04/18/2017

Behind the Stationery: Hartland Brooklyn

Our next installment of Behind the Stationery ventures up to New York and highlights Emily’s story from Hartland Brooklyn. From hand painting her first cards to walking her line sheet into a local stationery shop, Emily is here to share her stationery business story. Her journey takes us to upstate New York where she opened a quaint stationery storefront, office, and home â€” all in one building. Hartland Brooklyn has always put a priority on making eco-conscious goods, and Emily explains how her printing process has shifted as she’s grown her business. Welcome, Emily! â€“Megan Soh

From Emily: Since I was a little girl, I always knew I would be in a creative field, and most likely have my own business. My grandmother is a watercolor painter and my mom has a dried flower farm, and they both were huge influences growing up (and still are!). I saw that you could make your living off of something you love to do. I set off to NYC for college to study fashion design, and worked for about 6 years in both small and large fashion companies. This is where I learned the ins and outs of design, running a business, and found my creative voice.

I began making birthday cards at my desk for co-workers, and soon their friends and family. With some encouragement I set up an Etsy shop and started selling my hand painted cards. The beautiful stationery store Papel was around the corner from my apartment in Brooklyn, and I brought my tiny line sheet and samples in to share. They placed an order and became my first wholesaler, and from there Hartland took off!

I worked from my apartment for a year or so, then moved to a tiny studio in Greenpoint the following year. I quickly grew out of that space as well, and while looking for a new studio I started looking upstate. An old general store 2 hours north of NYC caught my eye, when my husband and I saw that the post office was located across the street, I knew it was meant to be.

Since the building had a storefront, we decided to open a card and coffee shop. I designed the wallpaper, and we worked with a few local contractors to build out the space. Hartland on Hudson opened fall 2016. My husband runs the coffee/card shop and I run Hartland Brooklyn from behind the storefront.

All my designs are hand illustrated with ink, then imported to the computer to color. This way I can edit and add the neon Pantone colors that are the core of Hartland Brooklyn.

Iâ€™m always jotting down card ideas, and find inspiration all around me. I come up with the best ideas while traveling, since youâ€™re removed from so many distractions. I sometimes end up designing new cards when I have an occasion to give a card and realize I donâ€™t have the perfect one. In each new design, I make sure it’s something that I would be excited to give to someone. Ideas can come from many sources â€” I am particularly inspired by nature at the moment with our new life in the country.

Each card is offset printed with added neon pigment in Brooklyn, NY. We work with a wonderful printer who is eco-conscious and prints with vegetable-based ink. Weâ€™ve worked together to match our neon Pantone colors and have had great success. I also love to add foil stamping, which is stamped in midtown Manhattan. I chose a felted paper to give it a hand-painted feel.

When I first started Hartland Brooklyn I didnâ€™t have the minimums to offset print, so I was hand painting the neons on the cards (it was very labor-intensive). This way I could test styles and see what works, without investing all my money into printing thousands of cards. With the quantities I now order, the neons can be printed, which gives me the ability to add even more color and saves me an incredible amount of time.

I think the graphic illustrations and color palette are a unique combination. The paper is felted, which gives it a hand-made feel. I’ve recently introduced wrapping paper sheets, with my added neons that I havenâ€™t seen in the market. I’m hoping to expand on these, since I love patterns and it feels so new in the line.

We also offer soy-based temporary tattoos and nail tattoos.

I try not to pay attention to what other companies are doing. I like my ideas to come from my life and experiences and not from short-lived trends. I also try and keep it fun, so people can send a little happiness with every card.

Our typical workday is a little more complicated now that have a newborn. Itâ€™s been interesting finding a good work/life balance. We live above the studio, so I can take my time coming down to work or pop in and out and check on the status of orders. I think I was away from the office for about 3 or 4 days after Olive was born..! I canâ€™t stress how thankful I have been for the people I have helping me pack cards, since every second free is more valuable now!

Once the shop closes at 3 (and my husband can watch the baby if she’s not napping) I spend some time shipping out orders, and we run everything to the post office by 4:30.

Thanks so much for stopping by Emily!

04/13/2017

DIY Illustrated Temporary Tattoo Easter Eggs

Today I’m sharing one final DIY Easter egg decorating idea â€“ and this one involves temporary tattoos featuring illustrations by Courtney of Swiss Cottage Designs! These illustrations are so adorable I can’t even stand it. And the best part is that you can use ’em to decorate Easter eggs to your heart’s content, then use any leftovers as regular old temporary tattoos!

