But more and more, I'm finding cards that I then frame and either give as gifts - or gasp, keep 'em for myself to hang around the house.

So when my eyes fell upon the absolutely charming faces of Birds of a Feather Notecards by Susie Ghahremani at Chronicle Books, I knew I'd found the perfect combination.

See, these gorgeous little fellas come equipped with a built in cardboard stand, so you can put them on your desk, bedside table, dresser, kitchen counter, window sill, or anywhere else you'd like a little company.

And the fact that you can write a sweet note and send one of these friendly, but completely no-maintenance pets to a friend all at once is a wonderful way to let someone know that you're thinking of them.

There are 16 notecards of quite a large size with 4 designs - a hummingbird, toucan, peacock and owl. Accompanying them are stunning envelopes with illustrations of floating feathers around the edges and sticker with vintage-coloured feathers to seal your envelope or decorate your note with.

So if you know me and I've got your mailing address, don't be surprised if you get something other than bills and flyers in the mail this week...

Get your own set of Birds of a Feather Notecards now.