The Strange Message in the Parchment

Happy Saturday, y'all, and welcome to this week's Nancy Drew Challenge!  This week Nancy is puzzling out The Strange Message in the Parchment:

We got a color break last week with The Sky Phantom, but now we're back to mostly warm browns like Forgotten City.  Why are so many Nancy Drew covers mainly brown?  This one is a more collage style like some of the Drews in like the teens.  It's okay, but not my favorite; Nancy almost looks like she's sleeping here.

Case file:  Nancy's friend Junie Flockhart (whom we have never heard of before and never will again, I reckon) invites Nancy to her family's sheep farm to see if she can figure out the story behind a piece of artwork done on parchment that her father bought (there are four images, seen on the cover of the book).  Nancy manages to find the original artist, reunite a kidnapped child with his mother, and expose Junie's mean neighbor as a villain.  And she visits a sheep slaughterhouse o.O

Here's my card:

Junie introduces Nancy to one of the shepherds on her family's farm, Ezekiel (who goes by Eezy), who likes to drop Bible verses constantly in conversation.  One of the panels on the parchment features angels, so I made an angel card with a Bible verse on it.  I stamped the angel on Creamy Caramel cardstock, which has been retired for a very long time but it's been coming in handy of late with all these brown book covers, and then used my handy dandy 100-pack of Crayola pencils to color her in.  I found that Cinnamon Cider pattern and the interlocking circles made me think of halos, so that works.

I think the pencil strokes where I colored in the angel coordinate pretty well with the cover art, what do you think?

Supplies:
Stamps:  Angels of Peace, Blessings from Heaven
Ink:  Early Espresso, Cinnamon Cider
Paper:  Cinnamon Cider, Creamy Caramel, Very Vanilla, Flowers for Every Season DSP Stack
Accessories:  Rectangles Stitched dies, Dimensionals, Crayola colored pencils

And I have one more card:

We spend a lot of time with sheeps in this book (hey, check out Whistling Bagpipes for more sheeps), so I wanted to make a card with a sheep on it and I happened across the stamp set Nursery Times which I haven't used in aaaaaaaages.  Is she Little Bo Peep or Mary Had a Little Lamb?  Well, Mary's lamb had white fleece so I'm saying Bo Peep for my card, which reminds me of Velvet Mask because Bo Peep is Bess's costume of choice for the masquerade parties in that book.

I went with brighter colors on this one, focusing on the color of Nancy's shirt and her lips are kinda pink, but I still have Cinnamon Cider on there.  Hey, I had a scrap of that paper left over from the first card so why not use it here.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Nursery Times, Once Upon a Time, Hearts a Flutter
Ink:  Early Espresso, Pretty in Pink, Stampin' Blends in Coastal Cabana, Cinnamon Cider, Pretty in Pink, Petal Pink, Ivory, Neutrals
Paper:  Coastal Cabana, Pretty in Pink, Basic White, Flowers for Every Season DSP Stack
Accessories:  Layering Circles dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Hearts a Flutter Framelits, Dimensionals

This one is a bit unusual as Nancy is investigating with just Junie for most of the book; the rest of the Drew Crew shows up in just the last couple of chapters.  I mean, the boys do that a lot but usually she's with Bess and George for the whole adventure.  I read reviews on Goodreads for this and a lot of people say this book is anti-vegetarian propaganda, and I do have to say the parts where they visit the slaughterhouse are weird and jarring for a Nancy Drew book.  We do have one instance of sci-fi weirdness that has characterized these books in the 50s as well, this time with mechanical attack birds.  I'm giving this one two and a half stars.  If you're inspired to make a card based on this book, leave me a comment so I can see!  And come back next week when Nancy tackles the Mystery of Crocodile Island!

Wisdom from Mrs. Roosevelt

Mornin' y'all!  Ryan had his last day of this week's camp yesterday so I got to sleep in a little...or I would have if not for Miss Daphne : p  SHE wants to get up at six even if she doesn't bother to eat her breakfast until noon.  But she's cute.

Anyway, I was looking for something in my stamp library yesterday and I came across Favorite Thoughts and had to make a card with it immediately, so here it is:

Isn't that a great quote?  I saw it and immediately thought of the Have a Cuppa DSP Stack since I remembered it had tea bag patterns, and then I had to stamp the large teacup from A Nice Cuppa  to go with the latest challenge at Color Hues:

I used Polished Pink and Bermuda Bay for my colors, though the ribbon on the tag is actually Pretty in Pink.  I need to ink up my Polished Pink ink pad.  I also used the sketch from CAS Colours & Sketches:

Since a.) I don't like making square cards and b.) my tag tie is large and in charge, I did a standard A2 card instead of the square shown in the sketch.  I wanted to put some little gems on there but I resisted the urge since this is a CAS challenge.

