Summer fun is the main inspiration for Tipsy Skipper designs, but frequently, we get requests for the inspiration behind a specific print. So here's an inside look of the design process for our Summer prints.



Each print starts out as a painting or a drawing. Fiji Fizz started as a watercolor and acrylic painting. Once the painting was scanned into the computer, shadows were added. Then an intricate webbing of lines was laid over the design. The colors were altered slightly, and now we have 'Fiji Fizz' as we know it!

Inspiration behind the design can come from multiple sources. For example, Looped, while seemingly a simple geometric design, actually draws from several summer activities.

The water ring left from a drink on a cocktail napkin on hot summer nights, or the child reaching for the brass ring on the carousel. Playing with a ring form with patterns can be endless. The soft seafoam green is a beautiful color for summer.

The design thought behind 'Pinch Me' is clear - lobsters, and the beach! This print is perfectly patriotic for the 4th of July!

And then there's 'For Sail'. This print was inspired by Beetle Cat sailboats - a class of wooden sailboats that are frequently found in New England. This particular fleet sails out of the Weekapaug Yacht Club in RI.

The sails can be in all colors of the rainbow, with stripes and numbers on the sails. This print is in navy and white - a simple, nautical palette, so that it really sets off the design.

After a great kick-off to summer this Memorial Day weekend, we can see there will be plenty more inspiration in the coming months. Tipsy Skipper had a hugely successful trunk show this weekend in Watch Hill, RI, and we were excited to see regattas, waterskiing, swimming, golfing, etc. all going on this weekend. We can't wait for Summer to be in full swing!

Tell us what inspires you! We'd love to hear from you, and maybe you can send some inspiration our way! Remember - if you're in the CT area this week, we are having a trunk show in Rowayton, CT Come stop in! Cheers!

Sailors will find any occasion to gather around and drink! The Burning of the Socks is a long tradition in the sailing community - each year on the vernal equinox, it is a tradition to burn socks to ring in the Spring season. The best part about this celebration - you don't even have to know how to sail!



The Eastport Yacht Club in Annapolis, MD joins in the tradition of the Burning of the Socks. This event is a 'rite of Spring' and dates back to the 1980s at the Annapolis Yacht Yard. Bob Turner started the tradition after a long winter of working in the boatyard by burning his socks and toasting Spring! There is even an 'Ode to the Sock Burners' - can you say Yo Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum?!



[caption id="attachment_500" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="This may be the best use for socks we've seen!"][/caption]

So while we're tired of winter here at TS HQ, and growing anxious for Spring, we may make an attempt at burning our socks as well! We're just passed the Vernal Equinox, so we'll call it Fashionably Late. So gather up those ripe, foot straight jackets, build a fire and bring on the Skipper Skimmers and Tipsy Toes!

Sit back, have a cocktail, and let those Tipsy Toes breath! Cheers!

Crazy Burger, a hidden gem restaurant in Narragansett, RI was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives with Guy Ferretti. It's a very fun, artsy, casual atmosphere. No ordinary burger place, Crazy Burger offers extremely unique combinations: Hoof, Fin and Claw burgers, Quesadillas, Pizza and my favorite, the Wassupy Burger - a ground beef burger with horseradish, garlic and Worcestershire sauce, topped with Brie and home-made onion rings, served with wasabi-chipotle mayonnaise.  And the Bangkok slaw is unlike any other coleslaw! The extensive menu features something for everyone - they even have a vegan section of the menu, and the dishes featured on the Food Network are highlighted.

The Whassupy Burger - one of the dishes featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Another great dish is the Chicken Marsala Burger

The Baa-baa Burger is a lamb burger with feta cheese, baked in phyllo dough

Crazy Burger has many varieties of fresh, made-to-order juices, smoothies, and frozen lemonades. You can create your own combo or try a glass of Pear-Ginger-Apple juice, for example. Obviously, the Tipsy Skipper had to find a way to make these creative combinations a bit more 'Tipsy' so we came prepared with a flask and an open mind!

