Category: Fun Bits & Pieces

Ok… ok… I took a little summer vacation over the last two weeks from blogging. I know I’ve been a bit delinquent! One of the reasons I took some time off was to host my sister’s baby shower back home in Massachusetts. It seems like everyone is having babies these days! In the past two weeks I have received several emails from former clients looking to have baby announcements made, how amazing is that? Sometimes you feel like you’re making “just a wedding invite” but when you stop and think about it, you’re a huge part of the most special day in the clients life. To be able to then work on their birth announcements is a pretty incredible thing. Here is to spreading the baby love!

I received a fun little surprise in the mail last week. My good ole’ fiancé picked up my subscription to New York Magazine. It’s a total treat! This weeks cover is a great source of inspiration, it has a 50’s inspired poster feel going on {and possibly notes of 90’s teen mags- Tiger Beat anyone?} With punches of neon and excellent retro type, I absolutely want to use this as inspiration for a new design.

I think I was the last designer in town to get an iPhone but once I finally did, the world was my oyster! Ok, that is a bit dramatic however it did help out a lot. One of my favorite things about having one is being able to snap a quick bit of inspiration as you’re out and about. Now, I chronicle all these moments on my phone and {finally!} on Instagram {you can find me @swisscottagedesigns}. Here are a few shots from last week that show what is keeping us inspired around these parts.

Secret park in my neighborhood I found last week. LOVE the sign design.

New letterpress job we’re working on, the brick pattern is unreal!

Cute illustrated map in Marie Claire magazine.

Vintage car outside of one of Brooklyn’s coolest wedding venues, The Green Building.

A new collab with Love, Jenna. Digging the vampy red- making me ready for Fall.

A few years back I went to visit some friends in Portland, Oregon. We had a grand ol’ time, Portland is sort of my soul mate city. While there, I went to the amazing bookstore, Powell’s, and bought myself a few freshies. {small side note: I don’t really buy souvenirs when I travel but I do like to buy either a book or a mug from every place I visit. It’s a way for me to remember the trip long after it’s done.} One of the books I picked up was The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. I was, as per usual when it comes to my book purchases, in love with the cover art. The illustrators’s name is Carson Ellis and she is a TREMENDOUS talent {she’s also married to Colin Meloy who is the lead singer of the Decemberists. She is the the bands graphic designer- um… so cool.} Her work is so rich, I most definitely have have an art crush on her. Her use of color and line is fantastic. Each illustration tells a story and keeps giving off little details the more you look at it. Let’s be honest- she’s kind of fantastic. Here are a few pieces from her website that inspired me today, have a look!

all images from Carson Ellis’s website + blog

I am so excited, we recently booked our honeymoon and we’re going to New Zealand! We have no idea what we’ll be doing but I’m sure we’ll figure it out along the way. With the wedding being 4 months away, I’m day dreaming about all the amazing things we’re going to do on this trip {forget about the actual wedding!} Now, just need to start on those pesky invites…

We just finished up a job for a destination wedding in Puerto Rico. Our main source of inspiration was all the vintage tiles designs you can find throughout Puerto Rico. Once we added the couples bright color palette, the patterns jumped off the page! Here’s a peek…

Welcome to the finest month of the summer folks!

We’re creeping into the late summer now with August on the horizon, amazing how fleeting this season can be. Trying to take some time to enjoy the summer this week, hope you all can as well!

Nothing is more intimidating than a blank piece of paper. It has so much potential but it’s always so scary to see if you can make something great appear on it. Here are a few snaps of some recent custom jobs we’ve been working on, always love to see where they start and how they end.