Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #46

Win Nancy Drew Theme Prizes!

Our last prize winner for week four here at the Blog is...

Last Week's Prize Winner: Janet

Prize: Peacock Earrings

See you all very soon in Charlottesville for the Nancy Drew Convention!

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #45

Random Clues

OK, so I had these random peacock images in my folder--some sent to me by LuAnn, others I found sleuthing around online. One last Convention Clues Blog Finale!

Anthropologie Box

Old-Fashion Peacock Skirt

Peacock Clock

Stained-Glass Peacock Lamp

Anthropologie Peacock Skirt

Tiffany Style Peacock Lamp

Peacock Barbie!

Peacock Figurine

Faux Stained-Glass Lego Piece featuring a Knight

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #44

Convention Scrapbookers!

If you're planning on doing some scrapbooking or creating crafty things related to our convention and its peacock theme, here's some images I found on the internet you can grab and use (click on them for larger images):
Clever Scrap to cut out!

This one would make a cute sticker:
This one could be blown up to make scrapbook papers out of:

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #43

Peacock Bling!

Some last minute accessory ideas for the Nancy Drew convention set in Charlottesville, VA next week: peacock bling. Check out some of the earrings and rings I've found online in searches:




Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #42

Win Nancy Drew Theme Prizes!

I'm going to be giving away a prize a week here at the Blog leading up to the convention--there are 4 weeks so there will be 4 prizes. We are now at prize week #4 (see below for winner to week 3's prize) This week's prize is a pair of Peacock earrings from Forever 21--I've replaced the earring hooks with sterling silver ones!

To win this prize, you must comment on this week's convention clues Blogs. All those who comment (include your full name when commenting) will be entered into the drawing. Prizes will be given out at the convention. (To comment, click on "- comments" below this posting or any other Clues posting--a form will come up which you'll type in your comment and id yourself and then submit.)

These weekly prize drawings are only open to those attending the Charlottesville, VA convention!

Also, anyone who follows in LuAnn/Elizabeth/AB/Dawn/Janet/Lisa/Dede/Amanda/Shelli/Jane/Dean and Gina's footsteps and shares a photo of you and/or your collection and a brief bio and your collecting info, will also be entered to win that week's prize.

Last Week's Prize Winner: LuAnn

Prize: Peacock Ring:

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #41

Meet Gina!

Hi Fellow Sleuths! I am Gina Travis from the great state of Iowa (where Mildred Wirt was from)! I absolutely love having fun with Nancy Drew! Of course I collect Nancy Drew books but also other books written by Mildred Wirt. Besides books, I have the Nancy Drew diary, lunchbox, a few lobby cards, coloring books, puzzle books, jigsaw puzzle, display poster and other interesting items. I also have lots of fun making Nancy Drew projects! I especially like making shadow boxes of various books, cross-stitch items, tiles, and altered jewelry. I have a small blue bathroom with 2 framed glossies on the wall but I am in the process of applying scans of the multi-pic blue endpapers, each roughly 5x7, on the wall. I’ll post a picture when it’s done! My husband even used one of my Nancy metal bookends (they can be found at the Sleuth Shop) and attached it to our mailbox! Growing up, I played Nancy Drew with my sister creating treasure maps and hiding a “treasure”. As an adult, I taught Braille for 10 years and thank Nancy for teaching me how to decode secret messages!

I will see you at the convention despite the telegram warning me not to come!

Gina

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #40

Peacock Dandy!

More peacock inspired fashion for the Nancy Drew convention in Charlottesville, VA! Someone online put together the above ensemble of fashion accessories.

Peacock Nails

Peacock Headband
Peacock Mask

Peacock inspired makeup

Still needing ideas for the mystery dinner? Check out this Clues Blog posting for some accessorizing tips.

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #39

Peacocks Galore!

LuAnn and I were doing some peacock searching and we found some more decorating gems :)

Peacock Blanket
Peacock Box
Peacock Umbrella


Peacock Folding Screen

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #38

Meet Dean!

I've been reading series books nearly 50 years, and collecting for over 35. When I went into High School, I donated half my Hardy Boys books to the school library, the other half to the city library, and almost immediately regretted it. When I graduated, I started looking for the original Hardy Boys books in dust jackets and started haunting all the used book stores in southern Illinois and St. Louis. I started out just looking for jacketed HB books, but found a lot of other series at very low prices and started gathering them as well. Eventually, I started gathering the picture cover Hardys, then paperbacks, then a few foreign editions, . . . . .

