Like Caban, in the Pontcanna / Canton area, at the other side of town, Paperweight stocks a broad…read moreselection of Welsh greetings cards to compliment the ranges that are in English. And it's not just about endearing themselves to the locals by pandering to a whim. There is a very serious demand for goods written in the Welsh language, ranging from books, magazines, cards and instruction manuals etc... The Welsh are determined to keep their language alive no matter what, and the growth rate that it's experienced since consciously deciding to preserve it has mushroomed. I am half Scottish, and have often heard people bemoan that Scottish culture is being diluted because the native tongue is in decline. But there's not such a clear intention up there to preserve it. In Wales there is no doubt! Everywhere you go you see evidence of the Welsh being fiercely patriotic; every shop, every pub and public place, and of course, within people's homes... and there's a lot to be proud of... the Welsh do things pretty well. I have respect for this, but what really makes me love the Welsh is their warmth and sense of community. Maintaining the language, very probably, is helping to keep communities together. Paperweight also stock wrapping paper and tags, stationary, and a small selection of funky gift ideas for the home, as well as accessories like key fobs etc...

A card store which has a nice variety of generic cards available. However they absolutely excel on…read moretheir selection of Welsh language cards. The variety is without a doubt impressive, and I guarantee that any Welsh speaker (or perhaps non Welsh speaker) will be truly satisfied, especially when it comes to the age specific cards. They also stock wrapping paper and gift bags, though not enough for my liking. I do love the small and large dishes available to purchase, which are covered in pictures of either; popcorn, marshmallows, smarties, or strawberries. These are very good value for money and I know for a fact that Urban Outfitters sells them at a far dearer price.

Great staff - when they know something, they really know it, and even better - when they don't,…read morethey admit it! It's so refreshing to talk to salesmen that treat you like a human being, and that act like human beings themselves. I never feel like I'm being ridiculous when I ask about strange art supplies, even when I probably am, and whilst it's not always possible to fill those odd requests, I never feel stupid for making them. The selection on offer is enormous and wide-ranging, and pretty good for it's cost - I never feel like I'm being sold the cheap stuff at bargain prices, it's all at a quality that matches the asking price.

A good place to go for all your basic stationary needs. They sell your usual pens, envelopes,…read morepaper, diaries, rubbers etc... Be warned though, most of the items here are pretty basic, if you fancy a cute, or quirky notebook, I'd recommend heading over to Paperchase instead. Another thing to watch out for is that this store can be a bit pricey in comparison to places like Staples, and your local supermarket. Where Pen and Paper excels however, is in its art materials. If you're studying art in school, University, or even if you're a professional, this is definitely the place to go. The supplies are all of the best quality, and what's more the staff really know their product, and can advise you on what would suit your particular need (which you really wouldn't get at the large chain stores). Perhaps a little randomly, Pen and Paper also has a fantastic selection of jigsaws! Now personally I'm not particularly in to jigsaws, but if they are your thing, you'll just love this store!

A very well stocked card shop covering all ages, occasions as well as balloons, wrapping paper…read moreetc... But Llanishen cards is so much more than a card shop, believe you me! The shop has a wide selection of Emma Bridgewater china, such as mugs, plates, and bowls which I absolutely love (tres chic)! They stock a range of wooden children's toys, a favourite of mine being a wooden block brightly painted calendar set with toy soldiers, which I bought for my nephew. They also have a selection of soft baby toys including some gorgeous teddy bears. Finally what also caught my eye were some unique small clocks, ornaments, and a set of miniature musical instruments such as drumsticks, guitars etc... Must admit I was tempted!

A wonderful addition to our village. Llanishen cards has been open for a few years now and the…read morelovely lady owner lives just around the corner. Its always very well stocked and has a diverse selection of cards. They have wonderful taste and just last week I bought a christening card for my new and first great-granddaughter. But make sure you get into the back room! Its like a little treasure trove of Emma Bridgewater delights! I always buy my trinkets for Christmas here! A must visit for your nice bits and bobs!

Aimed mainly at people who are into card-making, this little shop sells a fantastic range of…read moreaccessories such as craft tools, stickers, stamps, and glittery bits and bobs to inspire paper crafting activities. However, they also specialise in stocking all the products you would need to make your own wedding stationery, wedding favours, keepsake boxes or guest books, so if you're planning a wedding and want it to be original (and perhaps save some money), this shop is well worth checking out. They also sell a lot of materials for scrapbooking, from albums to scizzors, cutting mats, craft knives, acid free adhesive, plus card and paper.

