Mystery at the Ski Jump

Welcome to a new Nancy Drew Challenge and today we're investigating The Mystery at the Ski Jump, Nancy's 29th adventure.  I didn't finish these cards until yesterday evening, usually I have them done way ahead of time but this week went a little off the rails.  Anyway, let's take a look!

Both of these covers feature menacing men.  Nancy looks quite alarmed in the original text cover by Bill Gillies on the left and we have a really bright poppy red top on her.  Is that a jacket?  Because my jackets are all much less form-fitting but Nancy probably has designer ski clothes.  I think the yellow mittens look a little goofy though.

On the right is the Rudy Nappi cover for the revised text and we have a menacing man's hand, but Nancy looks determined to stop the crooks rather than concerned for her own safety.  I like this cover better, maybe because teal and lime is my color vibe, but I also like the composition of the ski jump in the background better because it has more detail than the Gillies cover.

Let's take a look inside.

Case file:  When Hannah Gruen buys stock in a fur company that operates in an unconventional fashion, selling furs at a discount price door to door, Nancy investigates and discovers that the company is fake and the fur stole Hannah bought is stolen (yes, it's a stolen stole).  The bad girl steals Nancy's identity but she keeps investigating through several towns near River Heights, to New York and a visit with Aunt Eloise, and then to Aunt Eloise's cabin in the Adirondacks where Nancy's foes attempt to put her on ice.  Very exciting and a rare winter outing in the original mystery stories.

Here's my card:

I was going to do something with a lot more Poppy Parade and Daffodil Delight to go with Nancy's outfit, but I found this blue pine tree pattern in the Beauty of the Earth DSP and this ended up being a very blue card instead.  I used the skates from Sophisticated Sled because the bad girl, Mitzi Channing, is a semiprofessional ice skater--Nancy discovers her name when she sees her perform in an old movie.  Also I remembered that name from reading this as a kid because I had never heard the name Mitzi before and thought it was strange.

I did add the cardinal so we get a tiny pop of Poppy Parade for Nancy.  Also, the skates could belong to her as she performs a doubles routine in a big skating competition in Canada with no practice beforehand beyond dancing a single waltz with her partner.  Because Nancy of course is a professional ice skater.  I forgot to mention that she and Carson also go to Canada, there is a lot of traveling in this one.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sophisticated Sled
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie, Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody
Paper:  Night of Navy, Thick Basic White, Beauty of the Earth DSP
Accessories:  Sophisticated Sled dies, Ornate Frames dies, Charming Shimmer Faceted Dots, Mini Dimensionals

Let's check out the revised text:

Once again, there are no major changes to the story in the revised text, just condensing it to 20 chapters.  We still get all the same traveling and Aunt Eloise has a larger role in this one than she usually does.  Also Nancy calls her Aunt Lou, which I don't recall seeing in any of Aunt Eloise's other appearances.

Here's my card:

I wanted to incorporate the fun colors on this cover, so I chose Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, and Timid Tiger.  I had a plan to use the Freezin' Fun bundle because I thought there was a fox in it, but upon closer inspection I found it was a sledding raccoon and not a skiing fox (there's a part in the book where the villains refer to Nancy and Carson as foxes).  Still, I like my happy snowman and it amuses me that I found Let It Snow sentiments for both cards.

I stamped some snowflakes on the Summer Splash DSP I used for the background and I like how that looks.  I was making this card up as I went along and trying to make it quickly last night while Ryan was getting ready for bed, pretty happy with where I ended up despite the time crunch.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Snowman Season
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Splash, Stampin' Blends in Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, Timid Tiger, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Thick Basic White, Summer Splash DSP, Celebratory Sips DSP
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Shiny Sequins

I didn't particularly like the aspects of this mystery that deal with the fur trade, but I did enjoy all the travel to different places and Nancy outwitting the dastardly Mitzi, so I give it four stars.  If you're inspired by these books, please leave me a comment so I can see what you make!  And come back next week for the final Nancy Drew Challenge of the year, where we will uncover The Clue of the Velvet Mask.