The Twin Dilemma

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today's book is #63, The Twin Dilemma, and this time we have FOUR covers:

For this one and the next book, Scholastic released an edition that was maybe for a book club or something?  I don't know, it's only those two books, and they're stylistically different from all the other Drews.  Anyway, I like the vibe of the arch cover on the left and the one on the far right has a magnificent 80s vibe, but in my opinion Nancy's hair is terrible across the board.  I'd probably pick the last one as my favorite just for that 80s prom dress that Nancy is wearing.

Case file:  Aunt Eloise invites Nancy, Bess, and George to NYC for a charity benefit fashion show, and when the main model disappears, Nancy gets on the runway because of course she does.  The model turns up quickly but says her brother has been kidnapped, so Nancy starts investigating that as well as stolen designs for a fashion designer with all the emotional regulation of a spoiled two-year-old at the end of a day at Disneyland.  Her main adversary isn't the bad guys but an investigative journalist who keeps trying to get her out of the way because he thinks he can do the job better.  It's very sexist.

All of my cards this week are dedicated to Bess Marvin, because she loves fashion and she deserves much better friends than Nancy and especially George, more on that later.  Here's my first card:

We're in New York and this book is all about fashion so you know I had to ink up this fancy dress from Haute Couture.  I don't think any of the dresses described in the book are this color, but I matched it to the colors on the cover and you can't see it but I covered it in Wink of Stella for some shimmer.

I used Cherry Cobbler, Crisp Cantaloupe, and Taken with Teal for my colors and of course I got the arch shape on there.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Haute Couture, Fabulous Flowers
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, Cherry Cobbler, Coastal Cabana
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Crisp Cantaloupe, Basic White, Sweet Pea DSP Stack
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Glossy Garden Dots

Next up:

The spoiled man-child fashion designer practically attacks a photographer in the book, so I had to make a camera-centric card for this one.

I used Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, and Pear Pizzazz for my card; I chose that chevron pattern because it matched the colors on the book cover pretty well and it's just a fun pattern.  Also it's odd that they added "Mystery" to the title of this one, especially when it says "Mystery Stories" right above that on the cover.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Pun Intended
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, VersaMark
Paper:  Basic Black, Real Red, Basic White, Greenhouse Gala DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Layering Circles dies, white EP, Dimensionals

On to card #3:

Nancy wears a lilac gown in the fashion show at the start of the book, so I managed to work that in for this card and I found a floral pattern with colors that reminded me of the fire on the cover:

I used Pebbled Path, Fresh Freesia, Daffodil Delight, and Pumpkin Pie for this one and somehow I still don't have any stamps of burning buildings.  Closest I've got is the campfire from Musical Jamboree.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  All Dressed Up, Simply Fabulous
Ink:  Fresh Freesia, Pebbled Path
Paper:  Pebbled Path, Basic White, Bloom Impressions DSP
Accessories:  Dress Up dies, Potted Succulents dies, Dimensionals, Opaque Gems

And here's my final card:

Bess gets a makeover in this book, and when she comes back to Aunt Eloise's apartment Nancy and George both laugh at her and George mocks her mercilessly.  Really, Bess deserves far better treatment from her supposed friends.  Anyway, you may be asking if I purchased the Dressed to Impress bundle on eBay specifically for this challenge, to which I say SHUSH.

I used Berry Burst, Night of Navy, and Balmy Blue for my colors and dang, I could have done a disco ball card but that thought only just now occurred to me and I like the bold lipstick statement on here anyway.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Dressed to Impress
Ink:  Night of Navy, Balmy Blue, Berry Burst
Paper:  Berry Burst, Basic White, Regency Park DSP Stack
Accessories:  All Dressed Up dies, Spotlight on Nature dies, Dimensionals, Purple Fine Shimmer Gems

Y'all, I don't like this book.  The fashion industry concept could have been a really cool backdrop for a mystery, but this book is chock-full of fat shaming and comments about how even super-slim and athletic George is too big for the couture clothes.  None of that has any place in a book marketed to tween girls!  I mean, there's always comments about Bess's weight (and in the illustrations, she's depicted as being pretty much the same size/shape as Nancy and George!) but this time around it's much worse, I hate it.  One half star because I did have fun making all my cards for this book and also Aunt Eloise is always awesome.  If you're inspired to make a card based on this book or any of the four covers, leave me a comment below!  And I'll see you here next week when Nancy investigates a Captive Witness.

