Card and Gift Blog: December 2012

Merry Christmas from Card & Gift Blog

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Last Minute Christmas Inspiration ~ Top 30 Gifts: Part 3

Continuing our last minute festive inspiration, today is our third and final part of the Top 30 Gifts ...

Kids Notebooks by Liz and Pip, £4.00.

Last Minute Christmas Inspiration ~ Top 30 Gifts: Part 2

A little more last minute gift inspiration ...

Retro Bunny Plushes by Jane Foster Designs, $24.

Last Minute Christmas Inspiration ~ Top 30 Gifts: Part 1

As we're in the final week of gift-buying time before the Christmas break I thought it would be a good time for some last minute inspiration. I've revisited all of the best items from the past year to organise my Top 30 Gifts, which I'll be showing over the next 3 days. Today is Part 1, I hope you like what you see, click the hyperlinks to see more from each Designer & Maker ...

British Pop Art stationery collection from Jan Constantine, Prices start from £6.00.

Alongside greetings cards, gifts and stocking fillers, I love the wrap, ribbons, tags and bows ... the little details that make gifts look that just little more exciting. In honour of beautifully wrapped gifts everywhere, today's post is a few last minute supplies that you can grab to make your presents look amazing ...

Wild and Wolf specialise in unique, stylish, design-led gifts. Over the last 6+ years they have developed their own 'in house' brands, and mixed in licensed ranges and collaborations, creating a wonderful array of contemporary products. The mix of designs gives great potential for Christmas, with appealing gift ranges for a variety of ages, and personalities. Today's post is a sneak peek of my personal favourites ... the beautiful intricate designs of Rob Ryan; smart stylish scrabble mugs as seen in the new James Bond movie Skyfall, and a cool set of Letterpress-inspired magnets. Take a look ...

Like the satsuma and chocolate box, I think the calendar is another staple stocking filler for the Christmas holiday. Today's post is a pick of my favourite calendars to be found on both sides of the Atlantic. First up is Night Owl Paper Goods. I just love this brand, and am always delighted to see their range of modern yet folksy calendars.

Behind the Design: Red Cherry Publishing ...

Say Hello to ...

Amanda Carpenter. Together with her mother-in-law, Valerie, Amanda owns Red Cherry Publishing, a new, family-run, publishing business based in rural Leicestershire.

Tell us a little about yourself and your company ...
The company was set up as part of a life changing career move for me, having spent many stressful years working in Local Government. With no previous background in publishing or the creative industry we started with a small idea, lots of passion and a dream to publish a book.

I love well-designed, quality products and so every year as I write the blog I end up with a whole heap of new brands and Designers that become firm favourites. Today's selection of gifts, ideal for stuffing a Christmas stocking is a first look at one of my new brand loves ... Luckies. Established in 2005, Luckies brings unique and unusual gifts to the world.

For our first look at Christmas gift wrap we're going to blog favourite Nancy & Betty. I love the bold, contemporary patterns of Christmas Puddings, Candy Canes and Brussels Sprouts; the designs are bright and appealing and will make your gifts look amazing under the Christmas tree.

Today's pick is a few of my favourite super soft toys for kids, bound to bring fun, excitement and joy over the festive season. First up is a cute duo of pull-along toys by French Designer's Trousselier. Available to purchase online from the Idyll Home website, these incredibly soft animals are made from high quality fleece materials, with ribbon leads and wooden wheels painted in a matching, shiny red. My favourites from the collection are the Dog and Giraffe on wheels, retailing at £47 and £49 respectively. To find out more please visit the Idyll Home website.

Behind the Design: Prison Ink ...

Behind the Design ...

Prison Ink - A design project from Bryn Abbott at Kitzo Creative.

A little about Prison Ink ...

Prison Ink is a creative project developed by Kitzo Creative, working with prisoners at HMP Armley in Leeds, England. The prison's Print Shop provides an opportunity for prisoners to spend more constructive time in work; equipping them with new practical skills in publishing and printing. The profits raised from the sale of Prison Ink greetings cards will be used to purchase resources to help the prisoners develop their creative skills. With limited access to the Internet and design books, the project aims to provide resources that will inspire and educate, giving valuable new skills that can be taken forward when they are released.

Today's gift inspiration is from the marvellous Twisted Twee collection. I'm always really excited to see new additions to the Twisted Twee range, as Designer Suzi Warren can always be relied on to put genuine warmth and humour into every new product. For Christmas 2012 a number of new designs have been added to the best-selling Film Buff, Twinset, and Headcase collections, giving us some great gift potential.

Today's gift inspiration is a collection of cute, contemporary and stylish prints; a great Christmas idea for art lovers everywhere. The first image is 'Cats in a Treeheart' folk art print from Glyn West Design. Pictured in a soft grey the giclee print is available in ten colours for a fabulous £28.00.

I don't usually blog on the weekend as it's my time to catch up with admin and find new items, but I had to post today as it is Card & Gift Blog's birthday! The perfect opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has helped support the blog; creating the links, spreading the word and sending images and samples to be featured.