I did some research on this subject and found that the very first card was in fact made in the 1400 more than 600 hundred years it was a Valentine's Card I was really surprised when I found this out! It just goes to show even then there were romantics out there!

Then it really took off in the 1800 people of all classes starting to send the humble handmade greeting card to their love ones and family. I just think in those times the cards were beautifully made they depicted gorgeous scenes of couples in love and ladies and gentlemen of the Victorian time. Also the greeting cards were in fact made of high quality card and the ink they used was also of the highest quality as you can see them in museums all over the world!

If I now bring you gently up to date and let's see what is on offer now! Well times have changed now there are companies out there who offer personalised greeting cards! This means you go on a website choose your card design write on the front of the card you can even add a mug shot of yourself! Gosh I am sure no one would like a mug shot of me on a greeting card! Then they will even send it for you. Then there is E Cards sorry this means electronic cards so you send it as an e-mail!

I really must say I think it's quite tacky really I just think people have forgotten the art of communications I would hate to receive an  e card or personalised card with picture of me on it or even worse a monkey on the card. Would it be much nicer if you found a nice greeting card with lovely words on the front of the card also inside the cards.

Myself I am a bit old fashioned when it comes to finding quality handmade greeting cards, I would look to see what occasion it is and also who it is for example you ladies out there which card would you like a card with a picture of your boyfriend on it with some tacky words on it or a gorgeous card with stunning Swarovski crystals on the card and you can write your very own personal words inside!!

Please add your comments as I would love to hear your thoughts thanks.

For many years I have been in the handmade cards stationery sector,  my job role is also to try  and find new  artists from all over the world,  also to offer complete range of greeting cards for all ages and sex. My biggest challenge was Men's cards,  for me many men's cards are just so boring, it's like some retailers do not try and find something different, it's like let s just stick with the same card of a fishing boat or dart board, i would hate to receive a card like that come on we are in the twenty first centre.  It was my goal to looked at many trade suppliers in the industry today  and it paid off at last, as they say never give up on your search,  I found companies who design cards for men I have put a couple of our samples below I hope you like them.

Broadband again was not even around then if you had multi site companies you would have to had lease line which could cost your company thousands of pounds per year.

Now there is so much variety to choose from in the Telecoms industry for example we now offer Mitel Solutions for IP and Networking in fact for over 6 years now! Mitel is one of the top three manufacturers in the UK.

I think the big change is how companies choose the telecom solutions most now look to IP and hosted solutions both solutions are good in their own rights. Main benefits it cost of equipment and ongoing charges that's why these solutions are very hot at the moment.

But remember PBX systems still is the largest percentage of sales in the UK as they offer good solid solutions and the most important cost effective prices.

For example Panasonic Phone Systems takes 55% share of the whole of the telecoms within the UK here is a good example what solutions business companies choose see below.

1.       1: What do you want the phone system to do!

2.     2: Price

3.     3: Manufactures try and choose maximum of three

4.     4: Functionality i.e. voicemail, auto attendant, call recording

5.     5: Most important how long will this system last (ASK the salesman)

6.     6: Another Bills i.e. line rental call, charges also broadband connections

If you follow these guidelines it will make your life a little bit more bearable.  Once you have done your research you will now be more knowledgeable and make the right decision for your company to grow at an affordable price.

Or why not let us do all this for you again Online Communications has many years in the telecoms industry we offer a complete one stop shop solutions for you. The Manufactures we offer are Mitel Phone Systems IP UK and Panasonic UK both offer really reliable cost effective solutions for now and the future.

Thank you for reading this article I hope it has helped you a little bit in what you will find when looking for new Phone systems or other telecom solutions.

Well its finally here our new UK Greeting Cards Online fully designed updated website it has taken a very long time a lot of sleepless nights to get where we are today!

So what's new you ask!

Well the home page is bright and easy to navigate for example featured products are displayed here and they change every time to arrive on our site so you will see something different everytime.

Our team have added Live Search this has turned out to be the best facility we have added, our customers have said brilliant best I have used or seen on the internet, it is so easy to now find what greeting cards I want.

 So why is it so good well you can type in your keywords as soon as you start typing display images will popup to help you find what you are looking for more quickly it is very accurate. Go on give it a try and you will see what I mean!

The next really big add-on was the ability to zoom in on your chosen product to really give you more detail.

Another add-on what Live chat so you can talk to our friendly team it might be that you're stuck trying to find something or you want to chat to us about new order or in fact anything we would love to hear from you.

We also have added another facility called Pre Order so now you can purchase something which is not in stock but arriving soon it will tell you when it is coming stock this is a very cool feature we had lots of request for this feature so we do listen to what you want when shopping with us UK Greeting Cards.

I really do hope you like the new designed website please do add your comments thank you for reading this.

The team!

I want to talk about Social Networking software! I have been looking for a really good total package for over three months now! I have seen some well quite frankly dodgy or just out to rip you off.

I wanted to setup a website where you can join social networking site to search for new friends a bit like Facebook and Twitter but more interactive to keep you entertained longer. I wanted to offer members the ability to upload music and videos and also to share them with their friends.

Really simple task I thought until I started searching in Google. Far from it the search came back with tons of software all promising latest features easy to install and so on.

