The Sky Phantom

Happy Saturday y'all, and welcome to this week's Nancy Drew Challenge!  This time, Nancy is taking on The Sky Phantom:

I like Nancy's flippy 'do here but it seems much darker than usual.  Kinda wish we could see her face with those aviator glasses too, ha!  So you can tell from the cover that this one has to do with flying planes and we also have some pseudo sci-fi shenanigans with the titular phantom.  Side note:  I think it's fun that Nancy is learning to fly in this one as Mildred Wirt Benson, who wrote many of the early Nancy Drews and was the original Carolyn Keene, became a pilot as well.

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George are in an unnamed part of the midwest (I'm going to imagine Wyoming or Montana since we were just there), where Nancy is taking flying lessons and Bess and George are riding horses and flirting with cowboys.  Nancy and her flight instructor discover a downed plane, pilot missing, underneath a mysterious cloud that always seems to be in the same place.  We also have drama with a stolen horse and then relationship drama when one of the cowboys proposes to Bess right before Ned, Burt, and Dave show up.  And then the ending just feels like a big left turn from the rest of the book.

Here's my card:

Obviously I had to do a plane card, though I bet Nancy is flying a single-engine Cessna or something and not a biplane like this.  The main color I saw on the book's cover was (appropriately) Soft Sky, and that led me to the long-retired Western Sky DSP so my card can also have a bit of a western feel like the book.

That matte copy of the book is one that I found at the used book store in the middle of nowhere on the way to Yellowstone last week : )

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Basic Gray, Blue Bayou, Just Jade, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate & Just Jade
Paper:  Soft Sky, Just Jade, Thick Basic White, Western Sky DSP
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals

Of course, I had to make a card for the ground-based side of this mystery, so here's one for the horsey girls like me:

This is the maiden voyage for Equestrian Dream, which is where I got the main image.  That stamp set doesn't have any greetings, but I thought the one from Let It Ride was a perfect match.  I used a different pattern from the Western Sky DSP and I wish I'd gotten a second pack of this paper, I am hoarding it for special projects.  (As if I don't have a bazillion sheets of paper...)

I stamped the horses and greeting with Early Espresso + Versamark and embossed with clear EP, so then I was able to paint the horses without the ink running.  Just the horses are running.  I made the one in the front a palomino (Golden Glow is the perfect palomino shade, BTW) because the stolen horse was a palomino.  The one on the right is a chestnut to go with Nancy's bright red hair on this cover and then I included a liver chestnut on the left to go with the flight instructor's dark hair.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Equestrian Dream, Let It Ride
Ink:  Early Espresso, Golden Glow, Copper Clay, Soft Sky, Certainly Celery, VersaMark
Paper:  Soft Sky, Blue Bayou, Thick Very Vanilla, Western Sky DSP
Accessories:  Deckled Rectangles dies, Dimensionals, clear EP, Earthy Matte Dots

So between the airplanes and the horses, this book is a rather odd mish-mash, and that's not even taking into account a revolutionary militia group, a random cave that rains oil, and the weird phantom shapes in the cloud that give the book its name.  If you want a ranch book, definitely go for The Secret of Shadow Ranch over this one, revised or original text, they're both more fun than this.  I did find the love triangle bit rather entertaining, so I'm going to give it two and a half stars.  Stay tuned next Saturday when Nancy tackles the Strange Message in the Parchment.

Rainbow Hot Air Balloons

Mornin' y'all and happy Friday!  I am happy to report that Ryan and I both got an A+ from the dentist yesterday, no cavities for either of us despite not having cleanings done for a long time.  I really like the dentist we saw and it's super close to the house so that's all great.  Today Ryan has early dismissal (why??) and then I'm planning to drag him with me to the Rocky Mountain Book and Paper Fair this afternoon.  There will most likely be bribery involved.