That's it for now, peeps.  I'm going to try to get Daphne to eat her breakfast, wish me luck.  We think she's holding out in case we decide to give her treats instead, but it's not going to work AND I won't take her for a walk until she eats either.  So there.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Favorite Thoughts, A Nice Cuppa
Ink:  Bermuda Bay, Polished Pink
Paper:  Bermuda Bay, Basic White, Have a Cuppa DSP Stack
Accessories:  Rectangles Stitched dies, Cups & Kettle dies, Merriest Trees dies, Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, Dimensionals

Lighthouse Triptych

Mornin' y'all!  I had a good time in my craft room yesterday and I have a couple of cards that you'll be seeing in the next few days, but let's start with this one:

We are kicking it old school for the Retro Rubber Challenge:

Okay, I pulled out Coast to Coast for The Card Concept (graphic below), and it is 19 years old so definitely retro.  So for Retro Rubber's tic-tac-toe challenge, I went across the top with die cuts, stripes, and my choice (stamping directly on patterned paper).  And now I have a story to tell because I can't believe this worked.  I pulled out the old Nautical Expedition DSP to go with my lighthouse, and I wanted to stamp ON the patterned paper but I only had a few small horizontal scraps of the pattern I liked best for that, so how to solve that...think think think...I cut three of the scraps with a Textured Notes die, then adhered them to some solid cardstock in a line and held my breath when I stamped the lighthouse on top since I didn't have enough scraps to do it twice.  Success!  BUT then I noticed I had used Night of Navy for my mat, and the paper is actually Not Quite Navy (long-retired color that I still love).  Oh, calamity!  The lighthouse is stamped in Night of Navy, but that didn't bother me like the cardstock did.  Maybe no one else would notice it, but *I* noticed it, and now I'm really in a pickle because the paper is stuck down.  So what did I do?  I got some dental floss and gently worked it between the layers of paper and I was able to remove the patterned paper *without* it getting warped and creased and unusable.  I can't believe that worked!  So then I put my lighthouse triptych on the correct color cardstock and thanked the stamping muses for blessing me.

Here's The Card Concept that inspired me to break out Coast to Coast after many years:

I'd say my card is in the clean and layered style.  As I was finishing up my card, I decided at the last minute to add some twine as an accent, and because of that I just realized this morning that my card also counts for the Just Add Ink Challenge:

Time to get Ryan to his camp for today.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Coast to Coast
Ink:  Night of Navy
Paper:  Cherry Cobbler, Not Quite Navy, Nautical Expedition DSP
Accessories:  Textured Notes dies, linen twine, Dimensionals, watercolor pencils

Summerween!!!

Mornin' y'all!  Yesterday I got a Stampin' Up! order in the mail and GUESS WHAT.

It's SUMMERWEEN, y'all!  I had to break into some new Halloween goodies immediately and here's what I made:

The kitties!!  The ghosties!!  And I haven't even scratched the surface of what I got, the only stamping on here is the greeting because I wanted to focus on the DSP cats for the Atlantic Hearts sketch:

The Oh My Fright stamp set has some cute, cute, CUTE images in it as well as several other greetings and the Frightfully Fun DSP is all you could want in traditional orange and black shades.  And do you SEE I used ribbon?  After not buying any ribbon for years, I got like five spools this order; some of it was In Color ribbon on the last chance list and a couple of them are new In Color ribbons.  Anyway, I also got some super ridiculously cute embellishments with ghosts and bats but I didn't use those for today's card, and there's two other Halloween stamp sets as well.  I can't wait to make more cards with all this stuff!

Time to get Ryan ready to go for engineering camp today.  He said yesterday that he wants to be an astronaut now, and I told him he has to study hard and do really well in science and math for that.  Me, I'd rather watch Star Trek than go in space myself.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Oh My Fright
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Basic Black, Very Vanilla, Frightfully Fun DSP
Accessories:  Oh My Fright dies, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Basic Black Iridescent Ribbon

Red, White, & Beach for SUO Challenges

Mornin', stampy friends!  I'm going to type fast because I need to take Ryan to camp in about five minutes, so lets' introduce today's new challenge from SUO Challenges!

