fan·cy • [fan-see] noun

fan.cy • critical judgment; taste

One thing that my mama and my grandmother both taught me was the art of the Thank You note. While it was not something that I loved at a young age, it has certainly come in handy.

I recently ran out of my basic stationery and had to reorder. I ultimately went to the local stationery store, flipped through their books, and found one I liked. It's ivory with mocha trim. My name is embossed in the middle.

After I ordered it, I started to wonder what stationery really tells the recipient of a letter about the sender of the letter. I did my research (of course) and came across a few fantastic resources.

Crane's is a leader in stationery, and has been since 1801. On their website, they have a great Etiquette Tips tab, which includes helpful hints, such as Style Trends, Writing How To's, and the answer to the question, "Why Cotton Paper?"

The Style Trends guide offers advice on anything from the correct usage of Stationery vs. Stationary (hint Stationery is for paper. Use the ERY for papER) to the history behind monograms and how to create your own unique one.

Leslie Harpold from the Morning News offers a great guide on writing thank you notes. According to Harpold, there are 6 simple steps to remember when writing a thank you.

• Greet the giver

• Express your gratitude

• Discuss the use of the item

• Mention the past, allude to the future

• Grace

• Regards

For those of you looking for job interview thank you notes, Laura Schneider from About.com offers a few extra tips:

• Express your enthusiasm

• Address any unresolved points

• Personalize it

• Reiterate your expertise

• Highlight your successes

• Proofread

Thank you letters and the stationery they come on are all about marketing yourself. What do you think your letters on your stationery say about you?