It's two days before Valentine's Day and you need a card that isn't sappy, syrupy or sickening. (Or maybe you love sappy, God help you.)

We did a little card-hunting in the Midcoast to find the best, most unique and clever Valentine's Day cards. Starting in Belfast with Yo Mama's Home, we found a rack of really funky, handcrafted cards. Lisa Agostini,  buyer for Yo Mama's Home said: "I pick these cards for their uniqueness, elegance, humor. I just try to find the most unusual cards that intrigue me from an illustrative point of view."

She hand-picks her card vendors, buying from individuals, a collective of artists and independent companies that range from commercial to letterpress cards. The "friggin love you man" card came from Ferdinand, an artist in Portland, and Agostinis said she also loves Found Image, a company that offers a "nostalgic, fantastic imagery from the arts and crafts period to the crazy 1950s." She said, "We try to have a mixture of blank and message cards, in case they'd rather not have to think of what to write." 

Danica Fullington, a book seller at Sherman's Books and Stationery in Camden, said they buy from several vendors, but don't get to choose which cards arrive.

"They send us a box and it's always a surprise," she said. "We read them as we open them."

The overly sexy ones are hidden in the top rack labeled "Child" because as Fullington says, "We figure kids aren't going to read any cards that are listed under the Child label anyway."

In Rockland, scoot on over to the Grasshopper Shop, where the revolving rack of V-Day cards greets vistors walking through the door. Assistant Manager Hope Billingsley said they, too, buy from several different vendors.

"We have funny cards, some more serious, some sweet and unique, some interesting," he said. "It's a wonderful way to express your feelings for someone special."

Whatever your perspective is on Valentine's Day, pop on over to any of these three stores and you'll find a card that fits your personality and makes someone's day.

Kay Stephens can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com