So I had a bit of a think and I wanted to use a newer stamp set as opposed to one of my retired patriotic ones, so here's what I made:

Okay, I am pretty happy with how this turned out.  For the umbrellas, I cut two out of white cardstock and one of the stripey ones from Real Red, and topped them with a Misty Moonlight enamel dot from back when it was an In Color.  Easy peasy.  For the waves, I inked up one of the big "shadow" stamps using a sponge to keep the ink from getting dark, and then stamped it several times on white cardstock until I liked it.  I die cut the top edge, then sponged around the other three edges for a bit more depth.  For the foam part, I die cut it from white cardstock and then embossed the entire thing with clear EP so it's shiny, which of course doesn't show up in the photo but it looks good IRL!  A bit of sand stamped along the waterline and a greeting, and there's my card done using only the challenge colors plus some Whisper White.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!  Upload your project at the SUO Challenges blog and don't forget, it's Stampin' Up! only.  Have fun!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Rolling Waves
Ink:  Crumb Cake, Misty Moonlight
Paper:  Crumb Cake, Real Red, Whisper White
Accessories:  Rolling Waves dies, In Color Enamel Dots (retired), clear EP

Tool Time

Afternoon, y'all!  Usually I get my post written in the morning, but today I took Ryan to camp and then had a bunch of errands to run so I didn't get back home until almost noon.  Had to get blood drawn, and then I got some 4th of July decorations and a couple of new pairs of shoes, so I accomplished some things.  But here I am now, ready to start the week off with a MAN card!

When I went in my craft room yesterday, it took me a while to get stuck in and make something, so instead I got mostly caught up on doing my index sheets for my personal stamp library and washed all my blocks, and they needed that.  Then I was finally able to focus and make this for several challenges.  Let's start with TGIF:

I like to tease my husband about how 95% of his wardrobe is in what I call The Man Rainbow (gray, black, navy blue, and khaki) and the remaining 5% is usually like a medium blue or a dark red, but I thought the tiny bit of Granny Apple Green I used on my card still keeps it to the 95% Man Rainbow rule, haha.  Next up is Festive Friday:

I have masculine colors, splatters, tools, and a Father's Day sentiment; this will be for my hubs because he really is Mr. Fix-It.  See last week when he insisted on fixing the dishwasher after spending hours in the ER that day for his back.  Next up is the sketch from As You See It:

I had fun with this sketch, I'd like to make another card or two with it.  Finally, don't forget the theme challenge at The Paper Players:

He called this morning while I was getting ready to take Ryan to camp and asked if we wanted to go to the rodeo again this year (the answer is yes).  We had a good time last year and I think all of us are looking forward to going again.

Anyway, I'd better hurry up and take Daphne for her tour of the neighborhood since she didn't go this morning.  On the other paw, she didn't eat her breakfast and it's still sitting in her bowl, so...hmm.  She's giving me puppy dog eyes but I'm not giving her any treats until she eats her regular food.  That's it for now, peeps!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Totally Tool, He's All That, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink:  Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Stampin' Blends in Smoky Slate & Granny Apple Green
Paper:  Night of Navy, Smoky Slate, Basic White
Accessories:  Circles Collection Framelits, Dimensionals, Shades of Green Hexagons

Paper Players: For the Guys

Hey y'all, happy Sunday!  Looks like Joanne's Tic-Tac-Toe challenge for the Paper Players last week was a big hit, judging from the size of the gallery : )  Today we're back and Stef has a great theme for us:

Need a card for Father's Day?  Know some guys with summer birthdays?  Now's your chance to make a card for them : )  So I'm still thinking Yellowstone (see here and here), but I thought I'd make a card featuring the animal we were most excited to see during our trip:

A grizzly bear!  (If you want to see lots of black bears, rent a cabin near Smoky Mountains National Park, we saw lots of black bears there!)  The bear and the trees are stamped directly on a pattern from the Nature Walk DSP (been a while since I had used it), and the big, bold greeting from Weekend Adventures is stamped on Basic Beige and popped up on Dimensionals.  I think Weekend Adventures was marketed as a scrapbooking stamp set (like I've ever had a problem using any and all stamps on my scrapbook pages) because it has a lot of large and in charge word stamps, but I've used it on a couple of cards instead.  I added a few Natural Matte Dots to finish it off.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Wildlife Wonder, Weekend Adventures, Outdoor Adventure
Ink:  Pecan Pie, Mossy Meadow, Secret Sea
Paper:  Mossy Meadow, Basic Beige, Nature Walk DSP
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Natural Matte Dots

Check out the other design team creations on the Paper Players blog, and you can hop through their individual blogs to leave some comments too:

The Paper Players Design Team

Jaydee

LeAnne Pugliese

Claire Broadwater

Joanne James

Anne Marie Hile

Ann Schach

Jan Clothier

Stef Perry

you are here --> Christy Stanford

And then upload your card at the Paper Players blog!  Keep in mind a few simple rules:
1.  Create a new paper project
2.  Upload your creation to your blog with a link back to us and provide a direct link to the post featuring your challenge submission
3.  Please link your card to no more than four challenges, TOTAL
4.  Have fun!