Could I be more jealous of Taylor Swift?

It isn't enough that my boyfriend is enamored with her AND she made me tear up when she very genuinely overwhelmed after winning Album of the Year at the Grammy's -- Taylor Swift now has her own greeting card line with American Greetings too. Swift wrote the content for the cards -- ranging from birthday to love notes -- and those items, as well as gift packaging and stationery, are set to be on shelves mid-month.

My idea of a great song is a song that says how I feel, better than I could ... I feel the same way about cards.

So, she's beautiful, has long legs, used to date Jacob from Twilight and is 20 years old ... really?

Really.

Is American Greetings on the move?

Word out of New York indicates that the chiefs at American Greetings are considering moving the company's global headquarters out of Brooklyn, Ohio, where it is the area's largest employer:

American Greetings cites Brooklyn's increase of payroll tax by 25% to 2.5% But Mayor Richard Balbier wonders if there's more too it.

Balbier tells WTAM that he wonders how Brooklyn would survive the loss of another 2,000 jobs.

So if they pull up stakes, where to next?

What is a "pull-my-chin" card?

American Greetings had a big ole $1.69B year. They bought Papyrus and Recycled Paper Greetings. Closed 450 stores. Shuffled around hundreds of staff. Struggled with some licensing lines, including twice failing to jettison its Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears properties. But they continued to grow strategically and better positioning themselves in an ever-shrinking market (sigh) by buying deeper into the high-end homemade side with Papyrus and adding eco-conscious alternative sentiments with Recycled.

What's next? "An ever-widening array of new offerings, including sentimental cards from Kathy Davis; greeting cards with built-in sound, music and special effects; and humorous items such as singing envelopes and "pull-my-chin" cards," CEO Zev Weiss says.

I'm intrigued by the musical envelope concept and whatever "special effects" they may have in the works (thought I'm thinking anything flammable would be a Nova in the making), but can ANYONE tell me what a "pull-my-chin" card is? Does it make you think, want to buy new tweezers or covet someone's playoff scruff?

Creating a brand

When Kathy Davis started submitting her designs to card companies in the the late 1980s, she had no idea what was born from necessity (a divorce) and talent (freelance calligraphy) would become inspirational. The former art teacher with a master's degree built her business design by design. Recycled Paper Greetings believed in her, and the two worked together to develop her brand, which has grown into four separate entities, 15 employees and more than $50 million in retail sales last year. In 2008, she forged a new partnership with American Greetings and wrote a book. Not bad for the rest of your life.

You don't have to be an entrepreneur to develop your personal brand. It isn't all about mugs and gift bags or book deals. Know who you are. Embrace it. Take a risk. And live it.

"Everybody's going to want a piece of you. Make sure you maintain doing the things you love," Davis said about advice she received on drawing boundaries in business.

It applies well beyond the workplace.

Porn mail

I'm sure I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, but e-cards are not always to be trusted. If "a friend" sends you a virtual card, and it makes it past your spam filter, that "friend" should be smart enough to identify themselves. And you, despite being excited at the prospect of an animated monkey blowing out birthday candles, should be smart enough to treat the e-card with suspicion. The most recent concern: American Greetings and other card companies are working with federal authorities to ferret out who/what is sending e-greetings that redirect unsuspecting readers ... TO PORN SITES.

"The best way to make sure you're opening a legitimate card is to:

Type the card company's URL into your browser. Do not click on the link. Do not cut and paste the linked address into your browser.

Type the card code from the e-mail into the search engine on the legitimate Web page. If the e-mail was legitimate, your card should appear."

Of course, this may be a good excuse for people who get nabbed while surfing for skin at work: Hallmark made me do it.