An Envelope Tutorial

You think an invitation sets the tone for the event to follow? Well the envelope is the front line and (lucky for you!) it can have a major wow factor. Pay close attention to everything from calligraphy and liners down the the stamp on the front and how it's canceled by the post offers. Here are a few envelope pointers:

Envelope Liners

Let's work inside out and start with liners. Like this lovely lattice design from Smock.


Liners are great for playing up and carrying over color schemes from the invitation itself. A quick trick to tell a well made invitation apart from a run-of-the-mill card: check inside the envelope to see whether the line runs all the way down to the bottom. Some paper makers will cut it short to save $$.

A luxe liner can give major pop to an otherwise plain invitation. Feeling crafty? Head to Martha Stewart and learn how to line envelopes at home.

Handwritten Calligraphy

No sense in paying for lovely printed invitations if your chicken scratch is going to muck up the front. Think (hard) about investing in calligraphy for your outer, and if necessary, inner, envelopes.

Depending on who you with, calligraphy costs between $1.50-$3.00 per invitation. If you're investing hundreds of dollars in printed invitations, calligraphy is worth it. Troll around Etsy and you'll fine scads of artists out there willing to take on your invitation.

Ready to spring big? Check out this fabulous work from Neither Snow.



Another shop we like is Grace Edmands out of Orlando, Florida.

Thinking about running your envelopes through the printer? We advise against it. Handwritten calligraphy makes a huge difference and turns an otherwise sterile envelopes into something personal. Admit it - when you check your mail each day the first pieces you open are the ones adorned with pen and ink.

Postage Stamps

We've written about postage stamps before. Zazzle is an option for custom stamps, thought we don't love the heavy metered strip on the right-hand side of each stamp.

One trend we love is using vintage postage stamps culled from eBay and other antique shops to creatively cover an outer envelope. These examples come from Wedding Bee.



And Finally.....

One last, but most important, note on posting your invitations. Bring your lot to the Post Office and ask the officer to HAND CANCEL each stamp. This process saves your invites from running through the machine where they're bound to get unwanted markings and dings.

Happy stamping. Can't wait to see what you send.....

What's Cookin'

Thanks to Oh So Beautiful Paper for showing off these "Bun in the Oven" baby shower invitations from Tenn Hens design.

We are head over heels smitten with these cards! Red + robin egg blue is a great color scheme - funky and gender neutral (a delightful change of pace from baby pinks and blues).
And the special touches - the design, the twine, the creatively adorned envelopes - are all so whimsical! Absolutely perfect touches for welcoming a little one to the world.

Handmade Especially for You

They may not be for every bride and groom, but we're kind of feeling these one-of-a-kind wedding invitations from Perch Papier.


Invitation "packages" - save the date + invitation + response & direction cards - start at $600/100 - a pretty amazing deal for custom work. Our only request, if you chose to pick up Perch cards for yourself? Send us one, please! We'd love to get our hands on one of these.

Love Birds

Images of cans rattling down the street behind limos and pictures of his and hers wedding cake toppers.....wedding cards can be so hokey.

Next time your buddies announce their nuptials, how about congratulating them in style, with a special note from Red Bird Ink, an art, design and letterpress studio based in Atlanta, Georgia. They have a great selection of cards, coasters, artwork and other printed fancies on their online etsy shop.

Artist Julia Farill gives explains the genesis of her cardinal love birds design:

This set of cards was inspired by my childhood snow days in Charlottesville, Va. We had a lot of birds visit our house in the woods but I had favorite red bird who would come sit on my windowsill. I loved waking up in the morning to find the world all glittery and white. The contrast of red birds against bright white snow was so much like a fairy tale. When the school bus could not make it down our road my brother, sister and I would gather up sleds and head out for a day of trial and error sledding... can we make it down that hill... over that log... can we get going so fast that we jump the creek? Then we would come home to a warm wood stove, cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate.

Get Snippy

Let's keep our focus overseas today. A quick hop across the Tasman takes us to Sydney Australia, where we find Paperklip designs.

Using patterned paper, twine and a hole punch, Paperklip's proprietor Melinda creates garlands, placecards and table numbers and are sure to spruce up any party.




Melinda's background is in architectural drafting, furniture sales and craft. 

 Her beautiful designs are available on Etsy.

New Zealand in Bloom

Warm spring days spent outside make us a little homesick for our time in New Zealand. We used to go ga-ga over the South Island's plants and flowers, like the blue and white agapanthus which grew in abundance in our front yard in Sumner.

These beautifully simple cards from Blush Publishing will have to tide us over until we make our way back for a springtime visit.

Fielder's Choice

We've talked about Moleskin notebooks before - are they worth it? Too pretty? Practical enough? If you feel the way we do, you may be on the fence about Moleskin. Thankfully, there's Field Notes, hugely-convenient pocket-sized notebooks in three varieties: graph, ruled and plain.


So many choices! What to do with all these books? FP's creators give you some great ideas:

GRAPH: Spatial calculations, pixelated icon designs, frenzied matches of Tic-Tac-Toe and that perfect design of the deck you’ve always wanted to “add on” to the homestead.

RULED: Penmanship practice, carefully crafted lyrics, a missive pleading for parole, passive aggressive public notices, a lover’s note folded into some tabbed triangle thingie and maniacal lists of whatever you can dream up worth listing.

PLAIN: Freehand drawings, waiting room doodles, tripped-out mind-expanding-page-filling works of psychedelia and maybe even a loving portrait of your flea-bit pet.

Package Project: I'm in!

Hurrah, hurrah! Today I received an email from Nadia, the fabulous blogger and curator of Cupcake Couture, a site dedicated to handmade goodies from around the world. A few months ago Nadia launched the Package Project, and today she emailed and invited me to join the club.

