Send holiday cards with class, sass and pizzazz

Those Hallmark boxed-set Christmas cards you send every year are the paper-goods equivalent of a fruitcake. This year, try something different. Greet the season -- and your friends and family members -- with more distinctive holiday cards from local designers, including a wedding-invitation designer gone festive and a snarky artist from Bellingham.

Though we like to think that the best card designers hail from Seattle, we've also thrown in a few selections -- both naughty and nice -- from farther afield, like the profanity-laced greetings from O Plus D and the supremely elegant cards from Wiley Valentine.

THE LOCALS

Driscoll Design
Cross a vintage carnival poster with a pastel palette and you've got the signature look of Angela Driscoll's hand-sparkled greeting cards. The Cornish College of the Arts graduate embellishes her cards, which are reminiscent of greetings you might find in your grandmother's attic, with whimsical touches such as dancing elephants, paper lanterns and tiny birds. $4 to $6 per card at Canopy Blue and Les Amis.

Paper Moxie
Popular with Seattle brides for her use of paisley, bright colors and unique packaging, custom invitation designer Sheryl Bracken has expanded her paper-goods empire by adding a holiday card and gift-tag collection embellished with swirling red and green paisley. Bracken will donate 5 percent of the proceeds from holiday orders to Rio Vista Equipo Medico, a charity that provides medical relief in Guatemala. $2.50 (gift tag) to $70 (set of 20 cards) at www.papermoxie.com.

Midori
Chances are you've oohed and aahed over the gorgeous wrapping paper from Seattle-based gift packaging line Midori. The heavy sheets of gift wrap are emblazoned with silver chandeliers, gold flourishes and pretty white cherry blossoms, accompanied by an array of coordinating ribbons to add a fabulous finishing touch to your gift. $3 to $6 per sheet at Burnt Sugar, Swee Swee Paperie and Studio and Real Card Company.

Uranus Greetings
If exploding elves, drunk drummer boys and criminal snowmen sound like your version of Christmas cheer, then fill your friends' mailboxes with the twisted humor of Uranus Greetings of Bellingham, Wash. Graphic artist Les Campbell churns out strange yet hilarious holiday cards. Favorites include a spam e-mail from an elf looking to launder inheritance money after Santa's death and a recently chopped Christmas tree screaming, "For the love of God, I can't feel my roots!" $12 (six-card set) to $21 (12-card set) at Portage Bay Goods.

THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS

O Plus D
If Uranus Greetings isn't quite raunchy enough for you, O Plus D may have just the combination of profanity and pith you're looking for. Their holiday collection boasts lines that we can't print here, but suffice it to say that the Brooklyn-based graphic design firm uses a heavy-handed dose of snark and F-bombs in their holiday cards. $4 per card at Curtsy Bella.

Wiley Valentine
Named one of America's hippest stationers by InStyle magazine, Orange County, Calif., company Wiley Valentine offers a line of decadent custom holiday cards that feature ornate graphics on high-quality heavy card stock. New for 2007 is a line of holiday boxed sets and individual cards with their signature embossing, flourishes and vintage lettering. $4 per card to $25 for a set of 10 at Swee Swee Paperie and Studio and Stuhlbergs.

Copyright © The Seattle Times Company

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