Mystery at the Ski Jump

Welcome to a new Nancy Drew Challenge and today we're investigating The Mystery at the Ski Jump, Nancy's 29th adventure.  I didn't finish these cards until yesterday evening, usually I have them done way ahead of time but this week went a little off the rails.  Anyway, let's take a look!

Both of these covers feature menacing men.  Nancy looks quite alarmed in the original text cover by Bill Gillies on the left and we have a really bright poppy red top on her.  Is that a jacket?  Because my jackets are all much less form-fitting but Nancy probably has designer ski clothes.  I think the yellow mittens look a little goofy though.

On the right is the Rudy Nappi cover for the revised text and we have a menacing man's hand, but Nancy looks determined to stop the crooks rather than concerned for her own safety.  I like this cover better, maybe because teal and lime is my color vibe, but I also like the composition of the ski jump in the background better because it has more detail than the Gillies cover.

Let's take a look inside.

Case file:  When Hannah Gruen buys stock in a fur company that operates in an unconventional fashion, selling furs at a discount price door to door, Nancy investigates and discovers that the company is fake and the fur stole Hannah bought is stolen (yes, it's a stolen stole).  The bad girl steals Nancy's identity but she keeps investigating through several towns near River Heights, to New York and a visit with Aunt Eloise, and then to Aunt Eloise's cabin in the Adirondacks where Nancy's foes attempt to put her on ice.  Very exciting and a rare winter outing in the original mystery stories.

Here's my card:

I was going to do something with a lot more Poppy Parade and Daffodil Delight to go with Nancy's outfit, but I found this blue pine tree pattern in the Beauty of the Earth DSP and this ended up being a very blue card instead.  I used the skates from Sophisticated Sled because the bad girl, Mitzi Channing, is a semiprofessional ice skater--Nancy discovers her name when she sees her perform in an old movie.  Also I remembered that name from reading this as a kid because I had never heard the name Mitzi before and thought it was strange.

I did add the cardinal so we get a tiny pop of Poppy Parade for Nancy.  Also, the skates could belong to her as she performs a doubles routine in a big skating competition in Canada with no practice beforehand beyond dancing a single waltz with her partner.  Because Nancy of course is a professional ice skater.  I forgot to mention that she and Carson also go to Canada, there is a lot of traveling in this one.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sophisticated Sled
Ink:  Night of Navy, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie, Smoky Slate, Poppy Parade, Mango Melody
Paper:  Night of Navy, Thick Basic White, Beauty of the Earth DSP
Accessories:  Sophisticated Sled dies, Ornate Frames dies, Charming Shimmer Faceted Dots, Mini Dimensionals

Let's check out the revised text:

Once again, there are no major changes to the story in the revised text, just condensing it to 20 chapters.  We still get all the same traveling and Aunt Eloise has a larger role in this one than she usually does.  Also Nancy calls her Aunt Lou, which I don't recall seeing in any of Aunt Eloise's other appearances.

Here's my card:

I wanted to incorporate the fun colors on this cover, so I chose Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, and Timid Tiger.  I had a plan to use the Freezin' Fun bundle because I thought there was a fox in it, but upon closer inspection I found it was a sledding raccoon and not a skiing fox (there's a part in the book where the villains refer to Nancy and Carson as foxes).  Still, I like my happy snowman and it amuses me that I found Let It Snow sentiments for both cards.

I stamped some snowflakes on the Summer Splash DSP I used for the background and I like how that looks.  I was making this card up as I went along and trying to make it quickly last night while Ryan was getting ready for bed, pretty happy with where I ended up despite the time crunch.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Snowman Season
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Summer Splash, Stampin' Blends in Summer Splash, Lemon Lime Twist, Timid Tiger, Smoky Slate
Paper:  Lemon Lime Twist, Summer Splash, Thick Basic White, Summer Splash DSP, Celebratory Sips DSP
Accessories:  Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Shiny Sequins

I didn't particularly like the aspects of this mystery that deal with the fur trade, but I did enjoy all the travel to different places and Nancy outwitting the dastardly Mitzi, so I give it four stars.  If you're inspired by these books, please leave me a comment so I can see what you make!  And come back next week for the final Nancy Drew Challenge of the year, where we will uncover The Clue of the Velvet Mask.