The orange-pineapple juice with rum made a delicious cocktail! Next time, we'll have to be better prepared to try several combinations, but this was a great start! We'll share more ideas in the near future!

The restaurant is very rustic and the lanterns hanging from the ceiling really create a fun atmosphere. A Tipsy Skipper printed lantern would look great hanging from the ceiling!

This picture was taken at the end of the night - Crazy Burger is never this empty - there is always a wait for a table, but it's worth it!  Each table has a Himalayan Salt Rock Candle - supposedly they balance out the negative/positive ions in the air.....a neat touch!

So Crazy Burger is an excellent place for a Tipsy Skipper - welcoming and casual! A great Tipsy find! And any restaurant that is BYOB is terrific in our book!

It's time to announce the winning Spring/Summer 2011 Tipsy Skipper prints. Thank you to all of you who participated in the Prints Survey! We loved your feedback and comments! So while we've included the top ranking prints, we've also thrown in a surprise or two....

And of course naming the prints is one of the best parts! So where do we get our inspiration? Summer, sailing, vacation, and yes... you guessed it! Cocktail parties!! It's up to you to figure out which of these were inspired by names of cocktails! Use our print names as inspiration to try a new cocktail this weekend!

Spring products will be up on the Tipsy Skipper website in the next couple of weeks. Sign up for our emails to be the first to know when Spring 2011 is available!

Wishing you fair winds and smooth sailing! -TS

As it's snowing in New England, remembering one of our stops on a recent trip to Culebra, PR...



El Eden Restaurant - A wine and Liquor store, Bar, and Deli & Cafe. Delicious Caribbean Fusion Cuisine.



The menu has a great block print illustration - I had to ask the owners about it. It turns out it was created by a 'husband and wife' team from RHODE ISLAND! They spend time in Culebra, and they have a store out on Block Island.

The Mussel appetizer was excellent, as well as the conch salad. And they had a side of zucchini spaghetti 'pasta' - very unique, and the margaritas were fantastic! The dessert - Rum Raisin bread pudding was to die for! Made with dark rum!



Recently, back in the snowy Northeast, we were inspired to create a fusion of the mussel appetizer and the zucchini spaghetti! With a little help from Barefoot Contessa (French Mussel Bisque recipe). Bon Appetit!

As it's snowing in New England, remembering one of our stops on a recent trip to Culebra, PR...



El Eden Restaurant - A wine and Liquor store, Bar, and Deli & Cafe. Delicious Caribbean Fusion Cuisine.



The menu has a great block print illustration - I had to ask the owners about it. It turns out it was created by a 'husband and wife' team from RHODE ISLAND! They spend time in Culebra, and they have a store out on Block Island.

The Mussel appetizer was excellent, as well as the conch salad. And they had a side of zucchini spaghetti 'pasta' - very unique, and the margaritas were fantastic! The dessert - Rum Raisin bread pudding was to die for! Made with dark rum!



Recently, back in the snowy Northeast, we were inspired to create a fusion of the mussel appetizer and the zucchini spaghetti! With a little help from Barefoot Contessa (French Mussel Bisque recipe). Bon Appetit!

Ever heard of a bacon cocktail?! Well BLTs are a classic, so shouldn't a cocktail inspired by the sandwich be delicious?....well...maybe.



You start by cooking bacon and collecting the grease...kinda gross. You combine it with vodka to create the bacon infused vodka. Then you freeze it so that the two separate.

The recipe suggests you make your own tomato juice - if you have time for that, by all means, but V8 will have to suffice for the Tipsy Skipper.

The cocktail is topped off with a 'lettuce air' - which requires juice from a head of lettuce, Soy lecithin and water. You can find soy lecithin at a health food store. Using an emulsion blender, you whip up the ingredients.  Extremely tedious for not-so-great results.

Garnished with a piece of bacon. Recommended for Bloody Mary drinkers or Tipsy Skippers that enjoy tomato juice. The cocktail did not taste much like bacon - the tomato juice kind of took over. If you're feeling like something new - give it a taste! Just don't be too hopeful.... Cheers!