Mister Waffley by Smiley Eyes ...

Happy Halloween everyone! To divert expectations and mix things up, today's post is not remotely scary, in fact, it's better described as incredibly cute. Think of it as giving you a scare break that leaves you rested and prepared for the Halloween horrors of tonight!

Today's post looks at a brand new character to the world of cards and gifts ... Mr Waffley (cute!), the star of new card publisher Smiley Eyes. Behind Mr Waffley and Smiley Eyes is husband and wife team Ray and Lianne Dale. Prior to launching Smiley Eyes, Ray worked as an artist and Illustrator, and Lianne trained as a teacher. This combined experienced has enabled the pair to create a range of character driven greetings cards, notecards and prints. Today's images are taken from their line of large story cards. Each card comes with its own occasion appropriate, short story about the adventures of Mr Waffley, an inquisitive and good natured rabbit. Many greetings cards are more than just a card these days and I love the approach Smiley Eyes has taken to make their cards extra special. I loved reading books when I was little (still do) and I think the charming stories and adorable character of Mr Waffley make this an appealing range.

Large A5 Story Cards complete with short story (as shown in the image above) retail at £2.20. Alternatively Mr Waffley also features in a series of A6 verse cards for £1.50 each and packs of six notecards for £5. All of the designs are available to view and purchase online. Click here to go straight to the Smiley Eyes website.

Sunday Blog Spot: Frank Aakvik Blog ...

Today's Sunday Blog Spot is dedicated to the blog of Norwegian Designer-Maker Frank Aakvik. As a contemporary artist and engineer, Frank's personal blog provides a space for information and comments on his work, as well as art and design work that inspires him.

As I write this post the last update to Frank's blog was in July. I think the normal style in recommending blogs is to pick a blog that updates frequently and has posted recently but for today I'm going against that convention (if it exists, I may have just made it up). This blog is a new find for me and I really enjoyed looking back through the archive posts, so if you're not against reading archives why not check it out.

I particularly like the most recent post with its steampunk USB sticks; mixing new technology with an earlier technology of cogs and gears. My other recommendations for posts in the archive ... take a look at Frank's approach to a 'Lack of Motivation' - a short paragraph of wise words, and for someone like me who struggles to maintain motivation it works as a good reminder to take a break and shake things up. Also check out the photo used in the 'Learning about Crafts and Technology' post ... what are they doing to that toy dog?? Click here to go to the Frank Aakvik blog.

That's it for today, hope you have a lovely Sunday evening.

Festive Friday - Reiko Kaneko ...

To end the working week (and with a bit of a selfish aim of easing myself into the festive spirit) I thought we should have a 'Festive Friday' on the blog. So I'm kicking off the celebrations with these funky and brilliant Christmas baubles by the brilliant Reiko Kaneko, designer of extraordinary contemporary ceramics. With a mix of classic Christmas themes, animal stars and messages there are designs for everyone. Made larger than ordinary baubles, Reiko Kaneko decorations are crafted from fine bone china, making quality baubles that you can treasure for years to come. I find that one great way to get into the Christmas mood is to buy a new Christmas decoration; year by year building up your own unique festive memories. These cool, contemporary baubles are a great way to treat yourself or a friend with a unique pre-Christmas gift, take a look ...

Baubles are £14.95 each or you can choose a personalised design with a favourite photo or personal message fired onto one of the bauble. Personal Christmas baubles retail at £22 for a personal message or £29.95 for a full image. To find out more visit the Reiko Kaneko website.

Gifts for Kids - Mudpuppy Press ...

Mudpuppy Press was launched by yesterday's blog stars Galison in 1992; initially specialising in puzzles, Mudpuppy Press has expanded their gift collection to include a variety of stationery, toys, and educational games. Today's post features some of my favourite new additions to their product lines; cute, affordable gifts for babies and children that would make excellent stocking fillers this Christmas. The new range has gifts for all ages, from babies to older children, and themes that will appeal to both boys and girls.

Featured items:Construction Block Puzzle, $15; Under the Sea 12 Piece Puzzle, $10; On the Farm Puzzle Wheel, $10; Forest Thank You Create-a-Card, $10; Robots Create-a-Card, $10; Mothers & Babies Ring Flash Cards, $12 and Sports Money Box, $13.

Gifts from Mudpuppy Press are available to view and purchase online. To take a look at the full collection, visit the Mudpuppy Press website.

Stationery Gifts from Galison ...

Manhattan based Galison has been designing and publishing notecards, fine art stationery and greetings cards for more than thirty years. Today's blog post showcases their latest stationery lines. The designs I have chosen to show you from the new collection revolve around the ideas of exploration and famous cities. First, celebrating the big cities of New York and Paris, Galison has created a range that embraces iconic themes and landmarks to create a fun, modern stationery range. The final few images are from the 'Out to Sea' collection, which uses bright colours and bold shapes to recreate the wonder of the sea and all that it offers to discover.

Featured products: Paris Correspondence Cards, $11; Paris Classic Journal, $11; Paris Mini Journal 6-Pack, $18; Merci Beaucoup Thank You Notes, $10; The Big Apple Mini Sticky Notes, $5; The Big Apple Magnetic Pads, $5; Out to Sea Gift Tags, $6 and Out to Sea Mini Journal 6-Pack, $18.