Good Tidings Cardinal

Mornin' y'all!  I am happy to report that I got our Christmas letter written last night, and got all the envelopes addressed and stuffed.  Now I just need the postage stamps (they should be arriving today or tomorrow) and those will be out the door.  Might not arrive everywhere before Christmas but that is exactly why my cards always say Happy Holidays.  New Year's is a holiday.  So is MLK Day.  And Valentine's Day, though I've never been *that* late.

Anyway, since I flatly refused to get on the Christmas train before Thanksgiving, I'm still over here playing with Christmas stamps while I still can and most everybody else in blogland has moved on to stuff from the upcoming catties.  But here's what I have for today!

Mixing old and new again today, with Sophisticated Sled for the stamps and Wrapped in Plaid from a few years ago for the DSP.  I was inspired by The Card Concept:

I got the wreath and plaid on my card, but my colors are lighter versions of what's on the inspiration pic.  Next up is the Just Add Ink sketch:

That zigzag made me think of the Basic Borders dies which retired a while back but nobody I send cards to cares what's current vs. what's retired, so I used it.

It's about time to get Ryan off to school and then I will be wrapping presents while he's gone.  Usually I do that on the floor, but this time I'll keep everything up on the dining room table because I don't want Daphne's nose in it : ) I love having a doggo again.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sophisticated Sled
Ink:  Shaded Spruce, Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Shaded Spruce, Real Red, Cherry Cobbler
Paper:  Shaded Spruce, Thick Basic White, Wrapped in Plaid DSP Stack
Accessories:  Sophisticated Sled dies, Countryside Corners dies, Border Basics dies, Mini Dimensionals, Festive Gems

Blue Christmas

Happy Friday, y'all!  Ryan is off school today except for some 10-minute test thing he has to do 15 minutes from now, and once that's done we're going to take Daph-Daph for a walk and then get packages ready to ship out.

But first, I have a card!

Okay for reals, I spent like two days in my craft room just staring at stuff and trying to come up with something for a couple of challenges, and this is where I ended up for the Festive Friday challenge:

I did silver, blue, shimmery jewels, and birds.  I was going through my DSP looking for something blue and came up with that piece with blue *and* birds, so that's where I started.

Okay, we've got to get Ryan out the door ASAP so that's it for me.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sophisticated Sled
Ink:  Night of Navy, Versamark, Stampin' Blends in Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Boho Blue
Paper:  Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight, Thick Basic White, Countryside Inn DSP
Accessories:  Sophisticated Sled dies, Nested Essentials dies, Silver EP, Tinsel Gems, Dimensionals

The Laughing Moose

If I ever opened a pub (not likely), I think The Laughing Moose would be a great contender for what to name it : )  And I have a moose-tastic card to share today.

Ahh, an antidote to that all-gray card I made over the weekend!  I had to think a while about what to do with the colors from the Paper Players:

I used Magenta Madness, Gorgeous Grape, Tahitian Tide, and Pumpkin Pie for my card, so a mix of current and retired colors.  It took two tries to figure out how I wanted to color in his scarf, socks, and skates so that each of the colors was incorporated and balanced but I think I got there in the end.

I used the sketch from Sunday Stamps:

Another great sketch to play with, and it gave me multiple panels to use for different colors.  Fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Christmas Friends, Sophisticated Sled
Ink:  Early Espresso, Magenta Madness, Stampin' Blends in Pecan Pie, Ivory, Magenta Madness, Tahitian Tide, Highland Heather, Pumpkin Pie, Gray Granite
Paper:  Tahitian Tide, Thick Basic White, Tahitian Tide DSP, Magenta Madness DSP, Gorgeous Grape DSP
Accessories:  Christmas Friends dies, Countryside Corners dies, Dimensionals, Tutti Frutti sequins, Wink of Stella

And I have some more puppy pictures!

Daphne was not at all sure about the white stuff at first, but now she really enjoys playing in the snow.  She's really good at fetch with that little soccer ball and will hop up into the really deep snowdrift in the backyard with no hesitation.  And here you can see that her face gives Eddie Munster vibes : )

And there she is recharging for her next play session.  Yes, her back legs are on one side of her and her front legs are on the other side, which doesn't look comfortable to me, but she said it worked for her.

That's it for me today, peeps.  After I get Ryan off to school, I'm taking Daphne to school and trying to teach her how to behave on a walk.  Wish me luck.  Cheers!