Freebie Friday: Handmade for Mama

{all projects found here}

Mother's Day is just days away, folks. Still looking for the perfect gift? Why not make her day even more special with a handmade card or artwork made of cut paper? If you need some inspiration and direction, definitely check out the Japanese Canon Creative Park. You'll find beautiful printables, cut paper projects, envelopes, mini cards, photo card templates...it would be nearly impossible not to find something for every mother near and dear to you! These were just a few of my favorites (isn't that canary adorable?) Head on over to the Creative Park website for lots of projects to hand-make for mama this Mother's Day!

{freebie friday} Retro Recipe Cards

OK everyone, it's time to take a quick look back into recent history. Remember this post? The one about the small hand I played in my bridal shower with the recipe cards I designed? I'm not sure I really, truly explained what a huge success it was for me. Though I haven't started the creation of my own family recipe album quite yet, all the recipes are in a tidy stack in a beautiful basket just waiting for me. And let me tell you what...these are some really delish recipes! Bubs just made his mom's Madras Curry the other night for dinner. It's crazy good. And my mom's Chicken Parm. And her mother-in-law's Blondies. Our aunts' Treacle Pudding and Rosemary Chicken. Sissy's improved version of Grandpa's Strawberry Pie. Like I said before,with a gift like that, who needs presents? I'll cherish these recipes forever and, hopefully, one day my kids and grandkids will, too.

That got me thinking. Whether you're looking to do something similar with your bridal shower (and I can't recommend it enough), are feeling generous with your recipes or have a potluck coming up, who wouldn't prefer a cute retro recipe card over a plain piece of printer paper or a boring index card? So, just for you, I share my retro recipe card template. Just click here for the template and save to your computer.

These modern-vintage recipe cards are 3 1/2 x 5" when folded with cute dotted lines for writing out all your recipe's details. They print 2-up on a standard 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of card stock (recommended.) Trim at the black lines and you're all set!  

{note: these are for personal use only. sharing is encouraged, but please link back & give credit! © oh my word! 2009}

{While I'm Away...} Japanese Paper Tape

Now this stuff just makes me smile.

{mt japan}

happytape has big dispensers!

{happytape via hedge society}

{mt japan via black eiffel}
{DWR}

The Big Reveal: Invitations

We've officially hit the 1-month mark 'til we say our vows. It's a powerful thought and I find myself a bundle of emotions. Happy, nervous, anxious, loving, thoughtful and even a little sad. It's weird. You'd think after nearly 12 years with someone, you wouldn't feel anything but total bliss, but, as I've discovered over the last year, it's so much more than I had anticipated. For me, it's been almost a rite of passage. Never have I ever felt more independent, ready and committed. It's a very grown up, serious feeling. Blissful, joyous, exuberant, yes, but serious. It's hard for me to articulate exactly how I feel, but I think you get the gist. I'm already mentally working on trying not to cry through the entire thing. Yeah. I might fail miserably, but that's what waterproof makeup is for, right? :)

With that being said, it's time to reveal the glory that is our wedding invitation suite. It was my true labor of love and one obsession. Really, I cared more about the invitations than the flowers and *almost* the dress. I'm very pleased with the way they turned out and proud of my work. Enjoy!

The details:

· Design for all pieces: me
· Printing: letterpress (invitations), digital 4-color (RSVPs) by Mercurio Brothers
· Paper stock for invitations & RSVPs: Somerset Soft White 300 gm Velvet
· Inner & outer envelopes: Strathmore square flap 80lb Wove in Natural White
· Calligraphy: Future MIL!
· Paper stock for maps/insert: Paper Source (printed at home on the Canon i560)
· RSVP envelopes: Paper Source
· RSVP labels: designed & printed at home on Canon i560, Avery labels
· Custom embosser/return address: Three Designing Women

{In addition to what you see, there were 5x5 double-sided custom maps and directions cards, a 1.5" brown card stock belly band with an 1/8" wide double-wrapped satin ribbon to hold all of the pieces together. *note: I got the color as close as possible, but isn't quite right. It's more a muted warm yellow, rather than a bright yellow as in the foreground of image 1.}

{Please do not copy images without my consent!}

So Cute Southern Vintage Invitations

Aren't these invitations from Benign Objects to die for? I love the combination of patterns and colors. The kraft envelopes keep everything relaxed. Makes me want to drink a mint julep and sit under a magnolia. Gorgeous.

