Second Floor Challenge #11: All Six Primary & Secondary Colors

Today is the eleventh and final Second Floor challenge!  Are you ready to take it to the second floor?

The challenge this time around is to use all six primary & secondary colors.  Whatever that means to you or however it inspires you.  The prompt is simply meant to get you started.  The level of challenge you aim for is entirely internal and up to you.

Click here to see what Nat did.

As for me, I brought back an old friend: beading.

Beading was one of my very first loves in the crafty world.  The first time I stumbled into a craft superstore, it was in search of beads.  The first big convention I ever went to was The Bead & Button Show.

So I stitched up some beaded beads, making sure to incorporate all six primary and secondary colors...

...and then I mixed them up with a bunch of regular beads...

...to create this super cool necklace:

Here's what I learned along the way:

• My impulse was to make the beads one or two colors, like tones of red with orange.  But, keeping the challenge in mind, I decided to go for it and make them rainbow beads.  I'm really glad that I did.  I used color combinations that I  thought would be a disaster, but instead I'm quite pleased with the fun and festive way they turned out.
• I miss beading.  I hadn't realized it until I hauled the beads out, but man, is it fun!  I loved making the beading beads and I loved arranging and then stringing the necklace.  Need to do more of that!
• I am a hoarder in any medium.  At first I didn't want to use all the silver and pewter bead caps and spacers (or those glorious faceted deep red beads or the little orange pieces of carnelian) because they were expensive and I was saving them.  But then I realized that I haven't seen them in years!  They've been shoved away on a shelf.  What exactly was I saving them for?  Much better to put them into a necklace and actually get the pleasure of wearing them, right?
• I have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of beads.  True story.  And yet, as I was working, I would think, "Oh I wish I had a size 15 jet black bead."  The impulse to go online and order a bunch of supplies was overwhelming.  But, I resisted.  It's amazing how creating makes me want to shop.  The same thing happens when I'm painting or scrapbooking.  As I'm working and wanting a particular thing I start jonesing to shop for it!  The good news is that most of the time I use my ingenuity to figure out a work around.  I mean, there's only so much room in this apartment!
• Pricked fingers are inevitable when you're working with a tiny beading needle.  I had forgotten how often I tend to stab myself when bead stitching.  It doesn't matter how careful you are, the needle and your finger inevitably meet.  Luckily, beading needles are very tiny and while it hurts, it doesn't tend to draw blood.
• When I sat down to create I wanted to find a way to incorporate all those colors without making a typical rainbow spectacular.  I think I was successful.  Oftentimes, my approach to a challenge is to think about how to accomplish it without going the obvious route.  This is really the whole concept behind "taking it to the second floor."  It's about choosing the less traveled road and challenging yourself to go deeper, higher, beyond.  

If you'd to play along with this challenge, here's the linky list:

I'll be back next week with a little wrap-up of the Second Floor Challenge experience!

Thanks for stopping by!

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P.S. The hubs and I are fine.  We have electricity.  Thanks for all your kind e-mails and comments!