Wowsa!! I won!!

I've been checking the Unity blog throughout the day, but didn't back up to the main page to get the most recent post until now. I won!!! AHHHHHHHH!!!! Check out the other six amazing projects. Here's the letter I wrote and the pictures I took of my pillow ornaments before sending them to my boyfriend BRO:

My dearest Bro,

I’m sending you this gift as we come to the end of our exciting journey. What a process. I’ve loved every minute of it and wanted to reflect on each of our dates. I know six other special, talented ladies are also vying for your attention. Will this gift be enough? I thought now that we know each other better, it’s time for "pillow talk." I also hope you like the satin sheets!

Won’t these look fabulous on our holiday tree year after year? I took sentiments from various KOTM sets, stamped in Momento black tuxedo ink with some copic highlights and mixed fabrics in the colours and textures you love to create seven unique pillow ornaments—as unique as you and each of the female finalists. You’ll recognize something from each of the seven challenges in each of the pillow ornaments. I really wanted to send you a homemade twig tree using dogwood from my garden but I don’t think customs would let my project through. So I took pictures of what I had in mind and am sending them along too. The satin bag can either be a tree skirt or just a great memory of our final date!!

Affectionately yours,
Nancy xoxo

I'm guessing Bro or someone at Unity loves chocolate or else my package was opened at customs because there was a chocolate bar in the pocket of this pillow (you know, like the chocolate on the pillows of fine hotels) and it's gone!!

The card was a little experiment in handstitching after doodling Bro's name with a copic pen on the fabric:

and I packaged the project in a large pillow with plaid fabric:

Hope you feel inspired! Please leave me a little sign that you were here.

Thanks for stopping by today!

I've just realized that there's a blog hop for my birthday, so I thought I should post something quick. This is such an amazing online world of friends. So I have to say thanks to Karen Motz for introducing me (and so many of us) to stamping...I wouldn't have a load of stamping stuff, be a blogger or be designing stamps for Taylored Expressions if I hadn't met Karen. Taylor met me online because she spotted Karen's blog banner...and I think this is soon almost one year ago.

Today, I hope to visit you on my blog hop; do something fun with Henri (or maybe drag him along while I shop for a little 'sumpin'); get some time to stamp and create; and eat Baskin Robbins jamoca almond fudge ice cream cake tonight with the kids and Kim. Sounds good, doesn't it?!

Here's a question...Kim (that's my hubbie) is getting me a camera for my birthday. I've asked for a Canon Rebel. What do you use and recommend??????

Thanks for being part of my day!
Nancy

A Christmas card for Noah

Many of you know my story or rather my Henri's story and his fight with a life-threatening immune disease. Henri is five and he is cured. I read about Noah today on the Unity forum over at Splitcoast. This little boy is also five and Angela wrote "Noah Biorkman is in the last stages of a 2 1/2yr battle with Neuroblastoma Cancer. The family is celebrating Christmas next week and Noah's request is to get lots of Christmas cards..." So, today I created this card for Noah:



You've seen this monster through the window before. Originally I created him for a Halloween card and then reused him for my daughter's birthday, but I always had different wreaths in mind hanging from his door. Today he's looking for Christmas. I think his Christmas hat puts a little Grinch in him, but Henri assures me he's not scary--he's a santa monster! Again I printed my monster (I'm thinking of selling a digi set...would anyone be interested???) on Gina K pure luxury cardstock and coloured with copics. I printed the image again on red cardstock and used my largest Large Labels nestie to frame the door.



Wishing you Christmas Joy is in a font called A Little Pot--I didn't name it!!...but I think it's a fun, youthful font and the sentiment is exactly what I want to express to this family. Celebrate Christmas whenever it brings you joy and with the people who mean the most.


Please consider sending a card to Noah. I understand the address for cards is
Noah Biorkman
c/o Scott Biorkman
3480 Petoskey Way
Milford, MI 48380

Happy Birthday, Char!

Well, Charlene celebrated a birthday this week and her friends are surprising her with a birthday hop today. Here's my card for you, Char, I remember you telling me that yellow makes you happy, so here's a little Papertrey yellow, buttons and fun to make you smile.

I think this started with Wendy and the Loonie Stampers...
Dee - http://www.deespapertree.blogspot.com/
Regan - http://stampymcstamperson.blogspot.com/
Jewels - http://cardfelt.blogspot.com/
Maria - http://mycraftroom.typepad.com/marias_craft_room/
Wendy - http://bondgirlbliss.typepad.com/bond_girl_bliss/
And Char of course – http://willowandpaisley.typepad.com/willow_paisley/

but more of Charlene's friends are playing along too...

