The Sinister Omen

Happy Saturday, y'all, and welcome to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  Today's book is #67, The Sinister Omen:

We have three wildly different covers this time.  I don't particularly care for the arch cover on the left, I just think it's boring; the middle cover is bonkers with Nancy's artistically ripped jumpsuit and the downed plane; and the one on the right wins the prize for the silliest Nancy Drew cover in the history of Nancy Drew books.  Okay the middle one is silly too but in a fun way, not in a roll-my-eyes way.  The middle one is definitely my favorite.

Case file:  Nancy is back in Florida and things always seem extra bonkers when she's in Florida.  Nancy flies Bess and George down to Fort Lauderdale in a seaplane (because of course she does), where they're supposed to meet up with the road trippin' boy half of the Drew Crew and help Carson with a case involving...a cartel of bad guys who steal valuable stamps.  Postage stamps, not my paper crafting stamps.  I bet you wouldn't have guessed that from looking at *any* of the book covers.

So here's my card for the first cover:

When the girls arrive in Fort Lauderdale, they find out that Carson has been kidnapped, but with Nancy on the case he doesn't stay that way for long.  She finds a clue and stupidly goes by herself to an abandoned hotel and has a run-in with a colony of rats before she rescues Carson single-handedly (because of course she does).

Yikes, the colors look off in this picture, the card is a better match to the book cover IRL I promise.  Happily for me, I have a suitably creepy-looking rat in my Halloween stamp stash.  Side note:  how many buildings in Fort Lauderdale have basements?  Because that seemed extremely unbelievable to me.  Anyway, I used Gray Granite, Boho Blue, and Secret Sea for my card colors.  I decided to forego the red on the book cover or else my card would have resembled a crime scene.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Piece of Poison, Spooktacular Bash, Ghoulish Grunge
Ink:  Gray Granite, Boho Blue, Secret Sea, Versamark
Paper:  Gray Granite, Boho Blue, Secret Sea
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Smoky Slate embossing powder, Neutrals Candy Dots, Dimensionals

On to the middle cover:

So the bad guys call their little club the Brotherhood of the Vulture, but the only vulture stamp I have is in Animal Alphabet and just didn't work for what I wanted.  And actually this is my second hack at a card for this book cover, the first one was awful so I decided to go with a raven for a different avian harbinger and ended up with a sorta-Halloween looking card that I like.

I only bought this book last year and I paid probably too much money to import it from Canada but I was just so excited to add this cover to my collection even though Nancy does not crash the plane.  I used Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, and Basic Beige for my colors and for once the greenish cast to Basic Beige ink worked in my favor.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  The Raven
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Basic Beige, Peach Parfait
Paper:  Peach Parfait, Kiwi Kiss, Basic Beige, Well Suited DSP
Accessories:  Deckled Circles dies, Dimensionals, Clear Epoxy Shapes

And now for the third one:

The B mystery in this book involves a very old lady who was a friend of Carson's grandparents I think, but sadly my stamp collection is lacking in old lady stamps so I decided to go with the spring break angle instead.  The Drew Crew does manage to fit in trips to the beach and taking out a yacht or two in between solving the mysteries, and this was a good excuse to use the water mask I bought at the end of summer.  Hopefully I won't forget that I have it next summer.

Nancy has a nightmare at the beginning of the book that involves a vulture, and that's even before the Brotherhood of the Vulture even gets involved, which is where this silly cover originates but I still think it's stupid.  None of the SU! blues is a really accurate match for this cover, but in the end I went with Pacific Point, Summer Splash, Poppy Parade, Flirty Flamingo, and Basic Gray/Smoky Slate for my colors.  And I finally used the camera stamp in Summer Happiness along with my favorite sunglasses and some teeny flip-flops.  Is it weird that I wish the images in this stamp set were drawn on the same scale?  Otherwise the sunglasses and flip-flops must be made for a Funko Pop.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Summer Happiness
Ink:  Pacific Point, Basic Gray, Stampin' Blends in Poppy Parade, Smoky Slate, Flirty Flamingo
Paper:  Pacific Point, Basic White, Summer Splash DSP
Accessories:  Summer Happiness dies, Textured Notes dies, Water Decorative Mask, Mini Dimensionals, Wonderful Gems

