Goodbyes, Asides, & Otherwise
Offhand Cards for Common Situations
Fox & Thistle Studio’s correspondence cards walk a fine line—offering solace to the giver—and clarity, confrontation, or something in between to the recipient.
This collection gently upends the usual practice of card giving—a more candid and sometimes even more restorative kind of exchange. But genuine openness lands differently depending on the messenger, the moment, the relationship, and the recipient. These cards are only meant to echo what you’d say yourself—when spoken with honesty, self-assurance, and grace.
(In our experience, if one of these cards speaks to you, it’s better to have it tucked in a drawer than to wait for an occasion to demand it.)
This series features original artworks as well as images sourced from the public domain. The sentiments themselves include original poetry, timeworn proverbs, snippets, and epigrams long since committed to the collective memory.
They can be wry, bleak, wistful, honest, enlightening…
Wilted Flowers Card - A bittersweet outlook for moments when things are clearly deteriorating, but still offered in resigned affection.
A bouquet of resignation and sarcasm. Bitter, maybe—but honest. For coworkers running on fumes, cynical friends, or fellow commiserators of any stripe. [See more details →]
American correspondence has been prescribed by etiquette columnists and proper society for more than a century. But these cards aim to say something more revealing: encouragement when someone is acting against their own interests, or something even closer to the bone—like:
“You might want to recalibrate.”
“I know who you want to be. But that's not how you’re acting.”
These are the words of a true intimate—someone who knows us better than we know ourselves.
Stasis Card - A caterpillar’s quiet encouragement for someone whose self-betterment has stalled. A sentiment for those we believe in, even when they’ve perhaps stopped believing in themselves.
Slow, steady hope in motion. For late bloomers, recovering perfectionists, friends in transition, or anyone needing a gentle nudge. [See more details→]
And then, of course, there are relationships that have tread water long enough. They come to a stopping point not because they must (we all know how long these can drag on), but because one person decides to take agency and say, “enough is enough.”
Cat's Cradle Card - A poetic farewell to the emotionally unavailable. When presence is replaced by performative busyness, this card speaks plainly.
Active avoidance and trickery. This is for the distracted, the deceitful, the unavailable, the ones we’re done waiting for. [Find out more →]
Romantic or platonic, neighbors or acquaintances, bosses, colleagues, and co-workers… sometimes connections end in offense, rejection, or a false sense of familiarity. Both parties don’t need to agree that something isn’t working—for something not to work.
Sometimes one simply decides: I don’t trust you. Not anymore. Maybe not ever.
Or, “How dare you presume to know me better than I know myself?”
The very sentiment behind:
“This shouldn’t go any farther.”
“This isn’t getting better.”
“I choose me over you.”
Crossroads Card - A defiant decision for those occasions when 'too much is too much'.
Clarity through combustion. For the bold departures, final goodbyes, and relationships that won't be mended. [See details →]
These aren’t tidy sentiments for spotless situations. They’re as messy as the connections and attachments that prompt them. They blur the lines.
One friend giving another a card that says, “Some who wander are lost,” might be gently acknowledging someone who’s recently drifted away, saying, “Hey, I know you’re disappointed that so-and-so left you, but they weren’t right for you anyway. They don’t know what they had.” That’s a far cry from a parent handing the same card to a grown layabout: “What the hell have you been doing all this time? Go get a job.”
Off the Map Card - For calling out the false romanticism of disarray, in preference of clarity over comfort.
Not every journey is one of discovery and enlightenment. For the aimless, the avoidant, or anyone mistaking motion for meaning. [See more →]
A card reading “It’s never too late to be the person you could have been” might urge a friend to finally take a personal leap—or slip into an ex-lover’s hand, hinting, “You can still find everything you want—just not with me.” These cards carry layered meanings, shifting with the moment, the messenger, and the recipient. They speak in second and third meanings—offering reassurance, provocation, and subtle invitation all at once.
As the old adage says, Do me the favor to deny me at once. That’s the courtesy these cards try to extend: honesty, directness, and nuance.
Each Our Own Card - a stark, visual encapsulation of personal demons. It offers no way out—only a mirror reflecting how we sometimes stand in our own way.
For moments of reckoning, reflection, or painful goodbyes. Designed for close friends navigating change, addiction, or self-inflicted loss—or for those blind to their own role in the story. [Find out more →]
*this article is also live on Medium.
Fox & Thistle Studio seamlessly blends curiosity, creativity, and sustainability. Rooted in the idea that simplicity speaks volumes, our essence is embodied in the paradoxical, insightful, and endlessly playful nature of finding and creating.