The Kachina Doll Mystery

Mornin' y'all and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today is book #62, The Kachina Doll Mystery: 

We have three pretty great covers this time and at least Nancy is strawberry blonde on the third one.  I don't have a favorite cover this time around, I love the colors on all three and had a good time making my cards for them...maybe because this book is one of my favorite Drews!

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George are invited to Arizona by their friend Heather McGuire to investigate strange happenings and sabotage at the ranch resort her family is trying to get started.  Suspicion has fallen on a young boy who's living at the ranch with his aunt.  In addition, there have been sightings of a Kachina doll ghost (pictured on the first two covers) and rumors of a long-lost treasure.

Here's my first card:

I didn't want to be unintentionally disrespectful of First Nations cultures so I decided to stick with the desert setting for my cards, starting with Desert Details which I dearly love.  When the girls arrive in Arizona, they talk a lot about how Heather and her family have made the desert bloom at their ranch, so desert blooms it is for this card!

I used Merry Merlot, Blushing Bride, and Just Jade for my colors and I was surprised at how much I liked them together.  I've never been a fan of Blushing Bride but I really like how it plays together with the other two colors.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Desert Details
Ink:  Merry Merlot, Blushing Bride
Paper:  Merry Merlot, Just Jade, Whisper White, Awash in Beauty DSP
Accessories:  Desert Details dies, Everyday Arches dies, Dimensionals, Regal Foiled Dots

Here's card #2:

At one point in the book, Nancy and a large group of people take a trail ride out into the desert and have dinner and sing songs around a campfire, and there are several mentions of coyotes so Musical Jamboree was a natural choice for this one.

To match this cover, I used Lovely Lipstick, Azure Afternoon, Tranquil Tide, and Cinnamon Cider.  I used an Azure Afternoon watercolor wash pattern for the color of Nancy's dress and would you believe that Tranquil Tide piece on the bottom is from the Classic Garage DSP stack?  I just stamped some grassy bits on it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Musical Jamboree
Ink:  Early Espresso, Azure Afternoon, Tranquil Tide, Stampin' Blends in Cinnamon Cider, Ivory, Lovely Lipstick, Golden Glow
Paper:  Lovely Lipstick, Early Espresso, Whisper White, Bloom Impressions DSP, Classic Garage DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals

And for my third card:

One of the acts of sabotage that was blamed on the innocent kid was burning a huge cactus, which almost fell on Nancy, Bess, and George when they went to check it out and I will not miss an opportunity to make a fun cactus card.  Plus this gave me an excuse to use the frame dies from Desert Details since I didn't use them on my first card as I was focused on the arch shape.  One of the clues that Nancy finds is an old journal, so I used a piece of patterned paper with a lot of words on it.

Another color combination that was very fun to work with:  Shy Shamrock, Pool Party, and Fresh Freesia.  This particular book has some water damage along the right side, so if I find a copy in better condition I will probably grab it, but this one is otherwise in pretty good shape.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Flowering Desert
Ink:  Shy Shamrock, Fresh Freesia, Pool Party
Paper:  Shy Shamrock, Whisper White, Pool Party DSP
Accessories:  Desert Details dies, Dimensionals, Tinsel Gems

This book definitely hearkens back to Shadow Ranch which is one of my all-time favorites, I wish they had done some kind of callback to that book but they didn't.  This book also has an incident with a scorpion, which is the second book in a row that I don't have scorpion stamps for so maybe I should look into that.  The sabotage mystery was a no-brainer to solve; it's the missing treasure and the Kachina doll ghost that are more interesting and delightfully spooky.  I think this book is more respectful of First Nations cultures, by which I mean that Nancy doesn't dig up any bodies this time (yeah that bar was low), but we get a little bit of talk about Hopi culture and artwork, which is nice.  Also I have seen Kachina dolls in person, they are amazing and beautiful!  I'm giving this one five stars, I love it.  If you're inspired to make a card for this book, please leave me a comment!  And I'll see you next week when Nancy takes on The Twin Dilemma.

