We all need to quit our day jobs. Now. There is a market for crazy expensive stationery and we need to get in on it! Just take your name, write it in a fancy dancy calligraphy script and add the phrase “couture paperie” at the end. Done. You now are a high-society stationer.

“High Society” is quickly becoming my favorite series on the blog. It’s like I’m the Robin Leach of paper – and if I could, I would regale you with my awesome English accent. Which coincidentally, sounds exactly like my Irish accent, my French accent and my Italian accent. But I can do a mean Cockney.

Thanks to the recommendation of Shyra – I found these high-society beauts.

{What They Say} Hand Painted Glorious Bugs Mixed Note Card Set : First engraved in luxurious gold, each card is hand painted, creating eight original pieces of art. An extra touch of luxe is added to your glorious bug menagerie with multi-colored beveled edges. Delivered to you in Maisner’s signature fabric box.

{What I Say}  Menagerie? Of glorious bugs? I’ve always considered myself to be the queen of hyperbole. Then I read this. The last time I used the word “menagerie” was when I sang the “Prince Aliaba-bwa” song from Aladdin (which wasn’t all that long ago). I can only assume that this “glorious bug menagerie” includes glorious live butterflies that flutter out of the “signature fabric box” as you open it. Remember that scene in Bridesmaids?

I totally get it. These are hand-painted pieces of art and to be honest,  I’m not even mad at the price. Herein lies the rub:(Shakespeare shout out. Rich people like that) If I am going to invest in pricey hand-painted pieces of art, you can bet your Christmas Eve crown roast (another thing wealthy folks like)… I’m not packing it up in an envelope and sending it off to someone else.  No ma’am.

Instead, how about I keep the pricey ones and write love notes to myself. For my friends, I can just DIY my own menagerie…

Now, my painting skills may not be worth $15 a pop, but I’m ok with that. I’ll happily sacrifice hand-painted perfection for the $120 that I’ll be snuggling up next to when I go to sleep tonight.

For these cards, I added my own “extra touch of luxe” by creating a double-debossed frame around the card front. To me, this looks more finished and schmance.

Before packaging these up in a signature fabric box of my own, I decided to include some gold envelopes lined with white tissue paper. One thing I have learned about high-society stationery…these people love to line envelopes with tissue paper. Truth be told – it is very classy-looking, but I’m convinced that this is a secret strategy that high-society people use to let you know that the card you just received cost more than Kim Kardashian’s sham wedding.

Note to self: Next time I get some tissue-lined stationery, sell it on Ebay.

SUPPLIES

Hero Arts Antique Engraving stamp set | Papertrey Ink Simply Stationery | Clear and Simple Stamps 24 karat envelopes | Tombow Watercolor Markers | Gold Embossing Powder 

Have you seen any high-society stationery lately? Do tell!