Every kid I know is obsessed with temporary tattoos (including my own kids), and it’s such a fun way to decorate Easter eggs. After making these tissue paper tropical leaf Easter eggs last year, I knew I wanted to give tattoo paper a try this year. I’ll also happily jump at any opportunity to team up with Courtney from Swiss Cottage Designs, and I absolutely love all the Easter-inspired illustrations she created for these tattoos. An adorable bunny! A sweet baby chick! Tiny Easter eggs! And the cutest little carrots I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t decide if I liked the color version or the black and white version of the illustrations better, so I decided to make them both available to all of you below. Let’s make some eggs!

Supplies

Hard boiled eggs*

Printable templates (we made two versions: color and black + white)

Temporary tattoo paper

Ink jet printer

Scissors

Paper towels

Water

*A couple quick notes about the eggs: I personally love the idea of using plain white eggs for these temporary tattoos, but you can totally use them with pre-dyed eggs, too! The temporary tattoos work best on fully dry, room temperature eggs, so if you plan to dye your eggs first, just make sure you give them enough time to dry before applying the tattoos. Similarly, hard boiled eggs stored in the refrigerator may form condensation after they are first taken out of the fridge, which will prevent the tattoos from sticking to the eggs.

To make the DIY illustrated temporary tattoo Easter eggs:

Step 1. Print our templates (you can choose COLOR or BLACK + WHITE â€“ or both!) onto temporary tattoo paper, and apply the clear adhesive liner according to the package instructions.

Step 2. Once the adhesive liner has been applied, use scissors or a paper trimmer to cut out the individual tattoos. Each sheet of tattoo paper yields 28 tattoos. I recommend cutting as close to the printed tattoo area as possible, which makes it a bit easier to apply the tattoos to the eggs.

Step 3. Peel the clear liner off the tattoo paper and apply it to the egg sticky side down. Press a wet paper towel to the back of the tattoo, making sure that you cover the entire area of the tattoo, until the image is successfully transferred to the egg and the paper easily slides off. Continue applying tattoos to the remaining eggs. The entire process takes about 10-20 seconds per egg.

Aaaaaahhhh! So cute! I’m beyond obsessed with these adorable illustrations. And don’t worry â€“ if you don’t have tattoo paper handy, you can still totally make these illustrated Easter eggs. Just follow this tutorial to print the designs onto a sheet of white tissue paper and apply them to hard boiled eggs using Mod Podge. It’s actually way easier than it sounds!

I hope you’ve enjoyed all of our Easter egg tutorials this year! If you make any of our eggs this year, please share photos on Instagram using the hashtag #madewithosbp so I can see them! And just in case you missed the previous ideas, here they are!

DIY hologram foil Easter eggs

DIY marbled hologram “galaxy” Easter eggs

DIY hologram and iridescent glitter-dipped Easter eggs

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

04/13/2017

Calligraphy Inspiration: Esther Clark

Hello everyone! I’m feeling the spring fever (after a final snowstorm hit here in Maine the first week of April â€” enough!). So I went searching for calligraphy that captures that lightness we all feel when spring has finally sprung. And I discovered the amazing lettering work of Esther Clark. Her light, organic style of calligraphy feels as welcoming as the warm sunshine. Let’s take a look at her work! â€“ Jen

Esther Clark is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and her love of design started early. “I majored in art at college, with an emphasis on printmaking â€” my background in woodcuts still plays a big part in my current work,” says Esther. “Most of my single-color illustrations are influenced by the monochromatic prints I loved making in school.”

Esther shares that her style got started when she drew a floral piece for a tattoo she wanted for herself. “I couldnâ€™t believe how much I enjoyed drawing the delicate blooms and foliage,” she says. “Thatâ€™s when I really honed in on botanical/floral pieces as my main skill.”

Photo Credit: Alyssa Wilcox Photography

How did Esther turn her interest in the art into a job? First, she studied lots of other artists, and she took Skillshare classes. “No matter what, your own handwriting style always influences your calligraphy and makes the words your own,” says Esther.

Esther’s work has evolved since she drew that first tattoo and dabbled in calligraphy. “The thing that has refined my style the most, though, is definitely practice!” she says.

Photo Credit: Alyssa Wilcox Photography

As Esther has developed her calligraphy work, she’s also developed an interest in styling. “I resolved to learn some styling skills myself, which would give me more control over the photos I had access to (especially for Instagram),” she says. “I always start with a beautiful background (linen, cotton, marble, and painted plaster styling boards by Emma Natter of Pilgrim & Co. are my go-tos), lay out my invitation suites, and then fill in as needed with different props and natural elements. Flowers and greenery are a must, but I also use lots of little treasures that I find antiquing/thrifting or at home goods stores.”

What a pretty way to welcome in spring! Thanks to Esther for sharing her lovely work and a bit about her journey as an artist. See you back here soon!

