The Quest of the Missing Map

Hey y'all and welcome to another Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today we're on #19, The Quest of the Missing Map.

Unlike the last few books, the plot for the RT version of this book sticks fairly close to the OT version.  We have an illustrated scene from the book for the OT, and we're still doing the collage style for the RT version.  Personally I like the bold purple cover of the RT version better but they're both good.

Case file:  Nancy meets Hannah's friend Ellen Smith, who asks her to investigate prospective employer Mrs. Chatham, whose daughter Trixie says that Ship Cottage on their estate grounds (yeah they're rich) is haunted.  She's not entirely wrong; crooks are using secret passages on the estate to get around.  Also, Ellen's dad is trying to track down his long-lost twin brother because they each received half of a treasure map from their father and they have to work together to find the treasure.  Multiple bad guys are after the pieces of the map, but Nancy manages to charter an expedition to the south Atlantic and find the treasure despite being kidnapped several times.

Here's my card:

The model ships made by Mrs. Chatham's deceased first husband (who is the missing twin) are a big plot point, so I pulled The Open Sea out of my to sell sets to make this.  At first I was going to work in some Darling Duckling for Nancy's dress, but I found a striped piece of Island Indigo DSP so I used that instead.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  The Open Sea, Daring Adventure, World Map
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Paper:  Early Espresso, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Island Indigo DSP
Accessories:  Deco Labels Framelits, Dimensionals, Enamel Dot Essentials

And here's the RT:

Only a few minor differences this time between the two versions but I like how we get Bess and George on this cover as well as the map.  Here's my card:

I went with the palm tree from Balmy Breezes because they're searching for Little Palm Island, and I chose that greeting stamp from World Treasures to echo the treasure hunt theme and also to honor Bess and George on the cover.  And I threw on some purple glimmer gems because treasure.  Y'all know I am highly influenced by the colors on the book covers when I make these cards.

I kept the World Map background from the first card but I kept it lighter and kinda faded in places for the background.  I did a lot of sponging on both cards for this challenge.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Balmy Breezes, World Treasures, World Map
Ink:  Pecan Pie, Crumb Cake, Gorgeous Grape
Paper:  Gorgeous Grape, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Layering Ovals dies, Dimensioanls, Purple Shimmer Gems

I think this one is a solid installment, but not among my favorites, so I'm giving it three and a half stars.  If these books inspire you to make a card, please leave me a comment so I can see!  As always, you can read a much more in-depth discussion of the books over on Hey Nancy Drew.  I'll see you here next week when we uncover The Clue in the Jewel Box!

Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk

Hey hey, welcome to another Nancy Drew Challenge!  We're up to number 17, The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk.

Again, we have a very slight title change.  The OT on the left gets the colorful cover and a scene from the book; the RT right is another collage and I find it curious that the cover for a book that takes place almost entirely at sea is nearly devoid of sea colors.  Interesting artistic choice.

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George are planning to take a trip to South America with the students of a girls' school (which none of them attend), when a pretentious and rude lady appears and Nancy's house and insists that she can't go with them and that her darling daughter Nestrelda (what a name!) cannot associate with people like Nancy.  Meanwhile, Carson wants Nancy to talk to the daughter of a friend of his and convince her to marry the guy that her parents have picked out, which is super ick on Carson and the parents' part but at least Nancy isn't fond of this idea either.  The girls all do go on the trip and Nancy's trunk gets mixed up with Nestrelda's, which her crooked stepfather has been using as part of a jewelry smuggling operation.  Quite a bit of the book takes place in Buenos Aires, which was fun.  Also, Nancy gets struck by lightning in this one.  What?!

Here's my card:

At the start of the book, when Nancy is packing her stuff in her new trunk, we get a return of Effie from Password to Larkspur Lane though this time instead of just being flighty and hilarious she's actively stupid and packs Nancy's passport in the trunk, so Nancy is worried she won't get to go on the trip as the trunk got shipped to the port separately.  So I had to include a passport on my card for this one.  Also I think it's weird that Nancy is so keen to go on a trip to South America when she was nearly an unwilling passenger on a cruise ship heading there in the OT version of #16, The Clue of the Tapping Heels.

I wanted to use Nancy's smart blue skirt suit as the main color inspiration, so I went with Island Indigo for my card base with Pool Party for the sky, and just a touch of Sweet Sorbet to echo Bess's red jacket.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Next Destination, Post Script
Ink:  Island Indigo, Pebbled Path, Pool Party, Sweet Sorbet
Paper:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Thick Basic White, Shades & Hues DSP Stack
Accessories:  Perennial Postage dies, Dimensionals, Sweet Sorbet pearls

Now let's take a look at the RT:

Case file:  Nancy, Bess, and George embark on a transatlantic cruise from Holland to New York and meet Nelda Detweiler, who shares their cabin.  Nancy's trunk goes missing while another similar one with the initials ND is delivered to the cabin in its place.  Nelda had been wrongly accused of stealing jewelry in South Africa; Nancy and the other girls open up this trunk that doesn't belong to them and discover that the trunk is being used to smuggle jewels; Nancy has the bad guys arrested as soon as they dock in New York.  And along the way there's a meteor and she and Nelda get thrown overboard, no big deal (by which I mean this is totally bananas).  Also, fun fact, this book was a gift to me from my cousins for Christmas 1989.

