Color Hangover....and 9 Lucky Winners!

"If one says 'red' - the name of color - and there are fifty people listening, it can be expected that there will be fifty reds in their minds.
And one can be sure that all these reds will be very different."
~ Josef Albers

I am still recovering from the party. I think I drank a little too much of the color Kool-Aid (was yours spiked with vodka?). Like I have a color hangover or something. The lampshades are askew, there is a mystery stain on the carpet, my head is playing the marimba, and my mind is a blur. But it was all good. When can we do it again? ;-)

Wow.
That is all that I can say.

You very talented people - all 54 of you - totally blew me away with your participation in the 2nd Annual Challenge of Color.

I know that I set the bar for myself pretty high, so don't judge me on that. I am a consummate overachiever and it was my party after all, it wouldn't do for the hostess to show up in faded overalls with one pendant on a chain. And also I might have bit off more than I could chew as evidenced by the series of migraines I suffered last week. But you know how it is after a party, when the guests have gone home and you have a chance to actually sit still even in the midst of the sparkly chaos? Well, I did a little bit of that the past week. I spent time trying to actually put things away, and organize some paperwork and catch up on some custom orders.

It is really nice to hear the accolades that you showered on me, but that isn't why I do these challenges. I do them because I need a swift kick in the pants sometime. I need a jolt of color during these darker days. But it wouldn't be half as fun to me if I didn't have so many talented people with which to play.

For playing along with me, I thank you.

One of the comments that I read frequently on your blogs was that you all had a color idea in your head. When you said "red" you thought one thing and then I challenged you with a different hue. That is all part of the fun! I think that was a great exercise in how our clients must perceive color and I know it helped me see the beauty in all the colors. And I am glad that you didn't let my color palette choice phase you. Not one person asked to change, which was so nice! ;-)

You brought me many smiles and much joy in hopping around this colorful world. I am super inspired to put more color in my designs, to try new techniques, to use up my art bead stash. And I hope you are, too.

It sounds like there are a lot of people who would have loved to participate in the Challenge. A few years ago I set out to do a specific "Inspired by..." challenge each month. That was fun, but proved hard to do. And then last year I started the Challenge of... blog hop and it was most successful. I have told a few of you this, but now I will make it official.

I plan to throw down a challenge each quarter of the year: February, May, August and November.

Since this challenge worked so well, I will keep the Challenge of Color in November.

But the other three months will be different challenges. Because let's face it, there are more challenges that we as jewelry artisans and designers face that are not necessarily color based. I haven't decided what they will be, but if you wish to send me some suggestions, I am open to them. Feel free to email me.

I will announce more about the next "Challenge of..." blog hop around the end of January.

Same format (one month to create with a blog hop).
Limited participation (60 is a good number, don't you think?).
Prizes and giveaways (if you want to sponsor a prize, let me know!).

I think that this will be tons of fun! (And I don't know about you, but I have to have a party every so often just to clean my house, so maybe this will motivate me to clean my studio! ;-)

I promised winners and I have nine of them! All winners below were selected at random and should contact me by email to claim the prize.

First, one commenter (who was not a blog hop participant) who wins her choice of my Pink palette earrings is..........

Emakaye!

Now onto the prizes for those who braved the Challenge! 

I decided that since this is the season of giving, that I would give away two gift certificates of $12 each to sample the colorful goodness that my friend Brandi Hussey is serving up at Freshly Hued. And the winners are....

Rose Noble and Linda Landig!

My friend Marcie Abney of La Bella Joya creates some stunning designs. She proves that seed beads are more than just filler (as in my beady world) by wrangling them into the most stylish of shapes and designs. Marcie couldn't play in the hop, but she wanted to contribute as a sponsor and is giving away one tutorial in her shop to the lucky.....

Tanya Goodwin!

I am completely smitten by the lovely Miss Jessica Colaluca and her Design Seeds palettes, aren't you? I know a few of you have mentioned that you will come back to doing this challenge on your own with her palettes when you need a little fresh start in terms of color. Miss Jessica was most impressed by how we were inspired to use her palettes. She also let me know that soon there will be a big unveiling of a new website to make it even more interesting to use her palettes. She has some of her best palettes all packaged up into beautiful Blurb books (I intend to buy a few for myself) and now offers those same printed books as eBooks suitable for either an iPad or iPhone. I don't have either device, and realized that you might not either. So... I will offer this to both winners... you may choose the Design Seeds eBook of your choice from her bookstore OR 50% off one item in my Etsy shop. Two random winners...

Cilla Watkins and Jen Velasquez!

My humble little 'simple truth' is going to live with...

Jennifer Justman!

And last, but certainly not least, I have two winners of the stash (equitably doled out, I assure you!).

In this stash of beady goodness are polymer clay beads donated by the lovely Jeannie Dukic, enameled ceramic beads from the talented Sally Russick, and a whole bunch of art beads from my considerable hoard including Marsha Neal, EB Bead & Metal Works, Julsbeads, Round Rabbit, Birgitta Lejonklou and an assortment of beady goodness as well, including things not pictured. I tried to hit something from each of the twelve palettes. Congratulations to.....

Angela Little and Amy Severino!

All winners should email me to arrange for their prize.

Thank you to all who joined in the challenge, whether you were on the hop or you just left comments.

I look forward to the next "Challenge of..." blog hop in February! ;-)