The Double Jinx Mystery

Mornin' y'all and welcome to the FIFTIETH Nancy Drew Challenge!  I am still just having the best time entertaining myself over here, both reading the books and making cards for them, and I hope you're enjoying the journey with me.  So today, Nancy takes on The Double Jinx Mystery.

Once again we have a mostly brown cover (see also 99 Steps and Crossword Cipher), but this time Nancy is wearing a pretty cool 70s orange collared shirt with a fun pattern (this book was first published in 1973, still some years before I was even born).  Not sure why Nancy looks extra worried on this one, but hey, we get another Ned cover!  I had some fun using this cover for inspiration, as you'll see in a minute.

Case file:  Carson asks Nancy to help investigate a case where a town is considering tearing down a family-owned zoo and aviary to make way for a high-rise apartment complex.  Someone is trying to convince the owners of the zoo/aviary that they're being jinxed, so there's quite a lot about superstitions and it's very clear that Harriet Stratemeyer Adams gives superstitious people short shrift.  Nancy and Ned both contract ornithosis (different from bird flu according to Google, but it sounds similar) while investigating and Nancy gets kidnapped by one of the most bizarre villains ever, a mentally unbalanced male ballet dancer.  A bonkers ballerino, if you will.

Here's my card:

A lot of this book has to do with birds, and one of the characters is a foreign exchange student from an unnamed Eurasian country who brings along her pet wryneck woodpecker while studying in the States, like you do.  I don't have any wryneck stamps, but I figured a feather would do, and I had a good (and messy) time making the background with watercolor paper, ink refills, and salt.  I dripped the ink on wet watercolor paper, then spritzed more water to get the colors to run, and when you sprinkle salt on and let it dry, it kinda gives you freckles, which I liked.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fine Feathers, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Peach Pie, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Early Espresso, Basic Beige, watercolor paper, Autumn Toile DSP
Accessories:  Lots of Labels dies, In Color Dots, Dimensionals

I was having SUCH a good time with my background that I ended up with several more pieces, and I thought I could make a better card than the first one, so here is attempt #2:

I do like this one better with the fussy-cut feathers, and I feel like it lets more of the fun background show.  I chose the good luck greeting for both of these cards since so much of the book has to deal with people thinking they're jinxed or getting bad luck from all kinds of things, which reminded me of the peacock-induced bad luck from The Hidden Window Mystery.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Fine Feathers, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Peach Pie, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Early Espresso, Basic Beige, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper, Autumn Toile DSP
Accessories:  Rectangles Stitched dies, Pecan Pie Ribboned Dots, Dimensionals

And then I liked the second card so much that I just had to keep going and make a third:

I had to do a get well card since Nancy and Ned both come down with ornithosis in this book, it just made me giggle.  And this time I found a piece of DSP with a great circle pattern that matches Nancy's shirt!

As soon as I found that pattern in the Gathering Together Specialty DSP I knew I would use it.  The watercolor bit is a leftover piece from my first watercolor background so I kind of had to build the rest of the card around it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Wildlife Wonder, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Ink:  Peach Pie, Pecan Pie, Early Espresso
Paper:  Pecan Pie, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, watercolor paper, Gathering Together Specialty DSP
Accessories:  Layering Circles dies, Circles Collection Framelits, Dimensionals, Earthy Matte Dots

This book and its focus on superstitions and bad luck is just a little weird to me, and that's even before we get to the bonkers ballerino, so I'm giving it two and a half stars.  I think several books in the 50s go a bit off the track but sometimes the really bananas ones are the most fun (the high-water mark for bananas shenanigans is still a tie between Brass-Bound Trunk and Moss-Covered Mansion, and I really love those), but this one just feels weird without the extra fun.  Anyway, I hope it inspires you to make something and if so, leave me a comment!  And make sure to tune in next Saturday when things get *really* weird (again!) for Mystery of the Glowing Eye.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Mornin' y'all and happy rainy Saturday.  I've got a nice hot cuppa tea in front of me and I did some yoga this morning so it's off to a good start.

