Personalized Stationery

Key Takeaways:

• Every design starts with original art. Each piece of personalized stationery begins with an Alexa Pulitzer hand-drawn illustration—you may choose one of her signature illustrations, such as Second Line Alligators, or she can create something truly custom just for you.
• There's a design for nearly every recipient and occasion. Whether you’re shopping for a newlywed, a graduate, a partner, a colleague, or the sibling who’s impossible to buy for, there’s an illustration meant to reflect who they are—not just what to call them.
• Create-Your-Own takes about 14 business days. Personalized A6 note sets may be ordered online, are produced individually, and ship separately from ready-to-ship items, so it’s worth ordering early—with rush service available for a fee if you’re working against a deadline.

There are certain words that deserve more than a text. Thank you. I love you. I'm sorry. Congratulations. I miss you. I'm thinking of you. A handwritten note asks us to slow down long enough to choose our words, put pen to paper, address an envelope, and send a small piece of ourselves to someone else. A plain white card doesn’t say much about who sent it. Meanwhile, a handwritten note on a beautiful textured note card that showcases an original illustration, a name, and thirty years of craft behind the artwork carries an unmistakable personality before the recipient even reads a word.

I'm Alexa Pulitzer, and for more than 30 years I've been creating original illustrated stationery from my New Orleans studio. Throughout all those years—and all the changes in how we communicate—I've held onto one very simple belief: a handwritten note is a gift. 

Every piece begins with my original hand-drawn artwork. Choose the illustration that speaks to you, add your name, monogram, family name, or personal wording, and something as traditional as a notecard becomes unmistakably your own. Personalized stationery shouldn't simply tell the recipient who sent the note. It should tell them a little something about the person who wrote it. Below are my favorite personalized stationery designs and the collections that extend the idea of customizable correspondence far beyond a single notecard.

Why Personalized Stationery Still Matters

Some words simply deserve paper. A handwritten note requires something digital communication rarely does: intention. You choose the stationery, sit down with a pen, consider your words, address the envelope, and send a small piece of yourself to someone else.

Birthdays, condolences, thank-yous, congratulations, introductions, and simple thinking-of-you notes all feel different when written by hand. Personalized stationery makes that gesture even more meaningful, because the paper itself says something about the person sending it before a single word is read.

I've always believed a handwritten note is a gift. It can be tucked into a drawer, slipped between the pages of a book, or kept for decades—long after a text or email has disappeared from view.

Custom Personalized Notecards That Begin With The Illustration

The most distinctive personalized stationery begins with the artwork, not simply the name beneath it. Every Alexa Pulitzer design starts with an original, hand-drawn illustration—artwork with enough character, detail, and personality to stand beautifully on its own before a monogram, name, or personal wording is ever added.

That's what makes custom notecards feel genuinely personal. Choose an illustration that reflects something about you—a beloved dog, a sporting passion, a botanical, a New Orleans icon, or something with a little wit—and the stationery begins telling your story before the recipient reads a single word.

Your name tells them who sent the note. The illustration tells them something about who you are.

Why The Illustration Comes First

Every illustration in my collection begins the old-fashioned way: drawn by hand, long before it ever appears on a piece of stationery. My Second Line alligators, jewel-encrusted fleur-de-lis, and road-tripping rabbit are original Alexa Pulitzer artwork, inspired by the characters, traditions, humor, and unmistakable joie de vivre of the place I call home. That origin matters. It's what gives my personalized stationery its distinctive point of view. Rather than simply choosing a name or monogram, you can select an illustration that reflects your personality, passions, heritage, sense of humor, or perhaps just something you love.

My Custom Personalized Note Cards collection includes many more designs than those featured below and is the perfect place to begin if you're searching for custom notecards with a particular character, animal, symbol, or motif that speaks to you. Choose the artwork that feels like you. Then put your name on it.

Personalized Stationery for Weddings & Newlyweds 

The best personalized gifts don't merely have someone's name on them. They feel as though they could only have been chosen for that person.  Personalized stationery makes an especially meaningful gift for newlyweds because it marks not only the celebration, but the beginning of all the correspondence that comes afterward.

A new married name, family monogram, or custom wedding crest can transform thank-you notes into the first pieces of correspondence from a new household. And unlike so many wedding details that disappear once the champagne is finished and the flowers have faded, a beautifully designed crest or monogram can follow a couple into married life—onto personal stationery, invitations, holiday correspondence, bookplates, entertaining pieces, and eventually the home they build together.

