Unusual cards, invitations and announcements

If you’re looking for invitations, announcements, stationery and seasonal cards, Pear Tree Greetings offers an unusual variety of personalized options.

Here’s a sample of the Minnesota-based company’s online catalog at PearTreeGreetings.com:

• Valentines that mimic playing cards with a picture of your little prince or princess as the king or queen. Another valentine is an elephant with cutouts that doubles as a finger puppet.

• Birth announcements with tiers of photos that hang from a ribbon reminiscent of a baby mobile.

• Save-the-dates featuring images of sunglasses that scratch off lottery-ticket-style to reveal the names of the future Mr. and Mrs.

• Birthday-party invitations that are stylish masks.

• Multipanel graduation announcements that are a pictorial timeline of the student from infancy through adolescence. (One-year-old birthday cards are designed similarly but through the months, of course.)

• Change-of-address cards that are paint swatches, paper airplanes or miniature moving boxes.

• If you’re already looking ahead to Christmas or Hanukkah 2012, there are cards shaped like strings of holiday lights — photos of family members fit into each cutout cardstock bulb.

Prices start at 60 cents. Cards arrive within three to seven business days, depending on shipping method, which includes processing and printing.

To reach Stacy Downs, call 816-234-4780 or send email to sdowns@kcstar.com.