Favourite Things of 2010: Stationery ...

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!!! I thought I'd continue my look back at 2010 with a mini gallery of my favourite items ... today ... fabulous stationery.

By Loop

By Night Owl Paper Goods

By Orange Beautiful

By Andy Pratt Design

By L2 Design Collective

By Poketo

By Jesse Willmon

Have a lovely Christmas. I'll be away for a few days eating vast quantities of Mince Pies; then I will be back to continue the review of trends and favourite things after the festive celebrations. Happy Christmas. Charlotte xx

Trends of 2010 - Birds ...

I thought it would nice to end the year with a quick nostalgic look back at some of the best Cards & Gifts of 2010. For the first 'review style' post I wanted to focus on all the lovely bird inspired Cards & Gifts I've seen and loved over the year. There's lots to see so today we'll go for a gallery style post rather than lots of words. Sit back, browse and enjoy.

by Lagom

by Hello Lucky

by Eve & Fox

by Andrew Tanner

by Paperclip Cards

by Engrave

by Prince Design UK

by Velvet Olive

by Peel Cards

by Helen Shere

by Little Bird Press

by Buttongirl Designs

Christmas Giveaway ...

Sorry for my absence from the blogging world over the last few days ... seasonal illness has kept me away from my laptop and the blog. :-(

With only a few days before the Christmas break I thought I'd use the last little bit of time this week to have a nostalgic look back on the last year's Cards & Gifts. But first a quick mini giveaway.

Over the last year I've built up a nice little pile of greetings card goodies from publishers here in the UK and in the States. Over Christmas I'll split the one pile into three smaller selections and you could win one. The giveaway will be on a plain and simple 'first come, first gets the cards' basis. So here's the instructions and rules, you've got to have rules, well rule in this case ...

If you want a mini set of cards just email me! Include your name and postal address to: mail@cardandgiftblog.com - please put 'Giveaway' in the subject line.

The first three emails will get the goodies, which will be posted in the New Year. I'll split out the cards I have equally but I cannot guarantee how many cards you'll get or which cards you'll get, but they will be a mix of all the publishers who have sent stuff.

The rule is simple if you are a friend or a family member please don't enter ... I send you cards & presents anyway ... you don't need more!!

That's it for today ... tomorrow a quick look back at the best bits of 2010.

Christmas Gifts: Night Owl Paper Goods ...

As Christmas is rapidly approaching today marks the end of the mini Card & Gift Blog Christmas segment. I thought I'd end on a personal favourite and a brilliant purveyor of Cards & Gifts from America. A perfect supplier for our American Audience. Night Owl Paper Goods specialise in their very own range of 'modern yet folksy' cards & gifts. Today's post is just a few examples of their collection that would make fab festive gifts.

As much as I love all the modern stuff (computers, the internet and all that malarkey) I don't think you can beat getting real, written mail. This lovely new Letter Tray Gift Set therefore makes such a cute present. A clear tray full of notecards featuring the Night Owl critters and a selection of co-odinated wooden buttons. The set retails at $29 (prices in American Dollars). Or if your recipient prefers to keep their jottings private you can choose from a selection of Journals. My favourite (pictured below) is the 'Beep! Beep! Bug Journal'. At just $18 it is perfect for notes, sketches or even plotting big plans for 2011.

All of the Night Owl range is Eco-friendly using materials such as sustainably harvested Birch and 100% post-consumer, recycled paper. The 'Howdy Y'owl Jotter' is a prime example, at just $8 it makes a cute stocking filler.

As well as their wonderful array of stationery gifts Night Owl Paper Goods also have a range of calendars to help cheer up your home. The '2011 Danish Owl Calendar' features fanciful owls and festive florals in the unique Night Owl style. As you can see from the image the calendar is printed front and back on Eco-friendly sustainably harvested Birch and finished with a natural jute hanger. The calendar can be purchased for $18.

Our final image isn't technically a gift but they will add the final flourish to any present. A set of four 'Frederick Fox Tags' will set you back $10 and is an adorable way to decorate your gifts. The tags are printed on 100% cotton ecru cover stock and finished with a hemp cord. 

To see the full collection or purchase any of the Night Owl goodies you have seen today pop along to their fantastic website.

Christmas Gifts: Creme Nouveau ...

Today's Christmas inspiration is courtesy of Creme Nouvea. Designer Kat has come up with some fantastic Christmas gifts; candles that will brighten up the coldest days and  jewellery that will shine on on the Christmas party circuit. All with her unique, vintage-inspired designs. 

The Creme Nouveau collection of Tea cup candles retailing at £16 make a gorgeous gift. The Strawberry Cream Tea Candle (shown above) is typical of the range with strawberry essential oil and a touch of cream for a luxurious scent inspired by the perfect cream tea. The candle is set in a vintage Japanese hand-painted cup decorated with birds and florals.

The collection has a variety of scents and patterned cups so you're sure to find something to suit. The range includes some lovely Christmassy and Wintery scents including mulled wine, eggnog, hot chocolate, caramel latte and berry chai.

