Happy Saturday and welcome to the latest Nancy Drew Challenge! Today we are investigating The Mystery of the 99 Steps, Nancy's 43rd adventure.
We have a pretty cool Rudy Nappi cover here with a whole lot of steps and I really want Nancy's dress. George's dress is good too, but she's still rocking Danny Zuko's hairstyle from Grease, like she was on the cover for Old Stagecoach. That mysterious figure at the top of the stairs looks scary but it's Bess, who I'm sure is also wearing a lovely frock.
Case file: We have another travel mystery as this time the Drew Crew is heading to France on two different cases. While Carson has been hired to try to figure out why a French financier is suddenly behaving oddly, Nancy has been asked by a French lady to find out why she has recurring nightmares about falling while someone says "99 steps". We get tourist time in Paris and the Loire Valley as well as lessons on medieval alchemy and Joan of Arc.
Here's my first card:
Actually I can't remember offhand if they talk much about the Eiffel Tower, but they go to Paris and I just had to make a Paris card. Plus Artistic Etchings is an old favorite stamp set and I will accept any excuse to use it. I have several stamp sets in French, with today's greeting coming from Carte Postale.
I used Terracotta Tile to match Nancy's dress and Pool Party for George's.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Artistic Etchings, Carte Postale, French Script
Ink: Terracotta Tile, Pool Party, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso, Cajun Craze Blend to color the rhinestones
Paper: Terracotta Tile, Thick Basic White, Early Espresso DSP
Accessories: some kind of label punch, I forget what, Dimensionals, Rhinestones
I couldn't stop with just one card though, so here's the second:
Since we have the alchemy angle in this mystery, I had to break out the It's a Science stamp set for some chemistry beakers. And you know what, this is the very first time I've used that stamp set! I knew it would come in handy sometime.
This time I used my favorite Fresh Prints (of Bel-Air) DSP, so the colors are Coastal Cabana, Real Red, and Crumb Cake.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: It's a Science
Ink: Early Espresso, Coastal Cabana, Real Red, Versamark
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Thick Basic White, Fresh Prints DSP Stack
Accessories: Textured Notes dies, clear EP, Dimensionals, Delightful Dots, Wink of Stella
I was going to stop there, but then I decided I had to make a card to commemorate the Drew Crew's visit to Notre Dame, so here is my third card:
I had to get out the stained glass stamps from Painted Glass for Notre Dame's rose window. Once again I tried to choose colors that coordinate with the book cover:
This time I did Coastal Cabana for George, but used Timid Tiger for Nancy, and incorporated Daffodil Delight for the book title. Still kept quite a bit of Pecan Pie for all the brown on the cover of the book too.
Supplies, all SU!
Stamps: Painted Glass, Stacked Stone
Ink: Early Espresso, Pecan Pie, Stampin' Blends in Daffodil Delight, Timid Tiger, Coastal Cabana, Pecan Pie
Paper: Coastal Cabana, Pecan Pie, Thick Basic White
Accessories: Stylish Shapes dies, Textured Notes dies, Best Year Ever ribbon, In Color Flat Pearls, Earthy Matte Dots
This is another example of the mystery being secondary to the setting, but kid Christy loved the French tourist bit (I started taking French classes in middle school and would have gotten a minor in French if I had taken two more classes in college). Adult Christy thinks the financier was just about the stupidest person ever--the fake alchemist has him convinced that he can turn coal into gold, which is a trick alchemists have been trying to pull since the Middle Ages so why is the financier so easy to fool? All in all I give it three and a half stars. If you're inspired to play along, leave me a comment on this post so I can see! And come back next Saturday when Nancy investigates The Clue in the Crossword Cipher.