Here's my card:

I admit, I bought the Traveler stamp set on eBay specifically for this Nancy Drew challenge.  I had to do a monochromatic card to match the cover, and I included some antique pearls for the jewelry on the cover.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Traveler, Scenic Adventure, World Map
Ink:  Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso
Paper:  Cinnamon Cider, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Antique Pearls

But wait, there's more!  I couldn't resist making a second card for this book:

There's a costume contest during the cruise, and George dresses up as an old lady in a nightgown with mice embroidered on it and I could NOT let that opportunity pass me by so here's a mouse card!

I still kept the colors similar to the cover, though I worked in some of Nancy's orangey hues for the cheese.  Still got some jewels on there with the Frosted Iridescent Dots.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Mischievous Mice
Ink:  Early Espresso, Stampin' Blends in Cinnamon Cider, Daffodil Delight, Peach Pie, Pretty in Pink
Paper:  Cinnamon Cider, Bumblebee, Thick Basic White, A Flower For All Seasons DSP, Bumblebee DSP
Accessories:  Stylish Shapes dies, Mini Dimensionals, Frosted Iridescent Dots

Both versions of this book are utterly bananas and I love it, five stars!  Hope you enjoyed this peek at The Mystery of the Brass-Bound Trunk and if you'd like to play along, write a comment here with a link to your card.  You can read more about Nancy's adventures on my other blog, Hey Nancy Drew, where my posts just keep getting longer and longer but I'm having fun.  Stay tuned for next week's adventure, The Mystery of the Moss-Covered Mansion!

Earth Day

Hey y'all, how's your week going?  I worked three days in a row so today I am enjoying my day off.  Crazy thing though, it's been SNOWING all week!  It's been a good 10 degrees too warm for anything to stick at all, but that hasn't stopped it from snowing like it's midwinter.  But today it's all sunny and a bit warmer than it has been :)

I just finished a card to share today, so it's hot off the presses:

I was inspired to bust out a couple of long-retired stamp sets for this one because of the current challenge at Festive Friday:

I used green, blue, earth/globe (there's the map background image and the globe on the sentiment), and clean & simple.  I also used this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches:

This sketch kinda threw me for a loop when I saw it yesterday, but I mulled it over a bit before I fell asleep last night and decided to use a background stamp for the middle part and let it play peek-a-boo under cardstock.  Really the card came together pretty fast when I sat down to stamp it today.

Hope you have a great day, peeps!

Supplies, all SU! (some retired)
Stamps:  World Map, Word Play
Ink:  Misty Moonlight, Mint Macaron, Seaside Spray
Paper:  Thick Basic White, Mint Macaron, Seaside Spray
Accessories:  Stitched Nested Labels dies, In Color Faceted Gems

Friday Flashback: Starburst Sayings

Happy Friday!  It is time once more for the Friday Flashback, and today's featured stamp set is Starburst Sayings, which seems kinda appropriate to kick off the 4th of July weekend.  So let's take a whirl through the archives, and if all you want to see is today's new card then scroll to the bottom :)

Also features World Map

Starting off with this lovely map card.  I wish that SU! had done some more stamp sets (or even just one more!) to coordinate with the Starburst dies before they retired them all, but oh well.

Also features Perfectly Penned

That little starburst stamp on the left is covering up a booboo on the embossing powder at the bottom of the H :)

Also features Something to Say

Ahh, my favorite stamp from this set.  What's not to love about a giant Happy Day stamp!

Though apparently that little starburst stamp is the runner-up for favorite stamp from Starburst Sayings.

Works on any color combination!

And lots of different card layouts.

Also features Alphabet Rotary, Gorgeous Grunge, Positively Chevron

This is quite possibly my favorite card in the history of ever.  The inside says "You know the rest!" and I sent it to my dad :D

Also features Wood You Be Mine?

And here's a little lumberjack thank you card.

Also features Too Kind, My Paper Pumpkin (tiny chevron stamp)

Last one, another brightly-colored thank you card.  Now for today's new creation!

My SIL's birthday is on July 5th, so I'm going to send this out to her ASAP for her birthday.  Hey, it looks like this is the first time I used the little celebrate stamp so woohoo for me!  The fireworks and star stamps are from a stamp set called July Fourth.

And I stamped on the inside of the card too.  My patriotic color combo is courtesy of Fab Friday:

And of course I re-used the Freshly Made Sketch that I used yesterday:

And that's it for today.  See you back here tomorrow for another baby book layout :)

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Starburst Sayings, July Fourth, Happy Happenings
Ink:  Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Night of Navy, Real Red
Paper:  Temping Turquoise, Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Shimmery White, Whisper White (just for the inside)
Accessories:  Starburst Framelits, Dimensionals

Send Me Soaring

Up through the atmosphere, up where the air is clear...okay, so the original song was about kites, but that's what the sentiment that I used on today's card reminds me of.  Take a looksie!