{Benign Objects via Oh So Beautiful Paper}

{Wedding Details} Take a Seat, Part II

So when it comes to wedding details, I'm all about it. The pew reservation cards, the escort cards, the menus, table numbers, guest book...to me, they are the tiny details that finish off the wedding the way jewelry does an outfit. Of course, they don't make the wedding, but when you've worked hard to create a certain kind of ambiance to your celebration, isn't it nice when everything fits together well?

Here are more great escort and place/seating card ideas I found while searching for inspiration:

Different paper or fabric selections could indicate menu selection, too.
{Martha via VintageGlam}

Aren't these mini notebooks great? Practical favors meet place card.
{ShopBirdDroppings}

Mini clothes pins are too cute for words. These could work for a casual, rustic wedding or a baby shower.
{Real Simple}

Stunning. And I'm only a little partial since they showed it with my name on the sample :)
{TimelessPaper via A Touch of Bliss}

What did you do for escort and place cards? Something traditional or avant garde? If you had to indicate menu selections, how did or would you go about it?

Custom Embosser...Cheaper Than Letterpress

Truth be told, I put crazy amounts of thought into our wedding invitations suite (but c'mon...would you expect anything less from me?) I think we managed to work out exactly what we wanted for a very reasonable price, but in order to get there, we had to compromise on a few things to make that happen. That means that letterpress envelopes was completely out of the question (Hello, extra $100!) Given that my FMIL has promised to work her calligraphy mojo on the envelopes, I couldn't mess up the look with a return address label!

I considered a custom return address stamper (and how cool is this one?)
But a custom embosser won out for a few reasons -- it will give that same tactile letterpress look, it doesn't run out of ink, mess-free, I will use it a million times and it will last (big fan of things not to end up in landfills.)

Custom embossing+square flap envelopes=sexy

I went with a Three Designing Women design #3431 from Simple & Sassy. They had the best price I could find (less than $60 WITH shipping) and quick turn-around. It arrived this week and I got to work embossing every bit of paper I could find. Trick is to stand up when you depress the lever...but wow. I am impressed (har!).

Clearly not us, but you get the idea.

Sewing Party

How cool is this stationery set? If I had any friends who did any sewing whatsoever, I'd have a party starring these cards-turned-invitations. Wouldn't that be fun?!

Love with a capital L. I am resisting buying them just to have "just in case"!

{Courtesy Fred Flare}

P.S. Get them at Fred Flare. I'm SO popping into the store the next time I find myself in Brooklyn.

P.P.S. Fred Flare has a blog and it's hilarious. Show them some love.

Freebie: Thank You Label Love

{Courtesy: Betsy White}

Are these not the cutest little favor bags? Sarah over at Classic Bride had featured them a few months ago, but I had missed it the first time -- sure glad I was reading her DIY posts and found it! What a great idea (AND DIY tutorial & template) from Betsy White. With a bit of ingenuity, you could make the cutest labels for kids' lunches using the same DIY principles. Now what a special treat from home that would be!

DIY Wedding: Save the Dates

Yay! The Save The Dates have officially been sent! Now that everyone shall be receiving (or have already received) theirs in the mail (unless they live outside the U.S.), I can post about it! I've been eager to write this post as soon as we got the postcards from the printer back in February.

Now I know that our wedding is < > this big. It's safe to say we went that route for several, practical and some unavoidable reasons, but we are embracing the intimacy that our private, very personal moment will be shared with such a close group of people. That's not to say that we're completely and utterly thrilled about it because, for one, we're "the more the merrier" kind of people, but it is what it is and that works for us. At least I can say, unequivocally, that our wedding will not be a three-ring circus (thank goodness.)

Now, with that bit prefaced and out of the way, I realized how completely unnecessary Save the Dates were, but I am paper-obsessed and couldn't live with myself had we missed a chance to send wedding-related mail to our loved ones. Silly, I know, but I just couldn't help it!

Though I repulse the idea of naming a theme to our nuptials, it does have the air of something from a better time, while not being overly cliché. Just something...soft, classic, elegant and seemingly effortless. Something timeless on the surface, but quirky and personal when you get into the details. I want things to have purpose and meaning and want nearly every choice to reflect us both. I want people to feel comfortable and beautiful and romantic and in love. I want really good food, quality drinks and toe-tapping tunes. Above all, I just want to slow down and savor every moment of the day.

With all of that said, careful consideration has been my MO through the whole planning process. I've tried to bring everything together in something just eclectic enough to make me happy while still keeping a general concept or "theme" (design blasphemy) ever present in the bones of the event.

