Greetings with L.A. attitude

The Larchmont-based www.hipstercards.com offers an alternative to the dancing birthday cat (or dog, bear, chicken, etc.) e-card. The site’s online cards -- some sassy and some with an off-center sense of humor -- are a welcome respite from Hallmark-esque sentiment set to a background of cheesy MIDI file music.

“These are the types of cards you’ll find if you go into a little boutique bookstore, with their edgy and vintage designs,” says site creator Lynda Keeler, a former head of Sony Pictures’ Internet division and founder of the “insider’s” Web guide, www.LA.com.

Hipster Cards are available for all the standard holidays and celebrations, but then there are other “occasions” that you definitely won’t find in the card aisles of the local Rite Aid -- think retro styles, yoga and strange and scary clowns.

On the “Life Changes” page, there are notes to convey a change of e-mail address and a change in dating status, including the “Guess who’s got a new boyfriend?” card.

Browse through the “Flirty and Sexy” section to find a card adorned with Mexican wrestlers and the caption “I can’t mask my feelings.” Another card shows a lone drink sitting on bar with the line: “It’s 5:01 p.m. somewhere.” (Others in this section are definitely more fun but definitely unfit for print.)

Keeler uses about a dozen designers regularly for the cards, but other artists -- both lowbrow and highbrow -- are welcome to apply for consideration in the “Artist eCard” gallery (found under the “Blog” section). The blog is also where visitors can post comments on upcoming designs and enter their own pithy slogans under the “Caption the Card Contest.”

What started last fall as online support for the “Get Out the Vote” campaign has evolved into a full greeting service, Keeler notes. The site has grown steadily since its Valentine’s Day launch, now averaging between 3,000 and 5,000 users each day.

These Hipster Cards have a definite L.A. feel. Where else can you find a card to express the sentiment “Let’s go ... and spot celebs”?

-- Christine N. Ziemba