Mostly what I remember from reading this book as a kiddo is the old lady, who is quite acerbic but gives Bess a well-deserved confidence boost so I like her.  The postage stamp angle of the story reminds me of the movie Charade, one of my favorites, which stars Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant and I shouldn't have to put a spoiler alert on a movie that's about 60 years old and if you haven't seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out.  Anyway, Nancy's Florida adventures always seem to have an extra bit of crazy and this one continues that trend.  The Drew Crew is rubbing elbows with the uber-rich and apparently stealing collectible stamps is super lucrative based on how much stuff the bad guys have.  There are some really bananas aspects to this book (a retired stunt man, a sinkhole, a suspicious butler and more) and you know I love me some bananas plot shenanigans so I'm giving this one four stars.  If you're inspired to make a card based on this book, leave me a comment!  I will be especially impressed if you choose that stupidly silly third cover with the vulture.  I'll see you next week when Nancy tracks down The Elusive Heiress.

Hello Fall

Afternoon, y'all!  I just had to come back this afternoon with another fall card because I am enjoying the beginnings of fall weather here.

I mixed and matched three stamp sets for this card and I have three challenges as well.  Let's start with the new Festive Friday challenge:

I have green, brown, woodgrain, and distressed technique for my card.  And this challenge works pretty nicely with the Retro Rubber Challenge:

I told you I was coming back with a fall card for this one!  This time I did a diagonal with die cuts - leaves - distressed edges.  I actually die cut the woodgrain panel with the Deckled Rectangles dies but then hit it with an old distressing tool that SU! had once upon a time, and then I added more ink around the edges.  This is the first time I've inked up Truly Grateful (the woodgrain) because it's a recent acquisition, but Gorgeous Leaves is five years old and For All Things (the greeting) is now twelve years old, so extra retro.  I love revisiting old favorites : )

And last up is Time Out Challenges:

I've been taking pictures during my daily walks with Daphne for daaayyysss thinking about this challenge and here's one from this morning:

We had to detour around a flock of Canada geese.  Mostly the grass is still green, though in other places I see a lot of yellow and dark orange on the grass specifically, so that dictated my color choices of Old Olive, Crushed Curry, and Cajun Craze.  I inked up the leaves with Crushed Curry and then applied a bit of Cajun Craze ink with a sponge before I stamped, which came out pretty subtle but I like it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Gorgeous Leaves, Truly Grateful, For All Things
Ink:  Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze, Pecan Pie
Paper:  Old Olive, Very Vanilla, Sweet Days of Autumn DSP
Accessories:  Intricate Leaves dies, Deckled Rectangles dies, Hello Honey ribbon (which is pretty much the same color as Crushed Curry), Earthy Matte Dot, Dimensionals

Speaking of Daphne...

I took her picture because I thought her teefers were so cute but then I saw what her ball says and it made me laugh.  She's a happy Bark Box subscriber and she just got a bear toy today (among other things), so even Daphne is celebrating Fat Bear Week.  Cheers!

Periwinkle Hydrangeas

Mornin' y'all.  Ryan doesn't have school today (no idea why) so we both lollygagged around and had a bit of a lie-in this morning.  Daphne knows I have finished my first cuppa so she's telling me it is Time To Go For A Walk NOWWW Mahm so I'd better type fast.

So here's my card for today:

I brought out last year's Thankful Garden for the current Atlantic Hearts sketch:

I think I went a little overboard with the die-cut leaves but it's all stuck down.  I chose Thankful Garden thanks to the Retro Rubber TTT challenge:

I plan to circle back to this one because I really want to make a fall card : )  This time I did the top row, with ribbon - stencil - die cuts, and I chose Thankful Garden because that's the only stencils I have other than this year's Painted Pumpkins.  Thankful Garden is a year old so it just counts as retro in stamp years, and that hydrangea stamp was perfect with this Color Dare duo:

I used Peaceful Pine and Hydrangea Hue for my colors and white for a neutral.  Now that I've gotten this card out of my system, I will be back to fall and Halloween cards for a while I think : )  They're my favorite to make.

Okay, Daph is making with the puppy dog eyes so I'm going to take her for a walk and I'll see you later, kids.  Cheers!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Thankful Garden
Ink:  Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine
Paper:  Hydrangea Hue, Peaceful Pine, Basic White, Mosaic Garden DSP
Accessories:  Thankful Garden stencils & dies, Textured Notes dies, Peaceful Pine ribbon, Dimensionals, Clear Epoxy Drops

Must Be Magical

Mornin' y'all!  I'm getting an early start today because I have an appointment as soon as Ryan gets off to school, so let's get started!