Anyway, I got some good crafting time in yesterday and feel like I worked through a creativity block I had going on, I got four cards made.  Pretty sure what broke the block is that I had three double-size mugs of tea yesterday, I am sure my creative muse is fueled by tea.  So here's the first card:

I have been pondering this week's Atlantic Hearts sketch since Monday:

I knew I was going to be showcasing some patterned paper but I wasn't sure what until I saw the Inspired By... challenge:

Those soft colors made me think of the Lighter Than Air DSP Stack immediately, and then in a delightful coincidence the new Just Add Ink challenge dovetails perfectly:

I used patterned paper and pastels since I'm taking that as pastel colors rather than pastel crayons.  I used some Rainbow Dots for accents but those I don't think count as pearls.  Also, fun fact, we see hot air balloons around here a lot, the hubs says he sees them most mornings on his way to work when there's nice weather, and last weekend there was one that was basically hovering over the house across the way from us so quite close.  He asked if I wanted to go up in one and I said heck NO but I like to look at them!

Right this minute I am mostly through my first mug of tea for today (Republic of Tea's blueberry black tea, if you're curious), so we'll see if I get any more cards made before I go pick Ryan up and go book shopping (my favorite kind of shopping...okay stamps too).  So I am looking forward to a really fun day!

Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Balmy Blue
Paper:  Lemon Lolly, Thick Basic White, Lighter Than Air DSP Stack
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Mini Dimensionals, Rainbow Dots, Bubble Bath ribbon

Happy Father's Day!

Mornin' y'all!  We went to the movies last night; the boys saw the live action How to Train Your Dragon and since I have zero interest in seeing that, I saw an anniversary screening of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which was awesome.  The hubs and Ryan enjoyed their movie and I had a blast watching Indy and his dad take on the bad guys.

It's Father's Day here and I have a few cards to share.  I was helped out by this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

And here's the card I made for the hubs:

It says "Happy Father's Day" on the inside, I need to get Ryan to write in it.  The hubs is still asleep though and the card is in the next room so I don't want to wake him up.

Now here's the one I made for my dad:

I had never used the Sale-a-Bration Trusted Toolbox DSP from last year but I like it here.

Last up, I made a card for my brother who has two kiddos:

I still have quite a bit of that Classic Garage DSP so this was a good way to use some of it.  Adam and my dad both love orange since they're graduates of Oklahoma State University, so I made Adam's card orange.  Didn't use the same paper on Dad's card since I had just recently sent him a card with it.

The mouse batteries are about to give out, so I'd better charge it and take Daphne for her walk.  She's extra crazy this morning.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, plane card:
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate & Darling Duckling
Paper:  Night of Navy, Thick Basic White, Take to the Sky DSP
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Supplies, tool card:
Stamps:  Geared Up Garage
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate & Lost Lagoon
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Basic Black, Thick Basic White, Trusted Toolbox DSP
Accessories:  Garage Gears Thinlits, Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Supplies, steering wheel card:
Stamps:  Geared Up Garage
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate & Pumpkin Pie
Paper:  Pumpkin Pie, Thick Basic White, Classic Garage DSP Stack
Accessories:  Garage Gears Thinlits, Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Two for the Boys

Mornin' y'all!  I feel like I've been having a Very Productive Week in the craft room and it's making me happy : )  I have lots of challenges to enter this week so I've got a two-card post coming at you right now.

First up is a card for the hubs:

He's a pilot and I can't believe I haven't used Adventurous Sky more since I got it last year.  It's a perfect stamp set for the Paper Players challenge:

I paired that with the sketch from AAA Cards:

While I was perusing stamp sets for my first card, I had another idea and just had to make it too:

Here's one for my duck-loving child!  And I think this is the first time I've stamped any of the ducks from Charming Duck Pond, gasp!  I stamped the greeting in Lemon Lolly bit it didn't show up super well, so I stamped over it slightly offset in Copper Clay (and it's slightly crooked because that's how you know it's handmade).  I had to stamp my duck family in the colors from Creative Colour Challenges:

I used Early Espresso for the outline stamps; Mama Duck is filled in with Pecan Pie and the babies are Copper Clay.  Then Mama's beak and feets are colored with the darker Lemon Lolly Blend and the babies' with the lighter one, though it didn't show up well in the photo.  I lightly sponged some Pecan Pie ink along the bottom of the Very Vanilla panel to give the ducks something to walk on.