Sue Pardue – http://suespapercreations.blogspot.com/
Pam Imhotz –http://paperandribbonsandstampsohmy.blogspot.com/
Char Cundy – http://ccundy.blogspot.com/
Steph Day – http://mycraftydays.blogspot.com/
Carly Robertson: http://carlyrobertson.typepad.com/paper-in-bloom/
Dana White: http://danashouseofcards.blogspot.com/
Jessica Diedrich: http://thewhimsicalbutterfly.blogspot.com/
Michelle Woerner: http://stopandstamptheroses.blogspot.com/
Nancy McKinney: http://cardworthy.blogspot.com/ <<--that's me
Christie Ortman: http://littlepinkflowers.typepad.com/little_pink_flowers/
Krissy: http://krissylynscreations.blogspot.com/

Ashley Newell: http://ashleynewell.blogspot.com/

Have a great one, Char!!

~Nancy

Celebrate Life today and everyday!

I hope you've seen what the TE Baker's Dozen has to share today...it's release day and they are featuring Celebrate Life, a new addition to the Whimsical Wishes line I design for Taylored Expressions. This set is not just for Autumn occasions-it has real potential for times for celebration and encouragement throughout the year. When Taylor was brainstorming the name for this set, I suggested "Celebrate Life" because for me autumn is both wonderful (the colours, the air, back-to-school, Halloween, Thanksgiving, birthdays,...) and a time when I remember people I've lost. I choose to celebrate their lives and mine too. Here's an Autumn Blessings card I created with this set using the pumpkin, pumpkin leaves and two sentiments from the set and gorgeous Indian Summer patterned paper:

If you haven't seen what's in store, check out this talent...
Jodi Collins , Dawn Easton, Karen Giron, Karen Motz, Sankari Wegman, Donna Baker, Sharon Harnist, Charmaine Ikach, Denise Marzec, Laurie Schmidlin, Jackie Pedro, Jami Sibley and of course, Taylor herself!

Monster wants cake too

November is birthday month in our house...a den of Scorpios (yes, that includes me) and our one little Gemini. Poor thing. Tomorrow the twins turn 11! This is a card/package for Morgana inspired by this week's Weekend Sketch Challenge #104. I pictured the treat bubble as soon as I saw the sketch and contemplated ribbons but opted for lines of "happy birthday," "have your cake and eat it too!" and "xoxoxoxo"... The colour scheme is really a result of today's SCS colour challenge, using neutrals with a pop of colour only in the image and embellishments. I love kraft and bright pink together!! I raided the kids' Halloween stash for smarties looking for only pink and brown ones. My bad!

I added a cake to my original monster, coloured with copics and sponged the background with Distress ink in antique linen. Brought out the pink stitching again and PTI raspberry fizz ribbon, black button and rustic thread. Although I haven't yet, I'm tucking in a gift card for lululemon in the top...can you believe an 11-year-old in lululemon?!!!!

Here are two pictures showing the full card with and without smarties (11 smarties to be exact):

Thanks for looking!

~Nancy

Hat in the wind

Here's my card for today's Mojo Monday sketch #111. I'm not sure how it came together...I looked through my Papertrey sets and found Made of Snow, which I've never inked up, and decided to build my little snowman to be reaching for his top hat blowing away in the wind. He's coloured with copics and prismacolor pencils with gamsol on Gina K pure luxury ivory cardstock.

Other details: Cosmo Cricket Jolly by Golly breezy freezy patterned paper; retired SU wild wasabi cardstock; basic grey opaline half pearls; SU soft sky ink (sponged around the edge of the image); Spellbinders Labels One and Circle nestabilities; Cuttlebug Swiss Dots and D'Vine Swirl embossing folders

Help Yourself...if you dare

This is my Halloween packaging using green, purple, orange and black for the UNITY Bro Challenge #7:

I used the penny candy store stamp from the August Kit of the Month (remember HAPPINESS) and had some fun with copics and googly eyes. I masked out the text from the sign and added my own...HELP YOURSELF if you dare to 'spooky-it-up' a little. The double-sided patterned paper is Basic Grey eerie reaper. I repurposed a clear box, which used to hold envelopes from Gina K; cut out the window from my patterned paper sleeve with the largest Spellbinders Labels Four die; and scored and wrapped so you can see the reverse green through the window. I couldn't decide if I liked the jellybean-filled 'trendy tubes' from Papertrey Inc. all decked out with ribbon on the necks or just simply plain so I have included pictures of both versions:



I also thought I'd show you how the tubes are standing in the box...I scored and folded a type of stand with 3 circles cut out with the smallest Coluzzle circle.

Thanks for looking! Be sure to check out some of the other entrees for Bro's challenge on SCS too.

~Nancy