The Swami's Ring

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  After an unexpected delay last week, she's back and this time she's investigating #61 The Swami's Ring:

Heyyy we get Nancy with titian hair on two out of the three covers this week, I don't know why after #56 the cover artists switched to making her a boring blonde instead of strawberry blonde.   The one on the left reminds me of The Strange Message in the Parchment with Nancy looking down, and I do like the action scene behind her.  The middle one is just odd with the plain black background; the one on the right is my favorite even though Nancy's just plain blonde on here and I think she should wear a different color shirt as that color isn't really flattering on her.  I like the sense of danger with the creepy guy coming up behind her.

Case file:  Nancy has a multitude of mysteries to contend with this week:  she's looking for clues to the identity of an amnesiac patient at the local hospital; someone tries to choke said amnesiac over a large ring found in his knapsack; Nancy's 5-year-old neighbor Tommy encountered a hit-and-run driver and broke his leg; someone is sabotaging a local music festival and somehow Carson is the suspect (the real mystery is why he's the prime suspect, and unfortunately that one is never solved); and a harpist at said music festival is looking for her missing sister.  All the mysteries seem to lead to a local religious retreat run by someone called Ramaswami.  It's a lot.

Here's my card for the first book:

Did I buy the To A Classic stamp set *just* for this image?  Yes, yes I did (it was only $5!).  I had to use it to make a get well card for little Tommy, who not only broke his leg in two places and hit his head (wear helmets, kids), he had to have surgery for his leg.  Nancy came to visit him in the hospital and gave him a toy car which seemed like an odd choice given that Tommy was almost run over by a car, but I ran with the idea and used a car on my card too.

For my colors, I used Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Sweet Sorbet, Golden Glow, and Pear Pizzazz, and to incorporate an arch shape I went with a stoplight behind my car image.  This idea came to me in the shower last weekend which is really where all the best ideas originate.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  To A Classic
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Stampin' Blends in Cloud Cover and Smoky Slate
Paper:  Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Basic White, MidNight Flora DPS, Sweet Sorbet DSP, Pear Pizzazz DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Okay, on to the middle book:

I had to do a musical theme since we have the sabotaged music festival and the harpist looking for her missing sister.  The greeting stamp on this card is the very one that went on walkabout last weekend and frustrated me no end until I finally found it stuck to a sheet protector with the DSP I used on the card.  Anyway, one of the acts of sabotage against the music festival involved someone setting a scorpion loose in a crowded theater, but to my surprise I have zero scorpion stamps.  Also unless that scorpion was the size of a dachshund at least, if not larger, there's no way people would see it in the aisle of a darkened theater but now I am imagining a giant scorpion tootling down the aisle with a bucket of popcorn in his claw to see a production of Oklahoma! so there's that.  (The Drew Crew does go see a production of Oklahoma! in the book.)

For this one, I used Poppy parade, Crushed Curry, and black for my colors and kept the layout very simple given the cover of the book with its plain black background.  And if you're looking for this stamp set, Music From the Heart, I now have an extra one.  Weirdly I have no harp stamps despite having several music-themed stamp sets, but I do have at least one lyre and a lute.  You'd think harps would be more popular.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Music From the Heart
Ink:  Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Poppy Parade, Basic White, Everyday Enchantment DSP, Crushed Curry DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals

And now for the third cover:

Yes, I made a "Remember When" card for a book that features an amnesia patient *snicker* I mean really, I am making these cards to entertain myself and this is where my sense of humor leads, so mission accomplished.  So, in the book, Nancy finds a large ring in the amnesiac's knapsack that has a design of interlocking water lilies on it, so that's why I have a water lily on my card.

