December 2012 Monthly Challenge Palette

Can you believe it’s December already? It seems like I say that every December, but it’s no less true. I feel like I’m constantly baffled that time has gone by!

This month, our ABS Challenge piece is this gorgeous work by Erte. When I first saw it, I was mostly fixated on that bright blue of the sky, and the lovely red of the dress – how can you not be? They are so eye-catching that I couldn’t see anything else; I thought that was it for the colors.

But not so! A closer look reveals subtle shades of gray and browns, a creamy beige for the skin, even some lavender eye shadow on the girl’s eyelids. With touches of pure white and black, this makes for a very striking color palette for this month.

Personally, I love that it’s more “winter” than a specific holiday. Even more, I love that it’s not a traditional winter color scheme, but with the right design accents it can be.

It’s also pretty versatile. If you’re looking for a more traditional holiday color scheme, go for the first four swatches. If you’re like a more traditional winter color scheme, use the last three. Or, if you’re feeling up to the Erte challenge, use them all!

What colors grab you? Which do you plan on using in your challenge pieces?

P.S. This month marks my one year anniversary contributing to ABS! Thanks for having me here this past year – it was awesome, and I look forward to sharing more palettes with you in 2013!