourne Paper Co. is a member of the Designer Rolodex – you can see more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real invi­ta­tions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Bourne Paper Co.

The Everyday Mother

As any mother knows, those first few weeks and months can be a total blur of feedings, diaper changes, and very, very, very little sleep. When my first daughter, Sophie, was born four and a half years ago, I remember feeling totally overwhelmed by all the questions from nurses and doctors. How many times did she eat last night? How much did we think she ate? How many diapers did we change? Sophie was born three weeks early and didn’t have all of the extra baby fat of a full term baby, which made it even more important to track her details and make sure she was eating enough. But the only tools that we had to keep track of her details were phone apps and an ugly workbook provided by our hospital. Today I’m super excited to introduce you to a brand new notebook designed to help moms and dads keep track of all the baby essentials – The Everyday Mother!

The Everyday Mother: a beautiful notebook for keeping track of newborn feedings, diaper changes, and sleep patterns

The Everyday Mother is actually a side project from one of our beloved Designer Rolodex members, Jackie Mangiolino of Sincerely, Jackie. While pregnant with her son Richard, Jackie developed HELLP Syndrome, an extremely rare, potentially fatal pregnancy complication that can only be cured by delivery. Jackie welcomed her beautiful baby boy in May 2016 – 14 weeks early. The Mangiolino family spent 99 days in the NICU, and during that time Jackie came up with the idea for The Everyday Mother.

The Everyday Mother: a beautiful notebook for keeping track of newborn feedings, diaper changes, and sleep patterns

During Richard’s stay in the NICU, Jackie had to keep meticulous notes on her pumping, so she decided to create a template for herself that she could also share with other NICU mothers. After Richard left the NICU, Jackie had to track even more baby details, so she expanded the original template to make it into a beautiful, spiral bound notebook that ALL families could use. And not only is The Everyday Mother more beautiful than an app on your phone, but it can be used by anyone helping with the baby during those early months – grandparents, nannies and sitters, friends, etc. There’s even a space at the bottom of each page for notes, so The Everyday Mother can double as a quasi-baby book for those bleary first few months.

The Everyday Mother: a beautiful notebook for keeping track of newborn feedings, diaper changes, and sleep patterns

The Everyday Mother is a spiral bound notebook designed for tracking daily essentials: feeding (breast, pumping, bottle, or all three), diaper changes, and sleep patterns. It even has reminders for mom so they remember to take a shower and drink plenty of water! The hard cover features gold foil printing and gold corner protectors, so it’s durable enough to be tossed in a diaper bag regularly. And the petite size – 8.5″ x 5.5″ and about .75″ thick – means it won’t take up a lot of precious diaper bag space. The Everyday Mother includes 180 template pages, covering the first six months of life (or about until when solids are introduced), along with an emergency contacts page and Jackie’s favorite lactation cookie recipe.

The Everyday Mother: a beautiful notebook for keeping track of newborn feedings, diaper changes, and sleep patterns

Check out The Everyday Mother right here!

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! This was a fairly quiet week for me, so I don’t have much to report this week. Sending lots of love and positive vibes to you all for a happy three-day weekend! But in the meantime…

Image by Soil and Stem via Instagram

Image by Soil and Stem via Instagram

…a few links for your weekend!

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper: