Search Results for: laser cut lace

Crafty Bastards 2011

We had a cold and rainy weekend here in DC, but that didn’t stop folks from heading out to Crafty Bastards on Saturday – the fair was packed!  This year’s fair was packed full of exhibitors from as far away as Washington state, Ohio, Boston, Georgia, and everywhere else in between.  I managed to sneak in a few pictures even while trying to dodge the rain, so today I thought I’d share a few favorites from this year!

 

New House Project was probably my favorite from the whole fair.  I loved everything from the hand watercolor painted postcards to the embroidered gift tags.  So pretty!

 

I also love these embroidery pieces from Merriweather Council.  The little hearts are sweet, and she also has embroidered pendant necklaces!

  
Figs-Ginger-Crafty-Bastards

I always love the delicate jewelry from Figs + Ginger – the new initial pendants and silhouette designs are just beautiful.

 

These serif and sans-serif wood lasercuts from Pepper Sprouts were another favorite from the fair

 

Amazing woodblock prints from Tugboat Printshop (left), and cute cards and rubber stamp sets from Small Talk Studio (right)

 

Fun screen printed cards and prints from Slide Sideways

 

I couldn’t get enough of these beautiful illustrated cards and gorgeous textiles from Sara Lee Parker

More gorgeous prints from Brainstorm Print + Design

 

Awesome illustrated posters by Nate Duval

 

Last, but definitely not least – block printed cards and textiles, including some fun new monogram cards, by local artist Katharine Watson

Those were some of my favorites!  I’d love to hear what you think!

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Christine + Ian’s DIY Lasercut Woodland Wedding Invitations

After a week away from my computer, I’m jumping right back into the swing of things. I’m spending a few days in New York for the New York International Gift Fair – I’ll have a couple of recaps from the show later this week! But first, Christine sent over her amazing DIY wedding invitations last week, and I just couldn’t wait to share them! Christine and Ian were inspired by the woodland setting of their wedding venue, creating an incredibly cool lasercut invitation with pop-up cut out details!

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation

From Christine: Our wedding will be in the woods on Ian’s parent’s home. From the first day of brainstorming, we both agreed that we wanted our wedding to take place amongst the trees. For the past few months we’ve spent nearly every weekend at the property, building and landscaping to make what we hope will be an incredibly beautiful wedding location.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation

We wanted the invitations to give our guests a sneak peek into our wedding, without revealing too much.  We used a laser cutting machine to create a pop-up forest that surrounds the headline message on our invitations – Join Us in the Woods.  The laser cut cover stock was then sewn to laser cut kraft paper for a cool multidimensional effect.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation-Suite

Within the full invitation suite we included a perforated RSVP card and a field guide with sketches of local wildlife.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation

We completed the invitation package with handmade buttons cut from branches found on our property.  The invitation suite was wrapped in red and white butcher’s twine around a paper bag belly band.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation-RSVP

The perforated response card leaves guest with helpful information and local map.  Food is selected by drawing a line from “Yes” to the corresponding food selection.  Names were hand-stamped using a Japanese stamp-kit, while the card was printed on kraft paper using our home printer.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation-RSVP-Back

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation-Field-Guide

The final enclosure was an accordion style, fold-out booklet with illustrations of area wildlife.

DIY-Woodland-Cutout-Wedding-Invitation-Field-Guide

So cool!  For more on the invitation production process, you can check out Christine’s blog right here.  Thanks Christine and Ian!

Photo Credits: Christine and Ian

{happy weekend!}

You know how some weeks are just harder than others?  This has been a tough week for me, with a to-do list that feels like it’s getting longer by the minute and a rapidly dwindling energy level.  I’ve been feeling overwhelmed, drained, and a little burned out – and on top of all of that, over the last few days I also managed to come down with a bit of a cold.  Not a good combination!  I’m hoping to recharge a bit this weekend and start fresh next week.  But in the meantime…

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a lovely weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

{image credit: mrmikej via design crush}

Clayton’s Elegant Letterpress Thank You Cards

Matthew from A Fine Press recently created these amazing thank you cards for photographer Clayton Austin, and from the beautiful letterpress to the stitching details to the elegant wax seal these cards are seriously a work of art.  I’m particularly loving the simple bird illustrations that make an appearance in a few different spots throughout the card.

Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards

From Matthew:  We had the paper handmade with full deckled edges by Porridge Papers in their classic ecotan and a custom rust/brown.  They did the letterpress work in a matching rust and deep brown, and a blind pass for the front.  I hand-dyed the muslin to match the dark brown ink and stamped one of Clayton’s classic birds in a brown ink that, quite fortuitously, came out in a rust color almost identical to the front of the envelope.  The birds on the front piece were laser cut – one at a time – by Image Creations.

Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Detail Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Detail

Thanks goes to my wife for allowing me to borrow her (modern) Singer to bind the entire card.  Clayton and I vacillated between a zig-zag stitch and long, straight stitch for the bindery and have settled on a long, straight stitch for the remainder of the the cards to keep things simple and understated.

Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Wax-Seal Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Singer-Sewing-Machine

Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Zig-Zag-Stitching Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Bird-Detail

I had a custom wax seal made with another of Clayton’s birds and sealed each with Atelier Gargoyle’s Espresso Brown sealing wax.  These were early attempts; it takes a while to get used to the way this wax sets.  The key is a cool seal with a vapor barrier on it (when I completed the run, I kept the seal on an ice cube and dabbed it on a damp rag before each impression – the results were remarkable).

Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards Letterpress-Thank-You-Cards-Sewing-Machine-Detail

From the paper to finish work, this was truly a hand-made project.  The paper was hand-made and printed one-by-one.  The bindery was completed at my dining room table one at a time.  It was great to work with a client like Clayton, who places so much value on process and craft.

Such gorgeous cards!  You can check out more of Matthew’s awesome work right here!

{image credits: clayton austin}

*A Fine Press is one of my fabulous sponsors; for more on my editorial policies, please click here.

{happy weekend!}

Okay folks.  It’s been a busy busy week, so I’m heading out and jumping on the train back home to DC.  I’m looking forward to a calm weekend at home before I start to gear up for next week.  But in the meantime…

{zombie valentines from 9spotmonk}

…a few links for your weekend:

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

That’s it for me this week!  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo

{photo by me, taken at NYIGF earlier this week}