My first opportunity was found in designing the Save the Dates. I have to admit, it wasn't the most creative I've ever been, but they are cute, didn't cost a fortune and were, for all practical purposes, practical. So many of our guests will be coming in from out-of-town, we felt it was a polite gesture to give them ample planning time...also, that we're getting married just a short time before Thanksgiving was something to consider.

The inspiration: vintage-looking postcards

{Courtesy Martha Stewart}

For me, this was the one photo inspiration that got the ball rolling for me. Once I saw the stamped "post card" at the top, the vintage postage and the deckled edge, I was smitten.

After much deliberation, we decided against the deckled edge (even though I know it would've made it look even better), but it was just one more expense tacked on that we chose to avoid.

I found the perfect vintage cake topper photo to use as the jumping off point, adjusted it in Photoshop to postcard size and played with the color until it had a sepia-toned look to it. That became the "pretty side" of the Save the Date postcard. On side 2, I laid out the necessary written details using a fun mix of fonts and justifications and a vertical dividing line between the correspondence and address sections. Once I had both sides, I saved them as PDFs and uploaded to Vistaprint.com. What a handy service! In just a few weeks, we had our Save the Dates in-hand and were ready for Phase 2.

Right fter the postcards were ordered to print, we bought a great vintage-looking "post card" stamp on Etsy. When everything arrived in the mail, I stamped all of the postcards with the stamp using a gingerbread-colored ink at the top, center of the postcard.

Once they were all stamped, I hand-lettered each of the addresses using a drafting pen (size 1 Sakura Micron pen, black ink.)

Once that was finished, I knew we needed cool postage but when I saw the cost of vintage stamps, I nearly choked. It would've cost me a fortune! So I got to work scouring the Internet and eBay, waiting for something to really stand out amongst the American flags and unknown poets, heros and writers. And then I saw Cole Porter on eBay and knew I had my man. Yes, I paid more than the 29-cent face value of each stamp (which was still 1-cent over what I needed) but I didn't care. Cole Porter it was.


So that's the first official DIY project posting for the wedding. How do you like it? The nicest postal worker ever let me hand cancel all of the postcards, too, so no yucky machine stamping ruined the clean look to them. I was thrilled that I was allowed to do that! AND the Dublin, Ohio post office's hand cancel stamp says "Shamrock Station, Dublin, Ohio" -- now, doesn't that beat all for a Friday the 13th wedding? I was over the moon! I'll most definitely be taking the invitations there, too.

I can't wait to post more as they come along. You all are really in for a treat with the rest of the wedding ephemera :)

MUST HAVE: Pop-up Placemats

This is a must for paper junkies like myself. Disposable, plain paper placemats with charming laser-cut pop-up designs. Must. Have.

Oh -- AND there are 6 different styles, including holiday versions...I'm loving the reindeer, for serious.

{Courtesy: Wedding Things}

MUST HAVE: Personalized Bookplate Stamp

The Paper Princess is seriously one of the cutest web stores I've ever seen. There's so much stuff I love on here it's not even funny! I found it while cruising the web looking for some cool bookplates (and she has a ton of darling ones.) But lookie at what I found! It's a personalized stamper! I LOVE it! If I can manage to hold out until my birthday in August, this is going right to the very top of my wish list.

Leslie offers really cute vintage-inspired paper stuffs, stampers, bookplates, calling cards, stationery...Love love LOVE it all. Another must have is the grocery door hanger. It's tops!

Calling All Cards

{Top L to R: Thoroughly Curly, Candice n Katie's Art, Pasaii Paperie}
{Center L to R: Vince Letterpress, Avie Designs}
{Bottom L to R: Fourteen Sisters, Camille Bellet}

My ever-so-cool mom was the first person I know to resurrect the Victorian tradition of the calling card many years ago. Hers was so girly and cute and so tremendously her, with purple and white flowers and teeny tiny swiss dots and stripes. I found one of her calling cards the other day while I was sorting through some papers and it got me thinking what a great bridal party gift it would make. It creates an opportunity to be creative and inject some personalization into it, but most importantly, it serves a purpose -- trust me, we do ourselves no justice when we run into someone we haven't seen in ages and we exchange numbers by calling one anothers' cell phones. That only cuts it in the most casual of circumstances and business networking isn't one of them. If you aren't a student, it's time to consider the calling card as your passage into adulthood or maybe a simple way to make a great first impression. Maybe you're a mom with a busy schedule (and what mom doesn't?) Set up your calling card to have your name as well as your kid's names and setting up play dates or teacher's meetings just became that much easier.