I used Granny Apple Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Early Espresso for my colors on this card and I really like that die behind the flower.  I think Lovely Lily Pad was a Sale-a-Bration stamp set and they came out with dies later, but I could be misremembering (though I'm pretty sure I do not have amnesia).  Anyway, the dies for this stamp set are pretty cool and I'm glad I've kept it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely Lily Pad, Word Play
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe Stampin' Blends
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral, Basic White, Artistry Blooms DSP
Accessories:  Lovely Lily Pad dies, Dimensionals, Shimmering Dots

I think this book suffers from cramming too many mysteries into one volume even if all the investigations are interconnected.  It also has like a bajillion characters and I can't keep them straight because a lot of them have at least one alias and none of them are particularly well developed.  It reminds me a little bit of Red Gate Farm with the mysterious religious group and I do like the amnesia plotline even if it is a soap opera trope.  I think this one is by a different ghostwriter than the others we've had so far because Nancy is constantly leaping into cars or dashing around places and Ned acts like a whiny baby man for over half the book which made me want to shove him off a cliff like the amnesia patient.  I don't think this is a strong installment in the Drewniverse but I did enjoy making my cards and the image of the scorpion attending the theater that it planted in my brain, so I'm giving it two and a half stars.

If this book inspired you to make your own card, leave me a comment below!  And I'll see you next week when Nancy encounters The Kachina Doll Mystery.

The Greek Symbol Mystery

Happy August and welcome to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today we are on the sixtieth book in the series, The Greek Symbol Mystery:

I still don't like Nancy's hair and face on the arch covers (no shade to Ruth Sanderson, the artist, and the charcoal illustrations inside the book are quite nice) but I do like the background of ruins and Nancy's outfit is pretty good.

We get Nancy, Bess, and George all together on the first checkerboard cover and for once the outfits aren't bad at all.  Actually all three books have pretty good outfits, which is a contrast to last week's mystery.

I think the one on the right is my favorite though, I like the purple and green color combination, Nancy's facial expression, and it feels more active than the other two covers which are rather static.  And I'm pretty sure I have a button-down shirt in a very similar color to what Nancy's wearing on this one (even though it's George who discovers the snake in the book).

Case file:  Not sure why Nancy bothered to go home to River Heights after her mystery in Belgium because she's right back in Europe, this time in Greece.  Maybe she did it for the frequent flyer miles.  Anyway, she's tracking down a missing person, investigating a possibly fraudulent charity, trailing some art thieves, and running afoul of the local law enforcement (which might be a first, usually the cops are falling over themselves to help her with anything she wants).  And in the end someone names a yacht after her, which is a questionable decision given how many boating accidents she's had.

Here's my card for the arch cover:

I had to ponder this card longer than the other two for this book, the colors on the arch cover don't really say "ancient ruins" to me but I think I made it work here.  I used More Mustard, Bermuda Bay, and Pretty Peacock; since I don't have More Mustard ribbon (and I really thought I did), I used some Hello Honey ribbon which I thought worked well with the So Saffron in the patterned paper and the card base.

I will say that even though the Winged Victory statue *is* Greek (or is it a Roman copy?  I can't remember), I associate it with France since it's on display at the Louvre (and I've seen it).  The Winged Victory stamp actually says Greece on it though so I started with that and used several other travel-related stamp sets to make a collage.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Travels Abroad, World Wonders, Travel Post, Next Destination
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Pretty Peacock
Paper:  More Mustard, Pretty Peacock, Very Vanilla, Cupcakes & Carousels DSP Stack
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Hello Honey Stitched Satin Ribbon, Dimensionals

And here we go for cover #2:

I had to ink up Sweet November's Mini Medusa for this one!  In the first chapter, Nancy tells her friends, "Last night Hannah dreamed that we'd be greeted at Athens airport by gorgons--monsters with snakes for hair!" and then George says that was probably because Hannah had an appointment to have her hair permed.  I adore this Medusa stamp so I was delighted to use it for this one.

