Tuesday, April 15, 2008

NANCY DREW – GIRL DETECTIVE & CRAFTY SLEUTH


By Penny Warner
Author of THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK (Quirk Books)


Nancy Drew had many talents besides sleuthing. She was especially crafty, and excelled at arranging flowers, knitting sweaters, painting pictures, sewing frocks, and so on. She never went anywhere without her sleuth kit, filled with collected clues, detecting tools, and other essential items. If you’d like to make a Nancy Drew Sleuth Kit, just follow Nancy’s simple instructions below. (And for those hard-to-find sleuthing items, email me at the address below and I’ll send you a free magnifying glass, lipstick pen, flashlight, whistle, and mini-notebook.)

Materials Needed to Create Your Sleuth Kit:
- Small file box, fake book, cute purse, cigar box, or other smart container
- Paper decorated with old-fashioned designs from the 30s and 40s
- Second-hand, inexpensive copy of a favorite Nancy Drew book
- Sheets of 8x10-inch white adhesive paper to make stickers
- Two-sided tape or glue stick
- Antiquing ink and small sponges
- Decorations, such as old keys, antique ribbon, costume jewels, and other items mentioned in Nancy Drew books.

Instructions

1. Decorate your container with old-fashioned papers and pages from old Nancy Drew books. Antique the papers by swiping the edges with antiquing ink using a small sponge. Attach them to the container with two-sided tape or glue stick, if they aren’t already adhesive.
2. Make your own stickers featuring Nancy Drew book covers and other mystery-related items by downloading free clipart, printing it onto adhesive paper, and cutting out the shapes. Stick them onto the decorated container.
3. Embellish the container with ribbon, jewels, keys, and other mystery items.
4. Fill with detecting tools, such as:
- Small flashlight (to see in dark passageways when the lights go out.)
- Magnifying glass (to study mysterious footprints of nefarious characters.)
- Compass (to find your way out of the labyrinthine tunnels.)
- Fingerprint powder (or face powder) and clear tape (to lift suspicious fingerprints.)
- Notebook and pencil (to jot down important clues.)
- First aid kit (in case someone is bitten by a poisonous snake.)
- Small tool set (to free yourself from inside a locked trunk.)
- Change of clothes (in case you get your outfit dirty or need a disguise.)
- Morse Code Decoder (in case you have to tap out a secret message to your chums.)
- Lipstick (to write SOS in case you’re kidnapped.)

For more ideas and information about Nancy Drew, check out THE OFFICIAL NANCY DREW HANDBOOK by Penny Warner at http://www.pennywarner.com or go to www.NancyDrewForever.com.

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Penny. Where were you when I was dusting for prints inside a darked, locked car trunk filled with live rattlesnakes?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for spurring on a new generation of Nancy Drew readers.

Camille Minichino said...

Lee, your own book is tied for first place with Penny's on my "police procedure resource" shelf.

Camille/Margaret Grace

Kathryn Lilley said...

I used to be a contract writer for a YA sleuth series (which cannot be named due to the contract agreement), so of course, I'm a HUGE Nancy Drew fan! I still love the original ones that I inherited from my Mom, though, even though I wrote more contemporary ones.

SinC St. Louis said...

I still have my old Nancy Drew books. Loved them, absolutely loved them.

Terri Thayer said...

Thanks for the great post, Penny. Nancy Drew was multitasking before multitasking was cool.

I can still get a chill looking at the cover of a Nancy Drew book.

Anonymous said...

Kudos to Penny, as well as Camille. Wish I had my set of Nancy Drew's. They disappeared along with Ted Williams autograph! However, I DO have lots of hard-to-find items that could heap a miniaturist! xoxoxox

pennywarner said...

Hi Lee!
You don't need Nancy's help!
She could use a copy of your book!
Thanks for your note.
-Penny

pennywarner said...

Camille, I could use some miniature weapons for my kit...
-Penny

pennywarner said...

Hi Kathryn,
I got hooked in 6th grade when I came down with mono and my mother wouldn't let me watch TV all day...
-Penny

pennywarner said...

SINC St. Louis,
There's a strong wave of nostalgia for the books today. Nancy was quite a role model back then, and still is, amazingly.
-Penny

pennywarner said...

Hi Terri,
Talk about multi-tasking, she was able to sleuth and do crafts practically at the same time!
-Penny

pennywarner said...

Hi Terri,
Talk about multi-tasking, she was able to sleuth and do crafts practically at the same time!
-Penny

Anonymous said...

Penny - I want to sign up for the kit. Do I do that on your website? I just won't tell my grandson it's for girls (that's his picture in the back of my book).

Hey, are you going to be at East of Eden this year? I think I'm teaching several workshops.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Camille.

Camille Minichino said...

Miniature weapons are on their way, Nancy!

Dana Mentink said...

The world could use plenty more Nancy Drews! Thanks for sharing your wildly spectacular creativity. Dana

pennywarner said...

Thanks for all the wonderful comments! This has been so much fun!
I'm looking forward to more Killer Hobbies....
-Penny

Jamie said...

hi penny thanks for showing me how to make an nancy drew kit you rock

Jamie said...

hi lee and the rest of you thxs for showing me how to make a nancy drew kit you ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :} :} :} :} :} :} :} :]:]:]:]:]:]:]

dr mum said...

Brilliant ...I have promised to make my grandaughter (aged 7) a sleuthing kit for christmas 2009. We have only seen the latest Disney version.
"Now would Nancy Drew have her bedroom in a mess like this??". . . Of course not.

Bren said...

Hi Penny;
I am wondering if you can tell me where would be a good spot on the internet to order some of the hard to find sleuthing items. My daughter is having a Nancy Drew birthday and I am going to be making her bag and trying to fill it will all the trinkets. She is 7and is already fasinated with this character and the notion of sleuthing.
Thanks
Bren

Anonymous said...

can i have your email adress cause i am having trubble finding acouple things that you listed=):)=0

Atsura Ina said...

Hy penny,,, thanks a lot for sleuthing thing and about nancy drew..
I always wanna make my own sleuthing bag and i foundation this.. :-)
But i have little trouble how to find a magnifying glass, lipstick pen, and a whistle.. i hope i can see your answer soon.. thanks a lot before, penny..

Atsura Ina said...

I mean,, and i found this.. sorry for my wrong word because of an auto text system on my hp,, ;-)

Atsura Ina said...

I mean,, and i found this.. sorry for my wrong word because of an auto text system on my hp,, ;-)