My friend and her nine-year-old daughter have vowed to make all of their Christmas presents…read morethemselves this year, and this includes the cards. All the gifts will be knitted, (which makes me want to yell, "all aboard the Skylark", roll my eyes and swear under my breath...) They started their campaign in March and are doing reasonably well. Daddy has got an Everton scarf with the letters knitted in, (rather than sewn in), and they are almost entirely legible, even if they are a little creative in their organisation. My scarf has been abandoned, as "there's a hole in it that I don't know how to fix"... Great! "We're going to make you the best card ever though", came some small reassurance. I refrained from adding "I doubt it!" And there began a step by step graphic description of exactly how the 'best card ever' will be achieved. Nodding gently, with a flickering smile, I managed to maintain my attention span to cover the length and breath of the explanation. "It'll be such a lovely surprise", I said, and went outside for a fag! A note to all the staff at Crafty Cards: My little nine year old friend will be coming to you shortly to spend a years worth of pocket money on your bounteous supplies. Can you please explain to her that in order to achieve the results she's expecting she'll need a PHd in some form of precision engineering and have access to top classified materials reserved for the military and NATO. Please let her down gently!

Here are a couple of scenarios where you might need to send a card…read more.. It is someone-you-know's: birthday/anniversary/christening/wedding day/ leaving party Someone-you-know has or had: a baby/an operation/a divorce/a university degree/ a bad photo on the frontpage of The Sun/ a prison sentence/ dandruff You have run over your neighbour's dog/ you drank all your housemate's vintage booze while they were away for the weekend/ you forgot someone's birthday or anniversary or wedding or name at a crucial moment, like in bed with them. In these cases you should opt for the Sorry Card or one of those tasteful blank verse kinds in which you can write a suitably grovelling bit of bad rhyme. CJ Morgan is a market stall that sells a lot of cards - arty ones, cute ones, funny ones. And badges. And cuddly toys. They are quite cheap. That is all you need to know. Oh, and the fact that each card comes with a free envelope.

This is a good card shop to come to when you have to send a card but really don't want to spend…read morethat much money. I'm not sure why we send cards to people we don't like enough to pay more money for a prettier picture, but we all do it at some point. This is where you come for those cards. The cards on this store aren't Hallmark or any known brands with any famous characters on; they're mostly your standard flowers and teddy bears kind of thing. This is not to say that there aren't some nice cards here. I picked up a lovely congratulations card here when I was struggling to find one that wasn't specific to an achievement and didn't have flowers on it or too much pink. It's actually a pretty good stall for that kind of thing. There's a pretty good range, a lot of cards to choose from and they're all very cheap. Cheap and cheerful; no more, no less.

A huge branch of Clinton Cards and it took me a while today to find my way around! It wasn't…read moredifficult to locate the categories I was looking for as everywhere is well labelled. In addition to all the good-quality greetings cards, there are many small gifts to choose from and also gift tokens of many kinds (including iTunes, Argos, Debenhams and Virgin).

It was a pleasant surprise to bump into a Paperchase store, while on the upper level of the St…read moreDavid's Mall in Cardiff, being quite a regular to my local branch in Manchester, which is one of there three flagship branches alongside London and Glasgow, Paperchase are more of a high-end store with stores even in the USA, expanding from the UK as well as big name and high end department stores such as Selfridges and House of Fraser. This branch did seem much smaller, and not as nice as the branch I am used to in Manchester, with three large floors but still it did have some good stuff in and basic essentials, such as a nice selection of lever arches on a good offer, which has been three for two for a while now, as well as a decent selection of both pens and cards. This store didn't seem to stock as much London Tube gear as other stores do, which is a shame as in a way it is letting down the people of Cardiff, to what Paperchase is really like in other cities, and it is sad to see them getting this treatment, with Cardiff of course being the capital of Wales and in the top ten largest cities in the whole of the United Kingdom. The staff didn't seem too welcoming or friendly, this store basically is more of a card shop rather than being a stationary mecca, which I normally associate with Paperchase, so sadly I feel this branch has only done enough to earn two stars.

Most Paperchase shops are pretty much the same in terms of stock, so if you've been to one you have…read morea pretty good grasp of what all the others have on offer. This is a fairly large store, long and thin, with plenty of good cards on sale as well as all the usual patterned notepads, pens, pencils, pencil cases, tins and other accessories that I find hard to resist buying. I last visited this branch because I'd bought a birthday card which I found didn't have an envelope inside the sealed up plastic packet it was in. I went back - receipt and card in hand - to see if I could get the matching envelope, but they didn't have the same card and the assistant couldn't find an alternative envelope to fit the card. I ended up just buying a different, new card instead! Although she was very pleasant, I did think I should have been offered a refund because the she had actually said that the envelope ought to have been inside the plastic packet! So, despite loving this shop, it has to lose a star because I ended up shelling out double just for a birthday card!