Here are a few of my faves on Etsy right now. Some are personalized, some are write in. Either way, it's win-win (and best of all, you won't break the bank.)

I'd Know That Silhouette Anywhere...

Though I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late with regard to the weddings avec silhouettes trend, I just had to post about it. Maybe it's the nod to stuffy Victoriana that I love or the simplicity of a built-in, custom design element but I love it. Just love it. While browsing through one of my beloved Martha Stewart Wedding issues awhile back, D. saw her silhouette cookie picture and mentioned how much he liked it, too. Perhaps this needs to be revisted and reconsidered for our own wedding...hmm...

Custom Victor Trading Co. cookie cutters
{Courtesy: Martha Stewart via Apartment Therapy}

Circular return address labels
{Courtesy: Simply Silhouettes}

Silhouette Save the Dates
{Courtesy: SimpleSong Design}

Christian & Stephanie silhouette benefit cookies
{Courtesy: The Good Apple}

Silhouette escort cards
{Courtesy: Mr. Boddington's Studio}

What a darling photo op!

Take A Seat

I love wedding paperstuffs. Look at these darling escort or seating card ideas, for example. They are so clever! How can one not smile? Oh, I can't wait to start making things! All of this planning is so...essential. Bring on the card stock and glue sticks, I'm ready for some DIY!! *squee*

{Top L to R: Dragonfly Couture Stationery, Lovely Design}
{Bottom L to R: Martha Stewart, unknown, Martha Stewart}

Guest Book Bonanza

Sometimes people's creativity makes my heart go all aflutter. True, some of these guest book ideas aren't exactly original, but they sure are great alternatives to the craft store variety.

{Courtesy: Zinke Designs}{Courtesy: The Bride & Groom Blog}

On a sad note...traditional Polaroid instant cameras/film are no longer available. Never fear, however! Polaroid does offer a new instant print camera for about $100 at quite a few major retailers around town. Though it falls short of warming my nostalgic heart in the same way, new technology can be pretty cool and it would definitely fit the bill as a replacement for the original for a creative guest book option.

{Courtesy: Elizabeth Anne Designs}

{Courtesy: The Incredible Bride's Flickr}{Courtesy: Bridalwave}

{Courtesy: eHow}

I have a pretty funny story about my future brother-in-law's wedding photo mat guest "book"...
So, long story short, D.'s family is English and all live outside of the U.S. Post-rehearsal dinner partying was inevitable and, apparently while I was sleeping away responsibly, several made up for my absence and drank my share. Some not-so-pretty things happened, in the form of fluid losses, and most woke up with a pretty nasty hang-over. Could this little momentary lapse of judgment be politely forgotten? Oh nooo, of course not! Where would be the fun in that?! Instead, a dear auntie left the bride & groom a little love note on their wedding photo mat, complete with a little stick person throwing up. Classic!

The Written Word

With the advent of technology and all of it's conveniences, I can't help but find myself longing for something more, drawn to the simplicity, beauty and thought put into the hand-written word. From amazing hand calligraphy to a simple thank-you note, all things ephemeral are a cherished (albeit old-fashioned art form) to me.

My soon-to-be MIL is ultra-talented in many different mediums, one of which is calligraphy. We are going to ask her to contribute her skills to pieces for our wedding as a gift to us. I sincerely can't think of a better gift!

Many people have complimented me on my very tidy handwriting, but rather than show you my terrible first-attempts at calligraphy, I thought I'd share with you my inspirations.

For anyone in the wedding blog world, Classic Bride is top-notch. Not only does she demonstrate impeccable taste, she has just recently launched her own company called SD Calligraphy featuring her fantastic calligraphy! Below is her Chelsea style -- the perfect amount of whimsy and classic appeal. Bravo Sarah! I'm a huge fan!

{courtesy of SD Calligraphy}

Below is a surprising bit of temporary artistry through handwriting. I wonder if the person who wrote this even knows how inspirational it is -- and that people all over the world are now appreciating it as more than the informational piece it was intended.

{courtesy of Flickr}

My love of the written word doesn't start and stop with hand calligraphy. I LOVE getting a proper letter or note through the mail. Last week, we had a meeting with a potential wedding photographer here in town. Not only did we have a really fun time, but in yesterday's post, we received this note. Talk about leaving us with a great impression! All of the details are so much fun - the recycled magazine envelope, the hand-stamped wax seal, the unique postage, the note's scalloped edge. She's an artist through and through.

{thank you kitty!}