There’s something about letterpress that’s so wonderful. Maybe it’s the texture. Maybe it’s because there’s such an old-school quality to it. Maybe it’s care and handmade touch that goes into it. Whatever it is, it’s appealing. Throw in some lovely illustrations and bright colors and you’ve got this:

Very cool, eh?

You’ll find these goodies at Old School Stationers, a charming operation based out of Portland, Oregon. Brian and Amy turn out these letterpress creations that you can then find on cards or ready-to-hang wall art. Each image is hand-drawn and created with an old-school letterpress from 1917.

There are also journals with letterpressed covers available.

The art is awesome, and you’ll find something nice for sure!

… whatever you want! If you’re needing to drop someone a note (it is almost Valentine’s Day, after all) or just feel like stocking up on some cards for those days when you never know you’ll need one, perhaps you’d like to check these out:

You’ll find these handprinted and handmade cards at She’s Batty Designs. And if you head over there now, there’s a dollar sale where you can pick up most items for a buck! Better hurry, though, because the sale could end at any time!

There is a wide array of notecards and greeting cards in the shop, many of which could be used for any occasion. (Hence the stocking up of cards for those just-in-case moments.) Shop owner Jamie also does some custom work, including save the date cards, wedding invitations, Christmas cards and photo invites.

If you’re into making your own cards, you’ll also find some materials in the shop, including embossed papers and pre-cut die cuts of everything from people to animals to flowers — pretty much any theme you might need.

I was flipping through the latest edition of How Magazine when I came upon this rather hysterical card:

I was sitting on a train with headphones on and almost laughed out loud (except I didn’t want people thinking I was nuts or something.

At any rate, it’s pretty freakin’ funny and fits the mantra of Amy Smyth Made It, which is “Send a freakin’ card.”

There are some other goodies on the site, like these two cards:

There are about 175 cards available for everything from engagements to birthdays to just about every holiday under the sun. There are also notecards and invitations for when you want something better than the store-bought, cookie-cutter invites for your next cocktail party. You can also get cards customized for just $5 a box.

Do check it out.

If you’re looking for the perfect card for dad or just to celebrate summer, you might want to check these out:

These adorable handmade cards are from Puppy Love Creations. Many of the cards in the shop feature the cute little dog that’s also prominently featured in the shop’s banner.

But it’s not just all for the dogs. There are cards for every occassion, from plain ol’ notecards to sympathy cards to birthday cards to graduation cards. Singles are mostly available, but there are some sets to be found. And you can have your card’s greeting personalized too!

In addition to the hand-embellished cards, you’ll also find some elegant-looking embossed cards as well:

Feeling a little grinchy? Growly? Super-stressed over the holidays and need to let off steam? Or maybe you’re just have that subversive sense of humor and need to laugh. Or maybe you need some holiday cards and you’re really not quite feeling that holiday cheer.

Have a look-see:

(My personal favorite has to be the low expectations card since that’s pretty much the story of my life.)

You’ll find these cards at Earmark Invitations. There are plenty of funny ones, including one that is a personal hygiene reminder (the drawing is hilarious).

But even if snarky cards aren’t your cup of tea, there are also journals, magnets and more, um, conventional cardsets. Maybe you’ll need some thank you notes for all those lovely presents you get this holiday season. Or maybe you’ll need a snarky card ’cause someone didn’t get you what you want. (The Screw You card, maybe?!)

The holidays are coming, and if you like your cards snarky, here’s a really good one:

I about fell out of my chair when I saw that card!

This card can be found at Carol Lee Designs on Etsy, or Hate Mail Greetings.

Most of the cards are absolutely hysterical, and they’re not really for the faint of heart. But if you speak your mind and what you speak is not always super PC, these are the perfect greetings for you.

A couple of other priceless ones:

The Etsy shop has a pretty good selection, but do check the dot-com shop (hatemailgreetings.com) for even more humorous goodness! Give a card and make people wonder about your sense of humor!

Especially when the doodles are saying something funny. Or cute. Like this:

This paperie is brought to you by Paper Skirt. Lana is the gal behind Paper Skirt, and she is based in Ottawa. Lana does a lot of gocco-ing of greeting cards, and also designs custom wedding invitations and business cards.

The drawings are cute, the sentiments simple. It’s a great combination. Do check it out.

Ever feel like a complete dolt and felt the need to apologize to someone for it? This might be the perfect card to do it:

(Yes, I’ve felt like that many a time. Many.)

This humorous line of cards is from Mixed Species, a wacky group of guys from Corvallis, Oregon, who turn out some pretty funny stuff. And some of the modeling photos on their Etsy site are alternately disturbing — like this one — and hysterical.

You’ll find some repurposed goods, like cork coasters that have things printed on them, other cards, t-shirts and even some underwear. A lot of it probably isn’t suitable for children’s eyes, but if you like snarkiness and your humor goes in that direction, you’ll find some great stuff. After all, that’s to be expected from a place whose motto is “We go there so you don’t have to!”

Fellow Sacramento mafiosa Claire recently decided to re-brand and re-open her Etsy shop, and the result is Little Lovelies Handmade.

Claire uses a lot of vintage and recycled materials to make her goods, which include pins, magnets and some of these other things:

The Miss Muffet Pin Tuffet (great name, by the way).

Got a Crush on You card set

Many items are inspired by and named after important women in her life, and should you pick up one of these items, they even come with a story behind the name. Neato.

I’m really not one for super sappy cards or sugary Hallmark dreck. Really. The snarkier, the better. Which is why these paper goods from 16 Sparrows are right up my alley.

These are the “Suck it Up Crybaby” card and the “Get Up Off Your Ass and … ” to-do list. Absolutely brilliant.

I got the Crybaby card in my Sampler this month (more about this month’s Sampler in a future post). The card is part of the Fucking Card collection, which is a series that contains everyone’s favorite f-word.

My other personal favorite is a congratulations card for new mothers that exclaims, “You’re knocked up!” (You can also get announcements that say “I’m knocked up!”)

Should I ever have kids, I’m placing an order.

But you don’t need kids to get some awesomely funny greetings. Really. Sense of humor is the only requirement.

Admittedly, I don’t like pickles. Too sour for me. But this is a pickle I can dig:

Or how about a pickle on a bike?

These wonderful characters are the work of Jack and Rita over at Mr. Pickles. The intro illustration/animation to their site alone is well worth the click — I’ve never seen a better-looking lime in my life.

Mr. Pickles has shirts, cards and even mugs featuring the cast of characters. There is even a plushy section where you can buy a stuffed t-bone steak for the favorite carnivore in your life. (Ham and lamb shank also available.)

Besides the shop, there are games and the blog to keep you entertained at the Mr. Pickles site, so go over there and ogle the food already.

I have been fascinated with the gocco printer for a long time. I broke down and bought one on eBay a little while ago, and while I haven’t had time to break it out, surely, some of these images from apak would be inspiring:

The drinking pandas are especially cool in their Technicolor glory.

The work is a collaboration between the husband-and-wife team of Ayumi and Aaron Piland.

More of these whimsical cards and illustrations can be found at the apak etsy store. You can also find more at their website.

I’m going with a kitty theme here, I suppose. But these cards from DeMarco Designs are too cute to pass up:

The kitty’s name is Button. The cards come in a lovely little tin with a tiny pencil. Great for gift tags and such.

These are just some of the cute/wonderful/happy/lovely illustrations by Mariah DeMarco. Do check out her shop … not only is she a fantastic illustrator, but she’s a fantastic person too.