02/15/2013

{happy weekend!}

Happy Friday everyone â€“ and yay for a long weekend! I hope you all had a nice Valentine’s Day. Sadly, my husband was on a late night shift this week, so there wasn’t much celebrating over here. Hopefully we’ll find some time to do something nice this weekend instead. We’ve had a few glimpses of spring here in DC this past week, which has me so so so excited for the real thing to arrive soon! Last year I was so overwhelmed with first trimester sickness that I was barely able to enjoy my favorite season, but this year I’m so excited to introduce Sophie to our favorite spring activities (like visiting Dumbarton Oaks and the National Arboretum). But in the meantime…

Photo Credit: Maple & Belmont

…a few links for your weekend!

Love these DIY botanical escort cards
What what what? Wooden legos?!? WANT!!
Beautiful prints
I’d love to put bunk beds in Sophie’s room someday

This week on Oh So Beautiful Paper:

These 3D decoder surprise wedding invitations are so awesome
Sweet + simple illustrated wedding invitations
Tie a string save the dates! So cute!
Beautiful modern black + white letterpress business cards
Silhouette birth announcements for twins!
Pretty stationery deserves pretty pens + pencils!
Know any newly-engaged couples? Send congratulations with one of these cards!
Rustic woodland-inspired baby shower invitations
Sweet baby announcements for a tiny (future) fisherman
Informal illustrated letterpress wedding invitations

Also, there a LOT of new Designer Rolodex members to welcome!

That’s it for me this week! I hope you enjoy your long President’s Day weekend and I’ll see you back here on Tuesday! xoxo

02/14/2013

Sally + Ben’s Sweet and Simple Illustrated Wedding Invitations

I’m a big believer of beauty in simplicity, and these beautiful illustrated wedding invitations from Diane of Bells & Whistles are a wonderful example! Designed for her sister’s wedding, Diane was inspired by the natural beauty of the wedding venue on the South African coast. Diane combined modern fonts with delicate hand lettering and illustrations, all in an off-white and navy color palette. So pretty!

From Diane: Sally and Ben’sÂ ceremony was held in a quaint little church in Southwell on the coast of South Africa. The reception took place in the town hall of Kasouga, where Sally’s family have gone since their childhood. Their theme had a rustic setting while still maintaining a sense of elegance and incorporated a natural color palette with navy accents.

These aspects and elements from the decor are what inspired me when designing. I created hand lettering to accompany the font and incorporated illustrations of the main flower of the wedding (the protea), the church, and the town hall.

I wanted to capture the intimacy, simplicity and beauty of the day. I also loved Ben’s idea to put the meaning of each guests name on their escort cards as they made lovely keepsakes and great conversation starters.

Thanks Diane!

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

Photo Credits: Bells & Whistles

02/12/2013

Sierra + Brendan’s Hand-Lettered Wedding Invitations

Wedding invitations should always reflect the style and tone of the wedding itself, whether a formal black tie affair or an intimate casual gathering. Sierra and Brendan wanted to avoid any impression of stuffiness in their wedding invitations, so they worked with artistÂ Jesse WellsÂ to create a sweet illustrated design. The invitation suite even features a keepsake print for their guests!

From Sierra: We wanted the centerpiece of the invitation to be a limited edition letterpress print as a wedding keepsake for our guests.Â Jesse Wells designed both the print and invitations. A tent in our backyard that weâ€™d lit with a hanging light fixture inspired her design. My husband and I are both writers and avid readers, so she depicted us reading together.

The invitation itself and the RSVP card borrowed visual elements from the print. We also wanted to keep the invitation design simple. Our wedding was held in a friend’s garden, so we wanted the invitations to have a handmade look, but also look clean. Jesse WellsÂ provided the hand lettering and printed the invitations at the Virginia Art of the Book Center in Charlottesville, Virginia. Green was our wedding color, so youâ€™ll notice she used a couple different green inks.Â I helped cut the paper afterward.

Thanks Sierra!

Design: Jesse Wells

Photo Credits: Sierra + Brendan

02/12/2013

Parker’s Little Fisherman Birth Announcements

I love it when familiar couples return with new projects to mark new momentous occasions. Designer Lauren Chism created these beautiful moving announcements to help her close friends celebrate the purchase of their first home, and today she’s sharing the birth announcements for their first child! Little Parker was born just after Thanksgiving, and Lauren was inspired by the proud papa’s favorite hobby to create a subtle theme for his announcements.

From Lauren: Parker is the adorable son of my very best friend of 11+ years, Carrie and her husband Jim. Our husbands have bonded over their love of fishing, so when we found out they were having a boy, I knew that a ‘little fisherman’ theme would be perfect for his announcement.

Using the great printers at Czar Press, I decided to spare my adhesive gun and had the photo, as well as a subtle light grey ‘fish’ pattern, digitally printed on Crane’s Lettra card stock. I then had the rest of the playful text of his name and baby statistics letterpress printed in olive green. We paired them with kraft envelopes, which provided the perfect touch to these little fisherman announcements.

A funny little story: when Jim texted us that Parker had been born, he sent a photo and his weight. Without seeing the photo, my husband assumed he had been fishing and had caught a 7 pound fish and responded ‘NICE!’ A few minutes later, when he saw the photo, he realized his 7 pound fish was really a baby and proper congratulations were sent. I love that story and it makes these announcements even more fitting. Parker will definitely be joining his dad on the water when he is older.

Thanks Lauren!

Design: Lauren Chism Fine Papers

Printing: Czar Press

Palm Papers is a member of the Designer Rolodex â€“ you can see more of their awesome work right here!

Photo Credits: Lauren Chism Fine Papers

*Czar Press is a sponsor of Oh So Beautiful Paper

02/11/2013

Henry + Marie’s Silhouette Twin Birth Announcements

There really is nothing better than the delicate silhouette of a tiny baby, unless it’s two babies! The team fromÂ Curious & Co.Â designed these silhouette baby announcements for the new parents of twins Henry and Marie. Such an elegant way to welcome these sweet siblings to the world!

From the team at Curious & Co.:Â We were thrilled when one of our favorite clients asked us to create a very special piece for the newest members of her family. Susan and her husband Parker (and their pup Billy) welcomed twins Henry and Marie on July 13, 2012.

Susan requested a birth announcement design with silhouettes of her darling little ones. We kept her sophisticated and classic aesthetic in mind and created this soft and sweet piece in soft white and warm gray. Letterpress printed by our friend Colleen of Cleanwash Letterpress, the announcements served as the perfect welcome for these very special siblings.Â