Happy Saturday, y'all, and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge! Today's book is #64, Captive Witness:
Once again we have FOUR different covers and what a contrast between the first two and the last two! Nancy's outfit changes in this book include a big fancy historical ballgown and a wetsuit so you know this book is going to be bonkers, I can hardly contain my glee. I think I might like the second cover best for the dress, but I have a soft spot for the last two because I think my library had both of those when I was a kid. Let's get to the bonkers part!
Case file: Nancy Drew...secret agent? While on a school trip to Germany and Austria with an Emerson College group ("She doesn't even go here!"), Nancy discovers that the professor in charge has a clandestine mission to smuggle ten children out of Hungary into Austria and on to Britain and America because Communism. Not making this up. Nancy's other mission is to find a stolen documentary film called Captive Witness about the horrors of Communism. You know I love me some bananas shenanigans!
Here's my first card:
Naturally it is Nancy who comes up with the plan to get the children to safety, and it involves George masquerading as Nancy while wearing a big straw hat so here's George.
I will say that the cover colors did make me really have to think on more than one of these cards! I went with Pebbled Path, Golden Glow, Real Red, and Cloud Cover for this one.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Going Out In Style, Favorite Thoughts
Ink: Pebbled Path, Golden Glow, Stampin' Blends in Pebbled Path, Golden Glow, Real Red, Cloud Cover, Petal Pink, Pecan Pie
Paper: Pebbled Path, Golden Glow, Basic White, Cloud Cover DSP
Accessories: Everyday Arches dies, Dimensionals, Delightful Decorative Dots
On to the second card:
Ned and Nancy split from the tour group to go to Vienna to investigate the missing film, and Nancy lectures Ned about how coffee was introduced to Austria by the invading Ottoman Empire. And there's a scene where it's early morning and Nancy is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and Ned wonders how she does it, so I think she's mainlining coffee like Lorelai Gilmore.
For this one, I used Primrose Petals, Midnight Muse, and Very Vanilla, with a smidge of Raspberry Ripple and Summer Starfruit in the DSP. Nancy's wearing a brown wig with her fancy dress and also performs an operetta in public which was somehow necessary to her master plan. I almost did another music card since we have the operetta and also there's a tour bus driver who is hilariously obsessed with Mozart, but I thought the coffee idea was fun too so that's what I went with. And like the Scholastic cover for last week's book, they added "Mystery" to the title. Odd.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Like It A Latte, Morning Cup
Ink: Midnight Muse, Primrose Petals, Pecan Pie
Paper: Primrose Petals, Very Vanilla, Print Poetry DSP Stack
Accessories: Everyday Arches dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Wink of Stella
Okay, card #3:
Ned and Nancy unintentionally get a tour of the Austrian Alps when she accepts a ride to Vienna from the bad guy (bad choice, Nancy--she even knows he's the bad guy and still does it). The bad guy has this car that must have been an early electric car because it runs super quiet and also it's related to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang because it can float too. (Chitty Chitty does float on the water like a pontoon boat, right? I know it flies...) Anyway, here's my card ode to the Austrian Alps.
Colors are Baked Brown Sugar, Orchid Oasis, Basic Black, and some touches of Starry Sky and Wild Wheat. I really need to ink up my Starry Sky ink pad. There are a LOT of layers of cardstock on this one to make the mountain scene.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Scenic Adventure
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Starry Sky, Baked Brown Sugar, Wild Wheat, Orchid Oasis
Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Orchid Oasis, Basic Black, Basic White
Accessories: Scenic Adventure dies, Layering Circles dies, Circles Collection Framelits, In Color Dots
And for the final card:
The professor who is supposedly in charge of smuggling the kids out from behind the Iron Curtain is repeatedly described as having an owlish expression, so here's my card for Professor Bagley. I had picked out a different owl stamp but then I saw a card by Amanda Mertz with the Adorable Owls stamp set and I had to use it instead.
For this one, my colors are Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis, Calypso Coral, and Golden Glow, with some Pecan Pie for the owl. I had fun with this one, that owl is so cute, and I always love using Starry Sky and Orchid Oasis. Those were some of my all-time favorite In Colors.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Adorable Owls
Ink: Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie, Golden Glow, Calypso Coral, Orchid Oasis
Paper: Starry Sky, Calypso Coral, Basic White, Orchid Oasis & Calypso Coral DSP
Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Matte Ombre Decorative Dots, Dimensionals
Y'all know I love the truly bananas books and this one delivers bushels and bushels of bananas, between the whole spy story, the Mozart-obsessed bus driver (it's really hilarious), the wannabe Bond villain with the magic car, and Nancy's over-the-top rescue plan at the end. Five stars, no notes. Obviously this book is a product of its time with all the references to Communism and requires a lot of suspension of disbelief, but it's a romp. So much better than last week's failed fashion experiment. If you're inspired to make a card based on the story or any of the book covers, please leave me a comment! And I'll see you next week when Nancy investigates The Mystery of the Winged Lion.
