Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer 2012

{ Photography by Bryan Gardener for Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer issue, © 2012 }

The new Martha Stewart Weddings Summer issue is on newsstands now, and Plurabelle Calligraphy was comissioned to design an alphabet of flourished capitals and numerals for this magazine’s nifty issue-within-an-issue, Design-It-Yourself Style (pages 257, 260–261, 263). The alphabet is applied to 3 D.I.Y. projects, each of which has downloadable templates through marthastewartweddings.com so you can try them out yourself. Above are photos of all three, and below are links to the instructions and templates for each. Enjoy!

Mini Barrels of Matches Favors: Instructions, Eyelet Template, Chevron Template, Faux Bois Template, and Watercolor Template

Monogram Table Numbers: Instructions and Template

Favor Tags: Instructions and Template

{ Photography by Bryan Gardener for Martha Stewart Weddings, Summer issue, © 2012 }

{ Calligraphy in the above templates by Plurabelle Calligraphy  |  Chevron pattern by Noelle Fitzgerald O’Reilly  |  Watercolor pattern by Antiquaria  |  Eyelet pattern based on design by Erica Hernandez  |  Faux bois pattern uncredited in magazine }

Christmas Dinner Place Cards

{ Calligraphy + Photography by Plurabelle Calligraphy } 

I just realized that I never posted these photos of the Christmas dinner place cards that I made in December. (I have a bad habit of saving blog posts as drafts and then forgetting about them!) It’s a variation on the watercolor place card technique I came up with last summer, for which I created my D.I.Y. video. For this project I was channeling holly as my inspiration, so I used opaque gouache instead of translucent watercolor.

d.i.y. chalkboard menu

{Calligraphy + Photography by Plurabelle Calligraphy }

For the past four days I’ve been sick with a terrible cold but this evening I felt better, and all I wanted was some craft time. While I was sick in bed, I spent a lot of time browsing cooking blogs for Thanksgiving dinner recipes, so I thought what better craft than a Thanksgiving dinner menu? For awhile I’ve been wanting to experiment with making homemade chalkboard paint, especially in colors other than black, so this was the prime opportunity. I mixed up some green acrylic paint, water, tile grout and a little acrylic matte medium and voilà – chalkboard paint with just the right amount of grit to look like a vintage school board. Of course, I didn’t really think ahead about what I’d paint it onto, but after some digging I found our old chess board (sorry to my boyfriend!), the back of which made for an excellent canvas. I’m not even sure yet what my final menu will be, but that’s the great thing about chalk boards – all of it can easily change!

chalkboard menus & banana pudding

 {Calligraphy + photography by Plurabelle Calligraphy, 2011 }

This was another project that made me hungry as I worked. Pan-seared turbot fish, lasagna cupcakes, triple berry tarts, southern banana pudding…my hand was shaking by the end of it. The guests of this wedding were certainly treated to a feast.

diy: watercolor & calligraphy place cards

{ project creation, execution and calligraphy by molly suber thorpe of plurabelle calligraphy;
filmed and edited by lilian day / lilianday.com }

I recently spent two weeks back home in Maine where, away from my Los Angeles studio, over many a bowl of fresh blueberries, I had the time to test out a number of the craft projects I’ve been dreaming up. My favorite one is this set of watercolor-patterned place cards finished off with calligraphy. I experimented with lots of colors and techniques and I found that making them was incredibly relaxing. In fact, I enjoyed making them so much that I wanted to share, so my sister and I whipped up this little video tutorial.

Supplies:

•  Heavy watercolor paper
•  Xacto blade, straight edge and cutting mat
•  Artist tape (1″ wide is ideal)
•  Large paint brush (or foam brush) for brushing on water
•  Small paint brush for watercoloring
•  Assorted watercolors of your choice
•  Acrylic paint in an accent color for splattering
•  Paper towels
•  Table salt
•  Calligraphy pen
•  Ink (or watercolor or gouache) of your choice for the calligraphy
•  Bone folder

Instructions:

1.  Cut up heavy watercolor paper into 3.5 x 6″ cards.

2.  Paste 1″ of artist tape across the full length of the cards starting 1″ from the bottom. Use at least two layers and press it down firmly so that no watercolor will be able to seep underneath it. There should be 1″ of paper exposed below the tape and 4″ exposed above it.

3.  Using the large paint brush, brush both the front and back of each card with water then pat dry with a paper towel. (This prevents the paper from stretching and warping unevenly.)

4.  With the smaller paint brush, paint the cards with an abstract watercolor design in the colors of your choice. I used four different shades — two pinks, peach and goldenrod.

5.  Blot off excess watercolor with a folded paper towel then fill in especially empty spots with more watercolor.

6.  Sprinkle the cards with a pinch of table salt. This creates a unique pattern by unevenly absorbing spots of wet color.

7.  Fill the small paintbrush with the acrylic paint and splatter it randomly over the card. Choose a color that will really stand out from the background colors you chose. I used gold to add some sparkle.

8.  Lay flat to dry.

9.  Once dry, brush off the salt and carefully peel off the tape. If the cards aren’t flat (which can happen in humid weather), press them between a stack of books overnight.

10.  Write the guests’ names on each card. I am a calligrapher so naturally this is my favorite part. If you’re nervous about messing up, just practice each name on scrap paper a few times until you’re comfortable. If you do not use a calligraphy pen and ink, then be sure to use a high-quality felt-tip pen and test it on a scrap of watercolor paper to make sure it doesn’t bleed.

11.  Fold each card in half and crease firmly with a bone folder.

Et voilà! Finished!