Author: Cari

It’s so easy at this time of year to get caught up in Christmas preparation, but what about those other occasions that need celebrating with a card? There are still plenty of birthdays to remember, plus engagements and weddings (and maybe even a new baby or two?)

If you need a top up of special occasion cards we are posting every working day, so if you’d rather not battle the crowds just to get a birthday card or three then browse our online emporium and have them delivered to your door.

This new baby card is also available with a pink background. Aren’t the animal characters cute?

We also have a good range of humour cards suitable for birthdays and other occasions. One of my favourites is this ‘unexpected item’ design.

I just love these greetings cards for animal lovers with a range of cats and dogs, plus cards with chickens, goats and even a highland cow featured.

We’ve also had a restock of these lovely ladies, so why not start prepping for Christmas 2025?

Thank you to everyone who has supported my small family run business this year, it’s been lovely to see our new ranges being received so well and to revive the business after a difficult transition from Flamingo closing to becoming fully independent. I have hope now that 2025 will see continued growth and that we will be going from strength to strength. To think I almost closed for good!

Have a restful Christmas and a healthy New Year.

Cari xx

I’m sending out website orders right up to the last posting dates, but if you prefer to shop in person then this weekend is your last chance to buy Christmas cards, activity packs and more from me. We start off at Bowes Museum tomorrow and Saturday, then on Sunday I will be at Sheriff Hutton Village Market for their Christmas market.

It sounds like they really pull out all the stops, with mulled wine and mince pies, and all the traders dress up in Christmas jumpers. I’m so excited as it’s a friendly market with great local support. Will we see you there?

I still have a few packs of Holly and Ivy Christmas cards left but there are plenty of other choices if they don’t suit. I will try to get more added online so you have a better choice.

We will be taking a short break over Christmas before everything starts again in 2025. Our first market will be at Hovingham in February (tbc) and after that all three markets from March onwards. Of course I am always looking for other popular markets to trade at so if you have suggestions please comment below.

My delivery arrived (finally!) and that means the very popular Holly and Ivy cards are in stock and available online. In fact, it’s been an exciting day with two card deliveries and a stationery delivery – lots of exciting things!

I have some advent calendar cards ready for Crayke Village Market, your last chance to treat someone (including you) to an advent calendar. I also have more of the grow your own Christmas tree and the magic snow packs, they just need pricing up.

It’s been a cold day outside and we’ve only just got our boiler repaired so I’m huddled up with my dog, a mug of tea and lots of lovely cards to sort through!

We’re down to our last few advent calendar cards, and don’t have many advent calendars left either, so with a three day Christmas market this weekend we may well sell out.

Now is the time to order online if you don’t want to miss out. All our advent calendars are on our website as well as some of the more popular Christmas cards.

I’m really excited about this Christmas event, it’s the first one we have done where we have our own little chalet space to decorate and fill. It’s probably as close as I’ll get to having my own ‘shop’ and I’ve been planning the layout for weeks.

I’ll let you know how it goes next week.

Well, what can I say? These two lovely friends depicted on our Christmas cards have proved very popular with our online customers. I have restocked once and am now thinking we may need more.

Advent calendars are also doing well, both online and at Christmas markets, with my personal favourite leading the way. At our first Christmas Fair advent calendar cards were my bestseller, so I may need to see if I can get more of those too.

I have a list of jobs that need doing, but for now I’m resting after a busy weekend. Of course, if I hear that ‘kerching’ from my iPad I will spring into action, as my customers come first and getting those orders out in a timely fashion is my priority.

Hope you are all well and excited about Christmas.

Cari xx

Sunday brings the first of our Christmas Fayres, which means sorting which stock to take. I’m scaling back this year as we are back to managing with cars rather than hiring a van. Of course Christmas cards, advents and a few packs of bunting will be heading out with us.

It’s always hard to know what will sell at Christmas markets, some years I take lots of advent calendars and only sell a couple, so this year I think a small amount of everything plus a card stand for the new humour birthday cards as they are consistent sellers, and people still have birthdays at Christmas!

The only exception will be Wynyard Hall, which we are trading at for the first time. We have a fairly decent size shed to fill (I know we can fill it easily!) so everything will be coming with us. I will have a good selection of advent calendars, lots of Christmas cards and a bit of everything else to fill gaps.

Are you visiting any Christmas fairs this year?

It’s been quite a varied week with my ongoing health issues and just generally feeling, well, bleurgh!

I know I’m not as young as I like to think I am, but I had expected to make steady, consistent progress in my recovery from a recent hospital stay. After a week of no improvement was followed by a decline in appetite and fluctuating body temperature I thought I should get checked out. I blame my sleep struggles for breaking down in front of my GP, but it has been quite a month! My heart rate was too high, so he recommended a trip back to hospital, with a bag of essentials in case I was admitted.

‘Here we go again’ I thought, crying as I waited for my husband to get in and drive me up there.

After more tests and quite a bit of waiting around, I was given the ok to come back home. My bloods were as normal as can be expected (ie not showing anything too sinister going on) so there was no need to keep me. I was so relieved to be coming back home, even though I still feel a little concerned about my high heart rate. I guess this is as good as I’m going to be until my operation.

We don’t have a market this weekend, which I’m quite relieved about in a way as I found being at Crayke exhausting. Of course the sales were needed but I must learn to prioritise my own well-being.

Our larger Christmas Fayres start soon, and I’m hoping I can be at them all, although I’m not sure how I’ll manage the days at Wynyard. We have a plan to share the workload between us so we both get a day off, but it’s still going to be very tiring. I’m trying to build up my stamina by going on the dog walks again, something I’ve really missed but struggled to do as I get out of breath so easily. I’ve managed one so far this week, not that great really?

All in all it’s been a crazy week. I’ve had to postpone my return to ‘the day job’ because of my high heart rate and breathlessness, and I’m starting to think the sooner they remove this pesky gallbladder the better as I’m just so miserable all the time, desperate for my normal life back. At least I’m getting lots of cuddles from the dog – it’s either he’s forcing me to rest, or he loves my blanket so much. Either way I’ll take the affection!

I’m excited but anxious as I really don’t know how my body is going to deal with attending markets again. I’m grateful it’s a shorter one, but that still means a half 8 start and a 2 pm finish, almost six hours of activity. So far I’ve managed one dog walk of just under a mile, then the cold knocked my for 6. It’s a big change but one I’m desperate to get back to.

This weeks orders have mostly been Christmas related and with pay day approaching now is the time to get your reusable advent calendars. I have loads of designs to choose from although my top two are still reindeer stables and Winter Wonderland.

Are you visiting Crayke Village Market on Saturday? Or maybe you are supporting your own local market. It’s a tough time for small businesses right now as October sales have been lower than expected so please, if you can, buy from small businesses. That one sale could really make a difference.

Cari xx

I can’t lie, the last few weeks have been rough. I’m still having bad days where I feel a burden to my family because they are having to do more to compensate for my recuperation.

I’ve been so grateful to each and every one of you who has ordered recently, but with missing two markets and future events to pay for, I’m juggling. I keep getting cross with myself for getting ill in the first place (silly, I know).

Anyway, I wanted to offer free shipping for this weekend, starting tomorrow (if it doesn’t work automatically please let me know). This should work in addition to the 5 for £10 offer on greetings cards, but there’s also advent calendars, craft kits for gifts and much more online.

Of course you can also visit our stall at Sheriff Hutton on Sunday and Crayke next weekend, it would be lovely to meet you.

Cari xx