For something truly bespoke, I can create an original hand-drawn wedding crest or family monogram designed specifically for the couple, then carry that artwork through their stationery suite. What begins on a wedding invitation or thank-you note can become a visual signature they return to—and reorder—for decades.

Beyond Notecards: The Extended Range

Personalized stationery extends far beyond the notecard. A beautifully considered correspondence wardrobe can include everything from an elegant monogram to formal engraved notes and business cards—each an opportunity to make the everyday act of putting pen to paper feel distinctly your own.

For those drawn to the timelessness of monogram stationery, my Monogram Items collection features my exclusive “Hornabet”—an Antler Alphabet I created in which each letter is elegantly framed by a pair of majestic antlers. Rather than simply placing an old world initial on the page, the letter itself becomes the artwork: a personal mark with character, wit, and a touch of sporting grandeur.

For a more formal expression, my engraved stationery marries the beautiful, tactile impression of traditional engraving with an original Alexa Pulitzer illustration. And when correspondence turns to business, my Custom Business Cards bring that same artistry and attention to detail to a professional calling card—because one's business identity deserves every bit as much consideration as one's personal stationery.

From a monogram to an engraved note or business card, anything bearing your name should feel worthy of it.

From Made-To-Order To Fully Custom

My made-to-order A6 note sets begin with the original, copyrighted illustrations in my stationery collection and are personalized with the name, monogram, or wording of your choice. No design consultation is required—you can order directly through my website, and your stationery is produced in approximately 14 business days and shipped separately from ready-to-ship items.

If time is of the essence, my Boxed Notes collection offers beautifully packaged, ready-to-ship notecard sets without the personalization wait. To explore the full breadth of my illustrated correspondence—from the classic and botanical to the sporting and wonderfully irreverent—my Notecards collection is the perfect place to browse before deciding what feels most like you.

For something truly one-of-a-kind, bespoke stationery is an entirely different creative experience. I can create an original illustration specifically for you, your family, a cherished friend, or your business, then develop the details around it—from a custom logo and typography to carefully considered paper, ink, envelope liners, and printing techniques. The result isn't simply stationery with your name added to it; it's a correspondence suite created expressly for you.

To work with me on a truly bespoke set of stationery, please complete my Custom Stationery Form, and we'll begin the conversation. Because true luxury isn't putting your name on something. It's making it unmistakably yours.

Personalized Stationery Makes an Exceptional Gift 

The best gifts feel as though they could only have been chosen for that particular person. That is precisely what makes personalized stationery such a wonderful one. Choose their name, then choose an original illustration that reflects something about who they are—a beloved dog, a garden, a sporting passion, a favorite place, or simply a design that captures their particular sense of style.

Personalized notecards make thoughtful gifts for weddings and brides, graduations, new homes, birthdays, new jobs, mothers, teachers, executives, consummate hosts and hostesses, and those notoriously difficult people who insist they already have everything. Unlike something destined for a shelf, beautiful stationery becomes part of everyday life: thank-you notes are written, birthdays remembered, condolences expressed, congratulations sent, and friendships tended to one handwritten note at a time.

For a newlywed, perhaps it's a new married name or family monogram. For a graduate, their first grown-up stationery. For a new homeowner, a family or property name. For a teacher, something chosen especially for the person who has given so much of themselves. And for the impossible-to-shop-for brother? A sporting motif, Labrador, or handsome monogram is infinitely more interesting than another shirt.

Personalized Note Cards: Six Designs Worth Putting Your Name On

While I offer scores of customizable notecards that can be personalized directly online, the six designs below are a few particular favorites. After all, personalized stationery should have more personality than simply your name at the top. Each begins with one of my original hand-drawn illustrations and is finished with your name or personal wording—whether your tastes run to crowned canines, grand chandeliers, sporting life, or something with a little New Orleans mischief. Choose the one that feels like you; I'll put your name on it. 

Each made-to-order A6 set includes 25 flat notes (6.25" × 4.5") and 25 plain envelopes (6.5" × 4.75"), digitally printed on premium Ecru Classic Laid 80# Cover Stock and created in New Orleans. Every set is made especially for you and your entire order will ship complete after the custom made goods are ready. 

