01/25/2013

{happy weekend!}

I’m beginning to suspect that I’m coming down with a case of the winter blues, which definitely isn’t helped by the lack of progress in our house hunt. So I’m actually really excited to break up our routine this weekend â€“ we’re heading to New York City for a few days! My husband and Sophie are coming along, so I’ll be attending the New York International Gift Fair and serving as a judge for the Louie Awards during the day and then meeting back up with them later in the afternoon. We’re taking the train (my favorite way to travel from DC to NYC), so right now I’m trying to figure out how on earth I’m going to fit all of our clothes and baby gear into a reasonable amount of luggage. Next week I’ll report back with some of my favorites from NYIGF! But in the meantime…

You’re My Favorite card byÂ Tabletop Made

…a few links for your weekend!

A handmade Valentine’s Day card swap!
This paper scroll wall is ah-mazing
I’m loving these earrings
Pretty graphic tote bags
Are any of you going to the Martha Stewart Wedding Party this Sunday in NYC?

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

More awesome Valentine’s Day cards
Cute pink + gold foil wedding invitations (with a sweet heart-shaped rsvp card!)
A fun polka dot + watercolor DIY tutorial
Art Deco-inspired invitations for a 40th wedding anniversary party
Well Said Type: Trend Sans
Incorporate animal motifs into your wedding stationery
Quick pick: Ink Meets Paper
Don’t forget! Today is the last day to enter the calligraphy address stamp giveaway from Kathryn Murray Calligraphy!
Thank you to everyone who filled out the reader survey! It’s still open here if you have a moment!

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

01/24/2013

DIY Tutorial: Pink Polka Dot Watercolor Save the Date

With Valentine’s Day speedily approaching, we’ve got definitely got Â love on the brain. Today’s save the date DIY tutorial is a great example of pattern mixing in stationery â€“ and of course includes a ton of pink! This look is super easy to achieve, and the colorful design will help set the tone for a fun nuptial bash!Â Â â€“Â Bailey and Emma of Antiquaria

Step One: Lay a 5 1/2″ square notecard down on a firm, clean work surface. Ink your stamp (we used our Vintage Calligraphy Save the Date stamp) and center it over the square card. When ready, press the stamp down on the card, using moderate pressure (too much can give a muddy image). Lift stamp off and set aside to let the print dry. For more details on how to ink and print the stamp please visit hereÂ (see step 1).

Step Two: Once you’ve made all of your prints and they are dry, you will move on to the watercoloring. With a pastel pink watercolor, paint dots in vertical rows from left to right (if right handed or right to left if left handed). Be cautious not to use too much water as it may run or warp the paper.

Step Three: Using envelope liner templates, cut liners out of a fun pattern. Simply use stick glue or double sided tape to install the liners into the envelopes (adhere around the top triangle).

Step Four: Lastly, you’ll want to stamp your return address (we used our Calligraphy Ampersand Return Address stamp) on the back flap of the envelope. We’ve been loving the tonal look lately (gold on gold, pink on pink…etc.) so that what we’ve chosen here with this design. Now all you have to do is address them, add postage, and send them on their merry way!

Materials:

Vintage Calligraphy Save the Date Stamp

Calligraphy Ampersand Return Address Stamp

Stamp Pad

5 1/2″ square cards

Watercolors, paintbrush, and water jar

5 3/4″ square envelopes

Liner Paper – custom watercolor floral pattern from Antiquaria Design Studio

Liner Templates

AntiÂquaria is a memÂber of theÂ Designer RolodexÂ â€“ you can see more of their beauÂtiÂful workÂ right hereÂ or visit the real wedding invitations gallery for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits: Antiquaria

01/22/2013

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine’s Day Cards, Part 3

Like the last couple of weekends, our long weekend was full of more house hunting and all of the stress that entails. To distract myself, I spent quite a bit of time adding more pretty cards to the Valentine’s Day round up! Here’s a quick peek at some of the newest additions!

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine's Day Card Round Up via Oh So Beautiful Paper

1. Happy Cactus; 2. Maple and Belmont; 3. Parrott Design Studio; 4. Blackbird Letterpress; 5. Echo Letterpress; 6. Inclosed

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine's Day Card Round Up via Oh So Beautiful Paper

6. Smudge Ink; 7. Wit + Whistle; 8. Paper Lovely; 9. Amy Marcella; 10. Tabletop Made; 11. Moxie House Paper Goods

Check out the fullÂ Valentineâ€™s Day and love card round up right here!