A couple of days ago, the hubs asked me to make a card for someone in his office who just had a lumpectomy for breast cancer, he wanted a large card for everyone in the office to sign, so here it is:

Obviously I went with pinks and dug out several long-retired stamp sets for this.  I used Pink Pirouette cardstock and DSP, Pretty in Pink for the flowers and Regal Rose for the ribbon, and Mellow Moss and Fresh Fig to round out my colors.  I asked the hubs what sentiment he wanted and he chose "Get Well Soon"; I would have picked "Best Wishes" but I did what he said.

That's it for me today, peeps.  And don't forget that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so go get your girls checked.  A few minutes of discomfort is much, much better than a stage 4 diagnosis.  I got mine done earlier this month, you can do it too.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Blossoms in Bloom, Ribbon of Hope, Sincere Salutations
Ink:  Pretty in Pink, Fresh Fig, Regal Rose, Mellow Moss
Paper:  Pink Pirouette, Fresh Fig, Thick Basic White, Pink Pirouette DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Sincere Salutations

Thank goodness it's Friday, kids.  Not my best week ever.  I will neither confirm nor deny that I ate brownie batter for breakfast today.  Is it weird that I like brownie batter better than actual brownies?  Don't answer that.  Also, I laugh in the face of salmonella.

But anyway, I bring you today's slightly late Friday Flashback.  Today's retired stamp set of choice is Sincere Salutations, and I remember how excited we stampers were when it first came out--eight sentiments in a pretty classy mixed-font format, what's not to love?  So again, this flashback would take a week if I put up every single project I ever made with this stamp set.  Let's just select a few, shall we?

Also features Baroque Motifs

And right off the bat this one might be my favorite of the bunch.  I like the color combination :)  And of course Baroque Motifs can do no wrong.

Also features Natural Beauty

My long-ago SU! upline used to do that thing like on this card where a smaller-than-A2 card is folded and then backed up with a piece of colored cardstock; not really my thing but it did let me do a nice bow on the side of this card.

Also features Pretty Peony

Some pretty purple peonies for a birthday...

Also features Roses in Winter

And Christmas roses.  Yeah, Sincere Salutations has got you covered for most events.

Also features Stippled Stencils, Weathered

The sentiment showed up better IRL on this card than in the scan (and this was so long ago that it was a scan rather than a photo)--it's embossed in gold.

Also features Wonderful Wings, Filigree

One last card featuring one of the gorgeous butterflies from Wonderful Wings, and also last week's Friday Flashback set of Filigree.  And now for this week's new creation:

I'm pretty pleased with it.  I used the color challenge from ColourQ:

And apparently I was influenced by the picture in the challenge graphic too, because I think that's what made me reach for Medallion.  I also used this week's Retro Rubber Challenge sketch:

In the spirit of the challenge, I've had Sincere Salutations for I suppose 11 years because I think I got it when it came out; Medallion dates from 2011 so five years, and True Friend I've had for 9 years.  Yeah, I think I got the "retro" part of the challenge covered this time ;)

Well, hubs just got home and he's taking me out to dinner so that's it for me.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Sincere Salutations, Medallion, True Friend
Ink:  Marina Mist, Pear Pizzazz, Tangerine Tango, Night of Navy
Paper:  Marina Mist, Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories:  Circle punches, Regals Candy Dot, Tangerine Tango ribbon from Sale-a-Bration a couple of years ago

Friday Flashback: Filigree

Happy Friday!  This week's Friday Flashback stamp set is Filigree, which was one of my favorite background stamps for a very long time...oh who are we kidding, I still love me some Filigree.  But I don't want you to spend all weekend trying to make it through the entire Flashback, so I just picked out a few favorite older projects with Filigree.

Oh wow, I just saw in the Splitcoast gallery that Filigree retired in 2005!

Also features Roses in Winter, Hugs & Wishes

Wow, way back in the archives for this one:  that's Vintage Violet!