A Homage To New Orleans

Some stationery whispers where you come from. Mine occasionally joins the parade. My Customizable Second Line A6 Notes feature a jubilant—and impeccably accessorized—alligator couple caught mid-Second Line, rendered in full color and carrying all the wit, pageantry, and joie de vivre of New Orleans. They're a natural choice for the devoted New Orleanian, newlyweds, the consummate host, or anyone who believes correspondence deserves a little celebration of its own. For a quieter expression of hometown allegiance, my Customizable Jewel Fleur de Lys A6 Notes feature my hand-drawn, jewel-encrusted fleur-de-lis in your choice of Antique Gold or Slate Blue ink. Elegant rather than overt, it's a sophisticated nod to New Orleans for those who have made this enduring emblem part of their own visual language. 

Bunnies Bursting With Personality

Some rabbits are content to nibble quietly in the garden. Mine tend to have rather more ambitious social lives. My Customizable Royal Bunny A6 Notes, available in Pink, Chocolate Brown, or Slate Blue ink, feature a wonderfully regal rabbit with all the composure of someone entirely accustomed to being admired. They're a charming choice for the lifelong rabbit collector, a child with a fondness for fanciful creatures, the English garden devotee, or anyone whose home already contains enough decorative rabbits to constitute a small dynasty.

For the more free-spirited sort, my Customizable Rabbit Road Trip A6 Notes feature a rabbit setting off on an adventure in a Mini Cooper, rendered in Chocolate Brown. They're particularly fitting for the chef or cook who's always headed somewhere delicious, the consummate hostess, the traveler, road-tripper, recent graduate, or perennial wanderer who knows that the best stories rarely begin by staying put.

Tastefully Elegant Crowd Pleasers

Not every piece of personalized stationery needs to announce its personality from across the room. Some designs simply have impeccable manners. My Customizable Empire Bee A6 Notes feature an imperial bee encircled by a classical laurel wreath, printed in Antique Gold. Elegant, timeless, and wonderfully versatile, it's an excellent choice for the designer, mom, teacher, sister, gracious host, busy executive, or anyone who runs their household—and possibly everyone else's—with admirable authority.

For something more botanical, my Customizable Swampy A6 Notes feature my hand-drawn Palm frond and Banana tree in Avocado, a swampy, tropical green perfectly suited to the design. With its layered leaves and distinctly Southern sensibility, it's a natural choice for the gardener, nature lover, Southern traditionalist, or anyone whose aesthetic tends toward the verdant, collected, and beautifully rooted in place.

Who Reaches For Personalized Stationery

The best personalized stationery doesn't languish in a drawer waiting for a sufficiently important occasion. It lives on the desk, within reach of a favorite pen, and gets used. The right recipient is someone who already understands the pleasure of a handwritten note—they simply need paper worthy of what they have to say.

