What Does Handmade vs Handcrafted Really Mean in Greeting Cards?
- Shannon Cyr
- Jan 22
- 4 min read
Updated: May 19
What’s the difference between handmade and handcrafted greeting cards? This essay explores how the terms are used, why they’re often confusing, and how handcrafted cards are made at Mainely Cards.
As we build Mainely Cards, we’ve been thinking a lot about how we describe the work that happens inside the studio. Not as a branding exercise, but because the words we use shape how people understand the work before they ever touch or see a card.
Two terms kept coming up in the greeting card world: handmade and handcrafted.
Card sellers use them as if they’re interchangeable. They show up on packaging, in shop descriptions, across online marketplaces—rarely defined, rarely questioned. At first, we treated them the same way. Handmade, handcrafted...they look close enough. Both suggest a human made the thing, so what’s the difference? It felt like semantics.
Until it didn’t.
The more cards we studied in the wild, the more obvious it became that handmade and handcrafted weren’t describing the same kind of work at all.
Because we’re building a company and a body of work we intend to stand behind, the difference isn’t cosmetic—it matters. So we dug in and examined how these terms are actually used in practice.
What does Handmade mean in Greeting Cards?
Across the industry, handmade operates as a broad umbrella term. The word is everywhere, attached to all kinds of cards, often with no explanation at all. In everyday retail and online marketplaces, it’s used to suggest some degree of human involvement in the build process.
From a legal standpoint, though, the definition is much narrower. In the United States, the Federal Trade Commission reserves handmade in advertising for products where the shaping and forming of each individual item is accomplished entirely through hand labor.
The gap between legal definition and everyday usage helps explain why the term feels inconsistent in practice, and why consumers encounter such a wide range of products all described the same way.
Once we started paying attention, patterns emerged:
Artwork as the handmade element
In most cases, handmade refers to the origin of the artwork. An artist or illustrator creates a design by hand, either on paper or digitally, and that design becomes the basis for a printed card produced at scale. The creative work is real, but each finished card is mechanically reproduced.
Authorship and participation
Sometimes handmade describes authorship rather than the final object. A maker creates a design by hand and sells it as a digital file, expecting the customer to print and assemble the card themselves. Here, the “handmade” part happens on the buyer’s end.
Some human labor
In other cases, handmade refers to cards assembled from pre‑made components. Human hands touch the card during production, but the materials and process are standardized. The work is repeatable, and creative decisions are made upstream.
Okay then. Clear as mud. No wonder the term feels slippery.
In greeting cards, handmade doesn’t describe a single method of making—it functions as a spectrum of human involvement.
That raised our next question: if handmade is this broad, where does handcrafted fit in?
What does Handcrafted mean in Greeting Cards?
Handcrafted, thankfully, is far less ambiguous.
In greeting cards, handcrafted refers to work where the card itself is constructed by hand, start to finish. The maker isn’t just present—they’re actively shaping the outcome at every stage. Tools may assist the process, but they don’t replace the maker’s skill, judgment, or decision‑making. Each card is built piece by piece, with the maker’s hands guiding the work rather than simply assembling standardized parts.
Handcrafted means more than just human involvement. It signals true craftsmanship.
Handmade vs Handcrafted Greeting Cards
Handcrafted is handmade—but it sits at the far end of the spectrum, where the maker’s hands and decisions shape every piece.
Mainely Cards are Handcrafted
When we say our cards are handcrafted, we’re describing the way the work unfolds, not a category we’re trying to fit into.
Every card in our collection starts with an idea, becomes an illustration, and then moves through the careful process of translating that illustration into a file that can actually be cut from paper. We test paper weight, texture, and color until the pieces work together.
Once a design is finalized, we select professional-grade cardstock and layered papers with intention. Each illustration is separated into individual elements and prepared for precision cutting.
We precision-cut each paper element, then assemble every card by hand — one at a time, piece by piece, layer by layer until the card is complete and worthy of sending and worth keeping.
We’ve illustrated the process below to show exactly how each Mainely Card comes to life:
Why It Matters
Understanding how handmade and handcrafted are used in the industry helps us talk about our work with accuracy. These words shape expectations long before a card is ever picked up or opened.
For us, the language we choose should meet the same standard as the work itself. If we’re going to spend hours creating images, testing paper, refining cuts, and assembling each card by hand, the words that describe that work should be just as considered.
Clear language gives people an honest understanding of what we make and the level of craft that goes into every Mainely Card.
If you’re curious how this philosophy translates into finished greeting cards, we encourage you to explore our collection.
From Maine,
Shannon