There's a color challenge this week that I just couldn't wrap my head around and I had decided to skip it, but then I was in my craft room and I remembered what I wrote yesterday about the Painted Pumpkins bundle being my new go-to for when I'm not sure what to do with a color challenge.  So then I made this:

Sorry the photo isn't the best, I took pictures before the sun was up this morning and artificial light doesn't do great for card photos.  Here's the consternation-inducing (for me) color challenge from Creative Colour Challenges:

Now, I admit that I have some preconceived notions about what colors go together and what don't, and for this trio it's the Cherry Cobbler and Bubble Bath together that's throwing me.  So anyway I thought I'd give it a go, using blending brushes and the Painted Pumpkins stencils and keeping the Cherry Cobbler pretty light.  Imagine my surprise when I lifted up the stencil and somehow the Cherry Cobbler looked PINK on the pumpkins!  I stamped the outlines on top in Pretty Peacock (side note:  would you do the stenciling first, or the stamping first?  Because I seem to do the stenciling first) and then used the background stencil to do some leaves and vines on Pretty Peacock cardstock.  Um, I was not expecting this to work but I think it does!  These pumpkins must be magical is all I can say.

That's it for now, peeps.  Ryan has a fun run thing at school today (I never think running is fun) and I hope it doesn't get rained out.  Meanwhile I will be filling out paperwork at the orthodontist's office and then maybe I'll go wander around Target for a bit and see what they have in the way of fall and Halloween decorations.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Painted Pumpkins
Ink:  Bubble Bath, Cherry Cobbler, Pretty Peacock
Paper:  Bubble Bath, Pretty Peacock, Basic White
Accessories:  Painted Pumpkins dies & stencils, Textured Notes dies, Dimensionals, Array of Dots

Going in Circles

Mornin' y'all.  Urgh, I haven't been sleeping too well the past couple of nights but I am going to do my best NOT to take a nap today because then maybe I'll actually sleep tonight.  I have some projects I really want to work on today, including the new cross stitch project I started last night.

But for right now, I continue my quest to make the Painted Pumpkins stamps/stencils/dies in every color of the rainbow:

At this point I think Painted Pumpkins is my go-to stamp set for when I'm not sure what to do with a color challenge.  Check out this pretty spring palette from CAS Colours & Sketches:

I just didn't want to do a springy card, so pinky purple pumpkins it is!  Next up is the Addicted to CAS challenge, which was a good excuse to use my Spotlight on Nature dies:

I layered on a retired Stitched Shapes die because the circles in Stylish Shapes weren't the right size to nest in the Spotlight on Nature circle and even if the die is retired that doesn't mean I can't use it.

And since I was doing two CAS challenges anyway, that makes it real easy to enter at Inspire. Create. this round too:

I've been making my pumpkins in so many nonstandard pumpkin colors that I haven't used the coordinating DSP much, so I thought I might as well make a DSP-centric pumpkin card while I was at it yesterday:

Oh look, more circles!  I do need to play with that DSP some more, there are some very pretty patterns in it.  Apparently my keyboard didn't get enough sleep last night either; it keeps lagging behind what I'm typing and trying to add all kinds of weird accent marks or skipping letters entirely.  Weird.

Supplies, first card:
Stamps:  Painted Pumpkins
Ink:  Bubble Bath, Highland Heather, Peaceful Pine
Paper:  Bubble Bath, Highland Heather, Basic White
Accessories:  Painted Pumpkins dies & stencils, Spotlight on Nature dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Supplies, second card:
Stamps:  Painted Pumpkins
Ink:  Secret Sea
Paper:  Petal Pink, Cajun Craze, Pool Party, Painted Patch DSP
Accessories:  Spotlight on Nature dies, Stitched Shapes dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals, Painted Patch Dots

Yesterday I really really really wanted to start a new cross stitch project since I finished the Hocus Pocus one (I didn't really like how it turned out though).  I had picked out my next two projects, a pretty fall leaf pattern and a big Christmas pattern, but had to order some variegated thread for the leaf pattern and it wasn't due to get here until Friday (I just got a notification 10 minutes ago that it will be delivered today, but that's beside the point).  And I just couldn't make myself start a Christmas pattern on the first official day of fall, so I did the only logical thing...