All of these items and lots more stationery gifts are available to view and purchase online at the Galison website; to take a look at them now click here.

Gift Inspiration from White Rabbit England ...

White Rabbit England is the creation of sisters Charlotte and Victoria, who specialise in designing and making exclusive hand made products for babies and children. From their original fairy toadstool nightlights the collection has expanded to bone china animal lamps and complimentary homeware gifts. Today's blog post is an overview of all White Rabbit England has to offer. Inspired by their own childhood nightlights the collection has been created with great care and attention to detail that makes them hugely appealing for gift ideas.

Today's featured items: White Rabbit Lamp, £59; Rabbit Cushion, £25; White Dog Lamp, £59; Dog Cushion, £25; Bramble Toadstool Nightlight, £46; Rabbit Cottage Nightlight, £46; Flower Mushroom Nightlight, £46; Bramble Cushion, £36; Fairy China Set, £36 and Yacht China Set, £36.

To learn more about White Rabbit England or to purchase any of the items featured today visit their website.

Two New Greetings Card Ranges from Lovehart ...

Hi everyone! To kick start the week we're taking a look at two new greetings card ranges from Lovehart. Introduced this autumn they are 'Nostalgic Nursery' and 'Feathered Friends'. The first images from the Nostalgic Nursery collection; an extension of the popular Fancy Fonts range but this time for the kids. The designs were inspired by a collection of vintage children's books owned by Lovehart chiefs, Simon & Theresa. The designs are warm and comforting, evoking memories of fun and play, with a gentle feel of times gone by. Feathered Friends is a personal range for Lovehart's designer Simon; drawing birds as a child inspired him to become an artist and he's used this early inspiration to create this cool, contemporary range. The designs mix art with a modern feel and each design has the added educational bonus of a few related facts on the reverse.

Each of the new collections features 12 designs, with individual cards retailing at £1.95. Click here to see more of from Lovehart and to purchase any of the new designs from their official website and online store.

Are you a new designer of cards and gifts? Or a seasoned designer with a new range to shout about? If you have new & shiny cards or gifts to show off why not get in touch ... mail@cardandgiftblog.com

Sunday Blog Spot - Forty Four Steep Hill ...

Forty Four is a place of 'lovely things for smiley happy people'. A delightful blog packed with pictures that showcase the Forty Four shop. An independent boutique, Forty Four sells all manner of cards, gifts and stationery via their online shop and their real-life retail store, which is set on the quirky street of Steep Hill in Lincoln, England. Specialising in the unusual, their blog provides a nice preview of the goodies coming into both the real and online shop. Mixed in with news and product previews for the shop is a cool selection of snapshots covering fashion, design, product and lifestyle. To visit the Forty Four blog click here, and please leave a comment, I'd love to know what you thought.

If you'd like your blog considered for Sunday Blog Spot, why not drop me a line to: mail@cardandgiftblog.com - to qualify you just need to have some link to the world of cards and gifts! Charlotte

Frightful Friday: Halloween Card & Gifts ...

With Halloween rapidly approaching and a weekend of potential spooky shopping ahead of us I thought it would be nice to have a quick dose of Halloween inspiration. So, today is Card & Gift Blog's very own 'Frightful Friday' ... jam packed with 'Friday Frights' - that's spooky goodies from some of my favourite card and gift publishers, as well as a handful of designers that are new to the blog.

From their Parisian studio AK-LH has fashioned two spooky Aklhetes ... 'Aklhoween' and 'Psycho'. Fabulous, fun characters that would help decorate any frightful home. Aklhetes retail at €30, to see more fabulous graphic art from AK-LH visit their website.

American Letterpress specialists Lunalux has created 'Boo! Woodtype', $4.50 and 'Devishly Delightful Halloween', $3.75. Two high quality designs using classic Halloween colours; each on is printed on a vintage letterpress printer. Click here to see more from Lunalux. 

From Pookie & Peach's collection of cool stuff for kids we have some delightfully creepy wall stickers, £50 and a very scary flip & draw monster book, £9.99 ... an entertaining way to keep kids happy until it's time to Trick or Treat. Click here to see more of Pookie & Peach. 

Sanlori designers Sandra and Lorraine have been creating stationery designs for more than 20 years, to celebrate Halloween this year they have these bright and bold Halloween invitations in 'Haunted House' and 'Wicked Wedges' designs. For full details and bespoke prices visit the Sanlori website.

Samantha Morris has chosen to celebrate Halloween with fang-tastic style her 'Fangs' & 'Vamp' boxed notecards are a spooky take on the classic thank you and an all purpose notecard for any devilish gathering. Both designs retail at £18 per box of eight cards, click here to see more at Samantha's website.

Last but not least, Card & Gift Blog favourite Laura Cartwright has designed this wicked Halloween card. A signed, limited edition miniature version from one of Laura's most popular series of artwork; this 'Happy Halloween - Trick or Treat' card is perfect addition to any Halloween event. Retailing at £2.00 from Laura's online shop.