{images via their respective sources}

p.s. Thank you so much to everyone who has filled out the reader survey so far! If you have a few moments, you can find the survey right here.

01/14/2013

Janine + Craig’s Chevron Stripe Fabric Pocket Wedding Invitations

This wedding invitation suite fromÂ Janine Rae DesignÂ has so many elements that I love â€“ a bold color palette, chevron stripes, and a fabric pocket to hold everything together. But the best part? Janine and her now-husband Craig incorporated their beloved dog Abbey into the invitation design and made a donation to their local SPCA in lieu of wedding favors. So perfect.

From Janine:Â Craig and I adopted our sweet dog, Abbey, while dating and she has certainly become an important part of our relationship. When thinking about the design for our wedding invitation I knew I wanted to have fun and also make the design deeply personal to us. The silhouette of Abbey with her collar flower pulled all of our paper goods together and represented our support of the local SPCA with a donation in lieu of favors at the wedding.

Boxcar PressÂ did a beautiful job of letterpress printing our invitations, as well as the ampersand tags (which were later sewn to the fabric pockets) and our reply cards. I sewed each fabric pocket from the same fabric used as table runners at our reception and tucked all the enclosure cards inside for mailing.

The garden of love stamps fit perfectly with the invitations and our backyard wedding. Yellow striped envelope liners matched the design printed on the back of the invitations and thank you notes.

Thank you so much Janine!

Design:Â Janine Rae Design

Letterpress Printing:Â Boxcar Press

Check out theÂ Designer RolodexÂ for more talÂentedÂ wedÂding inviÂtaÂtion designÂersÂ andÂ theÂ real inviÂtaÂtions galleryÂ for moreÂ wedding invitation ideas!

Photo Credits:Â Robyn Van Dyke Photography

01/09/2013

Sophie’s Constellation Starfinder Birth Announcements

Today I’m thrilled to share a very, very special project â€“ Sophie’s baby announcements! I knew I wanted something unique and non-traditional to help announce our baby’s arrival into the world, and I’ve been an admirer of Morgan and Arley-Rose of Ladyfingers LetterpressÂ ever since I saw their wedding invitations.Â I knew they’d come up with something amazing! I gave the direction of a celestial theme and the ladies came up with the idea of a working starfinder (aka planisphere) â€“ we couldn’t love the resulting announcements more!

From Morgan and Arley-Rose:Â It was such an incredible honor to design and print little Sophie’s baby announcements. We were thrilled to hear that Nole had a celestial theme in mind, and we immediately went to work, exploring how we could make something interactive, beautiful and meaningful. We’ve always been fascinated by planispheres and the way they mark a point in time by displaying what you would see in the night sky at that moment and thought it would be relevant as a baby announcement.

At first, we thought it would be a good idea to rotate the planisphere to the date and time that Sophie was born, and in the window her name would be revealed, but after some design consideration (and feedback from Nole) it was agreed that her name and details would be visible at all times.

As a result, a working planisphere is featured on the front, and all you need to do is align the inner disc with the date and time and direction you’re facing to see what to expect in the sky that night (if you happen to be at a similar latitude as Washington DC). On the back, a photo of Sophie sits inside a glassine envelope, surrounded by baby versions of astrological signs.

We designed a custom die for the project, and hand-lettered the designs and illustrations to work around the shape. The designs were then letterpress printed onto 220lb paper (the inner disc) and 110lb (the outer “cage”) 100% cotton Crane’s Lettra paper and then die-cut and assembled.

Photo Credit:Â Natalja Kent

It was definitely one of the most complex pieces we’ve ever done, but are really excited with the way it turned out! As a special gift to Nole, we made a print of the night sky with Sophie’s name below.

Photo Credit: Natalja Kent

Morgan and Arley-Rose even printed constellation envelope liners to match the announcements! I found the perfect vintage postage stamps (via ebay) to complement the celestial theme of Sophie’s announcements, and my dear friend Michele from Meant to Be Calligraphy was kind enough to address the envelopes in her beautiful Durham style!

I hope you love Sophie’s announcements as much as I do!

Design and Letterpress Printing: Ladyfingers Letterpress

Calligraphy: Meant to Be Calligraphy

Photo Credits: Nole Garey for Oh So Beautiful Paper, except where noted byÂ Natalja Kent

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{happy weekend!}

DIY Tutorial: Pink Polka Dot Watercolor Save the Date

Seasonal Stationery: Valentine’s Day Cards, Part 3

Janine + Craig’s Chevron Stripe Fabric Pocket Wedding Invitations

Sophie’s Constellation Starfinder Birth Announcements