If you're unsure what to write in a Pine Tree and North Star card, this guide offers message ideas for everything from encouragement and new beginnings to outdoor adventures and staying connected.

From colonial mast trees and Revolutionary resistance to Maine’s original 1901 state flag and modern revival, this post explores how the Pine Tree and North Star evolved from a practical resource into one of Maine’s most recognizable symbols.

If you’re unsure what to write in a lobster card, this guide offers message ideas for everything from playful hellos to party invitations and more.

Before it became Maine’s most recognizable symbol, the lobster was fertilizer, bait, prison food, surrealist art, couture, and even a sitcom soulmate. Here’s how one crustacean pulled off one of the strangest reinventions in Maine history.

I set out to build the Mainely Cards website the “right” way—complete and polished. Then I accidentally published it early and learned to build in the open.

If you’re unsure what to write in a lighthouse card, this guide offers meaningful message ideas for guidance, resilience, leadership, and support.

A look inside the design process behind our Paper Party Balloons greeting card, from early designs to a final version that uses scale, movement, and material to bring the design to life.

A simple Easter egg design put to the test. Planned or random, every version of this handcrafted Easter Egg card design held up. Step inside the studio to see how the Benny Egg came together.

What do you write in an Easter card? It depends on what the day means. Easter messages often center on faith, renewal, or simple connection—here are a few ways to say it clearly and naturally.

A look inside the studio as a simple Easter egg design takes shape—from early testing to a finished card that’s easy to build and holds together.

If you’re unsure what to write in a St. Patrick’s Day card, this guide offers simple, copy-ready messages for friends, family, partners, and anyone who could use a little luck.

Do green lobsters actually exist? A rare Maine catch and a sheet of emerald green paper inspired Lucky the Lobster, a handcrafted St. Patrick’s Day Green Lobster greeting card that carries a bit of Irish luck.

A look inside the studio as a St. Patrick’s Day clover design takes shape—from familiar Irish traditions and an early handmade card to today’s original mosaic paper art.

What does a lighthouse actually symbolize? This essay shares the symbolic framework behind the Blue and White Lighthouse card and how each meaning becomes a tangible affirmation someone can hold, reread, and keep.

If you’re unsure what to write in a Valentine’s Day card, this guide offers simple, copy-ready phrases for partners, friends, children, teachers, and more.

The story behind Mainely Cards’ first Valentine’s heart — from fragile prototype to finished mosaic paper design in metallic red and passion pink.

What started as a simple silhouette changed once I understood the purpose behind it. The design became less about replicating a look and more about honoring what these towers are built to do.

You can tell a paper art card is different the moment you pick it up—built one piece of paper at a time, with depth, texture, and presence that make it worth sending and keeping.

If you’ve ever chosen a greeting card and felt unsure what to write inside, this post offers simple phrases for thank you, encouragement, comfort, and staying connected.

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.