I'm not going to say for sure that that's it for me today, peeps.  I've got quite a few cards to share and I might double up blog posts...we'll see!  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!, plane card:
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Smoky Slate, Memento Tuxedo Black, Calypso Coral & Smoky Slate Blends
Paper:  Boho Blue, Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Mini Dimensionals

Supplies, all SU!, duck card:
Stamps:  Charming Duck Pond
Ink:  Early Espresso, Copper Clay, Pecan Pie, Lemon Lolly Blends
Paper:  Copper Clay, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Charming Duck Pond dies, Mini Dimensionals

Watch For Flying Reindeer

Merry Christmas, y'all!  Hope you're having a good holiday.  We opened presents with Ryan last night and then played his new Abducktion game, then went to bed around 9:30.  He woke us up at TWO IN THE MORNING saying he thought it was time to get up and see if Santa had been here.  I told him to go back to bed, but the hubs found him half-asleep downstairs in the living room around five this morning.  They're now putting together the 3D printer.

Anyway, I had to do just one more Reindeer Days card:

I was looking for a tall, skinny sentiment to follow the CASE-ing Tuesday sketch, but that one from Adventurous Sky was just so funny to me with the three reindeer.  Here's the sketch:

And the card it's based on:

I used the same Perennial Postage die for my card and fussy cut the reindeer from the Reindeer Days DSP.  I may have placed an itty bitty order yesterday to get more of that (I know I already have a giant paper hoard!) because I will use it for our Christmas scrapbook pages for this year.  Y'know, once I print out pictures from the last...three or four years.  Oy.

We're having turkey for dinner tonight because I panicked at Thanksgiving thinking that the turkey from Popeyes wouldn't arrive in time to thaw for that holiday so I made one from scratch.  So now we're having the Popeyes turkey, which makes me happy because I love turkey.  Maybe I'll get a ham for New Years since that's the hubs favorite.  Have a great holiday, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Garden Green
Paper:  Pool Party (card base), Thick Basic White, Reindeer Days DSP, Shades & Hues DSP Stack
Accessories:  Perennial Postage dies, Mini Dimensionals, Wonderful Gems

SUO Challenges: The Colors of Freedom

Happy Tuesday y'all and get ready for a new challenge from SUO Challenges!

This time it's a color challenge:

It might be the colors on the American flag, but you don't have to do a patriotic card.  I mean, that would be a great choice for my mom's birthday card (HI MA, happy birthday!) but you can choose your shades of red and blue and make it your own thing.  So here's what I made:

I added a bit of gray with the cloud pattern from the Take to the Sky DSP floated on a Perennial Postage die shape.  I did make the die cut a little bit shorter than the original die, which is easy enough to do because you just line up the dimples to make it shorter.  Then I added a couple of simple red biplanes, a sentiment, a few retired Milky Dots, and it's done!  I keep using embellishments even after they're retired because why not.  I have a photo box full of fun things and I always write the colors on the packaging so I know what they match.

Anyway, I chose Blueberry Bushel and Real Red for my shades, so what are your red and blue combo?  Make sure you share your card at the SUO Challenges blog and as always, have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Blueberry Bushel
Paper:  Blueberry Bushel, Thick Basic White, Take to the Sky DSP
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Perennial Postage dies, mini Dimensionals, Milky Dots

Flying By

Well, I got all the paperwork signed on the new house yesterday...still doesn't feel real though, probably because we've not yet seen the house in person.  We've got about six or seven more weeks until that happens, and lots to do before that.

Anyway, I have another MAN card to share today!

The hubs is a pilot, so the Adventurous Sky suite was an instabuy for me.  I've had it sitting in my craft room for a few weeks and finally got it inked up.  Seemed like a good fit with this week's Freshly Made Sketch:

That decision was clinched when I saw the Color Throwdown colors:

A red biplane on a bright blue sky, DONE.  I used Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, and white for my colors, plus a bit of Smoky Slate for parts of the plane.  I thought about adding some kind of embellishment on my card, but decided it was good to go as-is.  My hubs isn't much for glittery dots or sequins ; )

Anyway, I've got about fifteen minutes to finish eating breakfast and then I need to leave for an appointment and an errand or two.  Then I have yet another scrapbook layout on the table waiting to be finished.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Adventurous Sky
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in Real Red, Blueberry Bushel, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Blueberry Bushel, Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Adventurous Sky dies, Perennial Postage dies, Mini Dimensionals