Also features Best of Brides & Babies

Here's a wedding card with one of the "Best of" sets they did a couple years ago.  Filigree is stamped with Versamark and embossed with clear EP; it also looks pretty fabulous done in metallic EP or Iridescent Ice.  Which is on the retiring list, to my great surprise.  I love that stuff!

Also features Land That I Love

Here's a patriotic eagle card.  Oy, back in the day when all I had was cheap big box store ribbon.  I don't have much current SU! ribbon, but I do have a laundry basket full of retired stuff :)

Also features Petal Prints, Happy Everything

Aww, this one's sweet.  I miss Regal Rose sometimes.

Also features Coast to Coast, Sincere Saluations

You know what?  I think a lighthouse makes for good symbolism on a thinking of you or sympathy card.

Also features Print Pattern, Wonderful Wings, Sincere Salutations

Okay, one last one with the kissing technique and a fabulous butterfly.  Of course you recently saw a Filigree-kissed sun on my Here Comes the Sun layout this Monday.

So that's all I'm sharing from the archives today, otherwise you'd be here until next Friday.  Here is today's new creation:

Today's colo(u)r combo is from ColourQ:

It's been a really long time since I busted out the Cool Caribbean, I still have quite a stash of 8.5x11 cardstock which makes me happy.  Sadly, the year that Cool Caribbean was an In Color I wasn't scrapbooking much at all so I never got any 12x12 in the In Colors.

I also used this week's Mojo Monday sketch:

I had a Goldilocks moment with the gold circle element--I wanted to use one of the gold doilies I have, but the smaller size was too small and the larger size was too big, so in the end I just die-cut a plain circle and it was juuuust right.

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend, peeps.  I think we're supposed to get thunderstorms today and tomorrow, so that means it's a good opportunity to stay home and work in my craft cave!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Filigree, Stippled Blossoms, Thank You Kindly
Ink:  Cool Caribbean, Calypso Coral, Smoky Slate, Basic Gray, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Cool Caribbean, Basic Black, Thick Whisper White, Gold Foil
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, Hexagon punch, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Paint Prints

Happy Friday, peeps!  This week's Friday Flashback stamp set is the awesome Paint Prints, which was a Sale-a-Bration set back in 2005 when it was still Sell-a-Bration.  Are ya ready?

Also features All Holidays

All the stamps in Paint Prints are kinda watercolor/distressed looking.  I think I got a little carried away with this card, it's kinda busy.

Also features Happy Everything

And here is incontrovertible proof that you can take two stamp sets you really like and still make a hella ugly card.

Also features Lovely Letters Alphabet

Ah, a unicorn chaser in the form of some scrapbook pages.  The Paint Prints flowers are stamped all over the page base around the photo blocks; click on the pic to see it bigger.  And marvel at my photographic skillz in taking pictures of all those lotus blossoms.

Here's another super old baby book layout.

Also features A Greeting for All Reasons

And a very old card, but I still kinda like this one.

Here's some kinda manly colors, and you can see the block and the "delight" stamp also in the set.

Also features All-Year Cheer

 Bopping right along...

Also features Sincere Salutations

I like the colors on this one but I think they're almost all retired.

Also features Whimsical Alphabet, Amazing to Zany, Paisley

 I like the rounded corners on the main image panel, I should do that again and update this card.

Non-SU sentiment

My great-grandmother used to tell me to drink orange juice because "it will put sunshine in your day" and this card makes me think of her.  So that's the end of the Flashback, here's the new card on the block:

Haha, block, and it's a colorblock card.  That wasn't particularly on purpose but it amused me when I thought about it for a second.  Anyway, this card's layout is courtesy of Freshly Made Sketches, gotta love a good colorblock.

 

And the colors are courtesy of me, because I wanted to use Elegant Eggplant, Pink Pirouette, Pale Plum, and Pistachio Pudding.  It seemed like a good idea at the time.

And there's the inside of the card.