For my colors, I used Shaded Spruce, Azure Afternoon, Golden Glow, and Crisp Cantaloupe to coordinate with the book cover.  Doozy's skin is Crisp Cantaloupe and I did wonder if that looked okay, but the hubs said he liked it so I kept it that way.  I had fun coloring in Doozy's snek friends.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Mini Medusa from Sweet November, My Paper Pumpkin greeting
Ink:  Night of Navy, Shaded Spruce, Stampin' Blends in Shaded Spruce, Golden Glow, Crisp Cantaloupe, Azure Afternoon
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Basic White, Venetian Romance DSP, Bloom Impressions DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, In Color Dots

And speaking of snakes, here's my card for the third cover:

I never thought I'd be saying "Oh how CUTE" about a snek image but here we are.  For a wonder, I did *not* buy the Animal Notes stamp set from C.C. Designs specifically for this challenge, I got it because it's got a dozen super cute rolly-polly animals and the snake happened to be one of them.  Then I perused my Halloween stamp sets for my greeting and it makes me laugh because I am a giant nerd.

I think this cover is the hardest of the three to find; I would like to get one that's in better condition, but I have yet to find one despite being on the hunt for over a year.  At least I have this book even if it is a bit distressed.  I remember this cover especially because it's the one my library had when I was a kid.

Supplies:
Stamps:  Animal Notes from C.C. Designs, Scary Cute
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Granny Apple Green & Bubble Bath
Paper:  Petunia Pop, Gable Green, Granny Apple Green, Basic White, Cute As Can Bee DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Details dies, Dimensionals, Petunia Pop Iridescent Ribbon

When I first read this book as a wee young lass, I never guessed that one day I'd get to go to Greece too; the girls visit Athens, Piraeus, and Corfu, and I've been to all three of those plus several other places like Santorini and Olympia.  Also I have cousins who are half Greek so this book was extra interesting to me for that reason.  Usually I like the travelogue books, but this one feels like they skipped a chapter at the beginning--the missing persons case isn't explained at all, we just find out about it in dribs and drabs through the book and most of what happens doesn't make a whole lot of sense.  I do like the Greek setting though and the covers are all good so I'm giving it one and a half stars.  If you make a card based on the book, leave me a comment as I'd love to see how it inspires you!  I'll see you next week when Nancy finds The Swami's Ring.

The Secret in the Old Lace

Happy Saturday, y'all, and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  This week we are on book #59, where Nancy investigates The Secret in the Old Lace:

So, the arch cover is my least favorite of this trio, but I like Nancy's outfit the best out of all of them.  We have a moody gothic cover with a Captain Hook dude staring down at Nancy from a wall with a sinister cloaked figure behind him, but I just don't like Nancy's face and hairdo on this cover.

Next up is the pink checkerboard, we have Nancy and George confronting a phantom in what looks like a dungeon but WHAT in the 1980s is Nancy wearing??  I like the girls' shoes but Nancy's outfit is definitely mockable.

The fashion doesn't get much better on the orange checkerboard cover, this time we have Bess and Nancy.  Bess, why would you put a purple top with maroon pants?  Nancy, what are you smuggling under that ginormous blouse?  The bit with the painting described in the book is good, though.

Case file:  Nancy enters a magazine contest where she writes a fictitious ending to a real-life mystery of a Belgian nobleman who disappeared in I think the 19th century, and Bess conveniently pops up with a present-day mystery for Nancy to solve in (you guessed it) Belgium.  Nancy has to figure out who the present-day heir is to some jewelry discovered in an old house in Bruges, and along the way she really does solve the mystery of the missing nobleman.  Alas, there were no waffles.  Opportunity missed.

Here's my first card:

So upon perusing my stamp collection, my options for lace were surprisingly slim pickins.  At last I landed on using both Tasteful Touches and Touches of Texture and once again I managed to incorporate an arch for the arch cover, it's becoming a game to design cards around that shape.

