Isn't it simply breathtaking?
WHAT THE WHAT?!?
Ha ha ha ha! I couldn't resist!!!!! Did you fall for it? I just had to do it, after you orange and fuchsia-lovers started coming out of the woodwork. The only thing funnier than the garish shade of orange that I chose in that mock-up are my impressive Photoshop skills. Don't say you aren't overcome with awe. I could totally make hideous photo cards for a living.
Okay, okay - I'll get on with it now. The REAL winner of the Blue/Gray Holiday Card Challenge/Fiasco/Lame Giveaway Extravaganza is..... (drumroll please....)
BLLLLLLUUUUUUUEEEEEEE!!!!
I love it! I really really do! Well honestly, I loved both blue AND gray, which is what got me into this mess in the first place, but now that you have all decided for me I can honestly say that I adore the blue card! Thank you to everyone who voted and wrote in and sent me long messages with excellent arguments supporting your choices. If this was a debate team you'd all get trophies! Never before have I seen such impassioned pleas, a selection of which includes the following:
"I am not a lover of gray. It makes me sad. But THAT blue is so cheerful and such a bright, happy card for a good crisp winter. I drove a convertible that color in high school. It was hot :)" -- Mary
"Is it gray or grey? 'Cause if it's grey, grey, but if it's gray, blue." -- Jillian
"Orange." -- Suzi
"Although I'm dying to say fuchsia, just to be obnoxious, I have to go with gray. It's very classy, and if I've learned one thing from reading your blog, it's that the George family is one class act." -- Jenny
"Orange actually sounds nice..." -- Carrie
Truly, I am blessed with the world's most helpful readers. THANKS A LOT, GUYS. The rest of the comments were, in fact, very helpful but they weren't as funny so they didn't make the Quotation Wall Of Shame. But I do want to thank all of you, it was really nice to just sit back and let someone else (or elses, as the case may be) do the deciding for me. I might have to do this more often. Who knows, maybe Orange might actually make the cut some day! Or not.
As for the winner of my first ever Really Lame Giveaway, I assigned numbers to all the comments that voted for Blue and then with the help of Random.org, the winner was pronounced to be Hockey Librarian, who posted this genuinely nice and HELPFUL comment:
"I also keep photo cards, there are more packrats in the world than El Cheapitan realizes. ;) Despite that I like typing grey to make people think I can't spell..., oh wait, I can't spell... uhm... I like your lovely blue card better, it has that wintery icey blue feel to it."
So thank you and congrats...Hockey? Ms. Librarian? I can't think of a better person to win - I should make sure that being a packrat is a pre-requisite for all future Veni Vidi Lame Giveaways in the future! Now if you will please email me your mailing address, you can expect one of the Blue Cards (that you chose!) sometime next year.
As for the rest of you lovelies - THANK YOU SO MUCH. You turned this incredibly stressful thing into something fun for me. I wish I could add each of you to my mailing list and send you a card to stick in your scrapbooks and never ever throw away!