We of course cannot forget what Creme Nouveau do best and Christmas is a perfect time to show off some of their fabulous jewellery ranges ... a perfect party accessory. Today's images are from the 'Twinkle Deluxe' range. The extra special and glamorous pieces include the Babe Necklace, £125; Cupid Brooch, £29 and Pope & Bovril Earrings, £38.

To see the full collection or purchase one of the handmade designs go along to the Creme Nouveau website.

Christmas Gifts & Beyond: Snapdragon's Garden ...

One of the things I love about Twitter is getting to discover a heap of creative folks from all over the country and world that are out there making terrific cards and gifts. Today's images are from Snapdragon's Garden who I found via Twitter. Take a look ...

Snapdragon's Garden is based in the picturesque landscape of Loch Lomond National Park. Using vintage and recycled fabrics they stitch together a fab array of gifts and stocking fillers including: badges, mirrors, cushions, bottle openers and doorstops and notebooks.

Today's images are from the collection of pocket mirrors. Retailing at £4.95 they would make a gorgeous, bright addition to any handbag.

Beyond the festive season there are a heap of fresh designs that will march us out of the snow and straight into Spring with the inspiration of Snapdragon's Garden. To see the full collection, have a wander over to the official website.

Over Christmas I'll be working on a little Card & Gift Blog makeover. If there's anything you'd like to see please email me on mail@cardandgiftblog.com or find me on Twitter!

Christmas Cards: Soul Water ...

I couldn't resist one last Christmas Card post to show you some glamorous designs from Soul Water on behalf of The Eve Appeal Charity. Here are the pics ...

Each of the eight designs is the creation of Illustrator Zoe Georgiou, who was behind Dannii Minogue's Project D fragrance. The designs replicate the luxury feel of 'coffee table' cards; mixing Parisian elegance and London style to create a strong visual statement.

The cards are available in two sets entitled 'Season' and 'Rocks' presented in a Trucard wallet. 

The Eve Appeal funds groundbreaking research into gynaecological cancers. 10% of the sales from this beautiful Christmas range will be donated directly to The Eve Appeal. (The links will take you to the Charities website so you can find out more).

The card sets are £5.95 for a pack of eight (two each of four designs) or can be purchased as single cards for £2.75. To find out more about Soul Water check out their website or for a quick purchase go directly to the NOTHS online store.

Christmas Cards: The Sardine's Whiskers ...

We're into our final week of festive highlights before Card & Gift Blog goes on a mini Christmas holiday and today is dedicated to The Sardine's Whiskers. You may recognise the cute and quirky stylings of designer Ally Court whose everyday cards we featured back in November (click here to see the post).

I love the clean, contemporary look of Ally's cards which use a smooth, high quality white card highlighting the fun, bright designs. Each card is blank inside for your own message. 

Ally's festive range has 6 designs that are available as individual cards retailing at £1.90 or as a pack of ten cards for £15.00. The whole range can be seen and purchased at The Sardine's Whiskers' online store.

For more Festive goodies come back tomorrow or if you can't wait till then come find me on Facebook or Twitter for a chat.

Christmas Gifts: Rachael Taylor Designs ...

For the final blog post of the week we've got some lovely ideas for gifts from Rachael Taylor Designs. A freelance surface pattern designer Rachael creates fun, quirky designs ... 'patterns to make you happy'. Today we've got some images from the gorgeous gift range ... all complete with Rachael's signature designs. 

Available to buy from the Rachael Taylor Designs online store, today's blog post shows just a small selection of the range. There are plenty of gift items to choose from such as Heart Keyrings retailing at £5.25 or a variety of the patterned cushions, which are digitally printed and hand-finished in the UK. Cushions are £45.00 each.

For those who adore cooking and want to add some stylish patterns to their kitchen Rachael's homewares collection includes Aprons at £15.50, Oven Mitts at £10.00 and Tea Towels at £7.00.

I also love the mugs, which would make a cute mini gift. Available in a variety of etched designs the high quality mugs retail at £8.00 each.

The final image is a perfect example of a fabulous, statement gift. A Limited Edition piece of affordable art, Rachael has exclusively designed a number of prints including the Foliage & Floral Canvas shown below. Bespoke sizes are available, the image shows a 71 x 112cm box canvas that retails at £140.00.

To see the full collection of gifts (there are even some cards too) from Rachael Taylor Designs visit the official website or if you want to go straight to buying take yourself along to the online store.

Christmas Cards: Wishing Tree Cards ...

A few weeks ago I showed you images from the Wishing Tree Cards occasions collection (click here to see the original post) and I couldn't resist today bringing you images from their fabulous Christmas range.

I love the contemporary style of the range which brings together festive themes with a fresh colour palette and cute characters. The ranges previewed here are Winter Wonderland, a beautiful range set against a blue background and hand-finished with red gems. Secondly is Christmas Swirls, beautifully illustrated designs printed on a high quality textured board.

Wishing Tree Cards are available to purchase online in packs. A collection of six assorted designs retails at £7.99 per pack. Click here to go straight to the online shop or take a wander over to the official website for more information.