DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations

We’ve always had a love affair with different varieties of cactus and Southwestern scenery as a whole. Just take Emma’s wedding invitation as an example! This colorful design is a fresh take on the theme. Splurging on one stunning letterpress piece for the invitation and adding in your own DIY pieces is a great way to have a luxe invitation for less. Plus, now that we finally launched our brand new wrapping sheets, we finally have paper large enough to be used to make your own gorgeous pattern envelopes to coordinate! Hooray!

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Materials

Old West Letterpress Invitation

Vintage Calligraphy Reply Card Stamp

Horseshoe Return Address Stamp, No.2

Out West Wrapping Sheet, 20″x 29″ 

Envelope Template

A7.5 Envelope, in Pool

4bar Envelope, in Pool

4bar Card, in Paper Bag

Stamp Pads, in Turquoise and Brown

Fine Leather Cord

Pencil, Scissors and double stick tape

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step One: An inner envelope can be an awesome way to incorporate a lot of pattern and personality into your invitations. For this design, we made our own using our Out West wrapping paper. You’ll get three (3) A7 envelopes per 20″ x 29″ sheet. Simply trace the template (if pattern is directional, make sure the template is oriented correctly) using a pencil and cut it out with scissors. Once it has been cut out, fold in each side.

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Two: Using the photo above, apply double stick tape or stick glue to the sides of the lower envelope flap. Fold it up and press to adhere.

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

For this design, we decided to use one of our premium letterpress pieces for the invitation to keep it luxe. You could also stamp this piece if you preferred, using our Old West Invitation Stamp and a white A7 card.

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Three: Stamp your remaining pieces. We used our Vintage Calligraphy Reply Card to make the overall feel a little more formal. For the return and reply addresses, we used our Vintage Horseshoe Return Address, No.2. Please watch this video for more information on inking and stamping an oversized stamp.

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

Step Four: Believe it or not, all that’s left are the finishing touches! We tied the suite together with a lovely, thin (1 mm) leather cord in a natural color. We also addressed the envelopes to our guests using a calligraphy pen and a whimsical style! We know your guests will be thrilled to receive this gorgeous piece of mail in their mailbox!

DIY Southwestern Cactus Wedding Invitations by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

 

Photos by Antiquaria for Oh So Beautiful Paper

New Giveaway! Paper Party 2015 Tote Bags!

CLOSED – Thank you to everyone who entered!

You’ve already heard me gush about the magical evening that was Paper Party 2015, and today I’m so excited to give away a few of the amazing tote bags from the party! Seriously, these bags just keep getting better and better – and this year I was beyond thrilled to partner with Rifle Paper Co. to produce the actual tote bags! Anna created a custom design just for the party. Isn’t it beautiful?? I love carrying my bag everywhere with me!

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The inside of the bag was pretty awesome, too! They were stuffed with the most amazing items from some of my favorite stationers: Our Heiday, Ban.do, Smock, Thimblepress, Near Modern Disaster, 9th Letter Press, The Good Twin, E.Frances Paper, One Canoe Two, Cotton & Flax, Knot & Bow, Sea & Lake, Ink Meets Paper, Smudge Ink, The Social Type, Katharine Watson, Ladyfingers Letterpress, Emily McDowell, Sycamore Street Press, Red Cap Cards, Maginating, Antiquaria, Mailchimp, Sakura of America, Legion Paper, Minted, May Designs, Simply Framed, a selection of Etsy Wholesale sellers – and a keepsake print designed by Moglea and printed by StationeryHQ!

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The 125 party gift bags may have disappeared in under 10 minutes, but you’re in luck – because today five lucky readers can win a tote bag full of stationery awesomeness!

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To enter, just follow the options on the Rafflecopter below – there are three different ways to enter!

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Photo Credits: Charlie Juliet Photography

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Sorry, limited to U.S. readers only. Limit one entry per person. $150 approximate total retail value. Winners will be contacted via email after comments close.

The Stationery Designer’s Guide to Using Instagram

There’s no doubt that Instagram has exploded as a way for stationery designers, paper aficionados, and retail shop owners to connect and share their work with one another. With business page posts having less visibility on Facebook these days, many designers I know have transitioned the bulk of their social media efforts to Instagram. I personally use it as a place to promote my own brand, connect with the people who buy and support my goods, and keep up with industry colleagues (you can find me over @happycactusdesigns). Below are some tips, tricks, and best practices I’ve picked up along the way. I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you use Instagram – please share in the comments below!

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A great shot from Thimblepress of their NSS mailers. // @thimblepress

Post high quality photographs.