Rules of the club:

If you commit and sign up you need to commit to sending a package. You
don't want to disappoint your package partner.

The package can include anything from craft supplies, buttons or something that represents your home country or town. The aim is to make new friends so try not to blatantly promote your own products. Of course you can include some in your
as I am sure your new friend would love to see what you make and create.

Please try to include about 5 different items or objects in your package. Nothing too valuable as you want it to arrive at its destination.

Here's a peek at my application:

Name: Rachel XXX
Website: postboutique.blogspot.com
Email Address: rachel [at] postboutique.com
Location: Alexandria, VA
Are you willing to send overseas: yes, yes! I am filled with wanderlust.....

What are your interests: navigating foreign-language menus;
gardening in small (apartment-sized) spaces; writing (and receiving)
letters; flower arranging; hiking; cycling around on my 7-speed Raleigh Cruiser; lots of trips to dog parks with my seven-month old pup, Finn; reading, reading, reading (I work for a magazine)

Favourite sites:
apartmenttherapy.com
http://ffffound.com/
http://www.designspongeonline.com/
craigslist.org
Katespade.com (behind the
curtain)
http://referencelibrary.blogspot.com/
http://ohjoy.blogs.com/my_weblog/
gofugyourself.comslate.com
http://emdashes.com/
http://www.etsy.com/
joangreensprettyprint.com (my mom's site!)

So now sit at the edge of my desk chair, waiting to find out the details of my package pal. I'll keep you posted. Very exciting!

Take Note

Fashion-forward writers, put down your pens and hop online to Modern Paper Goods to pick up this great reporter's notebook, equipped with its own pen holder.

It's a bargain at $4.95 and despite its name (Blue.Blu. List Pad), it's bound to make your days a little brighter.

Tell us How?

Ok. We admit it. We never understood the appeal of Moleskine notebooks (why pay so much for something to doodle and write "to do" lists in?). But these diagram design beauties from Girls Can Tell are really cute.


All of GCT's designs are screen printed onto bound books, and designer Sara Selepouchin gives us a step-by-step tutorial on her blog.

Getting off the Grid

It's 9:30 p.m. and here I sit, glued to my computer, responding to work emails that have been flying around since I left the office at 7 p.m. All this typing is bad for my wrists, bad for my eyes, bad for the unread pile of magazines and dust-covered books and unused boxes of stationery stashed around my apartment. Sometimes I wish I could unplug.

Cartoonist and graphic novelist James Sturm seems to be jonesing for the printed page too these days, and is making a conscious choice to jump off the grid and back into a life dedicated to family and his craft. Read about his campaign to cut his ties to the interview in his essay on Slate:

Over the last several years, the Internet has evolved from being a distraction to something that feels more sinister. Even when I am away from the computer I am aware that I AM AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER and am scheming about how to GET BACK ON THE COMPUTER.

He goes on:

Two years ago, I was a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, a retreat for artists, writers, composers, and other creative types. Although the main lodge was wired, the studios were not, and for three weeks I worked on Market Day, a graphic novel, without any intrusions. (Lunch was dropped off by my door in a basket.) I realize that I can't replicate that ideal setting for sustained focus in my daily life, but I can certainly improve my current situation.

Strum plans to document his "no-fi" experience in a bi-weekly column for Slate using pictures and words. I'm a bit awestruck. Jealous. Anxious to hear how this turns out. Makes me want to get offline and on board. But then what would happen to Post?

You're It

In any good game of tag, there's always one most desirable "It." Ours is Small Square Design, with their sweet line of gift tags.



Designer Basak is currently on maternity leave, leaving her Etsy shop shuttered for the time being. Just like any thrilling game of tag, we can't catch her yet.....but we're well positioned for her return.

Andy Pratt on Jasmere

Katherine, our inside source at Jasmere - a fabulous deal-a-day sample sale site - clued us in on a great deal starting today at noon for Andy Pratt flat print and letterpress notecards.

We've swooned over Andy's colorful birthday cards before - they're a mainstay at Cut + Paste - but having the chance to buy Pratt's wares at deep discounts make our hearts flutter.

Each variety pack will include cards from Pratt's various collections. Poke around on Pratt's site and pick your favorite designs - he'll will do his best to accommodate special requests.

Our special request? Add a DC cityscape to your location collection, please! This city has great angles.

Spring Arrivals

Happy spring holidays, all. Happy Passover, Easter, whatever you decide to celebrate as

the cold weather melts away.

This warm weather weekend in Alexandria has reminded us there is much to be thankful for and to look forward to in the months ahead - family gatherings, summer gardens, crisp white wines. We love the promise of springtime.

So it seems spring-themed thank you cards are in order. We choose these buttercup letterpress cards from Blush. A UK-based letterpress company, Blush uses treadle powered (no electricity!) presses that date back to 1893 and weigh over 1,000 pounds to create elegant letterpress designs with staying power. Looking for something a little more stylized? Check out their bespoke printing options (warning - save your quids, first.)

Paper with Purpose

Paper cynics - you know who you are. You're the ones who remind us that all of your mail - electronic and otherwise - ultimately ends up on the trash.

We hear you, and the purpose of this blog is to convince you otherwise - to explain that paper has staying power. But if all our harping about paper for posterity isn't enough to persuade you to w-r-i-t-e, try this: dual purpose notecards from Essentials.

Each card comes with a removable decorative patch. Peel it off and sew it on to something with a little staying power. A dishtowel, maybe? Or a set of placemats? Let us know what else you come up with - we welcome the suggestions. We can't decide if these are a fab find or if they're frivolous - let us know what you think.