• The Lifelong Correspondent: They write thank-you notes without being reminded, remember birthdays, and know that thinking of you is reason enough to put pen to paper. Give them personalized notecards featuring an original illustration that reflects who they are, and you've given them something they'll actually use. 
• The Gift For The Person Who Has Everything: This is where personalized stationery earns its stripes. Choose their name and an illustration that suits them perfectly—a Labrador for the devoted dog person, a sporting motif for the outdoorsman, a botanical for the gardener—and suddenly you've found a gift they didn't know they needed. The personalization says their name; your choice of artwork says you were paying attention. 
• The Business Correspondence Upgrade: For the entrepreneur, creative professional, or executive who knows that a handwritten note can accomplish what another email rarely will, custom stationery makes a quietly confident impression. My Engraved Notes collection takes that idea to its most formal expression, pairing original illustration with the beautiful dimension and tactile quality of traditional engraving.
• The Bride, Newlywed & Celebrant: Personalized stationery makes an elegant bridal shower, wedding, hostess, or milestone gift—and unlike so many things associated with a celebration, it remains useful long after the champagne is gone. A new monogram, married name, or illustrated initial can mark the beginning of a new chapter without feeling remotely like wedding paraphernalia.
• The Consummate Host or Hostess: For the person who remembers your drink, sets a beautiful table, and somehow makes a Tuesday dinner feel like an occasion, personalized stationery makes an especially gracious hostess gift. Choose an illustration that reflects their home, garden, favorite animal, or entertaining style and personalize it with their name or family name. It's a proper thank-you for someone who understands that the details matter. 
• The New Homeowner: A new address deserves new stationery. Personalized notecards bearing a family name, property name, monogram, or illustration that speaks to the new home make a thoughtful housewarming gift—particularly for someone who has finally found the house, restored an old one, or given their beloved weekend place a name. Long after the moving boxes disappear, the stationery remains.
• The Graduate: Graduation is one of those wonderful moments when a person is suddenly expected to write a great many thank-you notes. Give them stationery they'll actually be excited to use. A set personalized with their name and an original illustration feels grown-up without being stuffy—and follows them beautifully from graduation gifts to first jobs, first apartments, and whatever comes next.
• The Teacher Who Deserves More Than Another Mug: A wonderful teacher gives your child far more than lessons—they give their time, patience, encouragement, and often a little extra confidence when it's needed most. Personalized stationery makes a thoughtful teacher gift that feels chosen especially for them. Select an illustration that reflects their personality, add their name, and give them something beautiful they'll enjoy long after the school year ends. 
• The Brother Who Is Impossible to Shop For: Brothers have a particular talent for insisting they don't need anything. This is precisely where personalized notecards come in. Choose an illustration that speaks his language—a Labrador, sporting motif, hunting crest, classic monogram, or something with a little irreverence—and personalize it with his name, initials, family name, ranch, camp, or property. It's handsome, useful, personal, and, mercifully, not another shirt. 
• The Holiday Gift That Isn't Another Thing: Personalized stationery is particularly good for the person whose Christmas list leaves you staring blankly at the ceiling. Choose an illustration that immediately makes you think of them, add their name, and you've created a personalized holiday gift that's useful, beautiful, and wonderfully specific. For teachers, friends, mothers, sisters, clients, hosts, or the notoriously impossible-to-shop-for, it has the rare advantage of feeling luxurious without being frivolous.

Every note set I create begins with the same conviction: the paper you write on matters almost as much as the words you put upon it. Choose the right illustration, and half the introduction has already been made before your pen ever touches the page. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Personalized Stationery

Can I request another Alexa Pulitzer illustration? 

Absolutely. If you don't see the illustration you have in mind among my customizable notecards, please email sales@alexapulitzer.com with the name of the existing Alexa Pulitzer illustration you'd like to use. My team will confirm whether the artwork is suitable for the stationery format and can be substituted for one of the featured designs. After all, personalization should feel personal.

What paper is used? 

For my digitally printed customizable notecards, I use a beautifully textured Natural (Cream) Classic Laid 80# Cover Stock. Its subtle laid finish gives the paper an elegant, tactile quality that feels wonderful in the hand—and, just as importantly, lovely to write on.

For bespoke stationery produced using traditional printing techniques such as engraving, letterpress, or thermography, you may choose from an array of paper colors and weights to create a correspondence suite entirely your own. Explore my Custom Paper Swatches to see the available options.

What is the difference between flat printing, digital printing, thermography, letterpress, and engraving? 

Each printing technique gives personalized stationery its own distinctive character, from crisp everyday correspondence to the tactile luxury of traditional engraving.

• Digital printing reproduces artwork and typography directly onto the paper with no printing plate required. It offers beautiful detail and flexibility, making it particularly well suited to small quantities, a lot of color, personalized and made-to-order stationery.
• Flat printing places ink smoothly on the surface of the paper without a raised impression. I use this technique throughout my stationery and notepad collections, where it beautifully captures the fine lines and intricate details of my hand-drawn illustrations.
• Thermography creates slightly raised, glossy lettering or artwork. It offers the elegance and dimension of raised printing at a more approachable price point than traditional engraving.
• Letterpress presses the artwork or typography into the paper, creating a beautiful recessed impression that you can both see and feel. It is especially striking on cotton paper stocks, where the depth of the impression becomes part of the design itself.
• Engraving is the grand dame of fine stationery printing. Artwork or typography is etched into a copper plate, inked, and pressed into the paper under tremendous pressure, creating exquisitely crisp, raised ink on the front and a subtle impression—known as a bruise—on the reverse. Elegant, dimensional, and wonderfully tactile, engraving remains the benchmark for truly bespoke stationery and my personal favorite.

There is no single “best” printing technique; the right choice depends on the aesthetic, paper, budget, and degree of formality you have in mind. Beautiful printing isn't simply something you see. At its finest, it's something you feel.

Can I reorder the same stationery? 

