The Swami's Ring

Happy Saturday and welcome back to the Nancy Drew Challenge!  After an unexpected delay last week, she's back and this time she's investigating #61 The Swami's Ring:

Heyyy we get Nancy with titian hair on two out of the three covers this week, I don't know why after #56 the cover artists switched to making her a boring blonde instead of strawberry blonde.   The one on the left reminds me of The Strange Message in the Parchment with Nancy looking down, and I do like the action scene behind her.  The middle one is just odd with the plain black background; the one on the right is my favorite even though Nancy's just plain blonde on here and I think she should wear a different color shirt as that color isn't really flattering on her.  I like the sense of danger with the creepy guy coming up behind her.

Case file:  Nancy has a multitude of mysteries to contend with this week:  she's looking for clues to the identity of an amnesiac patient at the local hospital; someone tries to choke said amnesiac over a large ring found in his knapsack; Nancy's 5-year-old neighbor Tommy encountered a hit-and-run driver and broke his leg; someone is sabotaging a local music festival and somehow Carson is the suspect (the real mystery is why he's the prime suspect, and unfortunately that one is never solved); and a harpist at said music festival is looking for her missing sister.  All the mysteries seem to lead to a local religious retreat run by someone called Ramaswami.  It's a lot.

Here's my card for the first book:

Did I buy the To A Classic stamp set *just* for this image?  Yes, yes I did (it was only $5!).  I had to use it to make a get well card for little Tommy, who not only broke his leg in two places and hit his head (wear helmets, kids), he had to have surgery for his leg.  Nancy came to visit him in the hospital and gave him a toy car which seemed like an odd choice given that Tommy was almost run over by a car, but I ran with the idea and used a car on my card too.

For my colors, I used Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Sweet Sorbet, Golden Glow, and Pear Pizzazz, and to incorporate an arch shape I went with a stoplight behind my car image.  This idea came to me in the shower last weekend which is really where all the best ideas originate.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  To A Classic
Ink:  Dapper Denim, Stampin' Blends in Cloud Cover and Smoky Slate
Paper:  Soft Sky, Dapper Denim, Basic White, MidNight Flora DPS, Sweet Sorbet DSP, Pear Pizzazz DSP
Accessories:  Everyday Arches dies, Stylish Shapes dies, Dimensionals

Okay, on to the middle book:

I had to do a musical theme since we have the sabotaged music festival and the harpist looking for her missing sister.  The greeting stamp on this card is the very one that went on walkabout last weekend and frustrated me no end until I finally found it stuck to a sheet protector with the DSP I used on the card.  Anyway, one of the acts of sabotage against the music festival involved someone setting a scorpion loose in a crowded theater, but to my surprise I have zero scorpion stamps.  Also unless that scorpion was the size of a dachshund at least, if not larger, there's no way people would see it in the aisle of a darkened theater but now I am imagining a giant scorpion tootling down the aisle with a bucket of popcorn in his claw to see a production of Oklahoma! so there's that.  (The Drew Crew does go see a production of Oklahoma! in the book.)

For this one, I used Poppy parade, Crushed Curry, and black for my colors and kept the layout very simple given the cover of the book with its plain black background.  And if you're looking for this stamp set, Music From the Heart, I now have an extra one.  Weirdly I have no harp stamps despite having several music-themed stamp sets, but I do have at least one lyre and a lute.  You'd think harps would be more popular.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Music From the Heart
Ink:  Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry, Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper:  Poppy Parade, Basic White, Everyday Enchantment DSP, Crushed Curry DSP
Accessories:  Stitched So Sweetly dies, Dimensionals

And now for the third cover:

Yes, I made a "Remember When" card for a book that features an amnesia patient *snicker* I mean really, I am making these cards to entertain myself and this is where my sense of humor leads, so mission accomplished.  So, in the book, Nancy finds a large ring in the amnesiac's knapsack that has a design of interlocking water lilies on it, so that's why I have a water lily on my card.

I used Granny Apple Green, Crisp Cantaloupe, Calypso Coral, and Early Espresso for my colors on this card and I really like that die behind the flower.  I think Lovely Lily Pad was a Sale-a-Bration stamp set and they came out with dies later, but I could be misremembering (though I'm pretty sure I do not have amnesia).  Anyway, the dies for this stamp set are pretty cool and I'm glad I've kept it.

Supplies, all SU!
Stamps:  Lovely Lily Pad, Word Play
Ink:  Early Espresso, Crisp Cantaloupe Stampin' Blends
Paper:  Granny Apple Green, Calypso Coral, Basic White, Artistry Blooms DSP
Accessories:  Lovely Lily Pad dies, Dimensionals, Shimmering Dots

I think this book suffers from cramming too many mysteries into one volume even if all the investigations are interconnected.  It also has like a bajillion characters and I can't keep them straight because a lot of them have at least one alias and none of them are particularly well developed.  It reminds me a little bit of Red Gate Farm with the mysterious religious group and I do like the amnesia plotline even if it is a soap opera trope.  I think this one is by a different ghostwriter than the others we've had so far because Nancy is constantly leaping into cars or dashing around places and Ned acts like a whiny baby man for over half the book which made me want to shove him off a cliff like the amnesia patient.  I don't think this is a strong installment in the Drewniverse but I did enjoy making my cards and the image of the scorpion attending the theater that it planted in my brain, so I'm giving it two and a half stars.

If this book inspired you to make your own card, leave me a comment below!  And I'll see you next week when Nancy encounters The Kachina Doll Mystery.