I now have right at 700 Hardy Boys books, with examples in 18 languages and even one in Braille. . Other series and old kid's books number around 800, including about 200 Nancy Drew and Dana Girls.

I write the Dean's List for The Sleuth.

Dean

Nancy Drew Cafe Press Sale Mar 15-17 15% off $45+

Nancy Drew Shop 15% off $45.00+ Sale!

WHEN: Mar. 15 - Mar. 17, 2011

SAVE:15% off orders of $45+

CODE: TMAR1145

WHERE: www.cafepress.com/nancydrewshop

Be sure you're ordering from the shop page only--marketplace orders do not count for this promotion, so if you're at the main website and/or using search boxes to add items to your cart, those are considered marketplace items. You must order from the Nancy Drew shop page itself. If you have any trouble with the code--contact Cafe Press customer support (there's a phone number you can call right away) and they can help you with it.

Thanks for your support!

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #37

Meet Shelli and Jane!

My mom, Jane, grew up in Speedway, Indiana. As a young girl, she frequently read Nancy Drew books (w/o dust jackets..in fact, she didn't even know that they books had covers until later) and traded them with friends. While attending IU, she and some friends re-read some of the books again for fun. She loved the settings of the books as well as the adventures of Nancy, Bess and George.

I spent most of my childhood in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, PA. Around age 8 or 9, an older neighbor gave me her Nancy Drew books - Volumes 1 and 2. Once I started reading the books, I was hooked. I still have the two books that got me started on Nancy. I loved reading so much that I turned my walk-in closet into a library, aptly titled "Shelli's Public Library"...in fact, most of my childhood books have SPL stamped in them. I was a library aide in elementary school. Mrs. Martin, the librarian, encouraged me to never stop reading. I remember reading almost every Nancy Drew book in the library. After reading most of the original 56 books, I got into the Nancy Drew Files as a teenager. Something inside of me would never let me get rid of my ND books. I am so happy that I've kept them over the years. My collection has now grown to over 400 books as well as memorabilia.

In July of 2007, Mom and I went to a local bookstore to meet ND artist Rudy Nappi. That event lead to the formation of the Carolina Sleuths club. It is fun to talk "Nancy" with other fans. To this day, Mom and I always take a few ND books on our travels so that we will have pictures reading them in different cities.

This will be the first convention for us. This past fall, I was part of the panel that spoke on "The Mysterious Allure of Nancy Drew" to help launch the Girls Studies minor in the Women's Studies program at ASU.

Shelli and Jane

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #36

Win Nancy Drew Theme Prizes!

I'm going to be giving away a prize a week here at the Blog leading up to the convention--there are 4 weeks so there will be 4 prizes. We are now at prize week #3 (see below for winner to week 2's prize) This week's prize is a cute Peacock cocktail ring--stretchy band for most sizes from Charming Charlies.

To win this prize, you must comment on this week's convention clues Blogs. I've posted 2 so far and there will be more later in the week. All those who comment (include your full name when commenting) will be entered into the drawing. Prizes will be given out at the convention. (To comment, click on "- comments" below this posting or any other Clues posting--a form will come up which you'll type in your comment and id yourself and then submit.)

These weekly prize drawings are only open to those attending the Charlottesville, VA convention!

Also, anyone who follows in LuAnn/Elizabeth/AB/Dawn/Janet/Lisa/Dede/Amanda'/Shelli/Jane's footsteps and shares a photo of you and/or your collection and a brief bio and your collecting info, will also be entered to win that week's prize.

Last Week's Prize Winner: Shelli

Prize: 1950s Nancy Drew Clutch Bag:

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #35

Nancy Drew Sleuths on Ghost Tour

Nancy Drew Sleuths members will be going on a ghost tour during our Nancy Drew convention in Charlottesville, VA. It starts out in the downtown Charlottesville area and is described as:

You don’t have to believe in ghosts to enjoy this walking tour. Hear about reported ghost sightings. Walk in the fatal footsteps of Sam McCue, Charlottesville’s former mayor and prominent lawyer, and his wife, Fannie. Hear the witness testimonies. See where it all happened. Decide for yourself who is guilty of this famous 1904 murder.

The tour is a gentle two-hour stroll and covers approximately 1 mile over mostly flat terrain. We alternate walking and talking with lots of sit-down opportunities. It is completely wheel chair and stroller accessible.

