I have decided the first recipe I need to make is the Coconut Southern Comfort Layer Cake.  Of course.  A dessert recipe first!

Their suite is another take on the Willow invitation, now available in my ready-made collection, and it included an over-sized 5.5 x 8.5" invitation, reply card with an envelope, a map of the area around the wedding ceremony and reception, accommodations card, welcome dinner invitation and map of the location, and an outer envelope.   Amazing, right?  I love a couple who looooves paper!  The envelope calligraphy was done by the ever-talented Jen of Pretty Pen Jen and worked perfectly with the invitation design.

All of the guests were invited to the welcome dinner, wedding ceremony and reception, and farewell brunch, so we were able to include everything on one reply card, including meal choices!

I love designing and printing maps and this suite had two!  I designed one for the area around the wedding ceremony and reception, and another for the welcome dinner.  The welcome dinner was being held on a private island that was a bit tricky to find, so the guests had a lovely letterpress map to follow.  I was a bit daring with the large flood of dark color for the lake, but it came out beautifully.

Each piece was letterpress printed on 100% cotton paper in pearl white.  The invitation was 220 lb. paper and the coordinating pieces were 110 lb.  All pieces were printed with a deep aubergine ink and then corner-rounded. 

Printing a lot of cards, mixing pretty shades of pink, watching that wheel spin, & sorting through wood type.  Just a lovely little day in the studio.

Valentine's Day is just about a month away!  Do you celebrate Valentine's Day?  I have always been a believer that the day is not just for people who are dating, enaged, or married but a day to send a sweet card to your grandparents or to give a little box of homemade sweets to your best friend.  It is a fun excuse to bake brownies and bust out the glitter and construction paper hearts!  Or to send a lovely little letterpress card, of course!  There are a whole bunch in the shop perfect for Valentine's Day or any day you want to send a little extra love.

In other stationery-related news, Parrott Design Studio now has a wholesale catalog with a simple and lovely collection of letterpress greeting cards available to shops {both brick and mortar and online}, and we are adding more designs each week.  You may check out the online catalog below, and if you are interested in more information or placing an order, email me at sarah(at)parrottdesignstudio.com.  There is a quick turnaround for shipping right now to ensure those Valentine's Day cards arrive in time!

I want a hippoptamus or Christmas is one of my favorite songs {which apparently I have mentioned here more than once!}.  I got a slightly last-minute idea to combine our love for letterpress and music for Rich and my Christmas card this year.  We sent out a mix cd with our favorite, slightly off-beat holiday songs packaged in a custom illustrated {by me!} letterpress printed cd sleeve, complete with a random mix of current and vintage postage stamps.   

We managed to pull it all off in one week and got them out literally three days before Christmas.  I know a few arrived after Christmas.  Oh well!  It can be enjoyed year after year, right?