Well folks, that's it for me this week.  I'm off to go do some more crafting.  Cheers!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Paint Prints
Ink:  Elegant Eggplant, Pink Pirouette, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Paper:  Elegant Eggplant, Pink Pirouette, Pistachio Pudding, Pale Plum, Whisper White
Accessories:  white baker's twine, Dimensionals

Friday Flashback: Fall Whimsy

Happy Friday, peeps, and welcome to this week's Friday Flashback!  I am SO ready for the cooler temperatures and pretty colors of fall, and today's stamp set goes right along with that theme:  Fall Whimsy.  This was one of the first stamp sets I ever bought!

Also features Something to Celebrate

This was a baby shower invite for a friend; she named her daughter Autumn and she looooves fall leaves so there you have it.

Also features Priceless, Nursery Necessities

 And here's a baby announcement for a different friend who had her daughter ON Halloween!

Also features Tiny Talk, Print Pattern

Let's talk turkey...isn't this cute?  The turkey uses most of the stamps in Fall Whimsy; he's not hard to put together, just time-consuming to cut out.

Also features Sincere Salutations

 Seems like we have a lot of friends and family with birthdays in October.

Also features Print Pattern, Linen, All Year Cheer III

Oh, I like this one, it's a technique called crayon resist, a.k.a. finally a use for the white crayon.  You need glossy white paper (or photo paper now, since SU! doesn't sell it anymore) and you stamp your leaves in black or whatever color you want, draw in some highlights with the crayon, and then sponge on color.  The crayon resists the ink and you have white highlights.  Pretty cool, right?

So that's the flashback, and here's the brand new card for today:

This one took me a while to wrap my brain around.  I love the sketch I used, and the color combo, but I was just having trouble making it all work together.  I think the purple was messing with my fall leaves idea a little bit.  I do like how it turned out in the end though and I continue to be in love with my Sanded background stamp.

There's the color combo from ColourQ; I added just a bit of Soft Suede.

And there's the sketch from Pals Paper Arts.  I really like this one.

Well, I have a long list of things to do today so I'd better go get started.  Cheers, peeps!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Fall Whimsy, Sanded, Print Pattern, For All Things
Ink:  Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Taken with Teal, Lovely Lilac, Soft Suede
Paper:  Tangerine Tango, So Saffron, Whisper White
Accessories:  just a pair of scissors :)

Friday Flashback: Watercolor Minis

Happy Friday, peeps!  It's Day 2 of the Snapdragon Stamps move-a-thon, but luckily I made a card (two, actually) for today's Flashback earlier this week.  Starting next week I'll be going to a Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday post schedule until we get to the next house and I get my craft room set up again.  But for today, let's check out Watercolor Minis!

Also features Sage Advice

I remember that this one was super-fiddly when I made it, trying to get all the quilt blocks on the edges trimmed exactly right.  I liked the effect, but I never made another card like this ;)

Also features Filigree and Sincere Salutations

Also features Filigree and Sincere Salutations (again)

Ok, for some reason I can't manage to get any text in between these two cards but they're the same except for colors anyway.  I still miss Eggplant Envy; it was a couple shades lighter than the current Elegant Eggplant.  I love Elegant Eggplant, but sometimes it comes off so dark that it's hard to distinguish from black.

Also features All-Year Cheer and Roses in Winter

I liked using the roses in Watercolor Minis as the tiny version of the roses in Roses in Winter, as you can see here.  And that's the Flashback, so here are today's two new cards:

I knew I had used the rose a lot, but maybe not the tulip, so I decided to do a kinda CAS design with the tulip stamps.  But after I made this one on Sahara Sand, I wasn't sure I liked how the colors turned out on top of the colored cardstock, so I made a second one with a Whisper White card base.

Just a little brighter, and doesn't muddy up the tulip colors.  Once again I used an older layout from Clean & Simple Stamping:

And that's all she wrote this week.  Have a great weekend, peeps!

Supplies, last two cards only:
Stamps:  Watercolor Minis, Elegant Cheer
Ink:  Pink Pirouette, Strawberry Slush, Old Olive, Blackberry Bliss
Paper:  Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Something Borrowed DSP
Accessories:  Blackberry Bliss ribbon