So I started to really look into this in more detail so I first company was ABK dating social software well the website was really slick and I thought yes this has to be the one for me had a look at the demo and it looked really good. Checked the cost to setup ok it was quite expensive I then did some checking up on the company boy am I glad I did this! The reviews on these chaps well were quite frankly horrified me. Were people had been ripped off for over $3,000 never got there website. Other customers have paid and just would not get them to speak to them. So I did a live chat with the company ABK and I must admit there guy on the other end really just said yes to everything which started the alarm bells ringing.  I then wanted to know where they are based as they make you think it’s the USA in fact they are based in Russia there are loads of people who have been ripped off by these guys so please keep away from them. Thank goodness I did. A tip for you! Do your research there are tons of companies offering this type of solutions on the internet.

Now let’s talk about a company who are good and honest I really thought I just give up and do something else!!

But I wanted to give it another shot so I went through Google search and came across company called Social Go ok there website is not flashy and they are not promising the earth so I spent a couple of days researching the site i.e. there forum also the blog checked reviews. I found that the company had not any bad negative reviews, even on the forum yes some members had a problem but I found that they got answered in adequate time frame. I even spoke via e-mail to chap called Tom at Social Go told him what I wanted and he said yes that’s fine it can be done. I then looked at the prices and noticed that they catered for all types of budget and requirements even FREE.

I opted for the middle option and you get a FREE months trial to test their software which I must say I really liked this option.

So I filled in the form and in within a few minutes I was creating my social networking site I had a few problems and the company responded very quickly to try and help me.

I also like there attitude to try and offer a good solid solution with options to offer more features when you want them.

They are even looking ahead with features in the version 2 which I have looked at. My site is now live see it for yourself here www.searchnewfriends.com  also it was doddle setting up the domain name within the admin section.

The whole experience with Social Go as been well a dream! I just love there admin section it’s all widgets were you drag and drop you can customise as much as you want if you do not like the template just change it in seconds.

So my conclusion is this I really recommend this company and the software is so simple to setup also if you have a problem there are video tutorials to help you or you can talk to them and they respond very quickly.

Are you one of the lucky ones who own the Apple iPad2 or the Apple iPad1! If you are then you will need something to look after your valuable purchase. Online UK Gifts has just launched new range of leather cases iPad designed for all the apple iPad ranges. They are made in Switzerland and we are launching these fabulous iPad cases. They come in Orange and Striking Green colour.

Planning your wedding is a real headache and it can takes months to plan your perfect wedding! As the saying goes you only get married once!

I have been offering wedding accessories and wedding stationery for many years. Top names like Five Dollar shake also Michal Negrin is perfect complement to any wedding day. For example we can help with wedding invitations also wedding cards for the bride and groom. And not forgetting wedding photo albums I have to tell you about these stunners they are really beautifully made on the front of the photo album there is shape of a heart with Swarovski crystals all around the edges and in the middle is a pearl also stunning silk ribbon wrapped around the album. This will keep your wedding photos nice and safe and clean.

O yes not forgetting wedding guest book so you can add all your thoughts and comments of your wonderful day. Even down to your wedding certificate we have that sorted as well.

A little bit about Five Dollar shake they are a UK company making all types of greeting cards to wedding stationery they are based in Sussex and they have won quite a few awards for their creations of quality handmade greeting cards From all over the world.

I must say I have been in the greeting cards business now for well over 12 years and I have seen a lot of changes of designs and quality all for the better. A typical wedding now costs over £10,000 wow that's a lot of money just for one day. So you really need to shop around to get the very best in quality and the right price.

I am also very excited to welcome new arrival of The Handcrafted Company on board. They have been making wedding cards in the UK for many years. One thing that they offer is personalised wedding cards so we can add your personal message on the front of the wedding cards and also wedding invitations.

I hope you liked reading this article and if you are getting married this year I hope your wedding day is filled with happiness for now and forever.

Here are some of my favorite Wedding Cards and Wedding accessories

Well it’s almost that time of year I mean Valentine’s Day! When you want to tell someone or your secret admirer how much you love them. Valentines day falls on the 12^th February 2011 which is Saturday.

UK Greeting Cards are very proud to announce our new Valentines Cards 2011 Collection, from UK leading cards designers! Five Dollar Shake.

I must say the range of valentines day cards are truly beautiful in detail each card is handmade with great thought on quality for example each valentines day card has Swarovski Crystals and delicate items, even the envelope has luxury and quality.

I have added some pictures of our new Valentine’s Day 2011 Collection so you can see for yourselves.

Thanks for reading this article hope you like it! I would love your comments and thoughts thanks.

I just would like to say to all my readers of my articles happy new year for 2011.

I think it is going to be anouther tuff year for all of us. I do hope you all had a brilliant christmas and santa was kind to you.

Our team of writers will be adding some new articles very soon.

Here is a picture of new years eve 2011  with the fireworks displayI must say they were very good this year.

Well its almost here Christmas 2010. I hope everybody has a wonderful christmas and all your christmas dreams come true. Our team will be adding more articles very soon so keep checking us out.

Once again I would like to thank all our readers and the very kind comments. That is so important to us, as it drives on to write even more articles for 2011.