I started a big Halloween pattern instead : )  This one has twelve different Halloween candy buckets and I started with the pumpkin on the top row.  So glad I did the eyeball on the first day so this design can stare at me the whole time I'm working on it : p  The fabric is a warm gray called Wolfsbane from Mystic Fabrics, I picked a medium gray so the white will pop on the fabric, especially when I get to the ghost bucket.  I hadn't been planning to make this pattern right now but I was so happy when I started it, so I think I'm going to work on this through October, start the leaf pattern in November, then start the Christmas pattern in December and then I can alternate projects if I feel like it.

Okay, I've got to walk Daphne and go do the grocery shopping so I can get to my fun projects.  Cheers!

In the Soup

HAPPY FALL, Y'ALL!  I mean, in my heart and home, fall started on September first, but now the equinox agrees with me.  The hubs and I had the following conversation last night:

Me:  You wanna put up the Halloween inflatable decorations this weekend?
Hubs:  It's September.
Me:  Yeah, and I decorated inside the house a month ago.  You're late.

Anyway, I have been a naughty girl of late and I have bought quite a slew of Halloween-related stamps and I inked up one of my new stamp sets yesterday!

This grumpy kitty made me laugh so hard, I broke a land speed record buying this stamp set.  It's from The Ink Road, but the owner currently works only by special drops so you have to be on the mailing list to know when things are coming.  I might have* bought four more Halloween sets in a big drop that hit on Sunday evening.

* I totally did.  Zero regrets.

Anyway, I had to try out the sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments:

And I decided that Maleficent's red lip yesterday would disqualify her for the Color Hues Challenge, so I didn't enter her but I think Miss Kitty counts.  Here's the challenge in case you forgot:

Maybe I should have used Highland Heather instead of Orchid Oasis, but Miss Kitty told me she wanted her outfit to be Orchid Oasis and I never argue with a grumpy cat stirring a cauldron.

Anyway, that's it for now.  I'm going to finish my cuppa and the last pumpkin cream cheese muffin, and then take Daphne out for a walk and hope we don't get rained on.  It can rain all it wants when we get back.  Cheers!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Roadies 71 by The Ink Road
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Blends in Orchid Oasis, Smoky Slate, Basic Black, Soft Succulent
Paper:  Orchid Oasis, Basic White, Soft Succulent DSP, Cutest Halloween DSP Stack
Accessories:  Layering Circles dies, Shimmering Stars Foam Stickers, Dimensionals

Mistress of All Evil

Mornin' y'all!  I have several things on my to-do list today so I am on my second cuppa and ready to get going on this blog post to start off with.  I made today's cards last week and I'm pretty pleased with it : )

It's Maleficent!  She is my favorite Disney villain because she can turn herself into a DRAGON and it doesn't get any more awesome than that!  And also she's not afraid to call people fools when that's what they are.  (My second favorite villain is Yzma, and third is Ursula.  My mom's favorite is Cruella but I can't get past the dog fur coat thing.)  Anyway, I made this for the Color Hues Challenge:

And I will be ticketed by the Challenge Police because Maleficent had to have a red lip (she insisted) and her staff's topper had to be a poisonous chartreuse.  Sorry, I just had to.  I broke out the PrismaColor colored pencils because there wasn't a grayish green that worked for Maleficent's skin tone in my Crayolas, it's been a long time since I got the Prismas out so that was fun.  And thanks to Stef whose Halloween kitty card convinced me that I should do something not floral with these colors, I had so much fun inking up Maleficent for the first time (and I've had that stamp set for at least a year, probably several!).

Anyway, I was going to go with a Halloween card like Stef, but then I saw this challenge from AAA Cards Challenge:

And my brain yelled MALEFICENT so that's how my card was made.  My brain yells at me.  Anyway, I'm glad that I finally inked up these stamps, I know I got the greeting stamp last year when I was shopping for Halloween goodies and like I said I don't know if the villains stamps are a year old or even older.  Kindred Stamps are not really my artwork style, but they do have stamps in several subjects that no one else seems to so I have several of their sets (most of which have not seen ink yet, but someday...).

Anyway, I need to finish my tea and take the Daphinator for her walk and then get to work on the rest of my to-do list.  I have to make some phone calls today, ugh.  But on the plus side, I should be getting some new Halloween stamps in the mail today, so that will be fun.  Cheers, y'all!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Villains by Kindred Stamps, Desdemona by Sweet November
Ink:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Soft Succulent
Paper:  Lavender Lace, Soft Succulent, Basic White
Accessories:  Dimensionals, Wink of Stella on her staff