Busy moving planets...or going to Disney. Whatever.

So I know it’s been quiet here on Daily Dana (I should probably reconsider having “daily” in the name, eh?), but I am happy to report that I have been very busy in a good way.

First off I went on my first big vacation in years last month. The hubby and I spent a week at Walt Disney World. It only took a few days to discover that Florida climate suits him very well (for medical reasons beyond the obvious). I knew I would love to live in Florida from the summer I lived in Tampa. It’s nice to know we now have a get-out-of-Ohio destination and game plan.

Secondly, I’ve been crazy busy on Etsy.  Sales have been slow, but steady. It’s trading that has kept me busy!

If you are an Etsy artisan, and you’ve never traded, here’s the scoop. You find a trade friendly shop (there are tons of them in the forums, chat rooms … some even tag their items as tradable), and if you like their products and your product is a comparable price, ask if they want to trade.

If they agree, agree upon which products will be traded, “buy” them from each other on Etsy, but don’t complete the payment process. Instead send your package. By going through the formality of purchasing the product, you protect yourself in case the other person doesn’t come through on their end of the trade. you can then give negative feedback and go through the proper Etsy channels.

Aaaaanyway, I managed to land a ton of Christmas presents through trading on Etsy!  For the cost of some felt and my time, I got some great handmade presents for my loved ones. I got handmade lavender soap, jewelry, a sun catcher, candles, gorgeous artwork, a TOP SECRET gift for my nosy husband, dried tea leaves, Scrabble Tile magnets and clothing!

So lovely. Can’t speak highly enough about the experience.  Made me feel really good about a holiday season I was worried would be a real downer.

The Angry Cupcake ornament

My new Etsy shop is up and running! www.theangrycupcake.etsy.com

You can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook .

Now let me introduce you to Harry Potter Cupcake!

Harry Potter cupcake! Unless you're a lawyer. Then it's lightning bolt scar boy cupcake.

And Freddy Krueger!

So cute it's scary.

 Goth girl on vacation:

Pink is so not her style

And Frankencupcake!

He wants to give you a kiss.

So readers, what do you think. I have oodles more designs on deck, but am trying to get a feel for what kind of market there would be for such creations before they debut in my shop. They will be printed on 8×10 and 4×6 archival quality papers for about $15 and $10 respectively, with some potential calendar and t-shirt ideas for the future.

Please leave thoughts, comments and suggestions!

Mini springy green notecards with envelopes

Mini cupcake cards with envelopes

Mini puppy paws cards w/ envelopes

These were created originally for a friend who wanted to include little thank you notes with her jewelry that she sells on Etsy. I chose colors and patterns that matched her shop theme. Now I’m making a variety of colors and offering customized colors.

Plus they are fun to make!

But you should listen to it again here regardless:

This song just makes me want to paint and paint and paint and dance and dance and cry and then paint some more. I think me, this song and a canvas are going to have to have some alone time very soon.

What songs inspire you to be creative?

www.yourcoverletter.com

As part of the site, I wrote a cover letter to you. After all, the visitors to my site are my potential future employer, so what better way to let you know about myself and give you a sense of my style.

Dear visitor,
    This company was born at an ice cream parlor.
    Sitting on a bench outside the shop, Betsy and Elizabeth stared at me incredulously.
    “You’re kidding, right?” Betsy asked, her spoonful of pistachio ice cream halted in midair on its way to her mouth.
    “No, I’m serious,” I said. “I really, really, really like writing cover letters.”
    I turned to my husband, who simply shook his head at me.
    Was I really so strange?
    As I surveyed more people, I was shocked to discover how many had a distaste for cover letters. I was more surprised by how many didn’t know how powerful a cover letter could be — if they knew how to write one at all.
    That day I knew I was on to something.
    With a cover letter, a job seeker is given such a small space to make a huge impact on a prospective employer. Even if someone else is more qualified, a dynamic cover letter can be the key to getting noticed and conveying qualities that can’t be found on a resume.
    As someone who has hired employees and worked as a manager, I know what an employer wants. I’m also constantly reading cover letter samples and learning about the latest hiring trends.
    As a reporter, editor and copy editor I can not only write concisely, but also draw out the most interesting information and present it in a way that grabs the reader.
    And when that reader is an employer, nothing is more important.
    I look forward to talking to you about how we can work together in crafting a cover letter that’s perfect for you.
      
                                                               Dana Shaffer
                                                               Founder, Your Cover Letter

I created this last night using some dried chilis we have hanging on our kitchen wall. They are so artistic on their own … but we keep eating them, and soon they will be gone.

So here they are immortalized.

Question: Thoughts on the length of the branch? Should I extend it so it goes off the top of the canvas?

I always promised myself I would never become one of those people who gets stuck in the music of my high school years. I’ve met dozens of people who not only prefer the music of their angsty days, but wouldn’t know the name of an artist from the past decade if their Pink Floyd collection depended on it.

And as a lover of music in general, I think I have done a decent job, not only adding favorite new artists every year, but learning about musicians that came before my time (please don’t think I was trashing Pink Floyd).

Yet, without fail, it’s the ’90s — when I was in junior high and high school – that make me swoon.

This morning while listening to the radio on my drive into work I was slammed with “Celebrity Skin” by Hole, “Good” by Better Than Ezra and several other songs from that decade.

Now if asked what my favorite songs are, neither of these would come to mind. I’ve never even owned an album by Hole. Yet there was nothing in the world that would have gotten me to change the radio station at that moment.

Is it nostalgia? Is it fond memories and hormones that permanently burn these songs into our brains? What makes me light up like a Christmas tree every time I hear them, even though I know many songs that are far better?