As this is a local store the selection of chocolates available is understandably no where nearly as…read moreextensive as in the two Thorntons stores in the city centre. The selection of pre packaged chocolates and even sweets is rather good, however unfortunately the small quantity of handmade chocolates is rather disappointing. The card selection is rather large, but can be a tad generic (all Hallmark cards). The assortment of gift wrap, tissue paper and gift bags on the other hand is rather impressive, and I particularly liked the gift boxes available which have really pretty patterns and come in a variety of sizes (some are massive)! I don't believe I've ever seen these two stores joined together before, but when you think about it, it's actually quite a clever move. After all when you forget someone's birthday, all you need to do is to dash into this place grab a box of chocolates and a card, and you're sorted! Trust me, this is definitely something to remember!

From the outside, this shop suggests that it is going to be more Thorntons than Hallmark, when in…read moreactual fact the Thorntons section is pretty small, covering just a section of one wall. However, the range of Thorntons products in stock is good and it's nicely presented. While the card section contains nothing especially different as they are all Hallmark cards, the range of cards on sale is impressive, and possibly the best arranged and easy to navigate card shop I've ever been to. There is also a huge variety of gift wrapping items. This shop sells a lot of gifts, too, from Willow Tree figures and Me to You teddies to some not at all tacky Welsh gifts. A great shop for buying presents as you can get everything in one store. And it's not just about birthdays; there is a great range of lovely gift ideas for weddings, anniversaries and new babies, too.

This shop, based at the back of Cardiff Students' Union, is very geared towards academic study,…read morewith much of its stock aimed at satisfying the demands of students' readings lists. It's not huge, however, so they don't always have everything in stock - although they're very helpful if you need to order something in. Their range of second hand books is a bit over priced but can help save a few pennies at the start of term - although some titles are available far cheaper online. They also sell stationery and have a small section for fiction and other non-academic books, but there's more choice at Waterstones in the city centre, or online.

Located on the ground floor of the students union, this shop can be accessed by going through the…read moremain entrance to the union or from the back (Sengenydd Road). It is really just a lovely shop, and one that is entirely necessary because the university library often fails to deliver enough books for all its students. The service is very good. When I went in, looking for Dracula, I was in a great rush and didn't really look properly at the shelves. When I asked the customer assistant for help, in a state of obvious agitation, she stopped what she was doing immediately. She came over and picked up the book without any problems, and handed it to be with an understanding smile. I like to think that she just knows the shop inside out, rather than it was in an obvious spot! Whilst it doesn't offer that wonderful old book smell that you get in second hand shops, it does offer a great mix of books for courses and books for pleasure. There's also a wonderful array of stationery. I love stationery. Oh, I'm buying a book; I definitely need to get a new pencil case...

Clinton's is located practically next door to Card Centre on Albany Road, with only a disused shop…read moreseparating them... surely there is some logic in this, but I have to admit that it escapes me! Both shops sell almost identical product ranges and share the same commercial emphasis, clearly concentrating most of their effort on the sale of greetings cards. There's not much to distinguish one from the other in my opinion, as the majority of the stock is either of the 'humorous' variety, or of the schmaltzy candy-coated kind, (flowers, kittens, stylised teddy bears, and utopian rustic scenes that don't exist in hardly anyone's reality... you know the type!?... all replete with cringe-inducing idylls, and sentimental verse that are the poetic equivalent of the two times table... yeah, that sophisticated!) Other items for sale include cuddly toys, gift wrap, and plastic helium balloons... has no-one told these people that the reserves of helium on planet earth are close to running out? And I won't go into the fact that plastic comes from the petro-chemical industry, as I think we all know the score where fossil fuels are concerned... Card Centre probably wins the price war on the whole, but has sacrificed quality, (and several thousand trees), to achieve a pretty shallow victory! The only thing that I can say in their favour is that a lot of their cards are so flimsy that, at least, they probably use less trees than Clinton's. Hardly a heartfelt vote of commendation! My vote, on Albany Road, is actually with the Vision 21 Gift Shop. Not only can you buy more interesting cards here, but you can probably pick up a half decent present to go with it... and the cause is 100% more worthy!

Sometimes I find myself quite disppointed with Clintons. They seem to forget sometimes what it is…read moreto be a card shop. They focus instead too much on little toys and fluffy things that I really don't want. I guess that there must be a market for them but not for me, thanks. Paperchase has upped the stakes in the greeting card game, making it hard for any other shop to do quite so well. Clintons, in particular, often gets stuck between the high level, expensive, nice-looking cards and the absolute trash of cheap shops. This Clintons, then, was a nice surprise, offering a good range of cards and generally reasonable prices. The staff here are much nicer than they are at the shop in town too, so if you live around this area, save yourself a trip into town to be insulted by the service. Come here and be pleasantly surprised by your whole experience.