Happy Saturday and welcome to the 33rd Nancy Drew Challenge, where today we will investigate The Witch Tree Symbol! Here are my books:
I think my OT cover on the left might be printed darker than usual, it seems dark when I compare it to pictures online. We have Nancy and a pair of Amish people looking at the titular witch tree symbol and I kinda wonder why Rudy Nappi painted the hands the way he did for the two Amish people. I bet painting hands in a realistic way is a challenge.
The RT on the right is a newer Nappi cover and it's spookier, which is amusing to me because I wouldn't classify this story as being particularly spooky, even by Nancy Drew standards. Nancy is wearing a '70s-style blue pantsuit here with some purplish details which I find interesting, and we learn over the course of the book that a witch tree is one that has a parasite on it that makes it look odd.
For once, I don't have a favorite among the two covers, I think they're both interesting. Let's take a look inside:
Case file: Nancy, Bess, and George travel to Pennsylvania's Amish country in pursuit of stolen furniture; we learn about Amish culture (not sure how accurately it's portrayed here but interesting nonetheless) and Nancy is repeatedly accused of being a witch, usually right after some character says the Amish people aren't superstitious. Nancy finds the furniture, reunites a runaway girl with her strict parents, and they eat a lot of food while of course fat-shaming poor Bess, who deserves better friends.
Here's my card:
Nancy has to track down where a "schnitz" is, which has something to do with apples, and that combined with the Amish character Manda Kreutz made me think of this sweet Greeting Farm stamp called Lottie, isn't she darling with her bowl of apples? I made her hair dark because I was thinking of Manda rather than Nancy. Plus I have dark hair so that's what I tend to do when I color in stamped images like this.
I chose Boho Blue to go with the sky on the cover, a bit of Calypso Coral to match the symbol being painted on the tree, and a bit of Wild Wheat to coordinate with Nancy's shirt here.
Supplies:
Stamps: Lottie from The Greeting Farm, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Ink: Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in neutrals, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Boho Blue, Mossy Meadow, Wild Wheat
Paper: Boho Blue, Thick Basic White, Timeless Plaid DSP Stack
Accessories: Stitched So Sweetly dies, Ombre Matte Decorative Dots, Dimensionals
Next up is the RT:
As I said, I think this cover is misleadingly spooky, but it does grab attention. Here's my card:
Nancy is accused of being a witch several times so I just had to make a witch card, plus it has witch in the name of the book. I used some nontraditional Halloween colors to match the book cover.
Once again I think Nancy's pantsuit is Boho Blue but I ended up not working that into my card; instead I have Moody Mauve for the purple accents on her clothes and some Pretty Peacock for the blue color in the tree, plus a black card base for the shadows behind Nancy. I got Out on a Limb last year and this is the first time I've inked it up other than doing my index sheet for it.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Out on a Limb, Fancy Flexible Phrases
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Pretty Peacock, Stampin' Blends in Petal Pink, Copper Clay, Pretty Peacock, Moody Mauve
Paper: Basic Black, Thick Basic White, All About Autumn DSP
Accessories: Seasonal Labels dies, Mini Dimensionals, Pretty Peacock sequins
But wait, there's more! I found some DSP that I really wanted to use to match the RT cover, but the DSP didn't match the vibe of my little witch, so I ended up making another card:
This is the Earthen Elegance DSP, which coordinates with the Earthen Textures stamps and dies I used, that background pattern just felt like it coordinated with the book cover.
This time I did work in some Boho Blue to match Nancy's outfit, and still have Moody Mauve on there to boot. I think I like the witch card better though, I was getting tired by the time I got to making this one so I'm not sure how much I like it.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Earthen Textures
Ink: Pebbled Path, Boho Blue
Paper: Misty Moonlight, Boho Blue, Pecan Pie, Earthen Elegance DSP
Accessories: Earthen Textures dies, Deckled Rectangles dies
I wish I had reread this before the hubs and I visited Ohio's Amish country a few years ago just to see if Amish culture and turns of phrase are similar to what's depicted here, though we were in Ohio as opposed to Pennsylvania. I do think the focus on food is accurate, I still remember Amish pies from our trip : ) I give this one four stars, it's a fun adventure outside of River Heights. If you are inspired to join the challenge, comment with a link so I can see what you make! Otherwise, I'll see you next week when we investigate The Hidden Window Mystery.