The photo is first and foremost what Instagram is about, so you want to show off your work in its best light (literally and figuratively). Use Instagram’s in-app photo editing software or other apps (Afterlight for iPhone is my personal favorite) to lighten and brighten your snaps. I avoid using filters because I want the true colors of my paper goods to shine. I’ve also found that having a Dropbox folder full of your best product images and styled shots makes it easy to have photos at the ready.

antiquaria

A beautiful snap of Antiquaria’s painting process. // @antiquariadesign

Be authentic and be you.

Yes, you are representing your brand, but let’s not forget that there is a person or team behind that brand name. Your followers may like your products, but they will also love hearing the story behind your products. I’ve found that the accounts I love following the most have the perfect balance between sharing various aspects of business life – new products being released, behind-the-scenes peeks at the artistic process, announcements – and snippets of personal life and interests. In other words, I like learning more about other designers and their stories rather than feeling like I’m constantly being sold something.

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Lots of eye candy from Jenipher of Nighly Doodles. // @jenipherlyn

Use appropriate hashtags.

Hashtags are a great way for Instagram users to discover you or to aggregate images under a particular theme or event. Many companies these days hashtag Instagram pics with a company hashtag. For example, I use #happycactusdesigns on my posts. By doing so, these photos and those tagged by other users are pulled and published on my website. Someone looking at your feed can also quickly tap on the hashtag to see all of the related photos.

Some of the more popular hashtags in the paper category include: #stationery, #greetingcards, #sendmoremail, #snailmail

I also love searching hashtags by method of production: #letterpress, #foilstamped, #handdrawn, #screenprint

Search #NSS2015 for a bunch of eye candy from this year’s National Stationery Show.

happycactus-paint

A behind-the-scenes shot from me of a recent painting. This one will be making its way to a card design later this summer. // @happycactusdesigns

Embrace the community and makes connections.

Don’t be afraid to comment on others’ posts! For me, Instagram has not only been a medium for staying connected to paper peeps I may rarely get to see, but also a place to connect with other likeminded paper folk. It’s a wonderful way to casually connect with retailers, bloggers, and others who love paper.

Engage your followers. I’ve seen designers use Instagram to poll their followers about different versions of cards – I think this is a great idea and one I should probably try. Nothing like a little free market research from your most dedicated followers!

betsywhite

Gia from Betsywhite Stationery used this post to poll followers on color choices. // @shopbetsywhite

Overcome counting likes and followers.

This is a hard one. Who doesn’t love opening the Instagram app and seeing how many people have double-tapped your photo? I’m definitely guilty of this one. As designers, we can feel quite vulnerable sharing new work and awaiting reactions (or lack thereof). But at the end of the day, what truly matters is quality over quantity and to not take reception of your photos too personally.

wildink

Wild Ink Press offers a peek into her studio. // @wildinkpress

I’d love to hear about your experience using Instagram. Comment below with your favorite tip or piece of advice!

Paper Party 2015!

I’m so excited to FINALLY share the photos from this year’s Paper Party during the National Stationery Show! I can’t believe the party was almost two weeks ago already – the whole evening went by so fast! I shared the party invitations designed by Moglea and printed by Bella Figura a couple of weeks ago, and the invitations really helped guide the overall party design. This year’s party had a tropical vibe, with a color palette inspired by the party invitations – shades of pink, dark blue, and gold – and lots of tropical details from foliage to flamingos!

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This year’s party was again held at Hudson Terrace – but this time in their rooftop terrace! My talented friend (and professional event planner) Janice from Bellwether Events helped me plan the party and kept the entire evening running smoothly and Mandy (one of our resident DIY mavens) helped with a lot of the party décor. We also partnered with an incredible team of sponsors and creative companies to bring the party to life, including The National Stationery Show, Minted, Etsy Wholesale, Silhouette America, Smock, Simply Framed, Rifle Paper Co., Hester & Cook Design Group, Legion Paper, Postable, Mailchimp, May Designs, Flower Muse, StationeryHQ, Foryourparty.com, and Swiss Cottage Designs.

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Mandy made the most amazing sign for the Paper Party this year! She hand painted some white canvas fabric in our party colors then cut out the letters and backed them with gold fabric! We accented with lasercut tropical paper foliage and pineapples from Alexis Mattox Design. Our tables featured gorgeous table runners and placemats from the new Chilewich + Hester & Cook collaboration (so pretty!) and table confetti from Minted! Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy also lettered our menu selections on Chilewich + Hester & Cook place cards.