My color palette is Purple Posy, Petal Pink, and Concord Crush so even though the card looks like it's got black on it I promise it's very dark purple.  And I included just a touch of Golden Glow to match Nancy's hair; I used it on the flower center.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Tasteful Touches, Touches of Texture
Ink:  Purple Posy, Concord Crush, Petal Pink
Paper:  Purple Posy, Petal Pink, Thick Basic White
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Dimensionals, In Color Opal Rounds (they're Fresh Freesia, but they looked good with the Purple Posy on my card)

Here's my card for cover #2:

Before the girls take off for Europe, a criminal breaks into Nancy's house.  She calls Chief McGinnis who rushes right over and then she pulls out her own fingerprinting kit (yeah, I have one of those in my hall closet too, Nancy) and he comments that he'd never seen her dust for prints before.  And that was the PERFECT opportunity to use True Crime Vol. 2 from The Ink Road.

I kept this one a very simple design and went with Melon Mambo, Basic Gray, and Cloud Cover for my colors and we're just ignoring Nancy's outfit now.

Supplies:
Stamps:  True Crime Vol. 2 from The Ink Road
Ink:  Smoky Slate, Basic Gray
Paper:  Melon Mambo, Basic Gray, Cloud Cover, Basic White
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Glitter Enamel Dots

And on to cover #3:

So there's a bad guy who pretends to be a ghost running around this house that Nancy, Bess, and George are investigating, but Nancy notices the "phantom" is wearing boots and later she finds a guy wandering around Bruges wearing cowboy boots and of course he's the rightful heir to the jewelry.  So anyway, boots are a recurring clue in this book.

This one was the hardest of the three to come up with a card for some reason.  Super bright and possibly not coordinating colors (sorry Bess, I am not digging your outfit), but I went with Mango Melody, Sweet Sorbet, Tahitian Tide, and stamped the boot image in Night of Navy.  So hopefully that color combo feels cohesive on my card?  Well, not every card can be my favorite.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Bootiful Occasions
Ink:  Night of Navy, Mango Melody Blend which should probably be tossed
Paper:  Mango Melody, Whisper White, Sweet Sorbet & Tahitian Tide DSP
Accessories:  Nested Essentials dies, Hydrangea Hue glitter pen, Dimensionals, In Color Matte Dots

This book is another travelogue and we learn a few things about lace making along the way.  I had forgotten that this one takes us to Belgium and you know what?  I've been to Bruges!  I did not visit the same museums as the girls did, nor did I foil any nefarious criminal plots, but I can imagine where they were in the book.  Still, I think this one is a middle-of-the-road Nancy Drew book, not terrible but not great either, so I'm giving it two and a half stars.  If any of these book covers (or the story) inspire you, pretty please leave me a comment!  And stay tuned next week when Nancy takes on The Greek Symbol Mystery.

The Flying Saucer Mystery

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today we're taking a look at #58, The Flying Saucer Mystery:

All three colors are sticking mainly to the green and blue side of the color wheel.  The Wanderer arch cover this time around has some lovely greens and it definitely looks swampy.  The two checkerboard covers are so similar to each other but I like Nancy's outfit on the middle book the best.  Also did you notice that Nancy is strawberry blonde on the arch cover, but just plain blonde on the other two?  The artwork was like that last time, too.

Not sure I can pick a favorite cover...I like the arch one this time because horses and green, but I like the composition on the middle one quite a lot too.  So it's a tie between those two, the third one is fine but not as good as the other two in my opinion.  I mean, it doesn't even have the flying saucer on it.

Case file:  Buckle up, y'all, this one's weird!  Carson sends Nancy and the Drew Crew to the Shawniegunk Forest (possibly based on the real-life Shawangunk Ridge National Forest in New York state) to investigate sightings on a UFO in the nearby Dismal Swamp which sounds like a place the Addams Family would go on vacation.  Despite having professional guides, they get lost and lose supplies and some of the horses run off, but they also meet a naturalist and a First Nations man who is a walking bundle of tropes.  Nancy and Ned get on the titular flying saucer and possibly have hallucinations or else trip on swamp gases and in the end Carson calls in a team of scientists and also the Air Force.

Here's my first card:

Since the arch cover is the only one to feature the horses, I had to make a horse card so here is Nancy's mount, Susan B.  And once again I used the Everyday Arches dies.  I stamped a little forest on the bottom and kept the card pretty simple.