That, my friends, is a super-cool biplane stamp that's in the limited-time-only Sale-a-Bration section, so get it by February 15.  Isn't it fantastic?  At first I had a heart in the lower right corner but the compass rose seemed like a better idea.  I'm a bit less thrilled with the splats in the corners, but I was kinda trying to follow the sketch which you'll see as you scroll down.

Hold on to your hats, folks, because I managed to make this card work for no fewer than FIVE challenges.

First up is the color challenge at In{k}spire Me:

I've been following their challenges for quite some time but I think this is the first time I've played along.

Next up is the Around the World challenge from Cupcake Inspirations:

I used the World Map stamp in the background of my card, plus of course you could use a biplane to travel lots of places.  Wouldn't be as much fun right now since it's colder than Hoth today, but you could.

And then there's the Global Design Project Love challenge:

I made this little non-traditional Valentine for my hubba-hubba-hubby, who wanted to be a pilot starting when he was five and who has actually flown a biplane before.

You know what just popped into my head?  This song:  "People all over the world, join hands!  Form a love train, love train!" Only mine is a love PLANE.  Bahaha.

Moving right along to the sketch from Mojo Monday:

And finally, the What Will You Stamp? challenge to use Sky is the Limit:

I was really happy to have this little nudge to break out the biplane stamp.  And now I'm back to slaving away on baby shower stuff...cheers, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Sky is the Limit, The Open Sea, Timeless Textures, World Map
Ink:  Night of Navy, Tip Top Taupe, Tangelo Twist, Soft Sky
Paper:  Night of Navy, Tip Top Taupe, Soft Sky, Thick Whisper White
Accessories:  Circles Framelits, circle punch, Dimensionals, Brights Candy Dot

Veterans' Day

(Mom, you're really going to like today's post.)

Today is Veterans' Day.  Today is the day to find someone who has served in the Armed Forces and say...

...thank you.  And if you want to hug a veteran, I'm sure they wouldn't mind.

Today's sketch is a somewhat modified version of the one from Global Design Project:

And let me be really punny and say this counts for the Cupcake Inspirations challenge too.

Because DOG TAGS.  They count as tags, right?

*game show host voice* But wait, there's MORE!  I made a scrapbook layout and I just can't wait till next Monday to share.

These pics are from when my little brother pinned on the rank of Major this past February.  I kinda want to put captions on the three photos along the left:  national anthem, administering the oath, and fabulous prizes.  But I don't want to cover up any of the pictures either.

I thought this quote was appropriate for this page.  That patterned paper is an old Karen Foster design that I have like twenty sheets of and I love it.  It's perfect for Air Force pages.

And I finally broke out the Larger than Life alphabet!

And the color palette:  Tip Top Taupe, Night of Navy, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, and Whisper White.  With a slight sprinkling of stars.

So thank you to all the veterans out there.  We appreciate your service.

Supplies, card:
Stamps:  For Your Country, World Map
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Night of Navy, Basic Gray
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Whisper White, Watercolor Paper
Accessories:  Squares Framelits, 2 1/2" circle punch, medium star punch, Dimensionals

Supplies, scrapbook layout:
Stamps:  For Your Country, Larger than Life Alphabet
Ink:  Cherry Cobbler, Night of Navy
Paper:  Tip Top Taupe, Cherry Cobbler, Soft Sky, Whisper White, Karen Foster patterned paper
Accessories:  retired star punches

Friday Flashback: Service & Sacrifice

Happy Friday, peeps!  Welcome to this week's Friday Flashback.  Our stamp set today is Service & Sacrifice, which is pretty appropriate given that Memorial Day is right around the corner.  Honestly, I'm a little surprised at how short the flashback is today, so let's get to it.

Also features For Your Country, World Map, Bright & Beautiful

I shared this one just a few months ago.  Most of the stamps in Service & Sacrifice are sentiment stamps, and apparently I really like that promotion one...

Also features Bright & Beautiful

Because here it is again, another card that you saw here in the past few months.  I could have sworn I had used Service & Sacrifice on other projects, but if I did, the Archive Gremlin has hidden them (or eaten them).  So here's today's new project:

Again with the promotion stamp, but this time I added the stars :)  The boots are, once again, from For Your Country and I think it's the only stamp I've used from that set.  What, sometimes I have just one favorite from a set.

I used this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

Only when I copied it down, somehow I had all the elements centered on the card front instead of being a bit lower down.  Well, I tried.

My color combination is courtesy of a new-to-me challenge, The Male Room:

Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, and Lost Lagoon.  Their challenge is all about making projects for the dudes:  MAN cards, MANLY scrapbook pages, etc.  Yeah, those are hard, so a challenge all about guys is probably a good idea.  So for my manly man card today, I kept it very simple with just plain cardstock.  No patterned paper, no ribbon, no froufrou embellishments, just manly cardstock and stamps.  :)

That's it for me this week, peeps.  I'm leaving in a few hours to do a photography workshop in Georgia.  Cheers!

Supplies, last card only:
Stamps:  Service & Sacrifice, For Your Country
Ink:  Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake
Paper:  Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla
Accessories:  Circles & Starburst Framelits