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Courtney from Swiss Cottage Designs offered to help out with some of the day-of stationery pieces – didn’t she do the most amazing job?? Courtney designed a fun tropical-inspired cocktail menu, name tags, cocktail stir sticks, coasters, matchboxes, and a giant welcome sign! For Your Party printed the coasters, matchboxes, and stir sticks in rose gold foil.

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Coasters, stir sticks, and matchboxes from For Your Party!

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Stripey party straws and drink flags from Minted!

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I had a blast making signs for the party! I used my favorite DIY technique for making spray painted acrylic signs – but instead of a paint pen I used my Silhouette CAMEO to cut out vinyl decals! Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy and Jenna from Mon Voir kindly provided lettering, which I cut out in white and hot pink vinyl. The signs ranged in size from 5″ x 7″ to 18″ x 24″ and were seriously so easy to make!

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We also had a table with a demo of the Silhouettte CAMEO for party guests – we cut pineapples out of yellow and navy vinyl to wear as stickers around the party. They were such a hit! Mandy made a pineapple garland from navy card stock (so cute).

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These cascading honeycombs probably made the biggest visual impact and were one of my favorite decorations at the party! We mixed 5″ honeycombs with crepe paper streamers and Mandy‘s DIY air plants. We had 4 or 5 of these cascades around the party. I love how they turned out!

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The team from Smock made a couple of these “chandeliers” using strips of their gift wrap! They looked so beautiful blowing in the breeze.

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This gallery wall in collaboration with Simply Framed was hands down my favorite element of the party! We mixed original calligraphy artwork from some of my favorite calligraphers with tropical-inspired illustrations, and I looooooove how it all came together! The prints all look amazing together and Simply Framed did a wonderful job matching each print to its perfect frame. Stay tuned for a little something special involving these prints tomorrow!

Artwork sources top row from left: Moglea, Idlewild Co., A Fabulous Fete, Ashley Buzzy Calligraphy and Letterpress, Meera Lee Patel, Rifle Paper Co.

Bottom row from left: Fleur de Letters, Idlewild Co., Mon Voir, Blue Eye Brown Eye Calligraphy, Meera Lee Patel

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For this year’s party gift bags we partnered with the amazing Rifle Paper Co.! The bags feature a gorgeous custom Rifle design created just for the party – and don’t worry, I set some bags aside for a few lucky readers! Stay tuned for more details soon!

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Can we talk about the AMAZING floral arrangements for a few minutes? Dawn from Soirée Floral absolutely killed it! We combined gorgeous peonies, garden roses, ranunculus, and greens from Flower Muse with a few tropical flowers like king protea and pink ginger flowers. We mixed a few large arrangements with smaller cocktail-size arrangements that guests could take home at the end of the evening. I’m still dreaming about these amazing blooms!

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Yay for Etsy Wholesale! This was the second year that we’ve had an Etsy Wholesale lounge and I love that it’s becoming a little tradition at the party!

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Our Smilebooth backdrop featured more lasercut tropical paper foliage from Alexis Mattox Design: palm fronds, philodendron leaves, and even a few pineapples! We also had some plastic flamingos for props, along with real philodendron leaves, protea, and ginger flowers. So. Much. Fun!

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You can find the full photo gallery from Paper Party 2015 right here – and the Smilebooth photos right here!

Finally, a HUGE thank you to the wonderful sponsors and people who made the evening possible:

  • Infinite thanks to Janice and Mandy for all of their invaluable help over the past few months and throughout the evening – and Carrie, Kristina (and husband!) and our small army of friends who helped stuff gift bags or with set up before the party. We couldn’t have done it without you!

And of course a big thanks to Charlie Juliet Photography for the gorgeous photos and Hudson Terrace for having us! See you all next year!

Party Sources

Event Coordination: Bellwether Events

Floral Arrangements: Soirée Floral

Flowers: Flower Muse

Gallery Wall: Simply Framed

Day-of Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy

Day-of Stationery: Swiss Cottage Designs

Coasters, Stir Sticks, and Matchboxes: For Your Party

Table Confetti, Stripey Straws + Drink Flags: Minted

Tropical paper foliage for Smilebooth backdrop: Alexis Mattox Design

Table Runner, Placemats, and Place Cards: Hester & Cook Design Group

Venue: Hudson Terrace

Photo Credits: Charlie Juliet Photography

Happy Weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you’re all enjoying the recaps from the 2015 National Stationery Show so far! We’ve got lots more coming next week, but in the meantime…

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Photo via Wildfolk Studio

…a few links for your weekend!

The last two weeks on OSBP:

Check back this afternoon for this week’s cocktail recipe! Have a wonderful weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday! xoxo