Green is my favorite color so you know I love making a green card too.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Let It Ride
Ink:  Early Espresso, Shaded Spruce, Stampin' Blends in Golden Glow & one of the neutrals
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Golden Glow, Mint Macaron, Very Vanilla, Mint Macaron DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Rustic Metallic Dots

On to cover #2!

Let's not even pretend to act surprised that I bought flying saucer stamps for this challenge ; )  For this card I used a stamp set and matching dies called We've Come For Cake by Trinity Stamps and having grown up in the 80s that "Got milk?" greeting made me laugh.  I wish I had made my ink blend background a bit more saturated but oh well.

I had some fun with this one coloring everything in, but sadly my dark Mint Macaron Blend is totally dried out.  I still had to make my little green men green though.  There were no cows in this book, but we do have Trixie the Wonder Dog and a semi-tamed mountain lion named Kitty.

Supplies:
Stamps:  We've Come for Cake by Trinity Stamps
Ink:  Night of Navy, Blueberry Bushel, Azure Afternoon, Stampin' Blends in Azure Afternoon, Mint Macaron, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Pecan Pie, Pretty in Pink, Peaceful Pine, Cajun Craze, Darling Duckling and I think that's it but I'm not sure
Paper:  Azure Afternoon, Night of Navy, Basic White, Darling Duckling DSP

And now for the third cover card:

After Nancy and Ned hallucinate about their trip on the UFO (Nancy's dream/hallucination/swamp gas trip involves her and Ned being telepathic, wearing weird futuristic suits with no zippers but they did have mechanical wings and BIRD FEET), they wake up to the First Nations man making them chew on some kind of leaf that makes them both feel better, so this was a great excuse to use my new Simply Leaves stamp set.

I used Taken with Teal for my card base to match the book cover, and that led me to the Autumn Meadows DSP which isn't necessarily a direct match for the cover colors but it's reasonably close.  Look closely and you'll see the stripes on the Really Rust leaf are the same as the pattern on the rust-colored edge of Nancy's top.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Simply Leaves
Ink:  Really Rust, More Mustard, Bermuda Bay, Chocolate Chip
Paper:  Taken with Teal, Very Vanilla, Autumn Meadows DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Pumpkin Pie Candy Dots

Finally we get a book that matches the level of bonkers shenanigans we enjoyed in Brass-Bound Trunk and Moss-Covered Mansion, and you know I love the ones that are totally bananas.  And boy, is this one bananas, especially Nancy's hallucination with the telepathy and the bird feet.  I do have to deduct points for the walking trope that is the only non-white character in this book, so I'm giving it four stars.  If you're inspired to make an out-of-this-world card, leave me a comment, and I'll see you next week where Nancy searches for The Secret in the Old Lace.

The Triple Hoax

Happy Saturday y'all, and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  I'm posting a bit late today because Ryan wasn't feeling well this morning and snuggling with my kiddo will always be more important than pretty much anything else.  He's fine, just needs to take it easy today.  So anyway, here we are with the kickoff for the Nancy Drew digest paperbacks, #57, The Triple Hoax:

Let's talk covers!  The one on the left is a Wanderer arch cover (we get these up to I think #78), and oddly enough I would say that this particular edition of The Triple Hoax is the easiest paperback Nancy Drew to find at used book stores--I found copies in at least three of the stores I visited in Texas.  Anyway, the Wanderer covers have never been my favorites just from a design standpoint, but I do have to say that they have some pretty fantastic charcoal illustrations inside.  So for this cover, we have some lovely purple hues and Nancy looking pensive in front of a group of probably nefarious magicians.

The other two are what I call the checkerboard covers for the little checkerboard between the Nancy Drew name and the title of the book, the pink one is another Wanderer edition and the teal one is a Minstrel.  Style-wise I keep thinking that pink cover should be the newest one because Nancy's shorts are more fashionable ; ) and I think it's my favorite of the three, it's got more action than the other two and I like those colors.

The third cover is a similar scene to the second one and also has some great colors, but my goodness Nancy, those shorts!  This is the first of many, many opportunities to mock fashion on the Nancy Drew book covers, I tell you.  But let's talk contents.