To read up more on Sam McCue and his wife Fannie, here's a piece written in the local Charlottesville weekly, The Hook, about the murders. Or save the story for the tour and read it when you return...

We are looking forward to this evening of mystery and hauntings!

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #34

Meet Dede!

Sleuth Dede Agosta both read and loved Nancy Drew books as a girl. My sister, friends and I would hide messages in the bushes by our houses, aka The Hollow Oak. Also, my father built our house and my sister and I were SURE that he had put in a secret room behind the brick fireplace. However, despite measurements and looking at the original blueprints of the house, we couldn’t find any hidden rooms or staircases. The Nancy Drew books inspired me to write a book, “The Secret of Mystery Mansion” while in the 6th and 7th grades. I loved Nancy’s independence, pluck and determination and her friendships with George and Bess.

My sister and I collected many of the Nancy Drew books throughout the years. At that time, they were sold at our local stationery store WITHOUT PAPER COVERS. That’s why the artwork is new to me. I later got confirmation that books were sometimes sold this way. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of them left now as I had a lending library one summer and they didn’t get returned to me. How I wish I still had them!

They have also been crafting since childhood and, through these joint interests and others, they have become best friends. I became re-introduced to Nancy Drew by my best friend, Sleuth Judy Hubbard. We went to the 2007 convention in Pasadena and have been an avid collector and fan of Nancy Drew collectibles and books since then. My book collection now has 100 books PLUS some Hardy Boys books, a Judy Bolton, a few Bobbsy Twins volumes and 10 Beverley Grey books. I got introduced to the latter series at the 2008 convention.

I also have made many hand-crafted Nancy Drew items (over 14 different categories) for gifts and for my collection. The 2007 Convention Gift Exchange and Lea's 2008 presentation about crafting Nancy Drew items have inspired me to bring Nancy Drew into my everyday life and decor. The latest convention has inspired several different peacock items. In my other life, I was a marketing and business development manager for Motorola and General Dynamics and am married, with a grown daughter and two cats.

Dede

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #33

Meet Amanda!

Hi there, My name is Amanda Arkebauer and I am a flight attendant who lives in Seattle, WA. I have collected Nancy Drew books my whole life! I have books that belonged to my mother and my aunts and I still have many of my original books that I purchased via mail order in the 1970's. I got serious about collecting in the early 90's and was so happy to encounter The Nancy Drew Scrapbook by Karen Plunkett-Powell. It opened up a whole new world for me by exposing me to the Yellowback Library and The Whispered Watchword. These are periodicals that specialize in series book information. I have always collected more than just Nancy Drew. I am a huge fan of Ruth Fielding, Vicki Barr, Anne of Green Gables, The Dana Girls, Susan Sand, Beverly Gray, Robin Kane, Beanie Malone, Betsy-Tacy, Laura Ingalls Wilder and many more.

I have made pilgrimages to the grave sites of Edward Stratemeyer and Walter Karig. I have visited the Syndicate archives at the NYC Library and at the University of Oregon. In addition to visiting sites that were inspiration for Nancy Drew books, I have also visited Prince Edward Island (Green Gables) and traveled the Laura Ingalls Wilder highway through Wisconsin, Minnesota and South Dakota!

It has only been recently that Nancy Drew items have been available to purchase in the marketplace. 20 years ago, if you wanted a Nancy Drew t shirt or bumper sticker, you had to make it yourself! So out of necessity, over the past 20 years I have made many different Nancy Drew crafts, from quilts and cross-stitch to greeting cards and jewelry.

Amanda

Nancy Drew Cafe Press Sale Mar 10-11 $3 off $30+

Nancy Drew Shop $3 off $30.00+ Sale!

WHEN: Mar. 10 - Mar. 11, 2011

SAVE:$3 off orders of $30+

CODE: SMAR1130

WHERE: www.cafepress.com/nancydrewshop

Thanks for your support!

Jenn:)

Nancy Drew 2011 Convention Clues #32

PEACOCKS AND DINING

Peacock teapot anyone?! Tearooms were a staple of vintage Nancy Drew mysteries. Imagine if Nancy Drew was served at a tearoom in Charlottesville in this tea pot? Available at Macys.

And hand towels--World Market specials:


What about dessert to go with tea?

Fondant Decorated Cake

Scrumptious Cupcake

Peacock Cookies

Jenn:)