Images by Esther Clark, except where noted

04/12/2017

DIY Hologram Glitter Dipped Easter Eggs

Easter is this weekend! Did it sneak up on you? Or do you already have all of your egg decorating activities planned out? So far this season, I’ve gone all in on my love for all things hologram and sparkly with these DIY marbled hologram galaxy Easter eggs and these DIY hologram foil Easter eggs. This week, I’m sharing a couple of last-minute Easter egg ideas that can easily be pulled off with a quick trip to your local craft store â€“ and today we’re starting with these fun DIY hologram glitter dipped Easter eggs!

The general idea behind these hologram glitter dipped eggs is roughly the same as the hologram foil eggs â€“ but a whole lot easier to execute. Only three steps! They’re easy enough to do with tiny decorators, and if your kids love sparkly things as much as mine do, they’re pretty much guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser. Let’s make some!

Supplies

Pre-dyed hardboiled eggs or faux eggs

Hologram glitter and iridescent glitter

Mod Podge or school glue

Paint brush

Non-aerosol Hairspray (optional)

To make the DIY hologram glitter dipped Easter eggs:

Step 1. If you’re using hard boiled eggs, start by dyeing your eggs in your chosen color palette. I used a mix of deep blue, light pink, and lavender hard boiled eggs. The deep blue eggs were naturally dyed with red cabbage (I like this tutorial for cabbage dyed eggs) and left in the dye bath for several hours to achieve that deep blue hue. The lavender and pink eggs were dyed with liquid food coloring. Allow the eggs to dry completely.

Step 2. Pour some of the glitter into a small bowl or paper plate. Paint a layer of Mod Podge or glue onto one half of an egg. Holding the egg by the opposite end, roll the glue-covered portion of the egg in the glitter until you’re satisfied with the amount of coverage. Set the egg onto a drying rack or sheet of wax paper and allow it to dry completely. Repeat this process for each egg.

Step 3. Once all the eggs are covered in glitter and fully dry, take them outside and spray them with non-aerosol hair spray to seal the glitter on the egg. Revel in your ability to touch the glitter dipped egg without getting glitter everywhere. Yay!

I used a food safe hologram and iridescent glitter to make my eggs, but if you’re not worried about using a food safe version you can easily find hologram glitter at Michael’s and other craft stores. And if you’re worried about getting glitter everywhere making these eggs, don’t be! Seriously, hair spray is like magic when it comes to sealing microscopic pieces of glitter without compromising the sparkle factor. Just give the entire glitter-covered area a nice coat of hair spray and everything will stay put. I picked up the cheapest bottle of non-aerosol hairspray that I could find at my local grocery store and it worked like a charm!

Just look at all that sparkle! The iridescent glitter is translucent, which creates a really beautiful tone-on-tone glitter effect with dyed eggs. But I still just can’t get over those rainbow sparkles from the hologram glitter. So pretty!

Photos by Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper

04/11/2017

Festive Baby Shower Invitations with Foil Sprinkles!

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of featuring these absolutely GORGEOUS copper foil wedding invitations from Samantha and Whitney â€“ the dynamic duo behind Gus & Ruby Letterpress â€“ and today we’re super excited to share Samantha’s festive baby shower invitations! The bold jewel tones and bright primary colors are such a fun take on a gender-neutral color palette, and of course I’m loving the sprinkle motif that Whitney incorporated throughout the invitation suite. So cheerful and summery! Congrats Sam!

From Samantha: Once again, Whitney designed this custom suite to invite friends to celebrate the arrival of my first baby. It is fun to have a business partner who is also a dear friend! She knows my aesthetic so well and it was such a gift to have her design these invitations for me.

Because we didnâ€™t know the gender of our baby, we used a fun palette of rich and bold jewel tones and some pops of bright primary colors and matte white foil to keep things feeling young but gender neutral. Those funky colors paired with a casual, hand-lettering inspired font made for a cheerful vibe for our summer fÃªte.

Fun wording set the tone for a laid-back event and spoke to our sense of humor about the wild journey of pregnancy. We even had a special nod to our pup Gus!

One of my favorite little details was that each invitation suite was wrapped in metallic twine with a tag announcing the babyâ€™s due date. The whole bundle was then housed in a bright turquoise envelope with a patterned liner that was reminiscent of sprinkles. It was certainly a festive way to set the tone for the shower!

We kept the same aesthetic for the day-of stationery items as well. Individual menus were set at each table place setting so guests could see what was being served.

All pieces were printed on rich colored stocks and, as always, the pieces were lovingly foil printed by hand on our antique presses in New Hampshire.

Thanks Samantha & Whitney!

Design and Printing: Gus & Ruby Letterpress

Gus & Ruby Letterpress is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ check out more of their beautiful work right here or visit the real inviÂtaÂtions gallery for more wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Brea McDonald Photography for Gus & Ruby Letterpress