Case file:  Aunt Eloise (yay!) invites Nancy, Bess, and George to New York to investigate when one of her friends is swindled out of several thousand dollars.  Nancy quickly becomes suspicious of The Hoaxters, a magic act performing in town, so of course she follows them to Mexico City when they clear out of NYC in a hurry, and then follows them to Los Angeles before she's able to bring them to justice.  We have lots of travel, theft, fraud, kidnapping, poison, arson--this book is a RIDE, let me tell you.

Here's my first card:

What with all the travel, Nancy spends a LOT of time making long-distance and/or international phone calls and I couldn't resist making a phone card.  I believe this card takes the cake for the most stamp sets used on a single card, I used five old Paper Pumpkin stamp sets plus five other stamp sets for a grand total of ten!  It took some time to stamp-a-ma-jig all those hellos on the front but I like it.

I had to do an arch for our first Wanderer arch cover, but when I finished I wished I had used a darker purple for the card base to match the colors better; I was so excited to make this that I just ran right ahead to stamping instead of comparing purples.  Oh well, I still like it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Timeless Talk, Elementary Elegance, Heartfelt Hellos, Blossoms in Bloom, A Dozen Thoughts, My Paper Pumpkin (multiple sets)
Ink:  Highland Heather
Paper:  Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heather, So Saffron, Basic White
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, So Saffron Candy Dot

Despite the different colors, the text of the books is all the same but we're going to have fun with the multiple covers for quite a few books.  So here's my card for the second book:

The girls visit the Pyramid of the Sun near Mexico City and that's where they are on the cover scene:

I pulled out Flores Misticas because it has that fun pattern that looks like the carved stone of the pyramid, and I chose Watermelon Wonder, Crushed Curry, and Highland Heather for my colors.  I love Watermelon Wonder and I am hoarding the small amount of cardstock I have left in that color.  I used blending brushes to add some lighter color on the yellow and purple bits, and I embossed the butterflies with Iridescent Ice embossing powder so now everything upstairs is covered with glitter.  I added some foil gems for more glitz, too.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Flores Misticas, Make a Difference
Ink:  Watermelon Wonder, Crushed Curry, Highland Heather, Basic Gray, Versamark
Paper:  Watermelon Wonder, Basic White
Accessories:  Iridescent Ice embossing powder, Iridescent Foil Gems, Dimensionals

And for the final book cover:

The girls fly to Mexico City, but due to an airline strike, they rent a car to get to Los Angeles.  On the trip, which takes several days, they come across an indigenous community that doesn't speak Spanish, but they manage to communicate that they're looking for breakfast.  One of the older women, thinking that Bess wants an extra-fresh egg, catches a chicken and has it lay an egg in Bess's hand, which just made me laugh so much that I knew immediately this incident would be the basis for one of my cards.

To match the cover and color in my fabulous chickens, I used Pretty Peacock, Purple Posy, Rococo Rose, So Saffron, Fresh Freesia, and Golden Glow.  The Tinsel Gems are technically Berry Burst, but they match the Rococo Rose cardstock pretty well, and I was quite tickled to find that sunrise-looking pattern in my stash in one of my chosen colors.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Hey Chuck
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Pretty Peacock, Purple Posy, Fresh Freesia, Golden Glow, So Saffron, Rococo Rose
Paper:  Pretty Peacock, Rococo Rose, Basic White, Playing with Patterns DSP Stack
Accessories:  Hey Chuck dies, Perennial Postage dies, Dimensionals, Tinsel Gems

When I was a kid, I didn't particularly care for this book and reading it now I have no idea why I didn't like it more back then.  We have lots of adventures in this book with all the travel and it was fun to do some sightseeing in Mexico, plus that incident with the chicken is hilarious.  I give it four and a half stars.  This book was the first Nancy Drew published under a new publisher, and I think they did a very good job of making it feel like a continuation of the old series.  I could seriously have done without the fat-shaming that George subjects Bess to, I wish they hadn't kept that element of the original series, but almost everything else was very fun.  If you're inspired to make a card based on this book, leave me a comment below, and I will see you next week when Nancy investigates The Flying Saucer Mystery.