Travel journals are a great way to store memories from your trips and holidays. But it can be quite daunting to start a travel journal from that first blank page. Here are some tips to get you started:

1.  Decide whether your travel journal will be a personal one or something that you’ll show to friends and family when you get back - if it’s always going to be a personal journal, you can write freely and let your writing go wherever it wants.

2.  Try to write something every day, whilst on your trip. Get into the routine of writing daily, and don’t leave it until five minutes before you want to go to bed!

3.  Add physical things to your journal - tickets, photos, postcards, leaves - anything that makes an impression on you or that will evoke a vibrant memory later on.

4.  Try to avoid a list-based approach that merely states where you went on which day…instead, describe how things made you feel,  snatches of overheard conversations, people you met, smells and sounds.

5.  If you’re short of inspiration at any time, pick a theme for that day.  Ideas might include food, wildlife, people you see, shopping, local news - anything that takes your fancy!

6. Don’t worry unduly about whether your writing style is perfect or your spelling is impeccable - just enjoy your trip and write about it as it happens and as it feels to you.

Hello Lucky! make exquisite greeting cards.  By hand.  In a world of mass production, Hello Lucky! really stand out.  Using antique letterpresses, each card they produce is printed individually by hand - giving a really tactile finish that oozes sophistication.

And the designs themselves are utterly fabulous, don’t you agree?

Sometimes children can find writing boring - it’s associated with school and homework and exams, after all.  But with some encouragement, and some real reasons to write, kids can see writing as something fun and enjoyable.

Here are five ideas to get your own kids enthusiastic about writing:

1. Kid’s Book List - kids love lists, and this book will help them track and write reports on the books they read
2. Thank You Cards - teach good old-fashioned manners by helping them to write thank you cards to friends and family after birthdays, Christmas and any other treat or gift occasion
3. Themed Writing Paper - this always helps with kids’ enthusiasm!  Our Charlie and Lola kits have stickers too, to embellish those letters to Grandma.
4. Autograph Books - I’m sure all kids go through that phase of wanting to collect autographs of famous (and not-so-famous) people
5. Travel Journals - not just for the grown-ups!  Guide your kids into doing something creative on holiday - it might even keep them quiet for a while!

The first of a regular showcase for the many lovely greeting cards we sell - may I present ‘Amy’…..from the hysterical Pet Rocks collection of birthday cards.

It’s just so spot on, it makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.

I wonder what Ms. Winehouse herself would say?

View the full Pet Rocks card collection here.

Did you know that 2008 is The National Year of Reading?  That’s reading as in books, not Reading as in Berkshire.

It’s a year-long celebration of reading in all its forms…designed to raise awareness of literacy issues and to promote the simple joys and pleasures of reading. It’s not just a schools thing either…young and old are encouraged to read something…anything…so long as we’re reading!

Well, this is just a quick post to say hello and welcome to Papernation’s shiny new blog.

We’ll be chatting about all things paper and stationery, as well as providing helpful hints and tips, special offers, sneak  previews of new products and lots more.

Need to know more about paper sizes? Want help on how to word your thank you notes? Not sure about the pros and cons of hardback versus softback journals?  Well, we’ll be giving our humble opinions along the way to hopefully help and guide you through all of these and more.