06/02/2010

Riley + Robert’s Modern Calligraphy Wedding Invitations

There aren’t many invitations that can actually make me catch my breath, but within that short list, these letterpress wedding invitations are definitely at the top. Â Designed and printed by Blackbird Letterpress, these New Orleans wedding invitationsÂ feature the amazing calligraphy of Betsy Dunlap and a beautiful layout guided by a blind impression map of the Mississippi River banks:

Kathryn from Blackbird Letterpress was thrilled to work with the bride, Riley, who very distinctly wanted a non-traditional wedding invitation. Â And with the combination of Kathryn’s gorgeous letterpress, Betsy’s calligraphy, and an unusual size and shape (8.5″ x 5.5″) for the overall invitation, the entire thing ended up coming together like an awesome art piece that celebrates the wedding location of New Orleans.

Kathryn designed the layout with the map idea, following the banks of the Mississippi River, which was later letterpress printed as a beautiful blind (no-ink) impression. Â Betsy filled the negative space with her amazing calligraphy, rather than following a traditional horizontal or vertical layout, which Kathryn printed in a soft gray ink. Â Betsy also calligraphed the addresses on soft pink invitation outer envelopes.

I was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these invitations in person at Kathryn’s booth at the National Stationery Show, and of course they’re even more beautiful in person! Â This is definitely a wedding invitation that could be displayed as an art print and enjoyed for many years to come. Â So gorgeous â€“ thank you so much Kathryn!

{all photos by ak photography}

06/01/2010

New Giveaway! Letterpress Business Cards from Gwyneth Paige

For those of you looking for new business cards or calling cards, you’re in luck! Now that the ladies of Gwyneth Paige have tackled the National Stationery Show, they’re offering all of you the chance to win your own letterpress business cards or calling cards!

letterpress calling cards

One lucky reader will win 100 one-color letterpress business or calling cards â€“ choosing any design from either the wedding or social stationery collections!

So here are the rules: Head on over to the Gwyneth Paige website and browse through the wedding and stationery design collections. Then come back here and leave a comment with the name of your favorite design from one of the collections and a quick explanation of why you chose that design. You’ll have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, June 4 to enter â€” then we’ll announce the winner on Monday! Bonne chance!

{image credits: gwyneth paige letterpress}

06/01/2010

Welcome!

Hi there everyone! If you’re reading this, hopefully that means that you’ve found me on the new url. I hope you like the updated look â€“Â it’s been in the works for quite a long time and I’m very happy to finally be able to share it with all of you. So as an introduction to the updated look, I thought I’d share my new business cards with you!

As you may have noticed, I have a new logo that was created for me by the immensely talented Bryn from Paperfinger. In addition to being featured in the new blog navigation bar, I made sure to incorporate the logo into a new set of business cards before heading up to the National Stationery Show a couple weeks ago:

The cards were printed for me by my newest sponsor, Studio on Fire â€“Â we went with a double-sided card with a horizontal orientation on one side and vertical on the other:

Of course, my signature light pink as the main ink color and a diagonal stripe blind impression on the side with the new logo:

I love my new cards! And speaking of business cards, I have an awesome giveaway coming up a bit later today – so check back soon!

{image credits: all photographs by Oh So Beautiful Paper}

05/25/2010

NSS 2010 – Part 11

Whew! Â Eleven recap installments later and I’m finally ready to wrap up the coverage of this year’s Stationery Show. Â I saved the most photo-heavy booths for last, so let’s dive right in! Â First up, the Crane booth, where I caught a glimpse of the new Studio collection as well as old stationery and invitation favorites:

{love the grosgrain ribbon lamp and fold-out folio for seating card displays at a wedding!}

{cards from the new Studio collection}

{gorgeous embossing details on this wedding invitation}

{crane & co.}

Did you know that every single card from Crane’s bordered stationery collection is hand painted? Â This year, Crane brought two hand-bordering artisans down to the Stationery Show to demonstrate their craft:

{a bone folder is the only tool used to create a uniform width for each border}

{the final product!}

Next up are a couple of what I affectionately refer to as the “mega booths” with several participating exhibitors in one booth area. Â First, the Ladies of Letterpress booth, featuring Pistachio Press, Thomas Printers, May Day Studio, Paper Mill Designs, Ink & Iron, Hazel and Violet, Dandy Lion Press, and Flywheel Press!

Next, the Let {her} Press booth featuring Bird Dog Press, Paper Stories Letterpress, Paper Parasol Press, Robin Beth, and Lucky Bee Press:

{bird dog press}

{paper parasol press}

{paper stories letterpress}

{lucky bee press}

{robin beth}

I also stopped by the Vigo booth to check out the latest from Delphine, as well as cards and gift wrap from 1973 and many others:

{delphine}

{I love the foil stamping details on these cards from sanna annukka}

{cute cards from the claudettes}

{awesome gift wrap}

So that’s it from this year’s show! Â If you missed any of the recaps from the show, you can check them all out right here. Â I’m already looking forward to next year’s show!

{all photos by Oh So Beautiful Paper}

*Delphine is one of my fantastic sponsors, for more information about my editorial policy please click here.

05/24/2010

NSS 2010 – Part 10

Before I wrap up my coverage of this year’s National Stationery Show tomorrow, I’ve got a few more booths that I’d like to share with you.Â First up, another perennial favorite – Fugu Fugu Press – with their incredibly sweet letterpress cards and new fill-in-the-blank letterpress dinner party invitations:

{fugu fugu press}

I’m always impressed by the work fromÂ Maginating Letterpress – from the adorable characters to the near-perfect letterpress registration on each card, no detail is overlooked:

{quite possibly the cutest card ever!}

{love the spot varnish on these two holiday cards}

Maginating-NSS5 {maginating letterpress}

I also stopped by the Pearl & Marmalade and The Great Lakes booth to check out their latest cards, prints, and get a sneak peek at their upcoming 2011 calendars:

Pearl-Marmalade-NSS3 {pearl & marmalade}

{the great lakes}

I spent some time catching up with Carrie and Hal from Red Cap Cards and checking out their latestÂ greeting cards (I always love Carrie’s illustrated Halloween cards), notebooks, and a new series of cards featuring a collaboration with illustrator Blanca Gomez:

{Carrie’s illustrations look even more amazing when letterpress printed!}

{red cap cards}

Over on the other side of the Javits Center, I probably could have spent an hour just in the Egg Press booth gawking at all of their new cards – not to mention the new wrapping paper!

{a sneak peek at the 2011 desktop calendar}

{love theÂ multi-dimensional elements of this die cut birthday card}

{egg press}

Old School Stationers also had aÂ bunch of new botanical prints for this year’s show – my favorites are the bees and mason jar prints below – as well as new installments in their series of animal prints and cards:

Old-School-Stationers-NSS4 {old school stationers}

I always love stopping by the Blue Barnhouse booth â€” Brandon’s letterpress cards are both impeccably printed and completely hilarious:

{love this “build a community” letterpress print}

{blue barnhouse}

I always love running into the ladies (and fellow DC residents!) of Haute Papier â€” their new wedding invitation book is stunning!

{haute papier}

Of course, a trip to the Stationery Show wouldn’t be complete (at least for me) without a trip over to the Smock booth to check out their latest wedding invitations and everyday stationery designs:

{smock}