Absolutely. If you'd like to reorder a previous stationery design, simply email sales@alexapulitzer.com with your previous order number. If you no longer have it, just send us the name under which the original order was placed, and my team will look it up and work with you to recreate your stationery. We'll then provide any payment instructions needed to put your stationery back into production. 

Can you create a custom monogram or crest? 

Absolutely. If you're looking for something entirely your own, I can create an original hand-drawn monogram, family crest, business emblem, or personal mark designed specifically for you. Your finished artwork can then become the foundation for bespoke stationery and other pieces bearing your new signature design.

To begin this truly bespoke process, please complete my Custom Logo Form. Once I learn a little about you, your aesthetic, and what you'd like the artwork to represent, we can begin creating something uniquely yours.

Is wholesale pricing available on custom stationery? 

No. Custom and personalized stationery is sold directly to the customer and is not offered at wholesale. If you would like something truly bespoke, you'll work directly with me to create a stationery suite tailored to you, your family, your business, or even a special property. Depending on what you have in mind, we can explore an original hand-drawn illustration, luxury event branding, custom monogram, wedding logo, bespoke typography, paper color and weight, ink colors, elegant envelope liners, and printing techniques including engraving, letterpress, thermography, or flat printing. The pleasure of going bespoke is that the details are considered together rather than simply adding a name to an existing design.

For a more streamlined made-to-order option, shop my Custom Personalized Notecard Collection, where you can choose from my existing original illustrations, add your personalization, and order directly online.

How long do personalized A6 note sets take to produce?

My made-to-order personalized A6 note sets require approximately 14 business days for printing and processing before shipping. Because each set is created especially for you, personalized stationery ships separately from my in-stock, ready-to-ship pieces.

If you're purchasing personalized stationery along with stocked items, please place them as two separate orders. This allows your in-stock pieces to ship promptly rather than waiting for your made-to-order notecards to be completed.

Please remember that the 14-business-day production time does not include shipping time, so allow additional time for your order to travel from New Orleans to you. 

Is rush service available? 

Yes. Rush service may be available depending on my production schedule and your required delivery date. After placing your order, simply email your order number, desired date of receipt, and complete shipping address to sales@alexapulitzer.com.

If we're able to accommodate your deadline, we'll email you a separate invoice for the applicable rush production fee and UPS Next Day Air shipping. The sooner you ask, the better our chances of making a little stationery magic happen.

Can I choose any wording for my personalized notes?

Yes. When placing your order, you may personalize your notes with a family name, individual name or names, property or estate name, ranch name, or other custom wording of your choice. Simply enter your preferred text, select the illustration that speaks to you, and choose your font.

Whether it's The Pulitzers, Alexa & Seth, Maison de Something Fabulous, or the name of a beloved hunting camp, the wording is entirely yours.

Are the envelopes printed or plain? 

The envelopes are plain and unprinted. Each personalized A6 note set includes 25 Ecru Classic Crest A6 envelopes (6.5" × 4.75"), which arrive unprinted and unaddressed. Only the notecards themselves feature your selected Alexa Pulitzer illustration and personalized wording. 

For an additional $150, I can add your return address to the envelopes using the same font and ink color you've selected for your personalized notecards, giving the entire stationery suite a beautifully coordinated finish.

After placing your order, simply email sales@alexapulitzer.com with your order number and complete return address. I'll send you a separate invoice for the additional $150 charge and add the printed return address to your custom order.

Can I print a return address on envelopes? 

Yes. For an additional $150, I can add your return address to the envelopes using the same font and ink color you've selected for your personalized notecards, giving the entire stationery suite a beautifully coordinated finish.

After placing your order, simply email sales@alexapulitzer.com with your order number and complete return address. I'll send you a separate invoice for the additional $150 charge and add the printed return address to your custom order.

Can I order more than 25 notes at a time?

Each made-to-order note set contains 25 notes and 25 plain envelopes. To order a larger quantity, simply add multiple sets to your cart at checkout.

Can I order stationery as a gift? 

Absolutely. Personalized stationery makes a wonderfully thoughtful gift for birthdays, graduations, weddings, new homes, new jobs, hostesses—or simply for someone who still appreciates the pleasure of putting pen to beautiful paper.

Choose an illustration that feels like them, personalize the notes with their name, family name, property name, or other wording, and we'll create the set especially for your recipient.

Because personalized stationery is made to order, please allow approximately 14 business days for production before shipping, plus transit time.